ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN UNITED KINGDOM, 30 JANUARY – 1 FEBRUARY

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in London from The Hague on Monday afternoon, 30 January 2006.

In the early evening, he met with the principals of the Middle East Quartet -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, High Representative for European Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, and European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

The Quartet, in a communiqué, congratulated the Palestinian people on an electoral process that was free, fair and secure.  It concluded that it was inevitable that future assistance to any new Government would be reviewed by donors against that Government’s commitment to the principles of non-violence, recognition of Israel and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the Road Map.  (See press release SG/2104.)

Speaking to reporters afterward, the Secretary-General said that, if Hamas accepts those principles and transforms itself from an armed movement into a political party respecting the rules of the game and representing its people, “the international community should be able to work with them”.

On Tuesday morning in London, the Secretary-General opened the London Conference on Afghanistan, which he co-chaired with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

In his opening statement, the Secretary-General said that “we can be justifiably proud of Afghanistan’s progress in recent years.  But we cannot be complacent.”  He warned that “recent violence has served as a sad reminder of the fragile state of peace in the country. Afghanistan today remains an insecure environment.”

The Secretary-General also noted the launching, that day, of the Afghanistan Compact, which he called “a result-oriented action plan for Afghanistan’s future”.  (See press release SG/SM/10331.)

At a joint press conference with President Karzai and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, the Secretary-General was asked about human rights in Iran.  He said it is clear that the United Nations policy is to promote human rights and rights of individuals to live in dignity and to have freedom to go about their activities.  He noted he has taken up the question of Iran’s human rights, and intervened personally in some cases, such as that of Akbar Ganji.

On the sidelines of the Conference, he had bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Blair and President Karzai.  He also met with Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing of China, Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller of Denmark, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Motaki of Iran and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere of Norway, in addition to the Senior Vice Foreign Minister of Japan, Katsutoshi Kaneda.  He also met that day with Prince Karim Aga Khan IV.

On Tuesday evening, he participated in an event organized by the United Nations Association-United Kingdom, to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the first meetings of the General Assembly and Security Council that took place in London.  That event took place in Central Hall, Westminster, the same hall in which the first General Assembly met for the first time, on 10 January 1946.

The Secretary-General delivered a speech and took three questions -- one on the Human Rights Council; another on the responsibility to protect, in respect to situations like in Darfur; and the third on his reflections of this last nine years in office.

In his speech, he pointed to the urgency of strengthening the system set up by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Today’s headlines concern Iran, he noted.  But when we step back from the headlines, he added, it should be clear that we cannot continue to lurch from crisis to crisis, until the non-proliferation regime is buried beneath a cascade of nuclear proliferation.

The 2005 World Summit’s other great failure, the Secretary-General said, was that it did not agree on enlargement of the Security Council. “Do not underestimate the slow erosion of the UN’s authority and legitimacy that stems from the perception that it has a very narrow power-base, with just five countries calling the shots,” he said.  (See Press Release SG/SM/10332.)

He returned to New York on Wednesday, 1 February.