TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL ASHA-ROSE MIGIRO

AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS, 11 JULY 2007

 

The Deputy Secretary-General:  Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  I am very pleased to see you once again.  I thank you very much for being here.  I have just returned from a trip to Vienna, Accra, Guinea-Bissau and Nairobi, and I thought I should share with you some of the highlights of my trip and have an interaction.

In Vienna, I participated in a public administration conference; I also had an opportunity to meet with the Austrian Government leaders, and visited the United Nations hub there.

In Accra, I participated in the summit of the African Union, where I addressed the Heads of State and Government.  I conveyed to them a number of key messages of particular importance to Africa and the United Nations, on regional integration, on development, on peace and security and on the need to strengthen the partnership between the African Union and the United Nations as we strive to reach our common objectives in Africa.

You will recall that the summit held a debate on the proposed union government of Africa.  I let the Heads of State and Government know that the United Nations is a long-standing supporter of regional integration in Africa, and I emphasized the United Nations’ readiness, as always, to collaborate with the African Union and subregional organizations in general to tackle the challenges facing the continent and to work with them in their bid to fully realize their potential.

On development, I appealed for urgent and more concerted action by Africans themselves, but also the broader international community, to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.  And coincidentally, the summit was taking place at a time when the United Nations released a report on the progress made so far, this time around being the midpoint to 2015.  As you may know, the report shows that, while important progress has been made in some areas in Africa and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa -- the report shows that sub-Saharan Africa generally lags behind the rest of the world in reaching the common development objectives.  And much more needs to be done, of course, if Africa is to halve extreme poverty, if Africa is to reduce maternal mortality, to address the question of infant mortality, but also to reverse the spread of HIV, to promote gender equality and other goals by the target date of 2015.

On peace and security, the focus of my discussion at the summit was on Sudan and Somalia.  We took that opportunity to commend the African Union [AU] for its efforts in both Darfur and Somalia.  It will be noted that the AU deployed its peacekeeping mission in Sudan and Somalia under very difficult circumstances.

I reaffirmed to the leaders the United Nations’ strong support for the AU’s peacekeeping and peacemaking efforts.  I emphasized the fact that there is a crucial need, both in Darfur and in Somalia, to advance the political processes so that durable solutions to these crises can be reached, and that indeed there is peace to be kept.  And we also emphasized the fact that, be it in Sudan, Somalia or elsewhere, the United Nations will continue to work closely with the African Union.

I assured the leaders there of the Secretary-General’s pledge to do everything possible to build on the partnership, which is already at an unprecedented level of cooperation.  And in turn, many leaders there expressed their appreciation for the Secretary-General’s efforts in regards to Africa since he took office six months ago, and they assured me that they know of his personal efforts.  They appreciated his endeavours to obtain the Government of Sudan’s acceptance for the hybrid operation.  They also expressed strong support for an enhanced United Nations role in the continent’s development efforts, including through a more coherent and effective United Nations operational presence, particularly at the country level.

Turning to my brief visit to Guinea-Bissau, which I held just before the summit, I had the opportunity to discuss with the Government and leaders there in Guinea-Bissau, and I saw first-hand the activities of the United Nations in the country.  Guinea-Bissau remains in a fragile post-conflict period.  In addition to its long-standing development challenges, Guinea-Bissau is now facing a growing problem of drug trafficking and organized crime.  You might be aware of this, because the Special Representative of the Secretary-General was briefing the Security Council yesterday.

The United Nations country team and the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office are supporting the Government of Guinea-Bissau in addressing some of the daunting challenges, but the fact remains that Guinea-Bissau, as well as other countries in the region that are coming out of conflict, need more and sustained support from the international community if they are to consolidate peace and address the socio-economic and other root causes of conflict.

While in Guinea-Bissau, I was particularly struck by a visit I paid to an HIV and AIDS counselling and treatment centre.  Like in many other countries in Africa, AIDS is having a devastating impact on the lives and economies of communities in Guinea-Bissau.  Therefore, fighting the spread of HIV cannot be achieved without the sustained involvement of all sections of society, including the health-care community, Government, NGOs [non-governmental organizations], the media, schools and those living with HIV.  And I saw in Guinea-Bissau that there is a lot of effort that is made, particularly by NGOs, and this is very significant in a country which is challenged with institutional capacity.  It was very gratifying to note that the civil society [and] the NGOs were taking it as their responsibility as well to address the issue of HIV and AIDS.

The observations that I made in Guinea-Bissau and what I saw I took with me to a conference with women leaders in Nairobi, where I highlighted the United Nations central role in fighting the alarming spread of HIV, particularly among women and girls.  I stressed the need to tackle the drivers of the spread of the disease, especially the whole issue of gender inequality, which brings us these complications in the spread of HIV.  And I emphasized that we must all work together to promote women’s empowerment as a way to fight HIV and AIDS.  And this, of course, implies that men need to take responsibility as well.  I went back to an old slogan or saying which says that men are agents of change.  This is a slogan that was very much common in that part of Africa, so I reminded that men also have a critical role to play.

Maybe to finish this brief report to you, let me just say that the issues I focused on during my travels are real-life examples of what will be a large part of my duty and efforts as Deputy Secretary-General.  For instance, through my work with the Secretary-General’s MDG [Millennium Development Goal] Steering Group, our efforts to have the United Nations deliver as one, I hope this also will help address some of the challenges that I saw there.  And I will continue to work on other development issues, gender and, generally, cross-cutting issues.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.  I will be happy to have a short interaction with you.

Question:  Thank you, Madam Deputy Secretary-General, for coming here and giving us this briefing.

You did emphasize the message you passed on to the African leaders and the message they passed on to the United Nations -- namely, the strong desire to strengthen the partnership between the Organization and the continent and also to strengthen the role of the United Nations in Africa.  Could you tell us, in some precise terms, how that partnership is being strengthened in terms of, first, programmes at the United Nations for Africa, and, second, the recruitment of African personnel?

The Deputy Secretary-General:  The recruitment of African personnel for United Nations jobs?

Programmes are being strengthened or worked on together through, first and foremost, our United Nations country teams.  For Africa, the presence of the United Nations in the field is important, and the question is how to bring the national priorities to conform with what the United Nations is doing in the field.  This is happening in a number of countries, but the pilot scheme that we have right now has opened a clearer mechanism of bringing this together.  We discussed with some of the leaders what is happening in the pilot countries -- the efforts at coordination -- and this attracted a lot of interest.  In those countries where the pilot scheme has not started, they have realized that, because of the capacity of Governments, it is absolutely important that they deal as one.  They would like to deal with the United Nations as a system.  They do not feel that they have the capacity to deal, say, today with UNFPA, tomorrow with ILO, so they want to do that.  But, because of the scarcity of resources as well, and because of donor dependency, it is important that they have this strategic planning together, so that donors can also know that what they are supporting is something which is of priority to Government and which will have impact on the development agenda.  So, this is how the partnership can also be strengthened.

On the question of recruitment of personnel for United Nations jobs, there are some leaders -- a few -- who observed that they would like to see Africans playing a more important role, or even participating; and this could be in various ways.  It is not only in posts, as such, but they would also like, say, to be in peacekeeping.  They would like to see this, as well as capacity-building, but also as a contribution, and using this peacekeeping as a motivation for their own countries.  This also came up, and it is something that we are doing together and will continue together.

Question:  Thanks for coming.  I’ll ask two questions.  One is the African Union, and one is about the United Nations.

There is a story the last few days that the AU peacekeepers in Darfur are not being paid somehow, that there is some blockage with the funds.  I don’t know if this came up at the summit, or if you have an insight into that.

The other question is that we are told there is some consideration of the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa maybe being merged into another Office or no longer continuing as an Office.  What would be the future of that Office -- or what used to be Legwaila Joseph Legwaila’s Office?  What is going to happen with that Office?

The Deputy Secretary-General:  Concerns about the payment of the African peacekeepers in Darfur:  for our part, it is important that there is accountability of the monies that are being given.  Any person who supports -- any person who gives money -- would like to see that it is used for the purpose and that it is accountable.  On the part of the United Nations, the hybrid scheme that we have proposed intends to look into, among other things, issues of oversight, command and control in accordance with United Nations structures and procedures, and a problem like this will be dealt with in this regard.  But the very fact that we are talking of hybrid means also we will bring standards that are acceptable for purposes of funding, or even controlling or commanding, our peace operations.

On the OSA [Office of the Special Adviser for Africa], the Secretary-General recently appointed a High Representative for LDCs [Least Developed Countries], LLDCs [Landlocked Developing Countries].  The Secretary-General places a lot of importance [on] the African development agenda, and in this regard he has also designated this Office as responsible for economic and social issues on Africa -- although, of course, this Office deals with LDCs generally, some of which are not in Africa.  It deals with landlocked developing countries, some of which are not in Africa.  But, of course, the fact remains that, out of the -- how many? -- 54 LDCs, two thirds are from Africa.  So that also gives a lot of force to the agenda of development in as far as Africa is concerned.

But the Secretary-General also intends to consolidate and realign activities of the Office of the Special Adviser.  So it has not been really clear what will come out of this, but the intention of the Secretary-General is to deal with the substantive issues that relate to Africa, including political, economic and social, and this will continue to have a lot of emphasis -- within the LDCs, of course, but also generally within the Secretariat, through the Department of Political Affairs and the Office of the DSG as well, and other efforts that the Secretary-General is making, for instance with the MDG Steering Group.  So, the substantive part will continue to be on top of the Secretary-General’s agenda.

Question:  Thanks for coming today.  On Darfur, you mentioned a little bit about your discussions.  But it would be good to know a little bit more about the detail of what was said by some of the other leaders who you were meeting there, about getting something finally done about Darfur.  Did you consider going to Darfur on this Africa trip, and why didn’t you go if you were considering going at such a critical time, with that conflict still raging?

The Deputy Secretary-General:  Yes, the leaders that I had a chance to talk to really were concerned about Darfur, and they also expressed their gratitude for what the United Nations is doing.  And they realize that the Darfur issue cannot be only a question confined to Africa, and that each country, and the Africans themselves also, have to pay attention.  They were interested, of course, in the preparations for the heavy support package, which will form the basis then for the hybrid set-up.  So they are considering the whole question of troops, but they would like to know what support they would get.  Some countries are ready to contribute troops, but they do not have the logistical capability.  You know, apart from, say, having troops, there is the question of their upkeep and so on.  So these are some of the discussions that arose.

I didn’t get the opportunity to travel to Darfur this time.  But it’s an area that is worth visiting, to see exactly what is on the ground.  It could be the Secretary-General, it could be the DSG.  But we know also Member States are interested, and they have made a trip there through the Security Council.  But it’s an important region in as far as peace and security issues are concerned.  And we will continue to play close attention to that.

Question:  But did you consider going there on this particular trip?

The Deputy Secretary-General:  Not on this particular trip.  I had limited time.  I already was coming from Vienna, then went to Guinea-Bissau and to Accra, and then I had this meeting in Nairobi.  So on this particular leg of my trip, I had no plans of visiting there.

Question:  Madam Deputy Secretary-General, I just wanted to draw your attention -- I hope you will have some sort of [inaudible] on Somalia.

After 18 US marines were killed in Somalia, the United Nations and the United States disengaged themselves from Somalia completely.  And, as a consequence, the country has gone into chaos.  And every now and then, it emerges as a crisis -- and then we pay attention to it.  There has been no effort made, somehow, to bring about a political solution to Somalia.  And now again it has come back:  there are groups and groups killing each other.  Do you think that, at any point in time, the United Nations could get involved to get those groups together and bring about some peace in that region?  Because, at this point in time, every country in the world gets involved and then chaos remains there.

The Deputy Secretary-General:  So what was the question?

Question:  The question is, has the United Nations ever pondered or thought about any holistic solution to the Somalian problem?

The Deputy Secretary-General:  The United Nations considers the Somalia case critical, in the same way that you have put it:  that it has been in this situation for a long time.  But it is not something that should be left to continue and the United Nations will do all it can to address the Somalia issue.  The Secretary-General did dispatch the USG [Under-Secretary-General] for Political Affairs to get to the region and to confer, also, with the other countries around the region to see what should be done in Somalia.  The consensus is that, much as we might wish to look at the peace and security issues, the crucial part is the political process.  Because it is the political process that will bring the parties together.  And this is something that we all have to support.  We have the Special Representative of the Secretary-General there.  He has been looking at what else the United Nations should do, apart from working with the AU, but also the possibility of working with other regional bodies.  I personally, when I was in Nairobi, [had] occasion to discuss with Government officials there on their involvement in Somalia through the IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development], which is a regional organization there.  But other countries also are taking part in what they call the International Contact Group on Somalia.

So what the United Nations will do:  it will explore all these efforts to see how they can be consolidated, and also to push the political process, which is very, very crucial.  There is the TFG -- the Transitional Federal Government -- which is internationally recognized.  But it needs to be supported as well.  Because of the nature of the country, it is not in a position to address the problem just on its own.  And as we said, the United Nations will also work with the AU, because the AU also is looking into the possibility of supporting the TFG.  But, as I say, because of the nature of the problem, the country has been sort of in this situation for too long -- I think 20 years or so.  And the solution cannot be quick.  But the urgency of the matter is there, that they should not be left to deteriorate further, if you can talk about further deterioration other than what is happening now.  But the TFG has to be supported.  And the TFG itself also has to be inclusive in looking for a political solution in the country.

Question:  I have a couple of questions.  I want to start with a follow-up on the Office of the Special Adviser.  I don’t know what the Secretary-General -- and yourself -- is going to do, but there is increasing concern among Africans that that Office has been eradicated.  Diplomats are very worried that the General Assembly mandate created the Office.  And it would seem that, by now, lobbing it under the LDC is a clear eradication, which might actually affect the focus on developmental issues that that Office was specifically created to attempt.  So my concern is, are you concerned, as an African, that this is a clear eradication of that Office?  And if you are concerned with Mr. Ban, what are you going to do to [inaudible]?  That is number one.

Number two, I’d like to know what are your own views on the reform of the Security Council.  Do you think that it is time to have African countries represented as a permanent member on the Security Council?  I never had a chance to ask a tough question.  I wonder, what do you think about the United States of Africa, personally?

The Deputy Secretary-General:  As an African, I am really concerned about the development agenda and how the United Nations is addressing this agenda.

I can’t say that I’m Deputy Secretary-General for Africa, but coming from Africa I cannot close my eyes to the development challenges -- and coming from Tanzania, one of the poorest countries of the world.  So this is something that we will give a lot of attention to:  the substantive agenda -- what are we doing about the MDGs, which are a common vision for development in Africa?  The Secretary-General, in his first trip as Secretary-General to Africa, to the summit there, he made it absolutely clear that Africa’s development will be on top of his agenda, and this is what he’s doing.  Some of the steps that he has taken -- for instance, the MDG Steering Group, which I have mentioned and which he will chair -- is a show of commitment.  But the MDGs also are part of the portfolio of the DSG, who happens to come from Africa, so there is a lot of importance that is given there.

Whether this Office is going to be dealt with in whatever way, the Secretary-General will definitely not lose sight of the fact that this is a GA-mandated thing.  And in case he has any ideas, I would say that he seeks to consolidate and to realign the functions.  So, if there’s any step that he will have to take, then I’m sure he will consult with the GA.

On the Security Council, there have been, of course, discussions and propositions as to what the Council should look like.  Africans have tried to have their position there, you know very well, within the AU.  I’m not sure whether that still stands, because there were consultations, but the issue is to make the Security Council a tool that can serve the membership, that can address the challenges of the time.  And this, I think, is the idea behind looking into the possibility of having it reformed.  But you know very well that the reform of the Security Council lies with the Member States, and at this point in time the President of the General Assembly has, I think, created a mechanism whereby opinions will be put together and then the Member States will decide.

The United States of Africa?  This is a dream, it is a long-term dream of the Africans themselves, starting with Kwame Nkrumah, Gamel Abdel Nasser and many more -- all this thought of the United States of Africa.  A lot has happened; there has been transformation from the Organization of African Unity to the African Union, modelled almost on the EU, with commissions addressing different areas.  This is a step forward, and the United Nations will be there with Africa, will work along with them to support their integration bid, to support their bid to act as one in addressing the various challenges.  This is what I can say.

Question:  I have a follow-up on the issue of the Security Council expansion, Madam Deputy Secretary-General.  Africa has not been -- has been denied these positions in the Security Council as an active member, because the fact that it is the biggest continent but has no seat on the Security Council -- a permanent seat.  [Inaudible] any point in time [inaudible] the United States, which is the most powerful member, which the United States does not support anybody other than Japan for additional Security Council seats.  So without support of the most powerful country and the most powerful nation at the United Nations, how do you expect Africa to get the seat?

The Deputy Secretary-General:  The discussions are ongoing and I think the Member States, including African Member States, will understand the dynamics of discussions and the need to come to this or that position.  The fact that there is consultation shows that there is goodwill; people want to address this problem.  How it will turn out will depend on how the discussions go, how the trade-offs go, but there is consensus that there is a need to reform the Security Council, so that it can serve better the Member States and it can deal with the issues that go there on the basis of the Charter itself -- equality of nations.  And this will be part of the discussion, definitely.

Question:  I would like to especially welcome you on behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA), of which I’m Treasurer.  And thank you for your briefing and your interaction here today.

I’d like to speak to some of your impressions, if I may, of Guinea-Bissau.  It seems to me as a journalist-layman, certainly not a physician, [that] the most crying need in the AIDS epidemic there is twofold:  first, lack of medical facilities and, then, lack of medication.  Is there any particular campaign to set up local clinics and things like that?  Is there any US Peace Corps presence, for example, which sometimes builds clinics of this kind, and is anyone seeking cooperation, say, from the pharmaceutical firms in the developed countries to donate large amounts of pharmaceuticals, so that these people will have some chance of having access to what they call these “cocktails”, which maintain HIV-positive persons in the developed industrialized countries, so that they can have, if not a cure, at least a living maintenance?

The Deputy Secretary-General:  Guinea-Bissau has just gotten out of conflict, and the Government there is just in its formation.  And even institutions of Government are not in place, so you can imagine, if institutions of Government are not in place, what happens with social services.  Medical services are really -- I shouldn’t say absent, because there is a hospital that I saw there -- but they’re inadequate.

Just for general diseases, or even if an accident happens, then it’s a serious problem, or just an ordinary disease, let alone HIV -- or I should talk of AIDS -- let alone AIDS, which is long-term.  So, they are challenged in many ways.  They do not even have enough medical houses, if you like, not to talk of medication and concoctions.  Did you say “concoctions”?

Question:  Cocktails; [inaudible].

The Deputy Secretary-General:  Cocktails, sorry.  Cocktails of drugs.  So one cannot talk even about this in Guinea-Bissau, the way I saw it and the information that I got.  So there is need, really, to highlight the situation of Guinea-Bissau.  It is different, for instance, from countries like the DRC [ Democratic Republic of the Congo] or Rwanda or Burundi when they emerged out of conflict, because there was at least some structure of Government which can give you the space to address the various problems.

So it is serious, but the point that you are making about pharmaceuticals acting together, I think, is one option.  And maybe even the NGO organizations there can have a look at it, because they are the first who have come to the support of the people there in the grass roots.  But I think all-round support is needed for Guinea-Bissau in many ways.  Social services is one of them, including health and education, but as I hinted before and as the SRSG [Special Representative of the Secretary-General] reported yesterday at the Security Council, the question of drugs and organized crime:  this is really destabilizing and probably it’s taking away the attention that would have otherwise been paid to social services.  It’s a huge…

Question:  If I may just follow up, does WHO [World Health Organization], for example, have any special programme for the medical needs of countries like this, emerging from long-term conflict?

The Deputy Secretary-General:  Oh yes, they do.  We have a United Nations country team there.  We have the WHO, the ILO [International Labour Organization], you have the UNDP [United Nations Development Programme] -- all of these -- and they are working as a team.  And this is one country where we see this attempt to deliver as one because of the huge challenges.  The challenges are such that the United Nations will not be able to address this if they don’t work in concert.  And this is what they are doing.

Question:  Working on issues such as HIV/AIDS in Guinea-Bissau, do you expect any transfer of knowledge, cooperation or collaboration from Brazilian President Lula, or any NGOs for that matter, that would benefit Guinea-Bissau, I guess, in the future, rather than immediately?

The Deputy Secretary-General:  That will be beneficial.  In our interaction with the NGOs, they really wanted the United Nations to highlight; to advocate for Guinea-Bissau.  And there was a feeling that not many countries had looked into the possibility of working together with Government there.  Of course, on the other hand, the question is:  If there was no stability, then what is the entry point?  And the United Nations team there is laying the ground for this.

First of all, they’re there on the ground.  They show there is need, but they’re also ready to show the willingness of Government and the willingness of the people themselves to engage with the international community.  So there is an opportunity of working together with Guinea-Bissau.  And I do believe that the Secretary-General, having submitted this report to the Security Council, will continue to explore what else should be done on Guinea-Bissau.

And looking at the press statement that was given by the Security Council, you can see that there is an appeal that is made.  Apart from the previous observations or condemnations the Security Council, this time the Security Council is saying there is need, really, to take action.  And the international community is invited to do that.  Maybe more will happen as the reports of the Secretary-General continue coming to the Security Council, but it is a country that needs a lot of attention, maybe more than countries which emerged from conflict earlier on.

Question:  Madam Deputy Secretary-General, I would like to ask you a question of a different nature.  I have been here for four decades -- on the staff of the United Nations for 30 years and as a journalist for 10 years.  During the last three decades under De Cuellar, Boutros-Ghali and Annan, the Secretary-General has always been present at the summit of the OAU, now the African Union.  And for the first time, we did not see that happen today -- I mean, at the AU summit, the recent one.  You represent Africa well and you represent very well the United Nations, and you know the African sensitivities.  And I know that some African Heads of State would have liked to see the Secretary-General, particularly in his first term.  Do you think that the Secretary-General is aware of the importance of his presence at AU summits?

The Deputy Secretary-General:  He is very much aware, and very early in his term he attended the AU summit in Addis.  That was in February, so he went already.  They are very, very pleased.  I know that.  They are very pleased, because even in their speeches they said how happy they were to receive the Secretary-General.  But they also used that opportunity to thank him for his appointment of an African woman to be in this position.

And in the AU meeting in Ghana, I was very happy to go in his place.  I was almost crossing my fingers that he doesn’t go, that I go.  And they are very, very happy.  But he knows that there is this importance, and that is why, having gone there in February, and having had other commitments this time, he asked me to go and represent him.  And they are all very happy.  They are all very happy.  And I was happy, too, that I could stand in his stead.

Question:  Just on a personal note, how are you finding the job?  You took over from a man who was quite active, Mr. Malloch Brown.  Also, what do you think the big challenges are that you want to tackle?  Malloch Brown was working hard on reform.  Is that something that you are picking up?  Maybe you can share some details about what you would like to see happen?

The Deputy Secretary-General:  I have reform as a part of the portfolio of this Office as well, and I intend to continue.  He did a good job.  He laid the foundation on which we are building right now, especially in the area of reform, but also in the area of management.  I know that he was very much interested in oversight and accountability, and we are working on this.  And this is an area that we think is not only important as part of the reform that was started by the previous leadership, but it’s also important for the United Nations, you know, to be more accountable to the Members.  Members would like to see a vibrant United Nations, but a United Nations which is also accountable to them and which is transparent.  So we will continue working on this.

But I find this work to be very interesting; very challenging, indeed, but very interesting, too.  We have a good team, an excellent team.  Here at the 38th floor we are working very well.  There are people who are really committed, who are skilled.  But also in my travels I got to meet with -- I call it the United Nations family -- who are working in very difficult, challenging conditions but yet, they are really committed to their work.  And this gives me a lot of inspiration, a long of encouragement to do what the United Nations has set out to do and the priorities of the Secretary-General.

Question:  I’m sorry to get back into the specifics.  It is very good to have you here.  There has been some either concern or criticism by NGOs like the International Crisis Group and Aegis Trust of there still not being a Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Sudan to replace Jan Pronk, it’s like eight months.  And I think, also, in Côte d’Ivoire.  My question really is, what is the thinking?  Where do the two processes stand on these two important countries, of actually getting a United Nations Special Representative there?

And then, finally, you might have a comment on it:  in Somalia, the TFG, which you mentioned, recently there was a Reuters report of a public execution carried out by the TFG in Mogadishu.  I asked, I think, in one of these noon briefings, but I would like to ask you, with the understanding that you may or may not have seen the Reuters report, if a United Nations-supported Government, like the TFG of Somalia, was conducting public executions, if there might be a comment by the Secretariat or yourself on that.

The Deputy Secretary-General:  About the Special Representatives, the Secretary-General is working with the AU to address the different issues that are there in the Sudan and in Côte d’Ivoire.  And the question of having a Representative, of course, is a question of need, and as he progresses, I believe he will come to a point to decide, depending on the need, because there is a lot also that is happening.  Efforts are there from all corners -- from the AU, from IGAD, from ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] in the case of Côte d’Ivoire – and, therefore, this will determine what type of strengthening mechanism he should have for these countries.

The TFG is an internationally recognized Government.  And of course, any acts that go against human rights, that are an affront to human dignity, will have to be dealt with, whether or not this is supported by the United Nations.  But this is an internationally recognized Government and, surely, if that happens, it will have to be made to account for this, because the United Nations will not tolerate it, and even the AU, where this country belongs, will not tolerate it because the AU also has a Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights -- and it’s not something that will have to be buried simply because it was done by a Government or by an individual.  You know, the standards of humanity are the same.

Moderator:  We would like to thank the Deputy Secretary-General and thank all of you.

The Deputy Secretary-General:  I would like to thank you very much, and I wish you a good afternoon.

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