United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-09-23

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

FROM THE PRESS CONFERENCE

BY KOFI ANNAN

SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, September 23, 2002

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL'S OPENING REMARKS

"Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I think most of you know that one of my chief aims, ever since I took over Secretary-General, has been to make the United Nations more useful to its member states and to the peoples of the world by making it more efficient and effective. And I always say that, in order to do that, we must be prepared to change with the times constantly adjusting to new conditions and new needs.

That was the object of my Reform Report that I introduced in my first year, and subsequent initiatives and it is the object of the new Report, which I am publishing today.

The object is not to reduce the budget, or to respond to any pressures or conditions imposed from outside. It is my own initiative, and I am taking it because like the Heads of State and Government who adopted the Millennium Declaration two years ago I intend to spare no effort to make the United Nations a more effective instrument for pursuing the priorities that Member States have set.

This new set of changes will build on the improvements weve already achieved. The UN has changed a lot in the last five years. But the world continues to change, and we must change with it.

What I am putting before you today is a package of very pragmatic improvements. Taken individually they may not strike you as very dramatic. But taken together, they amount to a very different way of doing business. If all of them are successfully implemented, we may really begin to feel that this Organization is up to the job that the world has given it.

Let me mention just a few of the proposals I am making:

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First, a thorough review of our programme of work to make sure we are doing what matters, and not wasting time or money on out-of-date or irrelevant tasks.

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Second, more detailed proposals for improving our performance in the areas of human rights and public information. In particular, our network of UN information centres is going to be reorganized around regional hubs, starting with western Europe.

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Third, a reduction in the number of meetings, and of reports that the Secretariat has to produce. I think we can help the General Assembly and the other decision-making bodies do a much better job if we concentrate our efforts in fewer reports and meetings, and avoid duplication.

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Fourth, some important changes in our budget and planning system. At the moment we have three different processes, covering different time scales, and there are three different oversight and review mechanisms. This is unnecessarily complex and labour-intensive.

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Fifth, I am proposing a review aimed at finding better ways to organize relations between the United Nations and civil society, in all its aspects. For this I shall appoint an independent panel, composed of people from different backgrounds governments, NGOs, research institutions, parliaments, and so on as well as from different regions of the world.

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And finally there are proposals aimed at making life better and more rewarding for our staff, as well as further improving their quality and performance notably by making it easier for them to move, between locations, between functions, and indeed between organizations.

Let me stress that this is an agenda for change. It will take time to implement. And while I can and will make some of the changes on my own authority, there are many that require the approval of the General Assembly. The whole package will only work if it is enthusiastically supported by the staff, by governments, and by the general public.

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Thats why I am anxious to come and present it to you in person and why I shall now be very happy to answer your questions."

SUMMARY OF RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS FROM MEDIA On UN reform Asked about the problems facing the United Nations, and whether the United Nations may go the way of the League of Nations, the Secretary-General said the reform report used straightforward language about the problems the United Nations faces, but said it was overstated to claim that the United Nations could go the way of the League of Nations, saying, We are nowhere near that.

Asked how the United Nations can be dominated by one country that prevails over the will of other countries, he said that the UN system is reasonably democratic. If one country gets its way in the Security Council, it means that other countries have agreed with it. A veto can block a decision, but cannot make a decision, he said. He said, in response to another question, that his report also mentioned the need for reform in the Security Council, since UN reform would not be complete without Security Council reform. He called his approach an exhortation for Member States to move ahead on the question of Council reform.

Asked what the rationalization of the UN Information Centres would entail, the Secretary-General said that the plan would be designed to determine how to restructure UN offices into several hubs, starting with Western Europe. Regrouping small offices, and building a critical mass, is the direction in which the United Nations would go, he said. Asked about whether more documents would be in French, he said the United Nations has a duty to put out documents in the two working languages, and would do its best to do so.

Asked about the print on demand plan to reduce the number and length of printed documents, the Secretary-General said that the United Nations was trying to take full advantage of new technology to put documents out on the Internet, and make them available on paper as needed.

Asked about the idea of holding fewer conferences, he said UN conferences had really made a difference, not just for the United Nations, but for peoples around the world. The call for fewer conferences, he said, is intended to improve matters, so that, instead of conferences that are contentious and settle on the lowest common denominator, the meetings are focused on specific results, as happened during the Millennium Summit.

On Iraq Asked whether Iraq has communicated any change in its policy on weapons inspections, the Secretary-General said the only communication he had received was the letter from September 16. He added that the UN system would be guided by the actions of the Security Council, and Iraq should be, as well.

Asked about what the Iraqi letter means in terms of unfettered access for UN inspectors, the Secretary-General said that the United Nations advised the Iraqis not to hedge its acceptance of the inspectors. As far as I see it, its a commitment by Iraq for the inspectors to go in and inspect and get their work done in an unimpeded manner, and report to the Council.

He noted the Security Council is in the process of discussing a new resolution under Chapter VII, which, if passed, would guide the work of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and require Iraqs compliance.

Asked whether his 1998 memorandum with Iraq on inspections had been discussed with Iraq last week, he said it had not come up.

Asked about whether his work with Iraq had created tensions with the United States, he said that they realize that they have their role and I have my role, and he added that he was not bothered by recent media reports. He said the relationship with the United States was good.

On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Asked about any Iraqi attack on Israel and any possible retaliation, he declined to speculate on such hypothetical events. But he noted, in response to a question on double standards regarding Israels actions, that the issue continually arises when dealing with the Middle East, and he expressed the hope to resolve the situation in the Middle East for once and for all.

On pre-emptive strikes Asked about U.S. President George W. Bushs doctrine on pre-emptive strikes and whether it violated the UN Charter, the Secretary-General said that, on broader peace and security issues, the Security Council will have to pronounce itself. He noted his recent address to the General Assembly, he had dealt with the question of unilateral action. Asked about whether he was cautioning the Bush administration not to set a precedent for pre-emptive strike, he said the administration has enormous capacity for analysis, and would explore such aspects before taking any decisions.

On the Francophonie Summit Asked whether he would attend the Francophonie Summit, the Secretary-General said he would be unable to do so because of other commitments, but added that Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette would go.

ANNAN ADDRESSES SECURITY COUNCIL DEBATE ON MIDDLE EAST

Prior to the press conference, the Secretary-General this morning addressed the Security Council, as it held a formal meeting, following a request from the Arab Group, on the Middle East, including the question of Palestine.

He said that, less than a week ago, the Quartet dealing with the Middle East had agreed on the need for a process driven both by performance and by hope. Without hope, there will be no performance, he said. But the events of the past few days, he warned, represent a tragic step in the opposite direction."

Last week, a bomb exploded in a Palestinian school and two new suicide attacks were perpetrated against Israeli civilians, acts which the Secretary-General called morally repugnant.

He urged all Palestinians to renounce terror, and also warned that any further destruction of the Palestinian Authority will only set back Palestinian reforms and hamper, and even undermine, efforts to meet humanitarian needs. Further misery is hardly a basis for progress, whether political, security or economic, he said.

The Secretary-General underscored the systematic grinding down of the Palestinian Authoritys headquarters in Ramallah, in which 10 Palestinian civilians have been killed, and the mass protests in Palestinian cities against it.

Today, he noted, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Terje Roed Larsen met with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, and was meeting in Ramallah with Abu Mazen, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The Secretary-General warned that any policy built on forcing the other side to capitulate is not working, and will never work, and added that a policy of concentrating on security first had failed, since there will be no lasting security without a political settlement. The Palestinians, he added, need to recognize that there will be no political settlement without security for Israel.

The Councils open debate is expected to go into the afternoon, with 34 speakers inscribed at the time the meeting began. At 3:00 p.m., the Council will also hold consultations to consider a draft resolution, submitted by Syria, on the Middle East, after which it likely would resume its formal meeting.

Also today, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast delivered a message on behalf of the Secretary-General to the UN Conference of Civil Society in support of the Palestinian People.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

In his latest report on the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission, the Secretary-General says that the situation along the Iraq-Kuwait border remains generally quiet, but added that the Mission is "operating in an uncertain environment, due to the political and military developments in the region." He recommended that the Mission be maintained.

The UN Mission in Afghanistan said Sunday that the UN Human Settlement Programme, or Habitat, has begun work to reconstruct some 3,000 houses in the Shomali area to benefit some 21,000 people.

Last Friday, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia unsealed its indictment against former Croatian chief of staff Janko Bobetko, charging him with crimes against humanity and war crimes during operations in the Medak Pocket in 1993.

Nane Annan, the Secretary-General's wife, attended and spoke briefly at an International Day of Peace event today with students from local schools, as well as those linked in by satellite from peacekeeping missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kosovo and Sierra Leone.

The 26th session of the Pan American Sanitary Conference, the policy setting governing body of the Pan American Health Organization, meets in Washington D.C. today at the start of a weeklong session. The body meets once every four years to set health policies and this year the main items include AIDS, health and ageing, management of childhood illness and womens health and development.

The Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO) four-day high-level Consultation on Agricultural Information Management began today in Rome. The consultation is designed to improve the capacity of decision-makers, professionals and the public to use and access agricultural information.

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All other inquiries to be addressed to (212) 963-4475 or by e-mail to: inquiries@un.org

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