Secretary-General's Press Encounter Following Security Council Meeting on Sudan

Secretary-General's Press Encounter Following Security Council Meeting on Sudan
Nairobi, Kenya, 18 November 2004

SG: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.

It is good to be in Nairobi, and I think significant that the Security Council decided to meet here on this continent where there are so many conflicts that we are trying to settle.

I hope this sends the message of solidarity, the determination of the international community to work with the African leaders and peacemakers to resolve conflicts on this continent.

On Sudan in particular, I was very pleased by what I heard from Vice President Ali Taha and Dr. John Garang.

They both gave us the assurance that they are going to do everything possible to try and conclude the agreement by end of December.

We believe such an agreement will have a very positive effect on other crises within that country, because it's a question of governance, and the governance issues, and the issues that are confronting Sudan in Darfur, have already been agreed to in the Naivasha peace process and can be a basis for resolving similar conflicts in other regions, so that is very encouraging.

On Somalia, I am also encouraged, since we are in this region, by the recent development where they came together, set up a parliament, named the President and the Prime Minister and are determined to go back home and rebuild their nation.

Obviously they are going to lots of help. Lots of help from the international community, from their neighbours, but in the final analysis, it is only the Somalis themselves who can make this, the others are just helping them to get along as they try to stabilize their country and live in peace.

Finally I was very pleased this afternoon, to be able to receive the Protocol, the Kyoto Protocol, from the Russian Ambassador.

I think he sent the message that in ninety days time, the Protocol will go into force and that those who are already fighting greenhouse emissions should be encouraged by this act, and even those who have not joined I hope would pay attention to the environment and act as if they are part of the Protocol or they have already signed it.

I will take your questions.

Q: Mr. Secretary General, Vice President Taha contradicted you about the violation. He said the records show through observers that the violations are not by the government.

My second question is, do you believe that the approach of the carrot without the stick will bring results?

SG: I think in these kinds of situations we always need hope. We need the carrot and the stick. If you can do it with carrot all the better.

Q: Well you don't have a stick.

SG: Well it has not emerged yet, but I will not say that one will not use a stick sometime.

You need a combination. How you define the stick is something that… I hope we don't get there because they will honour their commitment, but if it becomes necessary, the international community will have to live up to its obligations.

Q: About the violations….

SG: About the violations, let me say that we believe that both parties have an obligation to honour the ceasefire agreement.

Neither party has the right to break the agreement, and neither party should assume that the international community is being harder on the other and therefore they need not do anything, just sit back and wait for the international community to deliver for them.

Both the rebel groups and the government have undertaken responsibilities which they have to honour.

Q: Mr. Kofi Annan, you are the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

SG: I think so. [Laughter]

Q: Do you agree with me that there was not a single woman in the Security Council? Is there no way you can use your power, at least to amend the act so that you have a woman even though we know there is proportional representation, they go by the countries, is there no way we can have a woman in the Security Council in the event that we do not have countries that have ambassadors who are willing?

SG: I think it is a very good question and is something that I would want to see. I would want to see a woman or women in the Council, and we have had women in the Council when the countries have sent women ambassadors to the United Nations. And I think that is something else you can do: encourage your governments to send as many women ambassadors as possible. We've had some outstanding and fabulous ones, and I think next year we may have a woman on the Council.

Q: Thank you very much. At the end of your speech this morning, you said that while it was good that the Council worked through African organizations, they should remember that peace and security remains their primary responsibility. Can we understand that in any way as a kind of a rebuke that the international community has fobbed off a crisis of international proportions onto the African Union without taking its own responsibilities seriously?

SG: I think my statement was very clear. The African Union is doing its best and it is also clear that the African Union needs lots of support from the international community financially, logistically and otherwise. Without our support, it is not likely to succeed, and I think it is important that we support them to succeed.

In the event that additional effort is needed, and they are not able to offer that, I think the Security Council has the responsibility as the guarantor of peace to the international community, and this is what I mean. And we have seen it in other situations, where regional organizations have gone in and done reasonably well, but in the end the Council has had to go in, and that is a reminder and that we cannot take this as end of the road, we really need to sustain the effort and to help.

Q: Secretary-General, given that there have been so many promises, and the peace talks have been ongoing, do you have any guarantees about this Memorandum of Understanding, that the December 31st date will be respected, and what can the UN do if they don't?

SG: You mean on Darfur or on Naivasha?

Q: The memorandum from Naivasha.

SG: Yes, well I think the Council came here to deliver a message, and I hope the parties heard the message loud and clear. They have given an indication that they are going to try and conclude the discussions and the peace negotiations by end of December.

It is not too far off, but we are all watching. If the question is: 'if that were to fail what would the Council do?' let me say that we will have to jump that bridge when we get there, but the Council is determined to persevere, is actively seized of this matter, and my advice to the parties is to really honour this obligation, not just for the sake of the Council but their own people and for their country.

The people have suffered for far too long not to be a given probably a New Year present of peace.

Q: What makes you confident that the draft resolution on Darfur will have any more effect than former resolutions?

SG: I don't know how to answer that question. I think the message has gone out, and I have indicated that we need to try and put in the international presence, increase the African military force on the ground, and the police who will have to go in. I think once you have that, and the government cooperates, we should be able to calm the situation.

If that were to fail, it is something that the Council, as I said, will have to jump that bridge when the time comes, but I really hope that the parties are going to make an effort. We are all trying very hard to encourage them, we are trying very hard to support their efforts.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, aren't they moving too slow on Darfur? You said this yourself, there's been more violations of the ceasefire. It appears that the government is unwilling or unable to stop the atrocities that are going on there. I mean, at what point does your organization step and say enough is enough? What's needed is definitive action there to stop the crisis that seems to be getting worse.

SG: I don't think that it is as simple as that. What is definitive action? March in with a military force? Impose sanctions? A combination of measures? Some of these measures the Security Council has discussed, and obviously there is no total agreement on some of these issues, but at least they all agree that they should do everything to support the African forces to go in. They should give us the resources to maintain our humanitarian effort, and it has also been clear that the more international presence, the police, military and otherwise, that you have on the ground, the more peaceful the environment is, and in the situations where you have that presence, somehow it has dissuaded the kind of attacks we see, and this is why it is so urgent to get in the troops as quickly as possible. In fact, I just spoke to my representative this morning and he said he is beginning to see the difference already in areas where they are and have been active, so what we need is more of them and quickly.

Q: As you know, Secretary of State—still—Colin Powell has suggested that the reason the four countries on the Security Council are opposing sanctions or anything tougher than language, is because they have business interests in Sudan. What is your comment on the possibility that the Security Council failure to take a stronger stance [inaudible] is being held hostage to economic interests of these countries?

SG: The think the Council as a whole should always look at the broader interest, the broader interest of the wider international community, and I think their own national interest should not be the dominant issue because they are really working on behalf, sitting in the council on behalf, of all the other members of the organisation, and I think the people out there, the people in the world, are also looking to them, and when we do not, when we are not perceived as acting in the broader interest it is not good for the credibility of the Council.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, you said the Security Council was here to deliver a message, because to some ears the message is they are hoping for peace they are hoping for action in Darfur, but nothing will happen…..[inaudible].

SG: Well, the Security Council in a way today did talk about carrots. That if they were to make a peace agreement, they were to sign an agreement, there will be peace dividends for both sides, and given the misery that the people have lived through, hopefully this will induce them to move faster and make peace.

If that doesn't happen, the question then is what is at stake, which has come up in this discussion, and as I have indicated, it could be a range of actions that the Council will have to find a way of producing a real stake when it is needed.

Q: Isn't Vice President Ali Othman Taha one of organizers of the Janjaweed… [inaudible]…

Well, I can't comment on the first part of your question, but let me say he did indicate that it is not the government forces who are committing the atrocities, but the rebels are to a great extent responsible for that, but of course we reminded all of them that both sides have a responsibility to honour the ceasefire. I would hope that as we increase the African monitors and police and the protective force, we will be able to have the capacity to investigate and determine who did what, so that we don't get into this trouble question of its not me, its the other the person and of course once you have monitored, once you have identified the individual and verified, there has to be also consequences, and this is another hurdle we have to jump when we get there or should be part of our modus operandi.