HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE BY KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, 30 December, 2004
[This page will be updated daily until the briefing resumes on Tuesday, 4 January, 2005.]
OPENING REMARKS OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
SUMMARY OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Asked about the Core Group’s work, the Secretary-General said that the Core Group will support the UN effort, and he expected that the Group would grow, and would work with the UN and support its efforts.
“We’re going to make it a truly international effort,” he said, involving not just short-term aid but also longer-term recovery. The Secretary-General said he spoke to US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday and this morning.
The Core Group and the UN will deal together with issues such as logistics and the movement of assets to the region, he added, including the moving of assets to the region. The idea, he said, is to use Bangkok as a hub to move goods forward; other countries are also offering areas for the movement of goods.
Asked whether the aid effort is straining the United Nations, the Secretary-General said the UN is working with the Red Cross and Red Crescent and with Governments. But he conceded, “We’re going to be stretched,” in terms of manpower, resources, and commitments.
Asked whether he was satisfied by the assistance provided by wealthier nations, the Secretary-General said that, in this particular instance, the response has been very good. Governments have not only provided cash but also given in-kind contributions and assets, including the provision of planes in the region. “I am satisfied with the response so far,” he said, but added that “we need to be in this for the long haul.”
Asked about the magnitude of the crisis, the Secretary-General said that it was agreed that it was so huge that no one agency or country could handle it alone, and that they would have to pool their efforts over the long term.
Asked about the Italian Prime Minister’s call for a G-8 summit on dealing with the disaster, the Secretary-General said the United Nations would make a flash appeal to all Governments on 6 January, and there would be a second pledging conference on 11 January.
The appeal, he said, would not be limited to any group of countries. He said that half of the $500 million provided so far had come from the World Bank.
Asked about how much the UN flash appeal would cost, Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said the figure has not yet been calculated.
The total damage, Egeland said, is in “the billions and billions of dollars.” In response to another question, Egeland said that many of the contributors of funds were Islamic countries, and he also pointed to contributions from Eastern Europe, Latin America , the Middle East and Asia.
Asked where he stands on whether there should be a debt moratorium for the countries affected, the Secretary-General said that is an issue that he expects would be discussed over time.
Asked about his comments earlier this month that this has been a “horrible year,” the Secretary-General said he could not have expected the tragedy that has occurred.
He said that he has been on the line with world leaders on the response to the crisis ever since the disaster struck.
The Secretary-General said that the United Nations has an important role to play, and is going to play a lead role in dealing with the crisis, for which it will need contributions from major donors which will need to be sustained.
Asked why he waited three days to return to New York, the Secretary-General said he acted immediately, and did not have to be physically in New York to act. He came back when he did, the Secretary-General added, because he wanted to hold the meetings that took place today in New York.
Asked about the UN being used as a political football, the Secretary-General said that the United Nations is focusing on the huge task before it. He added that, as long as we focus on our work effectively and work with our partners and coordinate effort, any parties who are “determined to play football with us” can also join in the constructive work.
Asked whether the UN should have been in the lead role in pooling countries together, the Secretary-General said he applauded what the US Government and President Bush had done to bring countries together.
He said that the urgent need is assistance to the people: shelter, food, water, health. When we overwhelm them with high-profile visitors, he warned, we could detract from the work that is being done. “Visit the region, but at the right time,” he said.
Asked how the death toll is calculated, the Secretary-General said some of the information comes from the Governments and agencies on the ground. As the sea washes bodies back to the shore, “you find additional horrors,” he said. It’s quite possible, he said, that the figures being provided now may change, as has happened in other disasters. Jan Egeland said the UN was relying on local sources for reports on death tolls, and noted that are many fishing boats and coastal communities that we will never hear about.
Asked about the response to the earthquake in Bam, Iran , and disasters in Africa, where much of the money pledged has not materialized, the Secretary-General acknowledged that some of the money pledged for Iran was not disbursed, and he hoped that the international community would follow through on its commitments this time.
He noted that the tsunami affected African countries, with Somalia being one of the affected countries whose ambassadors met with him today.
Asked about next month’s conference on disaster reduction, the Secretary-General said the question of why there was no early-warning system in the Indian Ocean would be on the agenda. There needs to be early warning and planning to deal with disasters, as is in place in Japan.
He added that, at the moment, he does not plan to attend the conference.
Asked about early warning, he said that all agreed it could have mitigated the disaster and saved some people’s lives.
Asked about development funds, the Secretary-General said that he would want governments to respond to emergencies by making additional resources available, rather than taking those funds from resources for development.
He said he would want to see Governments respond to this crisis without depleting resources for development accounts. He noted that, to meet the Millennium Development Goals, we would need an additional $50 billion a year.
He added that the current situation is an opportunity for the developed world to work with developing countries, to ensure that, in the long run, these situations do not fester and people who have lost everything can rebuild their lives.
Asked about the tsunami’s effect on the war on terror, and whether donor money could go into “the wrong pockets,” the Secretary-General said there should be an effort to ensure that the money goes to those who actually need it. He said he did not think the response to the tsunami would detract from concerns about terrorism, which is not a problem that is going to go away soon.
Asked about comments that everything that can be done is not enough, the Secretary-General said that it is conceivable that one may not be able to fulfill every conceivable need of every community that has been destroyed. But we could not forgive ourselves for not even trying, since “our common humanity demands it”.
“If we fall short, we can be satisfied that we did everything possible,” the Secretary-General said.
Asked about the detailed logistical problems, Jan Egeland said the main problems are in northern Sumatraand Aceh in Indonesia.
He said that 50 trucks of relief supplies will have arrived in Aceh today; tomorrow, eight airplanes will arrive. He said he had spoken with the United States about provision of assets on their side to set up an air freight handling center in Aceh.
Aceh, he said, received the full blast of the disaster, since it was hit both by the initial earthquake and the subsequent tsunami. He said that there were some 40,000 people reported dead in the Acehnese town of Modoc.
Asked about the rise of diseases, Egeland said there were indications that diarrhea was on the rise, with the possibility that more children may day from diarrhea and malaria in the days to come than from the tsunami itself. As for cholera, he said that the international community was increasingly able to deal with that disease.
He noted, in response to another question, the appeal by the WHO for $130 million to deal with disease in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Egeland noted that, at an earlier press conference, he was not satisfied by the contributions coming from richer countries to deal with crises, saying that it is his job to be an advocate for the poorer countries. He said he would welcome a discussion of increased aid to developing countries.
Asked how many victims were children, Egeland said an estimated one-third of all casualties were children.
On Sudan
The Secretary-General said that, if an agreement is concluded and signed on Friday, it will have a positive impact on the country. He expected that the signing of the agreement could lead to a national conference and national dialogue. Some of the solutions that were found for a North-South agreement could affect the situation in Darfur and could affect a resolution of the Darfur crisis, he added.
On the Middle East
Asked whether Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi’s views do not reflect the Secretary-General’s, the Secretary-General voiced his respect for Brahimi’s work, and said that Brahimi has sometimes expressed his own views. The Secretary-General gave his position on Brahimi’s recent comments in a statement a few weeks ago, to which, he said, he has nothing to add.
U.N. AGENCIES CONTINUE TSUNAMI RELIEF EFFORTS
To address the immediate public health needs and respond to the , the (WHO) that it will need $40 million.
WHO has already dispatched to the region 33 Emergency Health Kits, which provide basic medicines and equipment to more than 330,000 people for three months.
The agency’s priority is to ensure that essential medicines, rehydration salts, intravenous fluids and other vital items are available wherever needed.
Meanwhile, the (WFP) has started food distributions to almost 500 families in the town of Hafun, on the northern coast of Somalia, using two trucks.
In the nearby town of Foar, an additional 100 families received food aid. WFP estimates that between 30,000 and 50,000 people were struck by the disaster and in need of immediate assistance in Somalia.
In Sri Lanka, WFP has distributed aid to 100,000 people. Food deliveries to Aceh, Indonesia, start on Friday.
The (UNEP) has $1 million to respond to immediate needs identified by the region’s governments.
UNEP is also mobilizing its remote sensing and Geographic Information System capacities, in collaboration with other UN agencies, to help identify and alleviate environmental impacts, and make relevant information available to relief efforts.
The priority of the (UNFPA) is to enable pregnant women to deliver safely. The Fund is providing hygiene kits – including soap, washcloths and sanitary napkins – for tens of thousands of women and their families. Other UNFPA priorities include emergency obstetric care and the establishment of temporary health facilities.
Meanwhile, the (UNESCO) is existing programmes that study and monitor tsunamis and earthquakes, and teaching people how to prepare for, and cope with, such disasters. UNESCO also plans to provide psychological support to traumatized children.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
U.N. PEACEKEEPER DEPLOYMENT IN HAITI ALMOST COMPLETE: The (MINUSTAH) that the authorized military force for the Mission is nearly complete, with 6,009 out of an expected 6,700 soldiers already deployed throughout the country. MINUSTAH says that the security situation in Haiti is progressing, referring to the in the troubled districts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, such as Cite Soleil and Bel Air. The Mission adds that although security remains one of its main tasks, civil activities, which are at the core of its mandate, have also been implemented throughout the country. MINUSTAH’s units on Electoral Assistance, Civil Affairs, Gender, Child Protection, HIV/AIDS and Human Rights are now fully operational and are working in close collaboration with Haitian organizations.
U.N. ENVOY CALLS FOR HALT TO AIR VIOLATIONS OF BLUE LINE: The Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for , Staffan de Mistura, noted with regret that Israeli aerial violations of the Blue Line continue to occur, with a large number of overflights witnessed on Wednesday. A total of 9 air violations, involving 20 jets were recorded. De Mistura’s office expressed its deep concern over the numerous Israeli air violations of the Blue Line, and reiterated the call on the Israeli authorities to halt these violations of the Blue Line. It reminded all parties that one violation cannot justify another.
AMMUNITION SURVEY BEGINS IN TWO AFGHAN CITIES: The said that an ammunition survey has begun in the Afghan cities of Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat. The Mission says that an extensive ammunition survey will take place throughout the country, to determine where current ammunition stockpiles exist and whether usable ammunition needs to be transported to a safe and secure area.
ANNAN SAYS CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC IS IMPROVING: The , in a to the , said that the general situation in the Central African Republic is gradually improving, in spite of well-known shortcomings in governance and human rights. He called upon the parties in the country to work to bring about a tranquil political environment by reaffirming their commitment to the process that will sanction the elections at the beginning of 2005.
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