TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY UN SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON AT PALAIS DES NATIONS IN GENEVA ON 11 MAY 2011

The Secretary-General: Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Bonjour mesdames et messieurs, bonjour, je suis très heureux de vous rencontrer ce matin.

I am pleased to be back in Geneva.

This is the last country on a three-country tour. If I may just explain to you about what I have been doing the last week.

In Bulgaria, I spoke at the University of Sofia and to the Sofia Platform.

The Sofia Platform was examining the challenges of transition in Eastern Europe and the lessons that may apply to events now in North Africa and the Arab world.

The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt represent one of the greatest opportunities
to advance democracy and human rights in a generation.

This opportunity is precious but at the same time fragile. It must be nurtured and carefully handled by the people who created it. I have emphasized that this is a once in a generation opportunity so we must assist them.

However, I am disturbed by the recent violence between Muslims and Copts in Egypt.

After the prolonged display of national unity that led to the peaceful transition of power, it is critical that the Egyptian people maintain that unity of purpose
to achieve their democratic aspirations.

I am confident that Egyptians will not let sectarian violence create an obstacle to further progress towards a more free, just and harmonious Egypt.

I am also closely following increased tension in Tunisia. I call on all parties to solve their differences through peaceful dialogue, and to rely on existing institutions that have been created by the transitional government.

The new authorities in Tunisia and Egypt must also honour the responsibility and trust they have been given.

People went on the streets to call for accountability, democracy, human rights and better prospects. The UN and the international community are ready to provide the necessary support, if requested.

Their leaders must work to meet these demands.

Elsewhere in the Arab world, people’s demands for greater freedom and fundamental political change have been met by repression and brutality.

On Libya, yesterday evening I spoke again to Prime Minister Al Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi.

I told him that the Libyan authorities must stop attacking civilians. I said there must be an immediate, verifiable ceasefire, negotiations towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict, and unimpeded access for humanitarian workers.

The Prime Minister agreed to receive my Special Envoy, Mr. Al-Khatib, and I have instructed him to travel to Tripoli as soon as possible.

I am disturbed by accounts of people fleeing the fighting losing their lives at sea.

I ask patrol vessels in the Mediterranean not to wait for distress signals to offer help. Any boat leaving Libya should be considered a boat in need of assistance and protection.

Turning to Syria, I again urge President Assad to heed the calls of the people for reform and freedom, and to desist from excessive force and mass arrest of peaceful demonstrators.

I am disappointed that our humanitarian assessment team has not yet been given
the access it needs -- and was promised by -- the Syrian authorities.

I again urge Syria to cooperate with the Human Rights Council-mandated mission and grant access to human rights monitors.

Let me turn now to the Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries, which opened on Monday in Istanbul.

I went to Istanbul with a clear message: investing in the Least Developed Countries is not charity, it is smart investment – for developed and developing countries – for emerging economies and for business.

This is the first major development conference of the decade. I urge governments to agree on a meaningful and practical Programme of Action that will help to reduce the number of countries on the LDC list.

Of all the world’s nations, the LDCs are the most vulnerable to disaster – whether man-made or natural.

But, as recent events in Japan have shown, and as the tornadoes and floods we are seeing in the United States also show, no country, no matter how wealthy, is immune.

We cannot eliminate disasters, but we can mitigate risk. We can reduce damage. And we can save more lives.

As populations grow and climate change takes hold we must ensure that risk reduction is central to our development planning. I was very encouraged yesterday when I attended this Risk Reduction Global Platform and count on all the leaders to work more for the preparedness for this risk reduction.

I will emphasize this theme as we look forward to the Rio +20 Conference on Sustainable Development next year.

I am also emphasizing that we re-evaluate nuclear risks and nuclear safety in response to the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

We must do all we can to strengthen the global nuclear safety regime and ensure maximum nuclear safety standards.

This requires in-depth analysis on design, construction, training, quality assurance systems and stringent regulatory mechanisms.

This exercise will also need a serious global debate on broader issues -- including assessment of the costs, risks and benefits of nuclear energy and stronger connections between nuclear safety, nuclear security and nuclear non-proliferation.

In this spirit, I proposed a five-point plan last month when I visited Chernobyl to mark the 25th anniversary of the disaster.

On 22nd September this year, I will convene a high-level meeting in New York at the General Assembly on nuclear safety and security. In order to facilitate this meeting, I will present my report on a UN system-wide study on the implications of the accident at Fukushima.

The study will also look at how the international community can better deal with the emerging nexus between natural disasters and nuclear safety.

The September meeting which I have just announced will build on next month’s IAEA Ministerial Conference in Vienna that will address measures needed to enhance nuclear safety in the wake of Fukushima.

I support the IAEA's initiative.

The high-level meeting in September will also provide a bridge to the second Nuclear Security Summit next year in Seoul, by addressing the link between nuclear security and nuclear safety.

This year marks the 15th year of the Moscow Declaration on Nuclear Safety and Security.

The Moscow summit took place in April 1996, on the tenth anniversary of Chernobyl.

Twenty-five years after Chernobyl and in the aftermath of Fukushima, I believe
it is high time to take a hard look at the issue of strengthening nuclear safety and security.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for your kind attention. I will now take your questions.

Question: As President of the Geneva Press Association, I would like to say we very much appreciate you being here and giving us a briefing. Secondly, I have a question. You called the killing of Osama Bin Laden full justice. That was a statement that was criticized by some, Human Rights Watch for example. How could you call the killing of Bin Laden full justice, when he was not even captured, put on the trial and convicted in accordance with international law? Thank you.

The Secretary-General: The crimes Osama Bin Laden and his affiliates have committed during the last 10 years or even more is well know and have been condemned repeatedly in the strongest possible terms in the name of humanity. You have seen all these crimes and it was only natural that the United Nations and the whole international community had been committed to fighting against international terrorism. The United Nations has taken by unanimous decision in 2006 the global counter terrorism strategy and the whole international community had been working together. We should also appreciate and understand that all this operation was conducted under extremely difficult, extremely dangerous situations, and that is why I expressed my relief that justice was done to this mastermind of crimes. That is what I said, and I understand that Human Rights Watch also clarified their position after having made their position on that. Thank you.

Question: Monsieur le Secrétaire général, je voudrais vous parler des résolutions 1973 et 1975, celles qui concernent la Libye et la Côte d'Ivoire. Dans ces deux cas, les résolutions ont essentiellement été votées pour protéger les civils, et nous avons assisté et nous assistons encore au fait que les populations civiles sont les principales victimes. Quelle est votre position là-dessus, et est-ce que ces résolutions n'ont pas essentiellement été votées pour enlever des chefs d'État qui dérangeaient ?

The Secretary-General: You raised very important questions which I really want to explain more in detail about any possible misunderstandings or misperceptions about the interpretation as well as the implementation of this UN Security Council resolution 1973 and 1975, both respectively in the case of the situation in Libya and in the case of Côte d’Ivoire. The Security Council of the United Nations has taken a bold and decisive and right decision so that peacekeepers of the United Nations, in dealing with this crisis, and also to the forces of coalition in case of Libya. Protecting human lives, and particularly civilian populations, has become the centre and of major importance in peacekeeping operations. And I think that is proper, that the UN peacekeepers are mandated as one of their responsibilities to protect civilian populations. That is exactly what we have been doing.

In case of Côte d’Ivoire, I am now telling you that the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Côte d’Ivoire have conducted their operations exactly within the limit, within the framework of 1975. As you may know, at the last stage of this crisis, the forces loyal to former President Gbagbo have attacked the United Nations Headquarters and they have attacked diplomatic missions, they have killed many civilian populations, and UN forces were mandated specifically to take the necessary action wherever, all the necessary means, to protect the civilian population, to prevent the Gbagbo forces from killing civilian population. That is what UN forces did by neutralizing this heavy weaponry assistance. They had been using all heavy weapons against UN peacekeepers and also civilian populations. That is what we did. In the course of arresting Gbagbo, it was the forces loyal to Ouattara, Ivorian soldiers, who arrested Gbagbo. I would like to make it quite clear again that United Nations forces have conducted exactly within the framework of Security Council resolution 1975.

In the case of Libya, against 1973 has given a mandate to the coalition forces to enforce no-fly zones and they have mandated even these military operations; in the course of military operations, I have emphasized to the NATO Secretary-General Mr. Rasmussen and also all other leaders participating in these coalition forces that protecting civilian populations should be ensured. And I believe and I was told that that they have been doing exactly within that mandate. Thank you very much.

Question: I would like to ask you about Syria. You seemed pessimistic about the humanitarian mission getting into the area where they are supposed to go. What do you anticipate will happen, and what sort of measures do you think the United Nations needs to take, must take, in order to stop the relentless attacks by the Government against the civilian forces? And then on Libya, do you think that the NATO forces are operating within the UN mandate, or are their attacks excessive? And, in another way, do you think that perhaps they ought to increase their attacks in order to try to oust Colonel Qadhafi.

The Secretary-General: On Syria, as you are already aware, I have spoken with President Assad several times, most recently about four or five days ago before I came here. There was an invitation and agreement from the Syrian Government to allow the United Nations’ humanitarian assessment teams as a result of my talk with President Assad. I am disappointed that the United Nations humanitarian assessment team has not been granted access yet to Deraa and other places. We continue to press the Syrian authorities to grant access for the United Nations to be able to do an independent and impartial assessment on the situation in Deraa and other cities affected by the recent violence and to plan a response, and necessary humanitarian assistance. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ms. Valerie Amos, has also issued a statement to this regard and I will continue to press and urge Syrian authorities to allow our humanitarian assessment teams so that they can exactly assess the situation so that the international community can take the necessary action to help those people affected and those people who are in need of such humanitarian assistance. On the political side, again I had been urging him to listen more attentively, carefully, and engage in inclusive dialogue with the people. Again, I urged him to take bold and decisive measures before it is too late, and I will continue to do that.

On your second question, I believe I have already answered, but I agree with your points or concerns raised by the international community that the civilian population should be protected. That is exactly what and why the Security Council has enforced a no-fly zone and has given a mandate to the coalition forces to take necessary military action to prevent Qadhafi forces to kill the civilian population. Yesterday when I talked to the Prime Minister, I urged him -that was again my third or fourth telephone call with him- to immediately stop violence. He even suggested that the Libyan Government was willing to have an immediate ceasefire, with the monitoring team to be established by the United Nations and African Union. But first and foremost, there should be an end of fighting in Misrata and elsewhere. Then we will continue, we will be able to provide humanitarian assistance and in parallel we can continue our political dialogue with the regime there. My Special Envoy has visited six times and he is going to be there again. I am doing my best efforts in close coordination with the African Union and other coalition forces.

Question: Two questions Secretary-General. You spoke about the nexus between nuclear safety and security yesterday and you also emphasized it today. But in India at this point of time, there are violent movements against setting up nuclear plants. What would you tell those people who are now opposed to these nuclear plants in India. My second question is again about India, and what President Clinton had promised India, namely that India would become a member of the Security Council. How far have you proceeded, or progressed, on the reform of the Security Council and can you give any timeframe by when this issue will be resolved? Thank you.

The Secretary-General: Thank you very much for the important questions. We have seen the tragic consequences which happened, caused by Chernobyl 25 years ago and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power stations. I have been urging world leaders, while the responsibility for nuclear safety rests with individual governments, they should revisit their nuclear safety standards and all this strengthening of nuclear standards should be coordinated and done at the national and international level. There is very serious problem between all this and nexus between security and safety. We have to be very careful, very vigilant, against any possibility that nuclear materials or nuclear technology could be slipped into the hands of the wrong person, wrong country or wrong organization, namely terrorist groups, or any country whose regime would be not be committed to international peace and security. That is why I am raising this issue very seriously. The first, I hope and I expect, the Ministerial meeting in Vienna to be convened by IAEA Director-General Amano, will have in-depth discussions on how to deal with these safety standard issues. This can be brought to the attention of the world leaders in September, which I am going to convene on September 22^nd. In fact, I am announcing this date for the first time in Geneva, I hope you will take note of that. There I expect the world leaders can discuss the nexus between safety and security issues. As you know, next year in Seoul, Korea, there is going to be the second nuclear security summit meeting. This will be also good opportunity for them to discuss all these issues; that is my expectation. And again, there is very serious question: how safe and how much this nuclear energy can be used or can contribute to our daily lives? I believe that with strengthened nuclear safety standards, I believe that nuclear power energy can continue to be the important source of energy, particularly in mitigating climate change consequences. I hope that first and foremost, world leaders and policy makers will strengthen the safety standards.

About your second question, this has been a long-standing issue. There is a widely shared view among Member States of the United Nations that the Security Council should be reformed and expanded in a more democratic, more representative and more transparent manner. If you consider such significant changes in the international political scene during the last six decades, I believe that the Security Council should also be changed adapting to the changed situation. That is what Member States have been discussing. Most recently, during the last three years, the member States have been accelerating their negotiations on Security Council reform. I know that India is one of the aspirants for permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. I hope that Member States will expedite their negotiations, text-based negotiations. The third text has already been distributed and has become subject of this negotiation. As for the modalities, exact modalities, I think this is something which Member States should determine through negotiations. As the Secretary-General, I try to coordinate as well as try to create an atmosphere so that the Member States can accelerate their negotiations. Thank you very much.

Question: Monsieur le Secrétaire général, l'humanité a gaspillé plus de 60 ans pour faire accepter l'universalité des droits de l'homme. Aujourd'hui, il y a des peuples, comme vous venez de le dire, qui se basent sur cette universalité pour revendiquer des régimes acceptables, démocratiques, et chasser des dirigeants corrompus. Ils le font d'une façon exemplaire, d'une façon pacifiste dans la plupart des cas. Ne croyez-vous pas que cet élan pourrait être brisé à cause de cette sélectivité avec laquelle les instances des Nations Unies traitent ces revendications de ces peuples? Nous avons vu des sessions spéciales sur la Syrie et sur la Libye; rien sur Bahreïn, rien sur le Yémen jusqu'à maintenant. Ou bien, aussi par ces calculs ou arrières pensées des puissances qui osent supporter ces révolutions ou s'opposer à ces révolutions. Ma question: est-ce que vous ne craignez pas que cet élan sera brisé?

The Secretary-General: As I said, this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity and people have been oppressed, they have not been given decent opportunities for their jobs, for their freedom of expression, freedom of assembly. I agree and everybody will agree that this Universal Declaration of Human Rights ensures the equal rights for all the people around the world. That is a fundamental principle that is a universally recognized and accepted principle. That is why human rights is one of the three pillars of the United Nations Charter. During the last several months, I have been speaking with the leaders in the region, all the countries, wherever there were very serious demonstrations by the people, chanting and yearning for greater freedom, transparency and more participatory democracy. I think that is legitimate claims, aspirations of the people. These peoples’ rights should be protected and respected. That is what I have been saying. The United Nations has been providing early warnings to the leaders since 2002 through the UNDP Arab Human Development Report. Successively, continuously during the last 10 years, these recommendations or even warnings had largely been not respected. That is why people have come out to the streets and chanting their voices. Freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and peaceful demonstrations, they should be respected and I will continue to do that. In fact the United Nations has taken important decisive and unprecedented decisions.

In the case of Libya, the Libyan membership of the Human Rights Council was suspended by unanimous decision by both the Human Rights Council and the United Nations General Assembly. This is again unprecedented, that they have shown firm commitment and resolve to help them. Now at this time, wherever their aspirations have not been met yet, I am urging again to the leaders of those countries to engage in dialogue, inclusive dialogue with the whole spectrum of their life. Political leaders, opposition leaders, women’s groups, labour groups, civil society groups, they all should be a part of these discussions for their own future. Their own future must be determined by their own will. This is the basic responsibility of the leaders there. And I will continue to work towards that direction. For those countries who have been able to achieve their aspirations or dreams like in Tunisia and Egypt, then the international community has a broad responsibility to help them social-economically and also help them for their very smooth transitional political process. That is what the United Nations is committed to do in close coordination with many Member States. For example, we have deployed groups of experts to help the electoral process in Tunisia and Egypt at their request, and I am trying to mobilize social-economic assistance from the international community. Properly handled, we can meet and help them meet their expectations and aspirations, long standing aspirations. And for other countries, I will continue to do my best efforts and this needs the full support from the international community. Thank you very much.