Press conference by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi at Azadi Grand Hotel

Tehran, 6 November 2001

Good day to you. This morning we had the honor of seeing His Excellency President Khatami. He told us that Afghanistan was facing another very serious crisis, but that there was also an opportunity for the Afghan people.

I think that the dangers are in the fact that the conflict, the problems amongst Afghans are still there and they are now compounded by this military campaign of bombing that is affecting a number of civilians, that is hitting a number of Afghan targets, whereas there is absolutely nobody in the whole world, including the Americans and the other members of he coalition, who believe that the Afghans themselves have been guilty of anything. So, I think we all regret profoundly the additional sufferings that are inflicted on the innocent Afghan people and we can only reiterate the call of the Secretary-General of the United Nations that this bombing campaign stop as soon as possible.

The opportunity is that the world realizes that a small country, poor and far away, like Afghanistan, cannot be left to rot with its problems for so long without consequences for the whole world. The mission of the United Nations is precisely to see if we can help the people of Afghanistan avail themselves of this opportunity.

This mission is following three tracks. One is the humanitarian, very urgent, dramatic, and the United Nations is trying to do everything possible to help millions of people of Afghanistan who are inside the country and outside the country and are in desperate need f that humanitarian help.

The second is the political. The United Nations has been for over ten years trying to help the people of Afghanistan and their internal conflicts without success so far. Perhaps this new opportunity will allow the Afghans and the United Nations to do better than they have in the past.

The third track concerns post-conflict reconstruction. The international community for the first time has understood and is determined to act on the recognition that a political solution will be greatly enhanced and reinforced by a determined, serious, lasting effort to help the people of Afghanistan reconstruct themselves.

We have been given very strong assurances that substantial resources will be made available for this effort and we are already trying to prepare the ground and the projects for the time when we will be able to implement this program.

I’ll be happy to answer some of your questions now.

Q – [inaudible]

A – On your first question, I am sorry I cannot give you any answer, but I am sure that UNHCR and WHO offices in Tehran will gladly discuss this issue with you. But whether there is or there isn’t any disease that is coming into Iran from Afghanistan and how the United Nations organizations can help face that up in case that does exist… As for your second question, the generosity or Iran has long been recognized, concerning the numbers of Afghans that have been accepted by Iran and the manner in which the Iranians have treated them as brothers, this has been recognized I think all over the world for a long time, and I personally take every opportunity for not only thanking the government of Iran and the people of Iran, but also of telling other people of how Iran has been generous and cooperative. I think that now, again, as part of this realization of the importance and necessity and the debt really that the world owes Afghanistan (sic), that there is going to be more resources. A few days ago the High Commissioner for Refugees was here; he had discussions with the Iranian authorities, and I am sure that cooperation between the two parties, the United Nations and Iran, is going to develop in favor of the refugees.

There is one issue on which there is a difference between Iran and the United Nations and that it that, understandably, and for the UNHCR in particular, it is part of their mandate to ask all countries when there is a crisis to accept refugees, and I think the UNHCR and the United Nations are asking that of both Iran and all neighboring countries. Understandably the Iranian government is saying, we have already had more than our fair share of this burden and that perhaps other members of the international community should help us bear this burden.

Q – Will it be difficult to get the Afghans to agree on a solution to their problems and will the “6+2” prove helpful?

A – Yes, it is going to be difficult but we hope that the Afghans, as a matter of fact we are confident that the Afghans also realize that this is an opportunity they should not miss. As for the “6+2”, I have often been critical in the past of the “6+2”, saying that they have not lived up to the expectations, to what was expected of their contribution. But now, we hope that they also will rise to the occasion and to the challenge and work better and more effectively than they did in the past.

Q – Reports are that the Taliban this morning called on the UN to resume humanitarian efforts in the Taliban controlled areas of Afghanistan. What can you tell us?

A – I don’t think that the Taliban asked the UN to resume their efforts in Taliban-held areas because our efforts have never stopped; our humanitarian efforts have never stopped in Taliban-held areas. What I think they said is that they want the UN personnel whom they had asked to leave to return, and I think that… my reaction to that is that the nited Nations personnel was very sad to leave Afghanistan, and I think we would very much like our personnel to go and work everywhere in Afghanistan, irrelevant of who is in charge, as to the humanitarian activities that we carry out in Afghanistan. But I think we need to ascertain what the security situation is in every single part of Afghanistan before we decide to go back.

Q – Mr. Brahimi, a delegation from Zahir Shah’s side and representatives of the Northern Alliance were to meet in Ankara, Turkey, last week but for technical reasons this meeting has been postponed. Are you in favor of those kinds of meetings which take place in different cities or places, or are you in favor of one big conference which would be under UN guidance?

A – These meetings are most welcome if they help Afghans work closer together but ultimately you are right, one day we must stop having ten meetings in ten different cities and bring everybody together somewhere to agree on something concrete to do to move the process forward.

Q – Is it a problem that you are not talking to the Taliban? Secondly can you imagine a UN peacekeeping role?

A – On your first, very easy question I think that yes, there is a problem. We have talked to the Taliban since they appeared on the scene, unfortunately with very little success. I think it is important to remind people that whereas the Taliban were complaining that they had not been recognized, that they were ostracized. This was definitely not the case as far as the United Nations is concerned. So, for one time on which they took the initiative of wanting to speak to us, there were twenty times when we took the initiative of wanting to speak to them.

Unfortunately there is now a serious crisis, there is a war that is being led by an international coalition against the Taliban. We are not part of that coalition waging the war. Definitely not. But at this stage, talking to the Taliban politically does not seem to us and, I think, to a lot of people, frankly including the Talibans and those who were rather sympathetic to them, there isn’t much interest, much benefit to Afghanistan, to the people of Afghanistan from us talking to them. But they are the de facto authority in most of Afghanistan, and as such we talk to them all the time on the humanitarian and other problems which we need to talk to them about to help their people, the people in Afghanistan. Now, what happens in the future depends on how things are going to move on the ground.

The second question, if and when we are in the happy situation where a new dispensation s in order in Afghanistan, the question of security will be a very important one to consider. And there, there are several options that need to be looked into, that are being looked into. As things look now, today, peacekeeping in the UN sense, in the Charter sense is he least likely possibility, because peacekeeping requires a full agreement by all parties in a peace process, which today is not there. If it were there, then maybe it would be considered. But as things look now, that is the least likely possibility.

Q – Why has the United Nations not clearly expressed its stance vis-a-vis the accusations of the Taliban leadership? The European Union and the United States are carrying out their actions in Afghanistan without UN approval. What is your comment on this?

A – On the first question, I think there was a comment by the Secretary General who imply said that this is really more of an insult to the Muslims and Arabs than on the United ations. I have heard many comments by Arab and Muslim religious leaders and political leaders who think—at least I haven’t heard anyone support anything he has said-- on the contrary, everybody I have heard or read said that the United Nations was a universal organization, that Muslim countries are part of humanity and cannot look the other way, and that the United Nations, as far as Afghanistan is concerned--we are talking about what the United Nations is doing—and as a matter of fact, the Taliban themselves yesterday were asking the United Nations to come back, so I think we’d better leave it at that.

On the second question, there was at least one Security Council resolution that recognized the right of the United States which had been the victim of an unspeakable aggression that resolution recognized the right of the United States to take any action to bring to justice the people who did this. Now, that this action has been taken outside of the UN, that this bombing campaign is not taking place under a UN resolution and is not directly recognized, is a reality. It is definitely [inaudible] but I think that all members of the coalition are in very close touch with all regional members and there are various efforts from all sides to limit the damage of this campaign.

Q – I take it that Iranian leaders have asked the UN to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Afghanistan. Could you expand on that. Secondly, it looks that this will be a major exercise for the UN, and I wonder if you are going along the lines of repeating the experience in East Timor?

A – Yes, you are right. The President of the Republic and all the officials we met in Iran have been telling us that they want the UN to play that pivotal role. I think I said in the beginning that they are not alone in saying that. I think that there is more than a consensus, that there is unanimity in the international community and in the United Nations. I haven’t heard or met anybody who didn’t start his discussion of Afghanistan by saying that the UN should play a role. So, this is a very big responsibility for the UN. The Secretary General is telling everybody that yes, he will take up this challenge.

On your second question, I hope everyone understands the difference between the multinational force and the peacekeeping force. The peacekeeping force works under the UN, whereas a multinational force is a group that could be called a coalition of the willing, with a mandate from the Security Council and capable of taking much more robust ctions. Another option that can be looked into is a combination of the two: a multinational force and a peacekeeping force. On Monday, the “6+2” are meeting at ministerial level in New York. We are going to hold quite a few discussions then with a lot of people. Mr. Vendrell who is the Deputy Special Representative is going tomorrow to Dushanbe in an effort to meet the Northern Alliance people there. I will be stopping on my way in Rome to see, I hope, the former king and the people who have been working with him in this so-called Rome process, we are seeing representatives of the Cyprus process. We hope to come back, and as soon as possible, on the basis of a paper which we are preparing, we hope to bring together these Afghans and move ahead, by preparing this meeting of Aghans that hopefully are going to start a process—the process--of reaching a broad-based government representative and so on…

Q – (Inaudible)

A – Je n’ai jamais entendu personne au Pakistan parler de la division de l’Afghanistan. Et de toute les manieres ce n’est absolument pas une option pour les Nations unies, et je crois que ce n’est pas une option pour les Afghans. Cela, c’est des speculations d’etrangers. Les Afghans eux-memes ne parlent jamais de la division de leur pays. En ce qui concerne les Talibans, c’est un faux probleme en ce moment. Je crois que j’ai explique pourquoi il n’y a pas d’interet a leur parler en ce moment. Dans l’avenir on verra. Pour le moment, c’est un faux probleme. Pour ce qui est de la troisieme question, j’ai deja repondu pour dire que les responsables politiques arabes et musulmans et beaucoup de personalites religieuses ont repondu elles-meme pour dire que les Arabes et es Musulmans, et beaucoup d’autres gens contestent le role qui n’est pas accorde aux Nations unies dans la question du Moyen Orient. Ce n’est pas que l’ONU a fait mal son travail. On ne lui permet pas de faire son travail. Et ceci naturellement est deplorable et deplore non seulement par les Musulmans mais par enormement de gens a travers le monde entier, y compris en Occident. J’ai vu hier une manifestation d’ONG occidentales dans les rues de Gaza et dans d’autres villes qui soutiennent le peuple palestinien. C’est pour dire qu’il n’y a pas de division du monde entre musulmans et non-musulmans. Il y a des divisions politique, il y a des interets, il y a des problemes serieux.

Q – [inaudible]

A – Je crois que j’ai deja repondu trois fois a la deuxieme question sur une eventuelle participation des Talibans a un gouvernement Afghans. Ca suffit. Pour ce qui est de la perception personelle: le probleme an Afghanistan est serieux, grave, il dure depuis beaucoup trop longtemps. J’espere avoir maintenant l’occasion de le traiter. Il y a un environnement beaucoup plus favorable au reglement de la question afghane aujourd’hui qu’il n’a existe depuis longtemps. Nous esperons que les Afghans, les Nations unies, et l’ensemble de la communaute internationale vont faire tous ce qu’il faut pour arriver a une solution.

Q –Quel est le role pacifique que l’ONU peut jouer dans cette guerre?

A – Je ne sais pas tres bien ce qu’elle pourrait faire excepte de ce qu’elle fait deja, a savoir aider le peuple afghan de toutes les manieres possibles et imaginables, parler a toutes les parties en vue de preparer l’avenir, et exprimer tres haut le souhait que cette guerre prenne fin de plus tot possible.

Q – [inaudible]

A – I am on record, both in my first incarnation and now, as saying that the role of Pakistan and Iran is absolutely vital, and that the cooperation between these two countries is of paramount importance and that it will greatly help the efforts of the Afghans in trying to find a solution. Each of these two countries has fears, concerns and interests that are totally legitimate, and that all these fears, concerns and interests have to be taken into consideration. It is no secret that we are strongly encouraging these two countries to cooperate among themselves on a bilateral basis, with the other neighbors of Afghanistan and within the group of “6+2” and of course with the United Nations to give maximum help to the process. At what stage are we in the relationship I think what we hear is encouraging; there is an understanding of the realities I have just described and I very much hope that it will be acted upon.