José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, President of the Spanish Government: Good afternoon. First, I would like to express my deep satisfaction due to the presence in our country of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, and to express our gratitude because this presence, which has as its main objective the Secretary-General’s participation in the Conference on Terrorism and Democracy, is an expression of solidarity, first, with the victims of the March 11 attack last year, and solidarity with the people of Madrid and the people of Spain.
This is an abiding solidarity on the part of Kofi Annan and an abiding solidarity on the part of the United Nations, which I would like to highlight, just as I would like to express my conviction that the fight against terrorism and the reduction of terrorism have as their fundamental vehicle the strengthening of the United Nations, the strengthening of United Nations values, the capacity of the United Nations to join efforts, to unite decisions, and to take on those issues that affect international order and security in general.
I would also like to say that the United Nations, for the Spanish people, means international legality, it means peace; it means the fight against hunger, and against poverty. Every time that the United Nations and its Secretary-General mobilise themselves in favour of these causes, they know that they can count on many countries, and on Spain foremost. The Spanish people have expressed this on many occasions, in the street and in their everyday attitudes. Now, I can tell Kofi Annan in person, and in the name of every one of them: you can always count on Spain.
Therefore, Spain is a country that plays an active role in strengthening the United Nations. We are the eighth contributor to the International Organization, which represents hope for peace, international legality, and understanding. Over the past year, we have been increasing our contribution to the different UN-led programmes. During this year we have been joining initiatives and efforts within the scope of the United Nations, such as our participation in the Alliance Against Hunger, to demand, from others and ourselves, the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. And also within the scope of the United Nations, which is the cornerstone of a system of international peace and order, we have proposed the Alliance of Civilizations, an idea and a project on which we are working with the United Nations Secretary-General.
I would like to thank the Secretary-General once again for his presence in Spain, for his solidarity and for the efforts that he is making to invigorate an Organization which is, without a doubt, our best hope for a just international order.
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the UN: Thank you very much, Mr Prime Minister, for those warm words and for the wonderful welcome you have extended to me and my team.
I am extremely happy to be here in Spain to participate in the Conference on Terrorism and Democracy. We live in one world and the issue of terrorism affects us all. When people in Madrid are hit, or people in New York are hit, or in Baghdad, it does have an impact on all of us.
I’m here to express the UN’s determination to work with governments and countries and peoples around the world to fight terrorism and to express our solidarity to the victims of terrorism here on the 11th of March, terrorism everywhere and all the victims of terrorism in Spain.
I hope that this meeting, which is going to bring together lots of the leaders and people from other parts of the world, will allow us to reaffirm the need for international collaboration and for all of us to pool our efforts to ensure that terrorists are not given financial, support, logistical support or a safe haven in any of our countries. Tomorrow I’ll be making a statement on this, so I do not want to dwell on this too much.
I would also like to thank the Prime Minister for his suggestion that he has made regarding his Alliance of Civilizations where we hope to get governments and peoples to focus on what unites them and how we can work together as peoples sharing one planet and working in harmony and solidarity, to strengthen peace, development and harmony amongst peoples. It is an issue we are working on very closely and I hope that in time I will be able to say more about it.
I have also had the opportunity to discuss with the Prime Minister all the issues of great concern: we discussed Iraq, we discussed the developments in the Middle East, the developments in Syria and Lebanon, developments in Africa, including the Western Sahara issue and other issues and of course, UN reform and the Summit that is going to be organised in New York in September. A Summit that I hope will bring Heads of State together to make important decisions that will reform the United Nations. Policy issues, questions on use of force, on the responsibility to protect citizens who are caught in a situation where gross violations of their human rights are taking place, including potential genocide; questions where, when governments fail to respond to their obligations, become the responsibility of the Security Council. It will also touch on the reform of the Security Council as well as economic development and the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.
On all these issues, I look forward to strong support from Spain, which I am sure I will get. And I am sure we will be able to work with other governments to adapt the UN to the 21st century.
So once again, Mr Prime Minister, let me thank you for your hospitality and tell you how glad I am to be here, and I look forward to joining all the others who have come for this important occasion, not only to discuss terrorism but also to offer our solidarity to victims of terrorism, wherever they may be.
QUESTION: I would like to ask the Secretary-General a few questions. Could you tell us some more regarding the Alliance of Civilizations? Are you willing to head a high-level group to put into practise this idea of Prime Minister Rodríguez Zapatero?
Secondly, I’d like to know your opinion about the fact that the United States has named as its new Ambassador to the United Nations a diplomat who is openly and harshly critical of, precisely, multilateralism and the United Nations.
Mr Annan: Let me first say that that we are working very well on the Alliance for Civilizations and our teams are working together. In fact I have a team here in Madrid, as we speak, discussing with government officials as to where to go from here and I think we are making very good progress. We are going to be able to identify other governments who will join us in this process and, in fact, I have also set up a panel of eminent persons who will work with us on this issue and all the details will be released as we go forward. But I can assure that we are making very good progress, and I think it’s an exciting project.
We often talk of a clash of civilizations, and for once we are talking of an alliance of civilizations, focusing on what we have in common, what unites us, and in fact stressing the fact that you don’t have to detest the other person to like what is yours, or what you believe in. We will be able to give you more details, but I am prepared to work with the Government of Spain and the Prime Minister on this project.
On your second question about the new American representative to the United Nations, first of all, the appointment of a new ambassador is the prerogative of the president concerned. President Bush has made a decision as to who should serve the U.S. in the United Nations. I have worked well with previous American Ambassadors and work well with all the permanent representatives in New York, including your own Spanish representative, Juan Yáñez.
We have many challenges ahead, we have a major conference summit later this year, we have a heavy agenda, an agenda of reform, an agenda of fighting poverty, an agenda of looking for innovative sources of finance, an agenda of stressing the importance of international collaboration and the importance of multilateralism, and of course we welcome working with Mr Bolton on all those fronts.
QUESTION: I have a couple of questions for Prime Minister Rodríguez Zapatero. Both in the forum that is being held in Madrid, and in the dialogue that you have had, there are calls for unity in the fight against terrorism. Don’t you think that this call, this appeal, contradicts what we are seeing in Spain with the division that there has been over the conclusion to the 11th March Commission?
On the other hand, I would like to know more details about the Alliance of Civilizations project. Specifically, could you give us more details on what the Secretary-General of the UN has told you?
President: Regarding the first question, I have always expressed the need for the unity of all democrats in the fight against terrorism. I have not only expressed it, but I have practised it, because I would like to remind you that when I was leader of the opposition, I proposed an Anti-Terrorism, Pro-Freedom Pact to the previous administration. Since my administration came to power, I have maintained this agreement, and I have extended information and collaboration concerning the fight against terrorism to all political forces.
Of course, in the fight against international terrorism, collaboration, co-operation, and united efforts have to be essential goals, and I am fully convinced that—just as on an international level this unity is increasingly greater and this unity should be based on the defence of the values of democracy as the best path to defeating terrorism—insofar as international terrorism in our country is concerned, we are going to achieve a strong and solid union, beyond the events we have lived through and beyond the development of an investigation committee which has another objective.
I have no doubt that Spain’s democratic political forces want very much to unite against terrorism, and above all, our citizens want this very much, and have the right to demand it from us. Undoubtedly, this is going to be my commitment, and the commitment towards which I am going to be working.
Secondly, the Alliance of Civilizations. A moment ago, the Secretary-General was saying that we have had two areas of debate in recent times: the clash of civilizations and the dialogue between civilizations. The proposal that Spain has made is: an Alliance of Civilizations. The Alliance of Civilizations represents how persons, citizens, who constitute different peoples, different cultures, and different civilizations, can unite to place their condition as a universal citizenry above their condition of belonging to a certain culture, a certain religion, or a certain country.
In a world where globalization presides the course of history, in a world where international order has more possibilities than ever to be built around rule of law rather than use of force, the Alliance of Civilizations is a necessary condition for this goal of a just international order, based on rule of law and not on force, to gain ground and give shape to the desires of the immense majority of countries.
We are working, as the Secretary-General was saying, to develop what could be an organization of sponsors, a high-level group, which should produce an entire programme of action. As I’ve already said at the United Nations Assembly, this was Spain’s proposal to the United Nations. From that moment on, it became a United Nations proposal, and will proceed
according to the timetable, and have the content, and the development, that the Secretary-General and the United Nations consider appropriate, with our collaboration and with the collaboration of many other governments which are interested and which have expressed their commitment to participating in our Alliance of Civilizations.
QUESTION: I would like to dwell a bit on what you’re saying. These measures, which, as you say, are going to follow the timetable decided upon by the United Nations, these specific measures—have they been discussed during this meeting with the Secretary-General? Is there anything you can tell us about it—although it’s now a United Nations measure, is it always a Spanish proposal? Is there some specific measure, bearing in mind that many countries, specifically, those of the Arab League, where you are going to soon present this idea of civilizations, have already expressed their support? Can you tell us something about this timetable? The question is for both of you.
A question for the Secretary-General of the UN: Have you received the support of the Spanish government on your idea of a new consensus in the fight against terrorism, a new consensus in international policy based on multilateralism? This support that you have received from the Spanish government—have you received it from many other countries, and do you hope to receive it from all of them, including the United States?
President: Regarding the development of the Alliance of Civilizations, we are at the phase of sharing ideas and initiatives, of bringing together persons and personalities in order to set out a path, a working agenda, which, I repeat, will follow whatever timetable and calendar that the Secretary-General decides to follow. Without a doubt, there are already specific ideas of including other countries, other administrations with other presidents; but logically, a whole dialogue process has to be carried out with different countries and with different leaders which, of course, we shall specify within a reasonable period of time and which will continue to consolidate, become stronger. What I hope and desire is that it may be an ambitious programme to make this Alliance of Civilizations into a basic element of international order.
Mr Annan: On your second question, let me say that co-operation among governments on fighting terrorism already exists. The UN has been very active in this fight. The Security Council has passed very important resolutions and we have a Counterterrorism Directorate chaired by Mr Ambassador Rupérez of Spain, who is here with us. And the General Assembly itself has passed twelve conventions against terrorism and it’s working on a thirteenth comprehensive one.
The Security Council’s resolution is law and all governments are supposed to apply it. Of course, some governments have better resources and capacities than others, and now we are trying to seek the necessary means to assist governments that do not have the capacity to do it on their own, particularly some of the developing and smaller countries. We are also concerned about weak states and failed states, and the fact that, if we do not
help them, they will become breeding grounds for terrorists or a haven for them, and this is also one of the reasons why we have linked terrorism and development so closely.
The panel I set up to look at Threats, Challenges and Change cannot define threats in the narrow sense: weapons of mass destruction, diseases and environmental degradation—we need to find ways to deal with all these threats.
And quite frankly, if you look to other powers of the world and you were to ask them what is their greatest worry, some would say ‘terrorism’, other regions would tell you ‘poverty’, others would say ‘environmental degradation’, so we need to really tackle these issues as an international community to be able to help each other out.
So the question of international co-operation, international solidarity and a multilateral approach to terrorism is something that is firmly imbedded in the UN approach and UN culture, and we need to work together—the police, the legal officers, politicians, diplomats and the intelligence system will all have to work together to deprive the terrorists of the opportunities to do the kind of harm they do. Of course, sometimes force has to be used, but that is only part of a comprehensive approach in the fight.
QUESTION: I would like to ask the Secretary-General of the United Nations his opinion regarding Hezbollah’s proposal yesterday in Lebanon, favouring the presence of Syrian troops in the country, which would seem to contradict the United Nations Resolution in September.
Mr Annan: We have been in touch with the governments of Lebanon and Syria, and I have a special envoy working on this problem; in fact he is here in Madrid and he is leaving for the region tomorrow to discuss with President Assad of Syria and President Lahoud of Lebanon.
The Security Council resolution demands that Syria withdraw all its troops and security personnel from Lebanon. Syria has indicated that it is prepared to pull back the troops. The Security Council Resolution requires withdrawal into Syria.
There has also been a suggestion from the Syrian side that they implement it in compliance with the Taif agreement. I think that, from the Security Council’s point of view, what is essential is that full and complete withdrawal takes place, regardless of whether it is done based on the UN resolution, on the Taif agreement, or a decision by the government of Syria. The essential point is that they do withdraw. And the government of Syria has not rejected the Security Council resolution and we will be working with them, and I will have a better sense after my envoy comes back to report to me following his discussions as to how quickly the withdrawal can take place, and I hope he will be able to come back with a timetable.
QUESTION: I would like to ask the Secretary-General a question. The Spanish stance at this time on the Saharan conflict, or what Spain is suggesting, is that it is necessary to introduce some adjustments to the Baker Plan to make it viable. What do you think of this proposal, and what inclinations to accept adjustments do you see in the parties to the conflict?
Mr Annan: I had a very good discussion with the Prime Minister and the Spanish team on this. On the final objective to resolve this Polisario conflict, the desire to see the issue resolved so that the Maghreb Union will be able to resuscitate its activities and work as a union, and of course, this also has an impact on its relations with the European Union: we are at one that we must resolve this conflict as soon as possible, working with Algeria and Morocco, and the Polisario.
I know that Spain has very good relations with all the parties and we will, as we move forward, rely on countries like yours, and others, who have these wonderful relations to help us resolve it.
As to what the final solution would be, it will have to be an outcome of the discussions that will have to take place with the parties. We cannot impose the solution on them, it has to come out of negotiations, discussions and we intend to intensify those efforts.
QUESTION: This is a question about the Alliance Against Hunger. What would be the practical applications of this issue?
President: As you know, the Alliance Against Hunger has two basic objectives, after having been able to bring together a very large number of countries.
The first objective is to raise public awareness and increase the contribution of developed countries to development co-operation. This increase, of course, is going to happen, it is happening in Spain, and also, as a result of this awareness, it is going to happen in many other countries. I would like to remind you that this year, we have reached a level of 0.3% of GDP earmarked for development assistance, and over the next three years, as a country, we are going to reach a level of 0.5% of GDP going to development assistance.
The second objective is the elaboration of new formulas of international development assistance financing. These new formulas are being studied by a working group including representatives from all of the countries, from all of the principal countries in the Alliance Against Hunger; new formulas of development assistance financing that could include an international tax on certain kinds of transactions, which could have to do with the process of consolidating other kinds of remittances that are generated by or have their origins in immigration, or could have to do with a commitment to applying different international instruments.
Logically, in order for new international development financing instruments to become consolidated and efficient, I repeat, without determining in advance what could be taxed in international transactions, there has to be political will on the part of a sufficient number of countries ready to commit to this. And at this time there is an important number, in our view, of countries that are ready to commit to new rules on the international transaction level, so that there can be a tax going directly to development, to the fight against poverty and against hunger. This would be a qualitative leap, if it happens.
It’s true that it could also come to depend on the attitude of some great power, and the attitude of the world’s more developed countries; but we have to keep up our prudent expectations on this.
These are the two great objectives that the Alliance Against Hunger is working on, and which in the end, have a clear purpose: to attain the Millennium Development Goals in the fight against poverty. We are going to examine current attainment of the Millennium Development Goals and the Alliance Against Hunger so that this exam can be an exam that the international community will be able to pass, and this success on the part of the international community in attaining the Millennium Development Goals and in the fight against poverty is the success of the international community and the developed countries, because by making an effort that is not that great, we can avoid many deaths from hunger and many deaths from illness for human beings around the world.
Thank you very much.
