*EPF203 12/26/00
Transcript: Ambassador Holbrooke Speaks Out on HIV/AIDS
(Criticizes UN Dept. of Peacekeeping Operations) (1750)
The U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, on December 22 criticized the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) for its "inadequate and insufficient" implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1308 on HIV/AIDS.
Speaking to reporters following a closed door Security Council meeting on the subject, Holbrooke said "We recognize that DPKO is overburdened and understaffed" and cautioned that his remarks "should not be regarded as a personal criticism of any individual in DPKO."
Holbrooke said that DPKO is "trying very hard. But they don't have a separate unit set up yet" to conduct HIV/AIDS education and training efforts as requested by UNSC Resolution 1308.
He also asked that future meetings on HIV/AIDS be open to the press and general public.
Adopted by the UN Security Council on July 17, Resolution 1308 mobilizes the United Nations to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic and calls on the DPKO to educate its forces on HIV/AIDS prevention.
Following is the USUN transcript of Holbrooke's remarks and his response to questions:
(begin transcript)
Remarks by Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke,
United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations,
on Implementation of Resolution 1308 on AIDS,
at the Security Council Stakeout
December 22, 2000
Ambassador Holbrooke: I know you all want to talk about the U.N. financial matters, and I will in a minute, but I would first like to focus on another issue and that is the subject of the closed U.N. Security Council meeting that we just completed on Security Council Resolution 1308.
In July the U.N. passed the first SCR [Security Council Resolution] in history on a health issue. The United States is proud to have been the originator of the idea, the primary sponsor of it. We overcame a great deal of resistance and reluctance on the part of certain member states but we had full support from the African states and the French and we got there.
We asked for a briefing on this resolution to see how DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] is implementing it. We received that briefing today and I would like to make the following comments about it.
Number One. We regret that this was not a public meeting so that the press, the world, and other Member States could have participated and therefore we will ask Singapore in the Presidency in January to repeat this meeting in public. I can't speak beyond January but I think the whole world should here this issue. There was no reason for today's meeting to be private and several other Ambassadors made the same point I just made.
Number Two. We recognize the immense difficulty of implementing this resolution. And we recognize that DPKO is understaffed and overworked. In fact, that's the whole reason for the Brahimi reforms, that's why we supported the Brahimi reforms, and why we're pleased that 95 new positions will be added to the peacekeeping effort although we would have supported a much higher number.
We are also very pleased that Secretary-General Annan has picked as an Assistant Secretary General Mike Sheehan, a very close friend and colleague of mine because it's imperative that the United States have a senior position in DPKO to improve relations with Washington. And again, back to the AIDS issue, we recognize that DPKO is overburdened and understaffed so what I'm about to say should not be regarded as a personal criticism of any individual in DPKO but I must tell you what I said in the closed meeting that we find DPKO's implementation of this resolution inadequate and insufficient given the gravity of the problem.
Now they're trying, they're trying very hard. But they don't have a separate unit set up yet. UNAIDS wasn't even here today, the coordination between DPKO and UNAIDS and this meeting was either non-existent or insufficient. I don't know which but I was shocked that no UNAIDS people were even here. They do have brochures for officers and enlisted men. They have a few training courses but even within the constraints of the issue of sovereignty - that is the fact that individual countries cannot be forced to test the peacekeepers before they go - they are not doing enough. If we continue to live with the extraordinary irony and anomaly that peacekeepers coming into a place to solve one problem end up causing another, we can't abide that.
I have been working on this issue as a private citizen since 1992 and I will continue to work on it when I leave this post next year, early next year in January. But I can't begin to tell you how important I think it is and I was glad that almost every member state speaking today echoed the same theme, "We're glad you've started implementation but we don't think it goes far enough." And as I said, many of the members in the room thought this should have been a public meeting so I apologize to all of you, that you couldn't hear it directly and I would like to answer a few questions on that before we turn to the financial issues.
There will be a special session on UNAIDS next year in the General Assembly. I think that's a very important event. But we cannot have a situation where AIDS is spread by peacekeepers. East Timor never had a reported case of AIDS until the U.N. got there. I'm not saying there weren't any cases because it's a remote area but we now have 20 reported cases. In a population of 800,000, that's significant. Refugee camps breed AIDS and as I said earlier peacekeepers come home with the disease. It's very dangerous. Questions?
Question: Sir, why was the meeting closed?
Ambassador Holbrooke: You'll have to ask the President of the Security Council. We asked for an open meeting and we will ask for it again from the next month's Presidency.
Question: Ambassador, on the issue of East Timor, do you know where the 20 cases that you mentioned - who those are?
Ambassador Holbrooke: No, I don't, Colum and Mary Ellen will try to get that data for you as the day proceeds.
Question: Do you have any evidence that they're from the U.N. rather than MNF that went there?
Ambassador Holbrooke: I don't know where they're from.
Question: Well, you just said they're from the UN so, I mean, there's a lot of talk.
Ambassador Holbrooke: No, no -- what I said or what I hope I said, if I was sloppy forgive me -- but what I said is that peacekeepers bring AIDS with them and take AIDS home and we now have 20 reported cases. Given the incubation period and the detection period they could have come from the MNF or the U.N. or they could have come from a different source. I'm not making any statement but if there is any one in this group here who doubts that AIDS is spread in both directions when U.N. peacekeepers move into an area there're in an extreme case of denial.
And I would refer you again to the letter I wrote as a private citizen to Mr. Akashi in Cambodia in August of 1992 which all you need to do is change the date and the location and you can move it to Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, East Timor, Congo, anywhere. And again there's no stigmatization we're not picking out individual countries here - we're talking about a global problem - it's spread by many, many other issues. This resolution deals with the responsibilities of DPKO and I say again to you today that our nation and many other members of the Security Council feel that while DPKO has made a start it is way from adequate, far from adequate.
Question: I would like to clarify one last thing on the Timor. Is it safe to say that there perhaps was not very good reporting of AIDS before the U.N. started running the territory?
Ambassador Holbrooke: Absolutely, I said that. I'm not proving a causality. I have enough scientific training which is how I started in life in school to understand what a false correlative is. I'm not arguing anything except that we now have the first reported cases. There could be three or four different explanations but is there anyone of you who doubts that AIDS comes with the peacekeepers because if you do you're going to become part of the problem. We have to be honest about this and I'm not saying East Timor is proof that they're spreading. I'm saying that there is no question there is a connection. I don't know the cause in East Timor and Mary Ellen will give you more information during the day. We will call Sergio and Peter out there and find out more.
Question: On the budget negotiations.
Ambassador Holbrooke: Are we finished with the AIDS issue? We'll get to that in a minute.
Question: I only have another question since you are leaving this post?
Ambassador Holbrooke: Only if it's on AIDS. Otherwise Colum comes next and then we'll get to you.
Question: Mr. Ambassador? You mentioned the implementation so far has been inadequate and you also mentioned brochures and some training sessions. Specifically what type of implementation?
Ambassador Holbrooke: They don't have a separate office for the issue. They don't seem to be coordinating with UNAIDS; they don't seem seized with the issue and our job in the Security Council is to tell the Secretariat what its role is. The U.N. is an organization of its member states. The Secretariat works for the member states, not the reverse. I don't want to be rude to any individuals here. I have great respect for both Bernard Miyet and Jean Marie Guehenno but we want to see implementation. That's our instruction to the Secretariat. Ask DPKO to make available to you the briefing - it was a written briefing. I have no idea why you were not allowed to participate in this meeting. I have none. You can draw the conclusion that maybe they didn't want you to draw attention to it. That's up to you. But there wasn't anything at that meeting that shouldn't be available to all of you. You can only deal with the AIDS issue if we have total transparency.
(end USUN transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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