UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says while he saw the "necessity" behind U.S. military operations in Somalia, diplomatic efforts must be redoubled to bring peace to the war-ravaged country that has not had a functioning government since 1991.
Ban marked his 10th day as head of the world organization Thursday by holding his first formal news conference and to explain some of his previous remarks about the Horn of Africa nation and other recent events, including the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"I am closely following the situation in Somalia and what I said through my spokesperson the other day immediately after this (U.S. aerial) attack on Somalia, hideout of al-Qaida, that was simply a concern about the possibility of impact on civilians and the reported loss of civilians," Ban said. "While I fully understand the necessity behind this attack, we should be cautious enough (such action will not) lead to unwanted directions."
On another front, Ban responded to a question referring to Thursday's fifth anniversary of the opening of the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Ban said he was about to visit Washington at the invitation of U.S. President George W. Bush.
"Like my predecessor, I believe that the prison at Guantanamo should be closed and I also remember that President Bush himself has said that he would like to close it," Ban told reporters.
On Saddam's execution in Baghdad on Dec. 30, he said, "I believe that life is precious and must be protected and respected, and that all human beings have the right to live in dignity. International law affirms these values."
Ban recognized the growing international trend to phasing out the death penalty and said he encourages it.
Among his priorities the new secretary-general cited were Lebanon, Iraq and efforts to "inject new momentum into the search for peace and stability in the Middle East." On his way to Africa, he is scheduled to attend the Lebanon reconstruction conference in Paris, following last year's 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah.
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ban said he was pushing for a meeting as soon as possible of the diplomatic Quartet of the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States which is seeking the establishment of two states living side by side in security and peace.
After criticism of how he selected some of his top staff, Ban asked reporters to judge the top officials by their performance and said they were chosen following a thorough selection process.
Asked about a perception that some of his highest-ranking appointees were never really interviewed for jobs they were going to fill and thus never had the chance to explain how to meet his expectations with regard for tight management at the United Nations, he said, "I hope that you will judge the people and appointments by how they perform their duties ... that you will judge my appointments on the basis of merit and on the basis of their performance."
He added, "There seem to be some misunderstandings on the review or selection process of senior management officials of the United Nations, including the selection of the deputy secretary-general and other senior officials." He was referring to Tanzanian Foreign Minister Asha-Rose Migiro.
The former foreign minister of South Korea said he had known her as a fellow foreign minister and having had extensive talks over more than 10 hours with Migiro.
The secretary-general said he had interviewed Britain's ambassador to France, John Holmes, whom he chose as undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, and had known Alicia Barcena, the new undersecretary-general for management, for a long time.
Ban said he had been "very much impressed" by Barcena's ability to manage when she was former Secretary-General Kofi Annan's chef de cabinet as well as by her management skills when she served as deputy executive secretary of the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean for four years.
To ensure tight management, Ban said he planned to conclude a compact with all senior managers for performance targets. "They should submit their performance targets and this performance management board will review their performance at the end of the year or at the end of their contract date."
Ban pointed out since early last year, throughout his campaign for selection as the world's top diplomat, he had met many foreign ministers and very senior people around the world to be interviewed as a candidate.
"Maybe at the time they might not have known that I was also interviewing them about what I should do if I were elected as secretary-general," he said.
