YouSaid · the spoken record

Akbaruddin

lines on the record: 248
first: 2016-01-19
most recent: 2020-01-09
sittings or episodes: 37
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Thirdly, predictable and sustainable financing, which follows on from the second issue, is a prerequisite for all peacekeeping operations to succeed. We support the Secretary-General's recommendation that African peacekeeping operations authorized by the Security Council should also be considered for assessed contributions. Fourthly, we see that troop-contributing countries increasingly devise deployment arrangements with the highest number of caveats when deploying in Africa. That results in an unfair distribution of work among the various troops on the ground, thereby affecting the performance of missions. It is time that we do away with such practices. Fifthly, Africa collectively contributes the largest number of personnel to United Nations peacekeeping operations.”
2018-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8407 (2018) · source
“To give an example, one of the sensitive areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - the Central Sector, which covers more than 500,000 square kilometres and contains more than 11 million people - is being looked after by four battalions of United Nations peacekeeping operations totalling about 3,000 troops. Those 3,000 or so troops are responsible for that entire area of operations. That amounts to one soldier per 158 square kilometres. If, in such a scenario, we task the troops deployed to enforce the protection of civilians without even providing enabling air assets for rapid reinforcement operations, it is obvious that the size and scale of United Nations deployments are insufficient for the tasks entrusted to them. The strategy of peacekeepers being required to do more with less is setting us all up for a tragedy.”
2018-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8407 (2018) · source
“However, we must resist the temptation to add disproportionate mandate components, and we must aim at prioritizing mandates, which will help in ensuring the judicious allocation of the meagre resources available for implementing the mandates. Secondly, peacekeeping missions in Africa operate in vast environments. As I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the peacekeepers from Tanzania and Malawi who paid the ultimate sacrifice last week while serving the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), I would like to draw the Council's attention to what peacekeepers are facing while deployed in MONUSCO.”
2018-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8407 (2018) · source
“Underpinning all those changes is the collective beliefthat the AU and other regional organizations and national Governments in Africa are best placed to provide solutions to the challenges facing their region. The AU's Agenda 2063 sets out Africa's long-term collective vision for its future. We feel that it is the responsibility of the international community, and in our collective interest, to assist Africa in meeting its commonly agreed-on goals. It is from that perspective that we would like to make a few suggestions for strengthening peacekeeping operations in Africa. First, peacekeeping mandates are multidimensional.”
2018-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8407 (2018) · source
“Peacekeeping is a shared responsibility, and all stakeholders therefore have to learn to cooperate with one another in a spirit of partnership. Since nearly 50 per cent of all United Nations peacekeeping operations have been conducted in Africa, we welcome the opportunity you have provided, Mr. President, to share our views on an important issue. Africa has been transforming rapidly. The maturing of the African subregional and regional groupings, especially the African Union (AU), as reflected in their undertaking of peacekeeping initiatives dealing with conflicts in Africa, the institutionalization of the coordination between the Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council, and the emergence of several African countries as major troop-contributors, are all reflective of the changes under way.”
2018-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8407 (2018) · source
“They all cry for multilateral solutions. The Council, alas, is missing in action. Therefore, a patchwork of "plurilaterals", "minilaterals" and other regional forums are becoming the venues of convenience, stitching together codes of conduct, ad hoc coalitions of the willing and partnership agreements on issues of global peace and security. It is time that we renovate, reinvigorate and reform the multilateralism practised by the Security Council. Otherwise, instead of a world at peace, we are likely to see a world order in pieces, even as the welter of piecemeal arrangements extends its sprawl to deliver partial measures of international cooperation and the Council courts obsolescence.”
2018-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8395 (2018) · source
“Those bodies of the subterranean universe are ostensibly acting on behalf of the entire membership of the United Nations. Yet, they do not inform us that, owing to a negative vote cast by one of their 15 members, they have decided not to sanction an entity or individual proposed by a Member State. Even as the task of promoting and maintaining international peace and security has grown more daunting, the Council has been found wanting. It has failed to provide leadership on issues that are contested in spaces that no State controls but that all rely on for their security and prosperity - the global commons. The domains of maritime space, outer space and cyberspace are the principal channels for the flow of goods, capital, data, people and ideas - all of which are key factors in our interconnectedness.”
2018-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8395 (2018) · source
“Also, large sections of global populations are left disenchanted and are nursing a sense of historical grievance owing to the Council's anachronistic composition. In terms of working methods, even as the Council has spawned an entire range of subordinate bodies, the functioning of that subterranean universe of subordinate bodies has become Byzantine. For example, in place of five members having a veto in formal meetings, all 15 members have been bestowed with a veto in the subterranean universe of the sanctions committees. Furthermore, in an age where informed publics increasingly demand transparency from public institutions, the sanctions committees are the most egregious examples of opacity and the lack of accountability.”
2018-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8395 (2018) · source
“However, to blame multilateralism for the dismal situation of the Council is, to use a New York sporting analogy, like blaming Madison Square Garden for the failure of the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association year after year. Nimble organizations seek to replace routinized procedures with initiatives, continuity with flexibility and rules with results. However, the Council has remained rooted in the historical events that gave birth to it. The Council's path dependence is reflected in its aversion to reforming its membership and working methods. The Council's membership today diverges from the distribution of global power and is unable to accommodate contemporary realities.”
2018-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8395 (2018) · source
“Multilateralism, as an organizing principle for international cooperation, survived the collapse of the League of Nations, which was established following the end ofthe so-called war to end all wars. The international adjustments made, in the form of the arrangement we now have with the Security Council playing a controlling role in efforts to multilaterally address matters relating to global peace, were set more than 70 years ago and have stayed the course. One can say that the experiment of States with multilateralism has grown, as have the interdependencies and interconnectedness of our world, but if we dig deeper, it is obvious that the Security Council is facing manifold crises with regard to performance, credibility, legitimacy and relevance.”
2018-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8395 (2018) · source
“I thank you, Mr. President, for organizing this open debate on an issue that is germane for all of us. I also thank the Secretary-General, the representative of the President of the General Assembly and the Presidents of the Economic and Social Council and the International Court of Justice for their briefings. As many speakers before me have said, this month we commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the end of what was then known as the war to end all wars. India lost 1 million of its population during that war. As we all now know, the war to end all wars turned out to be anything but that. More wars followed, resulting in more devastation and leading to more geopolitical changes.”
2018-11-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8395 (2018) · source
“India stands ready to support Afghanistan in every way it can. Our focus remains on the economic pillar of stability and reliable connectivity for the people of Afghanistan. We strongly believe that the lack of connectivity directly impacts the economic, security and political situation in Afghanistan, and we want to address that crucial issue for the benefit of the Afghan people. For its part, it is time for the Council to look beyond routine consideration to chart a more innovative way forward, so that the spiral of violence that is affecting the life of common Afghans is reversed.”
2018-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8354 (2018) · source
“By contrast, the opium produced in Taliban- controlled areas is estimated to account for 85 per cent of global illicit production, valued between $1.5 billion and $3 billion. We feel it is time for the Council to try to replicate the success of the international community against the Islamic State's illicit business in Syria and Iraq by similarly crippling the Taliban's illicit drug trade. We hope that this important subject will be addressed by the Secretary-General in his next report, and by the Council thereafter. India is willing to work with all countries in the region and beyond, while keeping Afghan priorities at the forefront, so as to bring about a lasting solution for the situation. Afghans should lead those efforts, not only between Governments but with civil society and business as stakeholders.”
2018-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8354 (2018) · source
“By some estimates, 60 per cent of the Taliban's revenues are from the drug trade. Poppy cultivation is said to be the largest cash crop in Taliban-controlled areas. Resolution 2405 (2018), adopted earlier this year, focuses on linkages among extremism, terrorism, drug production and illegal exploitation of Afghanistan's natural resources. However, it falls short of expectations in striving to cripple the Taliban's drug trade. The Secretary-General's current report also fails to address that very key issue in an adequate matter. Let us not forget that templates are available for curbing illicit trade by terrorist networks. For example, it is estimated that, when targeted, the Islamic State's oil revenues fell over by nearly 90 per cent over three years, from a monthly high of $50 million to just $4 million.”
2018-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8354 (2018) · source
“Yet the Taliban, aided by its supporters, continue to pursue military operations and to perpetrate violence and destruction, such as the recent attack in Ghazni, over several parts of Afghanistan. Those offensives are planned and launched by those who are harboured in safe havens in the neighbourhood of Afghanistan. Those sanctuaries have provided safety for years for the dark agendas of ideologically and operationally fused terror networks like the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Da'esh, Al-Qaida and its proscribed affiliates, such as the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. The agendas of those organizations draw financial sustenance not only from extortion and forced levies and taxes, but also benefit significantly from criminal networks operating drug cartels and stealing Afghanistan's natural resources.”
2018-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8354 (2018) · source
“The present situation requires greater attention to examine whether it is commensurate with the danger to regional peace and security emanating from the conflict in Afghanistan. During the past few months, we have followed with hope and anticipation the various peace efforts and overtures by the Government and people of Afghanistan towards bringing peace to their war-torn country. The Taliban, unfortunately, have rejected the recent calls for a ceasefire by the Afghan Government and civil society, including various religious leaders. In fact, they have tended to treat such overtures with growing disdain and have increased their offensive operations as the country prepares for parliamentary elections. All of us know and believe that there is no military solution to the issue.”
2018-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8354 (2018) · source
“Rather, they should stir us to strengthen our collective spirit of support to the Government and the people of Afghanistan and the brave Afghan National Defence and Security Forces to counter the inhumanity of those who have banded together to ruthlessly brutalize the lives of the ordinary people of Afghanistan. The Security Council deals with multiple conflict situations. Many of them are addressed many times over each quarter. The situation in Afghanistan, by any measure, now warrants that the business-as- usual approach followed to date be reviewed. The Council's manner of addressing the issue through quarterly debates and an annual resolution may have served the purpose in the past.”
2018-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8354 (2018) · source
“1 thank the United States presidency for having convened the present debate on the situation in Afghanistan. I also thank Ambassador Mahmoud Saikal, Permanent Representative of Afghanistan, for his thoughtful presentation; young Ramiz Bakhtiar, the first youth envoy of Afghanistan, for his passionate call to the Security Council to support the aspirations of Afghanistan's young people; and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Yamamoto, for his briefing. The recent report of the Secretary-General (S/2018/824) and the statements made earlier today portray the deteriorating security situation resulting from the growing insurgency, linked with criminal and terrorist networks. The challenges posed by the deteriorating situation do not mean we should simply accept the death toll as inevitable.”
2018-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8354 (2018) · source
“However, it is important not to charge the United Nations with responsibilities that it may be ill-suited to perform. Mediation, in every circumstance, is one such task that it is not geared to fulfil. In line with that approach, allow me to take this opportunity to remind Pakistan - whose representative is the only speaker who has made unwarranted references to an integral part of India - that pacific settlement requires pacific intent in thinking and pacific content in action. Regurgitating a failed approach that has long been rejected by the international community is neither reflective ofpacific intent nor a display ofpacific content. We hope that, rather than indulge in polemics, the new Government of Pakistan will work constructively to build a safe, stable, secure and developed South Asian region free of terror and violence.”
2018-08-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8334 (2018) · source
“Rather than try and throw intractable issues into the lap of the United Nations, a more pragmatic approach is perhaps required. As the Charter of the United Nations itself recognizes, disputes can be settled peacefully through a variety of mechanisms. Today, there are numerous actors and many forms of pacific settlement that may be better suited to addressing the different issues. Instead of putting the United Nations at the centre of mediation efforts and exhorting States to support them, the international community should perhaps give encouragement to those most motivated and having the capacity to do so to settle such issues, as appropriate. Of course, there could be many forms of division of the tasks of pacific settlement of disputes between the United Nations and other concerned actors that can undoubtedly be devised.”
2018-08-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8334 (2018) · source
“However, States members of intergovernmental bodies inevitably tend to speak with different voices. Policymaking within an international organization adds another layer of bargaining and trade-offs. That tortuous decision-making process, imbued with political trade-offs, saps the energy of the United Nations and its flexibility in pursuing mediation. Once the United Nations-authorized entities agree on a mediating proposal or framework, it cannot easily be modified in response to changing circumstances. Will pursuing Secretariat reforms change those inherent inadequacies? Limitations that are embedded in the very nature of intergovernmental organizations are not resolved by the revamping of the Secretariat. Since the problems are functional, it may be more realistic to look at functional solutions rather than structural ones.”
2018-08-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8334 (2018) · source
“Are there inherent characteristics that place limitations on the abilities of the United Nations? Are the mechanisms at the disposal of the United Nations sufficiently coherent and flexible to guide dynamic negotiations with an effective strategy? Can improving them help? The United Nations does not come to mediation unencumbered. The problems of the United Nations apparatus as a mediator are ingrained in the nature of intergovernmental organizations. Add to that the specificities of the Charter of the United Nations, which is premised on cooperation among the permanent members. That cooperation is clearly not visibly evident these days. Where it is manifest, it invariably takes the form of the lowest common denominator. In the practice of day-to-day diplomacy, mediators need to be fully backed by Member States.”
2018-08-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8334 (2018) · source
“Mediation, on the face of it, is based on the interest in and consent and commitment to a peaceful settlement by all parties. In its very essence, mediation is premised on faith in the key principles of independence, sovereignty and freedom of choice, which all actors involved in disputes so zealously desire. The issue is therefore not whether mediation is a useful tool for peaceful settlement. Where acceptable to all parties, it is, in a manner of speaking, settled international law. For us, as practitioners of multilateral diplomacy, the questions to be addressed are whether the apparatus of the United Nations, as currently constituted, can perform many of the basic functions required for effective mediation or, more acutely, is it more than a structural issue and one of functionality?”
2018-08-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8334 (2018) · source
“I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for organizing this debate and for providing an opportunity to address mediation, which is an important tool of diplomacy. I also thank the briefers for their interesting perspectives. The notion of mediation reflects a long-standing principle of international law. However, it was only in article 3 of the 1907 Hague Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes that such an approach was first formally affirmed. Following that initiative, both in the Covenant of the League of Nations and under the Charter of the United Nations, Members assumed a larger obligation than heretofore to settle disputes in a peaceful manner. Hence, opportunities for mediation were afforded greater scope.”
2018-08-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8334 (2018) · source
“The efforts of Uzbekistan in organizing the recent Tashkent conference on Afghanistan and the continuous tireless efforts of Kazakhstan in working on Afghanistan-related issues in the Security Council are indeed significant and crucial to our collective efforts in the region. We will work with all those in the region that also believe that the interests of the Afghans are paramount in bringing about a lasting solution to the security situation through an Afghan-led and Afghan- owned process. Such efforts and those of partners from beyond our region all contribute to the indomitable spirit with which the friendly Afghan people are building their country despite the difficulties that they face. The Council, too, must incessantly contribute to that noble cause.”
2018-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8294 (2018) · source
“The national team of Afghanistan is the new sensation on cricket pitches globally. A few months ago, Afghanistan qualified for the next Cricket World Cup. They made their first foray as a test cricket-playing nation earlier this month, ensuring their presence among the best cricket-playing countries in the world. While having made cricket grounds in India their home base, Afghan cricketers have flourished. However, we look forward to the day when we, too, can play cricket with them on their soil. We appreciate the efforts of our Central Asian friends in assisting Afghanistan in the most difficult times.”
2018-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8294 (2018) · source
“There are now cargo flights between Kabul, Kandahar, New Delhi and Mumbai. Thus far, such flights have carried more than 2,000 tons of exports from Afghanistan to India worth more than tens of millions of dollars. Encouraged by that, we have plans to expand the air freight corridor network to various other cities in Afghanistan and India. Looking at the football on the table and the importance that you, Mr. President, have placed on the power of sport, I believe it important to mention the role of sportspersons from Afghanistan. The Persian poet and Sufi mystic Rumi once said that where there was ruin, there was hope for treasure. That seems to have been the case with the sportspersons from Afghanistan. They have left behind the memories of a time when sport was explicitly banned by the Taliban in Afghanistan.”
2018-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8294 (2018) · source
“For its part, India is aware of the resilience of the friendly people of Afghanistan. On the basis of Afghanistan's desire for robust, reliable and year-round connectivity and to improve trade and investment relations with prominent markets in the region and beyond, India has tailored its support as a development partner of Afghanistan to meet such requirements. In recent months, there have been significant developments as far as connectivity is concerned. Chabahar port in Iran was inaugurated in December 2017. The Indian grant assistance of 170,000 tons of wheat supplies to Afghanistan recently transited through Chabahar, highlighting the benefits of improved connectivity. The India-Afghanistan air freight corridor, established last year, has gained momentum in the first year of its operation.”
2018-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8294 (2018) · source
“We do not need a catastrophe again to remind us that Afghanistan requires strong and steady international support in the elimination of the scourge of terrorism, which is a threat to global peace and security. Mr. F edotov's presentation of the Taliban's involvement in virtually all aspects of the opium trade suggest that it is not only a political or terrorism problem but also one of organized crime. The Security Council therefore needs to build on the reference in resolution 2405 (2018) to the linkages between extremism, terrorism, drug production and the illegal exploitation of the natural resources of Afghanistan. It is time for the Council to look at options to better utilize the range of tools available to it to deal with those transnational networks of drugs, terrorism and crime.”
2018-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8294 (2018) · source
“Despite the much-appreciated peace offer of the Afghan Government, the offensive by the Taliban has taken many lives. Such offensives cannot but be planned and launched without the existence of safe havens in the neighbourhood of Afghanistan. Those supporting the terrorists targeting Afghanistan have not been deterred. Notwithstanding the efforts of the international community, there are still those that provide sanctuaries to support the dark agendas of terrorist organizations, such as the Taliban, the Haqqani network, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, Al-Qaida, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. The same safe havens that sheltered Mullah Omar also sheltered Osama Bin Laden. Lest we forget, the terrorism problem in Afghanistan is not a local one.”
2018-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8294 (2018) · source
“Voronkov for emphasizing the counter-terrorism dimensions. We also express our sincere appreciation of Ambassador Mahmoud Saikal's articulation of the challenges with which Afghanistan is confronted. Listening to the briefings, it is obvious that the events ofhope that are being discerned need to transform into a process if the situation in Afghanistan is to take a turn for the better. Sadly, the markers of progress on fundamental concerns about the situation strike a sombre note, whether in terms of the suffering of the ordinary people of Afghanistan, the senseless orgy of heinous killings by terrorists or the displacement of a conflict-weary people. Those aspects have a sobering impact by bringing us in touch with the harsh realities that the millions of people of Afghanistan face on a day-to-day basis.”
2018-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8294 (2018) · source
“I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for organizing this timely consideration of the situation in Afghanistan. The focus of the international community on Afghanistan has been unremitting since the start of this year. The Security Council visited Afghanistan in January. A ministerial debate on Afghanistan and regional connectivity was organized by Kazakhstan in the Security Council (see S/PV.8162). Several international and regional conferences have been held to address aspects of the issue. We therefore hope that this debate will continue to reflect the unceasing commitment of the international community to Afghanistan. We thank Special Representative of the Secretary-General Mr. Yamamoto for sharing his insights, Mr. Fedotov for providing the perspective on drugs and crimes and Mr.”
2018-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8294 (2018) · source
“A number of courses of action and mechanisms and processes are available to address the operational issues. It is up to the Council to harness them in a collaborative effort. For that, it is also useful to consider developing a normative architecture for civilian protection as part of a broader endeavour, a framework that is politically attuned but not politicized or seen as instrumentalized. It is only then can we move forward with cohesion to address issues that have exacted the heavy price in civilian lives.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“The responsibility also lies with those deciding the resources to be made available to peacekeepers so that they are able to fulfil the tasks that they are mandated to do. The growing number of instances of serious attacks on peacekeepers and the high level of casualties suffered by them in various missions point to the difficulties of being able to implement so-called robust mandates in situations involving rival warring groups mixed with civilian populations. That also puts at risk the credibility and the image of the neutral presence of the United Nations in situations of armed conflict. Conflicts where peacekeeping operations are deployed are inherently messy, complex and difficult. However, those factors should not be taken as an excuse to accept the devastating impact of conflict on civilians.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“Outside agencies can supplement those mechanisms, but cannot supplant them. While nine of the current 14 United Nations peacekeeping missions include civilian protection among their mandates, this aspect is only one of many mandated components. By our count, that is one of, on average, 10 such mandates that each mission is individually expected to fulfil. Every time the Council reviews a peacekeeping operation, it must carry out a serious examination of whether the peacekeepers have the ability to do what they are expected to do in extremely trying circumstances. It is clear that the expectation that United Nations peacekeepers can effectively ensure the protection of civilians in the absence of clear mandates is not realistic. Therefore, the Council's membership needs to frame mandates with clarity and specificity.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“The issue continues to be debated in the Security Council, which has adopted several resolutions and other documents focused on the concept. Those efforts have not really helped to address the main challenges. The difficulties involved in achieving the aims of civilian protection are well known. The responsibility of protecting civilians lies, first of all, with the national authorities. Yet very little is done in terms of bolstering the societal capacities for protection. There is a tendency to assume that protection is about how civilians can be protected by others - that is, somebody other than those affected. That somebody could be the parties to the conflict, peacekeepers and humanitarian organizations. Strengthening national and societal mechanisms is of primary importance.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“The need to protect civilians in the context of United Nations peacekeeping operations has gained prominence since the 1990s, as armed conflict situations evolved rapidly within the changing global geostrategic context from inter-State to more intra-State situations, often involving non- State actors and terrorist networks, and that has led to large-scale violence against civilians. From the beginning, the issue has been a complex one because of the vastly different nature of the armed conflicts themselves, possible contradiction with the long-standing agreed principles of United Nations peacekeeping and the limitations of the mandates and the serious inadequacy of the resources made available for peacekeeping missions.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“Hence it is not the absence of norms that is the cause of today's challenges, it is the inability to abide by established norms that is perhaps the reason for the dismal situation we face in addressing this multidimensional and cross-cutting issue. While the rubric on the protection of civilians stretches over a vast canvas, in view of time constraints I will limit my remarks to the application of the concept to United Nations peacekeeping missions directly mandated by the Security Council. For if we cannot set our house in order and address the issues with the tool that the Council designs and oversees, then broader endeavours may be more difficult to address.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“While it would be historically incorrect to say that there was ever a time when civilians were entirely shielded from the harrowing effects of conflict, the human toll of conflict today is a tragedy that requires redress by translating the concept into feasible actions and operational responses. Throughout history, ways have been sought to limit the effects of conflict. Respect for international humanitarian law and other relevant human rights laws by all parties to an armed conflict and ensuring safe and unhindered access for medical and humanitarian agencies to people in need of assistance are well- established norms.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“We thank the delegation of Poland for holding this open debate. I also thank the President for personally being present here today. We listened attentively to the remarks made by the Secretary-General on this issue. We also thank the other briefers for their valuable input, perspectives and recommendations. Listening to the submissions, there is clearly no dearth of feeling around the Security Council table with respect to addressing issues related to the protection of civilians in armed conflict situations. Yet, judging from the heart-wrenching narratives that we hear, it is obvious that there is a crisis facing the implementation of that concept.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“Those efforts by the Afghan Government calling on the armed groups to cease violence and join the national peace and reconciliation process, which would protect the rights of all Afghans, including women, children and minorities, deserve our full support. However, it should also be clear to the armed opposition that there will be no tolerance for those who continue violence. Any violence needs a robust response. The irreconcilable guns need to be silenced. The indomitable courage of the Afghan people, the spirit of the Afghan youth and the strength of their dreams are a source of collective pride for our region. India is committed to continuing its efforts to strengthen that spirit by supporting all initiatives designed to end violence and bring back peace.”
2018-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8199 (2018) · source
“We will continue our work on the ground to help the women and girls of Afghanistan become self-reliant and capable of playing an effective part in the reconstruction of their country. If we are to preserve the achievements of Afghan women and girls, the international community must continue to extend its full support to an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process. The Afghan National Unity Government recently once again issued a new call for peace and proposed a concrete approach to the Taliban to join the mainstream. The Afghan Government's willingness for peace is despite the fact that armed groups have identified themselves and demonstrated to all of us that they are the irreconcilables.”
2018-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8199 (2018) · source
“They have been working for almost a decade with poor women workers and sending them for training-of-trainers sessions in India. To date, 150 women trainers have been trained in India out of the target of 200 up until May 2018. In addition, more than 3,000 Afghan women have been trained in Kabul and other provinces in Afghanistan to help them to establish a women's self- help organizations in Kabul. During the past three years, about 5,000 Afghan female students have been trained under various higher education scholarship schemes. Moreover, several rural women from Afghanistan have been trained at the Barefoot College in Raj asthan, India, in the field of solar electrification.”
2018-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8199 (2018) · source
“Afghan women have achieved a lot in the two recent decades. We must not allow those gains to be lost or wasted. India has invested over $2 billion in Afghanistan since 2002 in the reconstruction and development of the country. A major focus of our work has been on nearly 550 high-impact community development projects, which cut across areas such as education, health, agriculture and irrigation, power and energy. All ofthem have a direct bearing on improving the lives of all Afghans, including girls and women, specially so for projects in the education and health-care sectors. Indian women's non-governmental orgainzations have undertaken various activities in Afghanistan such, as vocational training of Afghan women in India, as well as establishing women's vocational training centres in various provinces of Afghanistan.”
2018-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8199 (2018) · source
“Indeed, the challenges posed by cross-border terrorism emanating from safe havens and sanctuaries to Afghanistan and to our region must be addressed. Today being International Women's Day, we join in acknowledging that women are perhaps the worst- affected by the protracted conflict and violence in Afghanistan. Notwithstanding the continuing conflict situation, Afghanistan has come a long way since the days of the Taliban, who had reduced women to less than second-class citizens under a despotic regime. Women in the country are no longer imprisoned in their homes and are making progress in all sectors, from technology to athletics and from transportation to the civil service. As we heard earlier, they are committed to continuing their struggles in order to play a significant role in building a progressive and stable society.”
2018-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8199 (2018) · source
“The increase in the cultivation of poppy in the areas under the control of the Taliban and the Taliban's involvement in virtually all aspects of the opium trade suggest that it is akin to a drug cartel. We hope that the Council will better utilize the range of tools available to it to deal with those transnational networks of drugs, terrorism and crime. Despite the international community's efforts, those supporting the terrorists affecting Afghanistan have not been deterred. There are still those who provide sanctuaries to support the dark agendas of terrorist organizations like the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham, Al-Qaida, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.”
2018-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8199 (2018) · source
“The report (S/2018/165) of the Secretary General has highlighted what we feared. The year 2017 was perhaps the worst year in terms of civilian causalities and security incidents in Afghanistan. Thousands of innocent and precious Afghan lives fell prey to mindless violence. It is in that context that we welcome the adoption of resolution 2405 (2018), which extends the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), as an affirmation of the collective objective of support for the Afghan people. The brave Afghan people must not lose hope, and we, the international community, must not lose heart. We specifically welcome the Council's focus on linkages among extremism, terrorism, drug production and the illegal exploitation of the natural resources of Afghanistan.”
2018-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8199 (2018) · source
“Since the start of this year there has been sharper focus by the Security Council on issues relating to Afghanistan. The Council members' visit to Afghanistan, the ministerial debate on Afghanistan and regional connectivity (see S/PV.8162) and the enhanced focus by the Chairman of the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1988 (2011) on the situation in the country all bode well for the attention that the worsening situation in Afghanistan necessitates. I thank you, Madam President, for following that welcome trend and organizing today's debate. We also thank Ambassador Yamamoto, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, for sharing his insights on the prospects for peace ahead of us in 2018. We also appreciate the eloquent portrayals of the strides made by Afghan women and what more needs to be done in that regard.”
2018-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8199 (2018) · source
“President, and what you add to the work done by your predecessors as Chair of the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions, will lead to a protopian Council that strives every day to make its work methods better than they were the day before, even if only slightly.”
2018-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8175 (2018) · source
“Clearly, there exists a case for the Council to address the anomalies in the working methods of its subterranean universe of Sanctions Committees. They not only affect the efficiency and credibility of the Council's work but also the larger membership, which has to implement the Council's decisions. It is in that spirit that my country, along with so many others, has called for reform of the Security Council's composition and working methods. Until that happens, we want to make it clear that we do not aspire to a utopia and nor do we believe that the current situation is dystopian. Our objective in pointing out these issues is to move beyond the status quo to what we may term a protopia - a state that envisages a better tomorrow than yesterday, even if it is only a little better. We hope that this debate, Mr.”
2018-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8175 (2018) · source