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

“For example, if after consultations consensus still cannot be reached, two of the Committees provide that the matter may be referred to the Security Council by the member concerned; in four other Committees, the matter may be referred to the Security Council by the Chair; in six more Committees, the matter may be submitted to the Security Council, without specifying by whom; in one other Committee, the matter may be referred to the Security Council by the Chair or by the Committee member concerned; and in one final Committee, we could not find any explicit option for referring the matter to the Council. The divergences do not end there. While 13 Sanctions Committees function without the need for an ombudsperson to submit recommendations for a review, one specific Sanctions Committee provides for an Ombudsperson.”
2018-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8175 (2018) · source
“Even though the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan - your predecessor as President of the Security Council last month, Mr. President - has set high standards of transparency by issuing press statements after every consultation of the Council, no such practice exists in the subterranean universe of the Sanctions Committees. The challenges relating to the Sanctions Committees' working methods have to do not only with transparency and accountability, but also with the diversity of the mechanisms for reviewing decision-making in cases of differences among members.”
2018-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8175 (2018) · source
“Unlike in the Security Council, where vetoes are cast in public meetings and explanations made publicly, in the subterranean universe no such practice exists; in fact, the principles of anonymity and unanimity reign. That is not the only difference between the working methods of the subterranean universe of the Council and the official Council meetings. No one other than the members of the Council is aware of the total number of decisions made by the sanctions committees. For example, in 2017, by our estimates, an additional 53 individuals and 19 entities were listed by the sanctions committees. However, how many others were considered but placed on hold or blocked from being listed is neither available on the record nor made public. The rationale for the use of the anonymous veto is never provided to the general membership.”
2018-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8175 (2018) · source
“For example, in practical terms, the decisions of the sanctions committees can be placed on hold or blocked by any of the 15 members of the committees. While decision-making on Security Council resolutions is based on clearly defined thresholds provided for in the Charter of the United Nations and the provisional rules of procedure, in the case of the subterranean universe, each and every one of the Council's members now has an effective veto on decision-making. What is worse is that no one except the members of the subterranean universe is aware of the use of a veto while deciding on a reference made to any of the sanctions committees. Such is the effective impact of that anonymous veto that a proposal that has been blocked is not even made public. In addition, no rationale is provided for the anonymous vetoing of a submission.”
2018-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8175 (2018) · source
“In terms of numbers, those decisions far exceed the outcomes arrived at by the Security Council in open meetings during public sittings over the same period. That large number of decisions flows from the universe of sanctions committees that comprise representatives of Council members who decide on behalf of the Council. Those decisions are binding on Member States. Yet each of those decisions of the sanctions committees is taken beyond the gaze of the public, with no explanation of the inputs that go into the decision-making. For want of a better depiction, it would appear that the committees form the subterranean universe of the Council. That universe functions in accordance with decision-making methods that are not the same as those of a normal functioning Council.”
2018-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8175 (2018) · source
“However, I will focus on the thus far neglected but growing arena of work of the Security Council's subordinate sanctions-related organs. There are 14 such sanctions committees established under various resolutions of the Council. Drawing on delegated authority from the Council, those committees perform the functions of the Council in terms of designation of individuals, entities and undertakings deemed to be threats to international peace and security. Cumulatively, as of 31 December 2017, those committees have listed a total of 678 individuals and 385 entities as subject to United Nation targeted sanctions and restrictive measures such as assets freezes, travel bans and arms embargoes.”
2018-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8175 (2018) · source
“I thank you, Sir, for organizing today's open debate on an issue that is of interest and importance to the entire membership of the United Nations. I also thank Mr. Ian Martin for his briefing. As the organ of the United Nations tasked with the maintenance of international peace and security on behalf of the comity of nations, the Security Council - its work and the way it chooses to organize it - is as a matter of interest for all. The edifice of the working methods of the Council is erected on the nebulous expanse of rules of procedure that remain provisional even after 70 years and on a series of quasi- formal presidential notes. Therefore, the field is rich in terms of opportunities for making practical suggestions for improvement.”
2018-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8175 (2018) · source
“Ifwe do so, the decay that has been inflicted on Afghanistan can be made reversible. The Council has returned after a successful visit to Afghanistan. It was a visit during which, in the many interactions they had with a cross-section of Afghan interlocutors, Council members must certainly have come across the common Afghan saying, "A sign is enough for the wise to understand". We hope that the Council will act with wisdom to promote the vision of a shared and connected future for the people of the region by addressing the security conundrum that Afghanistan faces.”
2018-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8162 (2018) · source
“These mindsets need to change. We honour the supreme sacrifices made by the Afghan Defence and Security Forces for the cause of humanity and in their efforts at fighting terrorism emanating from beyond Afghanistan's borders. Terrorism and externally induced instability pose the gravest threat to Afghanistan's peace, stability and prosperity, and the growing arc of terrorist violence endangers our entire region. There is a common Afghan saying that roughly translates as, "If water is muddied downstream, do not waste your time filtering it; better to go upstream and clean it". As such, support for voices ofpeace in Afghanistan alone is not enough. We must focus on addressing the challenges posed by cross-border terrorism emanating from safe havens and sanctuaries to our region, especially to Afghanistan.”
2018-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8162 (2018) · source
“It is our vision that Afghanistan will regain its place, and we remain committed to working closely with our regional and international partners to bring peace, security, stability and prosperity to Afghanistan. It is with this in mind that our Prime Minister, during his visit to Afghanistan on 24 December 2015, to inaugurate the Parliament building, stopped over in Lahore, Pakistan. Unfortunately, the visit was followed by a heinous and barbaric terrorist attack on the Pathankot airbase on 1 January 2016, perpetrated and planned by the very same mindsets that attack the spirit of Afghanistan every day. These mindsets differentiate between good and bad terrorists and refuse to see reason in peace. People with these mindsets are reluctant to join hands in moving the region forward to build a shared future for our people and our youth.”
2018-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8162 (2018) · source
“The cities of Kabul, Balkh, Herat, Kandahar and Bamiyan constituted some of the key way stations on the crossroads of history through which trade, culture, religions, syncretic philosophies and technologies freely flowed, to reach every corner of Eurasia. We therefore support the desire of the Afghan Government and people, as expressed by President Ghani, to regain their country's former status as the centre of the Asian crossroads. Afghanistan has always been at the heart of networks: a roundabout, a place of meetings, civilizations, religions, cultures and, of course, armies and traders as well as pilgrims, and, hopefully, will once again become the true heart of our region's prosperity.”
2018-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8162 (2018) · source
“We have also cooperated with Iran and Afghanistan to facilitate the flow of goods between our countries through the Chabahar port. This also opens opportunities for surface connectivity between India and the Central Asian region. Recent visits to India by President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah in the past three months have provided impetus to the wide-ranging new development partnership that both our countries launched in September 2017. This covers diverse areas, including education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, renewable energy, drinking-water supply and human- resource development. Our people-to-people contacts extend from colleges and cricket fields to trade and investment. For thousands of years, Afghanistan was situated at the heart of Asia.”
2018-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8162 (2018) · source
“Today, they are in need of rejuvenation and reconnection. To reconnect and revive the commonalities of the region, we need to confront these forces of decay and destruction. It is our belief that the starting point of our journey to realize the full spectrum of connectivity between Central and South Asia, as articulated by our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi - from culture to commerce; from traditions to technology; from investments to information technology; from services to strategy; and from people to politics - begins in Afghanistan. In line with our vision of a connected region, we established in 2017 air corridors between India and Afghanistan to overfly the obstacles imposed by geography and mindsets that hurt the welfare of the Afghan people.”
2018-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8162 (2018) · source
“While we commonly see attacks on dams, schools, parliament buildings and electric-power centres, what is most debilitating for the development of the country are the attacks on its people. The attacks on the young in Afghan schools, women in Afghan hospitals and the hopeful in Afghan mosques all are a stark reminder of how the very spirit of Afghanistan's future is being systematically threatened and scarred by those who believe that violence is the only way to achieve their goals. The people of Central and South Asia have been connected through centuries. We have shared commonalities of art and culture, ideas and knowledge, as well as language and traditions. These connections, while now tarnished by decades of war and instability in the region, remain resilient even in the face of the forces of decay and division.”
2018-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8162 (2018) · source
“That the security situation weighs adversely on Afghanistan is reflected in the latest World Bank Development Update. From 2003 to 2012, Afghanistan recorded a 9.6 per cent annual economic growth rate. Last year, the rate was 2.6 per cent, which is better than the 2.2 per cent recorded in 2016, which in turn was better than the lower growth rate in 2014-2015. Next year, the projections are for growth to edge up to 3.2 per cent, assuming the security situation holds. Many of us who are engaged in development and infrastructure projects in Afghanistan are acutely aware of the disproportionate amount of resources that are diverted to protecting the projects and infrastructure that is created, rather than implementing more projects in the country.”
2018-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8162 (2018) · source
“Ithank you, Mr. President, for organizing today's debate on Afghanistan and for choosing the subject "Building regional partnership in Afghanistan and Central Asia as a model to link security and development". We also thank the Secretary-General for sharing his views on a subject that is so closely linked to the stability of our region. Afghanistan is the true heart of Asia and a linchpin to the economy of the region. As pointed out by several other speakers, security and development are closely linked, and that link must drive the policies and actions of all stakeholders at the conceptual and operational levels. However, in the case of Afghanistan, that link is skewed in one direction only - the impact of the deteriorating security environment on development.”
2018-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8162 (2018) · source
“To tackle contemporary challenges, we need to move beyond old moulds. Until then, "speech acts" like today's debate will remain just speeches, and will have little impact on the billions of "we the people" who are striving to live peacefully in a safe and secure manner well beyond this Chamber.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“In other cases, when sanctions committees have designated terrorists, there are States that mainstream United Nations- designated terrorist individuals into their political processes in total disregard of international law, thus jeopardizing our common security. The reasons for the lack of success of international structures designed seven decades ago in dealing with the complex challenges of today are self-evident. A non-representative Council, designed many years ago to maintain the balance of power among competing rivals, is simply not equipped to handle the challenges that have changed beyond recognition in the intervening decades. An instrument that is no longer considered legitimate and has lost its credibility cannot be our hope for salvation. New realities cannot be addressed by old paradigms.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“That is a common challenge that requires greater focus by the Council, one in which close nternational cooperation needs to be, can be and should be expanded for our common interest. It appears that that common threat to States and societies is not clearly understood here. Even on counter-terrorism, cooperation continues to elude this Council. It is noticed that on an issue as serious as the designation of terrorist individuals and entities, the Council-mandated sanctions committees fail to make concrete progress and in some cases fall victim to narrow political and strategic concerns.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“Those are all issues that cannot be addressed merely by securitization of transnational challenges. Most of the interlinked issues that are now understood to be important point to the fundamental need to ensure that sustainable development is available to all and to reduce gross disparities. Such issues are rightly discussed outside the Council by the wider membership of the United Nations at various levels, not merely in this Chamber and not only under its rubric of peace and security. In this Chamber, we would do well to address the complexities of the peace and security scenario, such as those arising from the globalization of terror networks. Those networks operate across borders with their hateful ideologies, some of which are based on deep-rooted perceived grievances. They raise finances, procure arms and recruit operatives.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“That has added to the challenges in the delivery of global public goods. When global public goods are underproduced and fail to be delivered, everybody suffers. At the same time, it is also obvious that some States are better able and equipped to handle complex threats. Those who are more vulnerable to such occurrences lack the basic resilience required. Often it becomes an issue of the level of economic development and the availability of financial and other resources. The disparity in the economic development of countries cannotbe seen in isolation from an increasingly globalized scenario that links markets for commodities, labour and finished products, manufacturing supply chains, services and financial markets. That points us to the distortions in the way global governance for trade, investment and human mobility functions today.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“Once we recognize the complexity of our times and how they have changed, it is not difficult to understand why the structures designed for vastly different times tend to be ineffective in dealing with the challenges that are being outlined here. In short, our responses require a basic reordering of our perspectives. Such challenges are not new to humankind; humans have faced them since time immemorial. However, it is acknowledged that their impact is sometimes much wider in modern times in an interdependent world. Technological changes are creating economic, ecological, political and social globalization that requires cooperative responses. Disruptions anywhere tend to impact aspects of contemporary life elsewhere. The complexity of issues on the global agenda today is perhaps unique to our times.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“The threat to international peace and security at that time came from those competing Powers jostling for geostrategic supremacy. The primary concern in terms of peace and security at that time was to prevent a recurrence of a major war by maintaining geostrategic balance among the major Powers. The challenges that are increasingly being mentioned in the discourse of this Chamber these days as areas of concern for international peace and security are different. The emphasis, as we have heard, is on challenges such as climate change, pandemics, famines, natural disasters, humanitarian crises and cybersecurity. That is surely a different agenda from the one of seventy years ago. Moreover, the power balance that existed seventy years ago has changed quite significantly.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“Sitting here listening to the speakers makes me realize the validity of a dictum that I heard many years ago. It is that each generation tends to confront the challenges of the next generation, using the tools of the preceding generation, without even knowing it. Today's debate appears to be one such instance. The topic refers to the complexity of contemporary challenges to international peace and security. It is useful to remind ourselves of the need to focus on the terms "contemporaneity" and "complexity". Seven decades ago - to paraphrase the unforgettable depiction of the poet W. H. Auden - the world was emerging from the low, dishonest decades of depression, tyranny, war and genocide. Those years of catastrophe were on account of the then-leading Powers fighting over territories and resources globally.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“President, for your efforts and look forward to more such opportunities to be able to help our Afghan friends in their endeavour to find peace and stability in their land.”
2017-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8055 (2017) · source
“We support Afghanistan's determination to overcome its security challenges, and the willingness of many in the international community to effectively deal with the issue of safe havens enjoyed by the terrorist organizations that pose a threat to the region and beyond. For its part, the Security Council must act on the funds that the terrorists in Afghanistan are generating through their illicit activities. In that regard, we would like the Council to consider how the sanctions regime established under resolution 1988 (2011) can be utilized also to leverage progress in the peace process. These are significant instruments and must be utilized to their full capacity. We once again thank you, Mr.”
2017-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8055 (2017) · source
“These groups are stealing the resources of Afghanistan, which ought to belong to the people of the country. The international community's first and foremost duty is to ensure that the forces of terrorism and extremism do not find sanctuaries and safe havens anywhere and at any level. We must not differentiate between good and bad terrorists, or play one group off against the other. The Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Al-Qaida, Da'esh, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and others of their ilk are all terrorist organizations, many of them proscribed by the United Nations. They should be treated like terrorist organizations, with no justifications offered for their activities.”
2017-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8055 (2017) · source
“Whether they relate to Afghanistan's political and military engagement with its partners or to the differences in its political establishment, the solutions and the approach must be driven by the Afghans and by Afghans alone. The situation in Afghanistan has remained particularly painful and disturbing, with the security situation worsening and visible signs of that the gains made by the international community and Afghan people are being undermined. The incessant attacks on hospitals, schools, funerals, international development agencies and diplomatic missions are a matter of serious concern. The multiple crises that have been inflicted on Afghanistan have made Afghan territory attractive for criminal and terrorist groups, which are well connected to international terror and criminal networks.”
2017-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8055 (2017) · source
“This work must be implemented with regular consultations with the Afghan Government. We look forward to consulting with relevant actors in that process and to assisting in it whenever required. While undertaking our collective efforts here at the United Nations or at other multilateral settings, we must be mindful to support the strengthening of Afghanistan's sovereignty and stability, which are the two things that anti-Government terrorist elements are trying to undermine from their safe havens across the borders of Afghanistan. What Afghanistan needs is not prescriptions but support for its efforts. The people of Afghanistan should decide what they need and what they want to do.”
2017-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8055 (2017) · source
“The worst violations of human rights are caused by terrorism, and the people of Afghanistan have endured that for too long. We have taken note of the report (S/2017/696) of the Secretary-General on the strategic review of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). We have also noted the reflections of the Secretary-General on the situation in Afghanistan and welcome his findings, especially those on the political aspect of the Mission in Afghanistan. Further, we welcome the efforts of the Secretary-General to address the shortcomings in the functioning of UNAMA, which remains the biggest special political mission of the United Nations in any country. We hope that it will strengthen the supportive role of the United Nations so as to enhance its performance in all areas of its mandate.”
2017-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8055 (2017) · source
“As a friend of Afghanistan, India supports Minister Rabbani's appeal to the international community to support his country in strengthening the gains made by the Afghan people over the past 15 years. On its part, India has just launched a new development partnership with Afghanistan. We will begin implementing high-impact projects all across Afghanistan using the fresh development assistance of $1 billion announced last year. We will focus on building infrastructure for socioeconomic development, enhancing the capacities and capabilities of institutions of governance, and promoting the skills and capacities of human resources. We welcome and support the announcement by Minister Rabbani of Afghanistan's candidature for the Human Rights Council elections to be later this year.”
2017-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8055 (2017) · source
“I thank you, Sir, for organizing this debate on the situation in Afghanistan and for providing us with an opportunity on an issue that forms a very important part of the peace and security debate in the Security Council. We thank Ambassador Yamamoto for his reflections on the current situation. We were happy to hear the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan address the Council earlier today. We welcomed Mr. Rabbani in Delhi earlier this month for the second meeting of the India-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Council. For India, strategic partnership and friendship with Afghanistan are an article of faith. Ours is not just another relationship or engagement, but a spiritual and. civilizational connect.”
2017-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8055 (2017) · source
“In the African Union, the United Nations has a willing partner. The question that the Council should answer is whether it is ready to do what is required to make a difference where it matters most. I hope that today's discussions lead to specific steps in that direction.”
2017-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8006Reprise1 (2017) · source
“We firmly believe that a commitment to supporting peacebuilding is crucial to sustainable peace in Africa. Thirdly, the ever-expanding terror networks have endangered peace and security in the African region in unprecedented ways. Time and again, from Boko Haram to Al-Shabaab, they have shown themselves to be ever more connected to other such networks all over the world. They pose a threat to the broader international community in many ways. The United Nations response to such threats continues to be unsatisfactory. The price of such indifference is immeasurable. It is time for a strong, effective and coherent response that reflects the international community's collective commitment to defeating the scourge of terrorism. The complex nature of modern conflicts makes it necessary to respond to the changing needs ofour times.”
2017-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8006Reprise1 (2017) · source
“There has been no agreement, alas, on increasing the funding for the Commission to even 1 per cent of the annual total for peacekeeping operations. As a member of the Commission since its inception, India has so far contributed more than $5 million to the Peacebuilding Fund. More substantively, as part of its tradition of South-South solidarity in development cooperation and working within the limits of its capacities and capabilities, India has extended concessional credit worth $10 billion and doubled the numbers of scholarships for African students to 50,000 over a five-year period. India's partnership with Africa is based on a cooperation model that is responsive to African countries' needs. It is demand-driven, free of conditions and provided in a non-prescriptive manner.”
2017-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8006Reprise1 (2017) · source
“Secondly, the importance of comprehensive sustainable development, inclusive economic growth and political processes in preventing conflict and implementing effective peacebuilding efforts is broadly recognized. The adoption by the United Nations of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063 represent a recognition of the fact that the key factors for sustaining peace are cross-cutting and interlinked. That requires long- term commitment and sustained investment, including vastly expanded funding. The identical resolutions on the review of the peacebuilding architecture adopted last year by the General Assembly (70/262) and the Security Council (2282 (2016)) defined the concept ofsustaining peace and called for the work of the Peacebuilding Commission to be strengthened.”
2017-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8006Reprise1 (2017) · source
“As we speak, as part of our trilateral cooperation with the United States, a United Nations peacekeeping course for African partners based on the concept of training the trainers is ongoing in New Delhi, with the participation of officials from 18 African nations who are deployed in various African peacekeeping training institutions. India is also committed to promoting gender equality and sensitivity. Our l25-member all-women police contingent in Liberia was the first such deployment in a United Nations peacekeeping mission. The presence of a female police unit has inspired several women there to come forward to join the police force and participate in maintaining law and order. We should make such role models essential ingredients of every United Nations peacekeeping operation with police deployments.”
2017-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8006Reprise1 (2017) · source
“We should analyse various missions for the important lessons to be drawn from them. India has participated in most peacekeeping operations in Africa and is ready to contribute to any future such operations based on our limited capabilities and capacities. As part of our efforts to share experiences in strengthening the capacities of African peacekeepers, we have focused on human-resources development and capacity-building. India has worked both bilaterally and in tripartite partnerships to build the defence capabilities of several African States.”
2017-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8006Reprise1 (2017) · source
“Africa's wish to play a leading role in addressing African problems is, therefore, a work in progress and needs to be supported. However, issues of capacity and resource constraints do exist. On the other hand, the maintenance of international peace and security is one of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. It also entails the collective responsibility of Member States to extend mutual support for strengthening capacities and capabilities to address threats to international peace and security. I shall focus on three issues. First of all, it is a well-known fact that despite the deployment of large peacekeeping contingents in Africa, their record of success has been mixed, somewhat reflecting the complexities of geopolitics, political will and the capacities and resources supporting peacekeeping efforts.”
2017-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8006Reprise1 (2017) · source
“I thank you, Sir, for bringing much needed focus to an issue which touches on the ethos and character of how we do business here at the United Nations. As new and diverse forms of threats - some clear and present, others only dimly perceived - test our collective resolve and call into question the validity of existing mechanisms, it is time to assess if we can work together on what is in our collective interest. The briefings today have provided insight in that regard. Africa is unique, as the whole continent is committed to working together on the entire spectrum of issues, including peace and security, through the African Union. Regional and subregional organizations probably enjoy the advantages of language and situational awareness and can respond more quickly as they have a better understanding of the complexities of the situation.”
2017-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8006Reprise1 (2017) · source
“The Taliban, the Haggani Network, Al-Qaida, Da'esh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and others of their ilk are all terror organizations, many of them proscribed by the United Nations. They should be treated like terrorist organizations, with no justifications offered for their activities. India, for its part, will continue to stand, in the words of our Prime Minister, not behind but shoulder to shoulder with the democratically elected Government of Afghanistan as it battles terror and the multiple crises inflicted on it. We hope that the Council, which is tasked with the responsibility of maintaining international peace and security, will also play its role in restoring peace in Afghanistan.”
2017-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7980 (2017) · source
“Our efforts to that end will be improved by the opening of a direct air corridor between our two countries, as agreed on between our two Heads of State in December. The first cargoes of goods arrived in both countries a few days ago, overcoming the obstructions that we have faced in connecting and trading directly with each other. While we welcome the efforts to renew the United Nations approach to dealing with Afghanistan through the upcoming strategic review of UNAMA, such efforts should be guided by the needs and priorities of Afghanistan, its people and its Government. We would appreciate broader and more informal discussions on the matter with all important stakeholders. In this regard, we must not differentiate between good and bad terrorists or play one group against the other.”
2017-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7980 (2017) · source
“Why are we not hearing discussions in the Security Council about ideas and plans of action for a conflict that has left many Afghan lives shattered and brutalized? In the past few months, the attacks on hospitals, schools, funerals, international development agencies and diplomatic missions seem to have been designed to send a message to a nation trying to stand on its feet. We salute the Afghan national security forces, which are doing their best to combat the forces of terrorism and extremism as they continue to strike, one after another. India remains committed to standing with Afghanistan and to supporting and strengthening its capabilities, not just for fighting terrorism and violence but also to assist it with development and nation-building.”
2017-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7980 (2017) · source
“For example, where are those anti-Government elements getting their weapons, explosives, training and funding? Where do they find safe havens and sanctuary? How is it that they have resisted one of the biggest collective military efforts in the world? How is it that they collaborate with the world's most dreadful terrorists in killing and brutalizing Afghans? How is it that the phenomenal increase in opium production, accompanied by a rise in global narcotic prices, has been totally ignored by the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1988 (2011)? Why is the 1988 sanctions regime still maintained when there is no effort to use its leverage for progress in the peace process? Why do we hear nothing about the stalled peace process from those involved, or about the activities of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group?”
2017-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7980 (2017) · source
“While no two conflicts are identical, one wonders why, despite the fact that we have witnessed the worst possible violence in Afghanistan, the Council does not think it appropriate to meet more often than in routine quarterly debates on the situation there. At times it has even shied away from condemning some of the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. Is it that there are far too many to keep track of? Is it because there is a threshold below which human lives lost to terrorism are not required to be addressed? We see a growing tendency to treat the violence in Afghanistan as routine. Brutality committed by terrorist and criminal networks are ignored, labelled as a product of anti-Government elements or the inevitable consequence of a civil and political conflict. In doing so we seem to be failing to ask some crucial questions.”
2017-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7980 (2017) · source
“The situation is affecting security in South Asia, Central Asia and regions beyond. More often than not, a crisis can be seen as a catalyst for real change and genuine solutions. However, for that to happen, our perceptions must be straight and forthright. After all, we cannot change what we cannot see, or what we are unwilling to see. For a long time, we believe, that has been the conundrum facing the international community in Afghanistan - that the international community's collective inability and unwillingness to see the problem for what it is has inflicted huge costs on the people of Afghanistan.”
2017-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7980 (2017) · source
“Clearly, in Afghanistan the international community is dealing with an adversary not averse to flagrantly violating international humanitarian law and human rights laws - an adversary flush with resources, weapons and operational support; an adversary with access to sanctuaries outside the sovereignty of Afghanistan and operational command of the international forces deployed there; an adversary that sees no reason or incentive to give up violence and participate in creation of a democratic, united, stable, secure and prosperous State. Unfortunately, the multiple crises that have been inflicted on this war- torn country have once again made Afghan territory attractive to criminal and terrorist groups that now appear to be well connected to international terror and crime networks that in turn prey on Afghanistan's resources.”
2017-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7980 (2017) · source
“I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for organizing today's debate on the situation in Afghanistan. We also appreciate the briefing by Special Representative Yamamoto and the statement by Ambassador Mahmoud Saikal, Permanent Representative of Afghanistan, which have added to our understanding of the current crises in Afghanistan. The recent flurry of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, including the massive Kabul bomb attack, have left many of us horror-struck.”
2017-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7980 (2017) · source
“Can all of us, who have invested so much in support of the Afghan people, remain watching on the sidelines? Can we simply look on as territories are captured by terrorists, people are killed or forced, under threat, to go back to a situation that is the same or worse than the one they fled? Here and now, it is imperative that we take decisive action. We must not forget the implications the world faced in 2001 for its lack of action. History never forgives those who forget it.”
2017-03-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7896 (2017) · source
“Even as the democratically elected Government of Afghanistan battles against terror, it is being saddled with mounting problems that are not of its making. We are seeing a paradoxical phenomenon of the return of almost a million Afghans to their homeland, many involuntarily, in the most difficult security and economic situation the country has witnessed. As if all this were not enough, the landlocked country's access to the high seas is becoming an issue of contention. The collective humanitarian impact of all this is staggering, as outlined in the Secretary General's report (S/2017/189) and by the briefers today. Has the trend of reversing of the gains of the international community and Afghan people in the last decades perhaps now started?”
2017-03-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7896 (2017) · source