YouSaid · the spoken record

Allen

lines on the record: 1,072
first: 2017-08-15
most recent: 2020-12-07
sittings or episodes: 159
sources: un-security-council

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“We are committed to focusing on practical action, sharing best practices and lessons learned and continuing to learn from other troop- and police-contributing nations. To that end, as we announced on the margins of the United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial, the United Kingdom is contributing $1.3 million to the newly launched Elsie Initiative on Women in Peace Operations, and we fully support the Elsie fund's focus on incentivizing and assisting Member States in deploying more trained and qualified uniformed women and maximizing the impact of women's participation.”
2019-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8508 (2019) · source
“We must keep changing mindsets, ensuring that expanding women's participation is seen as an essential operational enabler and part of the core function of a mission, not as a box-ticking exercise. We must keep taking concrete action to ensure that women have equal opportunities to participate in peacekeeping. That must include equal access to information about opportunities to deploy, equal opportunities to develop relevant skills and experience and equal access to adequate accommodation, facilities, equipment and medical services in the field. The United Kingdom supports innovative approaches to tackling those and other barriers to women's meaningful participation in peacekeeping.”
2019-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8508 (2019) · source
“Women still make up only 10.5 per cent of the United Kingdom's regular armed forces and only 13 per cent of military officers. Examples set by trailblazing women such as Air Marshal Sue Gray, who became the first three-star female officer in the Royal Air Force this year, have yet to become the norm. So although we are proud of the progress we have made in increasing female participation in the United Kingdom's armed forces and, by extension, in our peacekeeping contributions, we know that there is much more to do. Having said earlier that this is not about just saying the right thing, it is about doing things, I would like to set out a few things that we think should happen.”
2019-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8508 (2019) · source
“On the ground, aside from having the best available troops, we see real operational benefits from deploying more gender-balanced forces. As others have, we note that deploying more peacekeepers enables missions to engage with a wider range of people in local communities, which in turn leads to better situational awareness. Asking peacekeepers to understand local conflict dynamics and risks without the ability to engage effectively with local women is like asking them to patrol with one eye closed. Having more female peacekeepers in missions can also make it easier for women and girls who have survived sexual violence in conflict, or sexual exploitation and abuse, to come forward and speak about their experiences. But we do recognize and share the challenges that most national militaries face in achieving gender parity.”
2019-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8508 (2019) · source
“Let me start by saying how proud I am that the United Kingdom has already met and exceeded the United Nations target set in 2015 for doubling female participation in peacekeeping by 2020. Women currently make up 7 per cent of our contingent peacekeeping troops and 18 per cent of military observers and staff offices. This is not just a point of principle or about simply saying the right thing. It is about effectiveness. Just as in our countries we suffer economically if we do not let all of our population participate in the workforce, so we suffer militarily if we exclude women from our armed forces and from promotion within them. We prevent ourselves from getting the best people for the job by limiting the pool available, and we therefore limit our fighting ability.”
2019-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8508 (2019) · source
“We should not underestimate the challenges facing the NPT, which are themselves an indication of the challenges facing international security. Any meaningful discussion on disarmament must take the wider security environment into account. We all have a responsibility to work for a safer, more stable world in which States with nuclear weapons feel able to relinquish them. That is where the Security Council must make its own contribution to the NPT. That must involve remaining resolute in our determination to fully disarm North Korea and prevent the escalation of conflicts. We must give our full political support to the continuation of the NPT process and an agreed, consensus-based outcome of the upcoming Review Conference.”
2019-04-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8500 (2019) · source
“We are pleased to have signed a new Voluntary Offer Agreement and Additional Protocol with the IAEA in June 2018 and a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement in 2018, which enables the United Kingdom to establish a domestic nuclear safeguards regime. We continue to regard the additional protocol as the gold standard of safeguards and urge those States that have yet to do so to agree and ratify such agreements with the IAEA. We strongly support the State-level concept. I also want to note the echoing silence on compliance issues from some of the States that are most eager to promote the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a treaty lacks any concrete provisions for verifying compliance. The United Kingdom will not support, sign or ratify it.”
2019-04-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8500 (2019) · source
“We encourage all States to do the same. We intend to use our coordinator role of the process involving the Council's five permanent members (P- 5) to continue the excellent work that has taken place under Chinese leadership, including continuing the P-5's dialogue with all signatories. We will remain a strong supporter of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and all the work that it does, including efforts related to technical cooperation. The United Kingdom has made significant extrabudgetary contributions to support the refurbishment of the nuclear application laboratories at Seibersdorf, Austria, including in the amount of more than â‚¬l million for the period from 2016 to 2018.”
2019-04-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8500 (2019) · source
“We encourage all States to fully participate in that process in order to continue to grow capacity for verification worldwide; and we very much welcome France and Germany's joint verification exercise scheduled for later this year. We must all continue to promote the step-by- step approach, work for the universalization of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and promote the early commencement and conclusion of negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty at the Conference on Disarmament. Allow me to outline some of the steps that the United Kingdom is taking to support a successful outcome of the Review Conference. We will be submitting a draft implementation report to the Preparatory Committee, setting out how we have implemented the NPT in this review cycle.”
2019-04-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8500 (2019) · source
“That is why the United Kingdom is working on developing disarmament verification solutions, in particular with the United States, Sweden and Norway in the Quad Nuclear Verification Partnership. Establishing an effective verification regime will be vital if we are to realize our long-term goal of multilateral nuclear disarmament. States will need to have confidence that a nuclear-armed State has dismantled its warheads and - crucially - that they have been dismantled in a way that makes us safer rather than spreading nuclear knowledge. Such work has demonstrated that non-nuclear- weapon States can play an important role in the development of nuclear disarmament verification, while preventing proliferation.”
2019-04-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8500 (2019) · source
“As we approach another Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, we should keep in mind that there is more that unites us than our differences and that we all agree that we should strengthen the NPT going forward. The United Kingdom is committed to working with all partners to secure a positive outcome to the Review Conference process, which means resolving the issue of the presidency and agreeing an agenda for the 2020 Review Conference and its Preparatory Committee at its third session. Despite those challenges, it is important that we continue to demonstrate progress on disarmament in a way that strengthens all of our security.”
2019-04-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8500 (2019) · source
“It has also provided the framework to develop secure and safe peaceful uses for nuclear energy globally, which ensures that the international community can have confidence in the safety of civilian nuclear energy and, where proliferation does occur, the NPT provides the framework for the Council's action to contain it. Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran is subjected to a rigorous programme of inspections made possible by the architecture underpinning the NPT; and while the Council continues to demand that North Korea dismantle its nuclear programme, its verification will ultimately need to be conducted consistent with the NPT.”
2019-04-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8500 (2019) · source
“As we embark upon another review cycle for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), it is important that we, as the Security Council, charged with the maintenance of international peace and security, take a step back and consider the contribution made by the NPT to international stability. Over the past 50 years, the NPT has minimized the proliferation of nuclear weapons and provided the framework for significant nuclear disarmament. For example, the United Kingdom has more than halved the number of warheads it had at the height of the Cold War. Of course, the NPT has not just been about prohibition.”
2019-04-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8500 (2019) · source
“Fifthly, we could put greater attention on humanitarian violations when designing and implementing sanctions regimes. And, sixthly, we should push consistently for an accountability mechanism where States cannot, or will not, act. As Mr. Maurer said, upholding international humanitarian law depends on our common acceptance that there are limits to war. We all, therefore, have a stake in upholding and strengthening it for our common humanity.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“First, we must ask for, gather and then discuss data about not just the most egregious violations of international humanitarian law but also the bureaucratic impediments and interference with humanitarian assistance, which kill so many of those in most desperate need. Secondly, we must ensure that the United Nations system is able to support States in spreading understanding of international humanitarian law and training armed forces, and Government officials more broadly. Thirdly, we should consider how such understanding and training could be expanded to non-State actors and ensure they also are held to account. Fourthly, we could call out consistently violations of international humanitarian law by all actors in our regular business and our country-specific conversations - whether on South Sudan, Syria, Myanmar or elsewhere.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“Therefore, let us not have our attention deflected from the fact that Physicians for Human Rights corroborated 553 attacks on medical facilities in Syria in 2018, of which 498 were committed by the Syrian regime and its allies. It is very welcome, Mr. President, that you organized this briefing today. All here have reaffirmed their commitments. Good ideas have been shared by our briefers and by colleagues. However, I am struck by the contrast between our willingness to stake out a clear position in the abstract while at the same time not tackling humanitarian violations in country-specific conversations. In addition to today's meeting, I think that we need to do the following.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“We could look both at education and training and ensuring that commanders are aware of their liabilities under international law, whether those are State or non-State actors, and look at tackling actions of non-State actors through sanctions in particular. I had not intended to talk today about Syria, which the Council regularly discusses. But the Russian representative today chose to continue his Government's misinformation campaign against the White Helmets. The Russian Government does so to try to deflect attention away from the appalling war crimes committed by the Syrian regime - its attacks on its own people, including by its use of chemical weapons.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“Publishing specific examples of our practice to implement international humanitarian law is intended to help improve understanding of it and encourage informed dialogue on these issues, both at home and abroad. We hope it will encourage other States to publish details of their activities to implement international humanitarian law at the domestic level so as to identify best practices and improve implementation and compliance. Of course, more can be done by State actors. Mark Lowcock talked about the importance of increasing the understanding and training of some countries' armed forces. But he also spoke about the need to do so with non-State actors - a point made also by Peter Maurer. I think this is an area to which the Security Council could give greater focus.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“In that respect, let me commend the work that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is doing to map out how access constraints relate to the severity of needs and the humanitarian assistance received. Let me also say that the United Kingdom is supporting research to ensure that the nature, frequency, scale and impact of attacks on health care in conflict is better understood to improve data collection analysis, as called for in resolution 2286 (2016). All of that data should be brought to the attention of the Security Council and its subsidiary bodies. For its part, the United Kingdom is always looking for any innovative ways to promote compliance with international humanitarian law. On 11 March, we published our first voluntary report on the implementation of international humanitarian law at the domestic level.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“To give one example from South Sudan, which we have talked a lot about in the Council, an international NGO with an in-country staff of fewer than 200 people estimates that it spends approximately $350,000 per year in South Sudan on administrative taxes and fees. Those financial costs are primarily paid to official or quasi-official entities. That is all money that should be going to protecting the people that those officials are in place to serve. As well as documenting attacks on humanitarian personnel or other egregious crimes, we need to gather data on the bureaucratic impediments and the actions that hamper humanitarian access.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“I am talking about such things as the denial of visas for humanitarian staff, the removal of medical items from aid convoys, lengthy procurement and transport processes, the looting and diversion of pre-positioned goods by armed actors or the authorities, taxes and fines on goods and people, the closure of crossings, and the denial of registration to non-governmental organizations (NGOs). There is a long list. The human coast is clear. People starve, they suffer and they die when the humanitarian space is not respected. And we lose development gains that have taken years to achieve.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“Time and time again, from Syria to South Sudan to Yemen and the Democratic Republic of the Congo - in fact, in every conflict situation on the Council's agenda - we witness the human cost of the lack of respect for humanitarian principles and international humanitarian law. The most appalling incidents become notorious and are brought not only to our attention by those agencies and operators on the ground, but also often brought to our peoples on their television screens - for example, attacks on aid workers or the bombing of hospitals. But we hear much less about the routine and insidious actions that nevertheless have a human cost in the end.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“As our briefers made clear, and as we all know, international humanitarian law consists of a comprehensive and universal framework to which all Member States are not only committed but bound. It is important, of course, that we enhance that framework whenever we see an opportunity to do so - and our briefers today mentioned resolution 2462 (2019), adopted just last week at the initiative of the French delegation, on the issue of terrorist financing, which includes important provisions on humanitarian action; as well as resolution 2417 (2018), on starving civilians as a weapon of war. But we do not lack law, we lack enforcement and accountability. Sadly, we are too regularly used to hearing terrible humanitarian stories around this table.”
2019-04-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8499 (2019) · source
“But while we have adapted our responses, so, too, have terrorist groups. We therefore commend France for this initiative and thank Council members for their constructive and proactive engagement throughout this process, demonstrating once again the strength of our collective resolve to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We have today agreed an excellent resolution under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. We must not sit back and admire it; we now need to see effective implementation by all Member States. The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate must support Member States in identifying how they can strengthen their own response, and the Office of Counter-Terrorism then needs to support Member States in filling the gaps identified.”
2019-03-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8496 (2019) · source
“The effectiveness of counter-terrorism sanctions also depends on their implementation across the globe. The United Kingdom will continue to be an active and global supporter of counter-terrorism sanctions as a key tool to combat terrorism from Da'esh, Al-Qaida and their affiliates within the high legal evidence threshold set by our courts. Soon after the attacks of 11 September, the Council came together to adopt resolution 1373 (2001) and decided that Member States should prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts. Eighteen years later, we have seen a dramatically evolving terrorist landscape against an evolving financial and technological context. We know that prevention, rehabilitation and whole-of- society approaches are key to ensuring credible and sustainable responses.”
2019-03-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8496 (2019) · source
“This was enhanced in the United Kingdom by the Criminal Finances Act, which adds to the ability of United Kingdom law enforcement to identify, investigate and disrupt terrorist finance activity and to work effectively with private-sector partners. The United Kingdom welcomed the Financial Action Task Force mutual evaluation visit of December 2018 and the positive report we received. As we strengthen our measures to counter terrorism and ensure that terrorist groups cannot exploit vulnerabilities in various sectors, we must also recognize the vital role played by humanitarian actors and the roles they play in meeting urgent needs under some of the most challenging circumstances. The United Kingdom welcomes the fact that we have addressed those issues for the first time in this Chapter VII counter-terrorism resolution.”
2019-03-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8496 (2019) · source
“The Financial Intelligence Unit of the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom initiated an immediate response, and the case was brought to the Taskforce within 12 hours of the attack. A few hours after that briefing, financial institutions were able to provide assistance to identify the payments for van hire and established other spending patterns, which allowed further investigative strategies to be identified. This assistance was crucial in allowing investigators to conclude early on that the attack involved only three attackers with no broader network. A robust legislative framework to give law- enforcement powers the tools they need to tackle the threats we face is the cornerstone of any effective terrorist finance regime.”
2019-03-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8496 (2019) · source
“The United Kingdom has taken a number of measures to strengthen efforts to counter the financing of terrorism. An important feature of our system is the strong public-private partnership on terrorist financing matters. We set up the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce in 2015 to create an environment in which the financial sector, Government and law enforcement can exchange and analyse information and intelligence so as to better detect the movement of terrorist funds. Increasing collaboration between Government and the private sector is a key part of the United Kingdom's protection. Allow me to share a case study that illustrates this. The London Bridge attack took place on 3 June 2017.”
2019-03-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8496 (2019) · source
“The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has the essential role of setting global standards for preventing and combating money-laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. To that end, the United Kingdom strongly urges all States to implement the comprehensive international standards embodied in the revised 40 recommendations on combating money- laundering and the financing of terrorism proliferation and its interpretive notes. I particularly highlight Mr. Billingslea's words on effective information-sharing, well beyond financial and banking sectors alone, and the vital importance of implementation and prosecution. In that regard, I thought Ms. Buku's comments about the importance of balancing both financial inclusion and financial integrity were very well judged.”
2019-03-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8496 (2019) · source
“Across the globe and across a range of groups, we have seen that terrorists can perpetrate horrific attacks with small amounts of money, use new payment technologies and move funds through different channels, including legitimate enterprises. That is why the United Kingdom supported and co-sponsored the landmark resolution 2462 (2019), which we adopted just now, and we thank France for its leadership on that initiative, following the high-level International Conference on Combating the Financing of Da'esh and Al-Qaida, held in Paris last year on the theme "No money for terror". The Security Council remains key to international efforts on counter-terrorism, which includes the financing of terrorist acts.”
2019-03-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8496 (2019) · source
“I join others in thanking the briefers today for their very informative presentations and welcome Under-Secretary-General Voronkov, Mr. Billingslea and Ms. Buku to the Security Council this morning. As I said yesterday in this Chamber (see S/PV.8493), the United Kingdom welcomes the territorial defeat of Da'esh. However, as Da'esh transforms from a territorial entity into a covert network, it remains capable of directing or enabling attacks and perpetrating violent extremist ideologies. It is as important as ever that we work together collectively to deny them access to resources, just as we must tackle the phenomenon of far-right extremism and terrorism - an issue that my country has warned about for some years and has been acting against domestically. Again, we pay tribute to the victims of the Christchurch attacks.”
2019-03-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8496 (2019) · source
“It continues to refuse to engage in United Nations efforts under resolution 2254 (2015). No progress can be made without a change in attitude and behaviour by the Syrian regime. It is time for a Government in Syria that will do what is right for its people.”
2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source
“That is more than $3.7 billion and represents our largest humanitarian response ever. We and others have indicated on numerous occasions our readiness to assist Syria with reconstruction should there be a negotiated political settlement. Yet the Al-Assad regime continues to refuse to change its behaviour and follows the course of action that gave rise to the conflict in the first place. It continues to seize the assets and property of citizens and engage in widespread and arbitrary arrests. It continues to provide limited or no basic services to those in need and interfere with United Nations efforts to fill that gap, including by stalling desperately needed aid convoys to the Rukban IDP camp. The Syrian regime continues to spread lies and disinformation while failing to uphold its responsibilities under the Chemical Weapons Convention.”
2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source
“Radicalization and unrest will not end without action being taken to resolve failures of governance, including the lack of provision of basic services, economic opportunity and representative institutions. The Security Council unanimously set out a comprehensive mechanism in resolution 2254 (2015) to deliver an alternative, inclusive and representative way forward. Special Envoy Geir Pedersen and his team continue to command our full support in seeking to find a solution to the conflict. As has already been said today, the United Kingdom, together with others, remains committed to addressing the humanitarian needs of the people of Syria. At the Brussels Conference, the United Kingdom pledged Â£400 million - or $530 million - and we have mobilized Â£2.81 billion to the Syrian crisis since 2012.”
2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source
“The Syrian economy has shrunk by more than 60 per cent since the start of the conflict, while the Syrian pound has depreciated against the United States dollar by more than 90 per cent. Six out of 10 Syrians now live in extreme poverty. More than 13 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance. More than 11 million persons have been displaced, and approximately 400,000 have been killed. Up to 100,000 persons have been detained or have disappeared. The conflict and the crisis in Syria will not end unless the root causes of the conflict are addressed. There will be no stability without the creation of a safe environment. Refugees will not return without credible assurances for their safety.”
2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source
“But the threat of a humanitarian disaster continues to loom in Idlib, where according to reports frequent shelling and air strikes by the regime and its backers have caused the deaths of more than 90 people and the displacement of 72,000 more since February. We continue to support Turkey's ongoing efforts to prevent a reckless military offensive by the Syrian regime in north-west Syria. We call on Russia and Iran, as Astana guarantors, together with Turkey, to ensure that the ceasefire is respected. But the threat to the Syrian people and the stability of Syria is not just in the regime's actions. It is in its failure to take the steps needed to address the immense challenges to peace and stability.”
2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source
“Other serious challenge remain, including the huge humanitarian challenge faced by the Al-Hol camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) following the large influx of people displaced from Al-Baghouz. We commend United Nations efforts to scale up its response. The United Kingdom stands ready to provide further support. During this financial year, the United Kingdom has allocated more than Â£40 million to address basic life-saving needs across north-east Syria, where the Al-Hol camp is located. United Kingdom- funded partners are doing all that they can to support those affected by providing vital services, including health care and shelter.”
2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source
“I also thank Under- Secretary-General DiCarlo and Mr. Rajasingham for their briefings today. Let me start by welcoming the news that, over the weekend, the final tract of Da'esh-held territory was liberated by the Syrian Democratic Forces. That is a huge testament to the courage and commitment of the Forces and the work of the Global Coalition against Da'esh. The liberation ofDa'esh-held areas is not the end of the fight against the group, however. Da'esh retains significant organizational and economic capability with which to pursue its dangerous and pervasive ideology. We remain committed to the enduring defeat of Da'esh in the region and globally.”
2019-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8493 (2019) · source
“The United Kingdom has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to the Central African Republic since 2013 - to MINUSCA, to life-saving humanitarian assistance, to helping displaced people and refugees rebuild their lives, to capacity-building, particularly in the security and judicial sectors, and to United Nations efforts in support of the long-term peace and stability of the Central African Republic. The United Kingdom remains committed to supporting the people of the Central African Republic as they work towards building a peaceful and prosperous future.”
2019-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8467 (2019) · source
“The United Kingdom welcomes the efforts of the authorities of the Central African Republic in security sector reform and arms and weapons management, and urges the authorities to continue those efforts to allow the sanctions Committee to conduct a meaningful review of the arms embargo in September. The sanctions regime will continue to be an important tool in holding to account would-be spoilers of the agreement. In that regard, the effective implementation of sanctions measures by the authorities and regional partners will continue to be critical.”
2019-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8467 (2019) · source
“My Russian colleague mentioned Ukraine, which is indeed a dangerous precedent - there we saw a classic Russian playbook on disinformation and media manipulation, sponsorship of military groups and the provision of arms, direct military intervention by Russian forces and the illegal annexation of Crimea in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and international treaties. The sanctions regime, comprising the arms embargo, travel ban and assets freeze, is designed to hold to account those who would threaten the peace and security of the Central African Republic and prevent the proliferation of weapons in the wrong hands.”
2019-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8467 (2019) · source
“The United Kingdom welcomes the United Nations investigation into those allegations, which should be rigorous and independent. If the allegations are found to be true, the United Kingdom calls on the authorities of the Central African Republic to hold those responsible to account. As my United States colleague said, international support for the Government of the Central African Republic should be transparent, well coordinated and consistent with the highest standards of military conduct and law and with the obligations of Member States under the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013), concerning the Central African Republic.”
2019-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8467 (2019) · source
“But the requirement for rapid implementation should not come at the cost of trust in the overall process. The excellent work of the European Union Military Training Mission has helped to build trust between the population and its armed forces and police. Members of armed groups will understandably have to work harder than most to gain that trust. Therefore, it is vital that demobilized members of armed groups are subjected to the same rigorous standards of vetting and training in human rights as regular members of the armed forces in the Central African Republic before they are integrated into those armed forces. In that context, the recent allegations of torture and illegal detention by Central African troops and Russian trainers in Bambari are a matter of deep concern.”
2019-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8467 (2019) · source
“Omar Hilale, Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations, in his capacity as the Chair of the Central African Republic configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission, as well as his recommendations for the implementation of the agreement, captured many themes that the United Kingdom can support - ownership of the agreement by the people of the Central African Republic; the inclusivity of the Agreement for women, youth and civil society; the need to combat impunity for the most serious crimes; the importance of communication by the Government of the Central African Republic to instil trust in the population; and the importance of sustained support by regional partners. The United Kingdom also recognizes the need to set a pace that keeps up the momentum ofthe agreement and delivers the dividends of peace to the people.”
2019-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8467 (2019) · source
“Smai'l Chergui, African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, and the African Union itself, as well as the Governments of the Central African Republic and the Sudan and regional partners in particular, for their efforts in bringing about the agreement. The comprehensive briefing provided by His Excellency Mr.”
2019-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8467 (2019) · source
“On behalf of the United Kingdom, I would like to extend the most sincere commendations and warmest thanks to Mr. Onanga-Anyanga and wish him the very best for the future. The United Kingdom has consistently backed the African Union-led African Initiative for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic as the only - I repeat, the only - viable peace initiative. We are encouraged to see that it has yielded the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation, which is based on sustainable foundations of communication and compromise between the authorities of the Central African Republic and all 14 major armed groups. We are hopeful for the future, and we commend Mr.”
2019-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8467 (2019) · source
“Let me begin by thanking all those who briefed the Security Council today for their words of insight and their efforts towards bringing peace and stability to the Central African Republic. Let me also welcome to the Council Her Excellency Ms. Sylvie Valerie Baipo-Temon, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Central Africans Abroad of the Central African Republic. I would like to join others in extending particular thanks to Mr. Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Central African Republic and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). His frankness, integrity and outstanding leadership over the past three and a half years have seen MINUSCA perform effectively and efficiently through the most challenging of times.”
2019-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8467 (2019) · source
“We all have talked about and welcomed the current stability in Burundi, but failure to address alleged human rights violations will threaten it, as will the ongoing humanitarian crisis. With those elections in mind, we believe that it is crucial that the region and the international community remain seized of the situation. We therefore believe that Burundi should remain on the Council's agenda.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8465 (2019) · source
“It is therefore extremely worrying that reporting has been restricted by the Government of Burundi, which requested the closure of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 5 December. We regret the closure of the Office, and we encourage the Government of Burundi to continue talks with the Resident Coordinator's team to determine how human rights experts and officers can be attached to the country team and can help to inform that important part of the work. As Ambassador Lauber said in a statement agreed by the Government of Burundi, among others, human rights are a key part of peacebuilding. We do the people of Burundi no service if we do not acknowledge that or even mention it. The run-up to the 2020 elections is a critical time for Burundi.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8465 (2019) · source
“We think that it would be helpful for there to be engagement between the United Nations and the Government of Burundi to inform any decisions on how the United Nations could best support Burundi in its electoral process. The continued reports of human rights violations are deeply concerning. As the November report of the Secretary-General (S/2018/1028) makes clear, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights continued to receive allegations of grave violations and abuses, including killings, forced disappearances, ill-treatment, cases of arbitrary arrest and detention and threats and restrictions on freedom of association, expression and movement.”
2019-02-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8465 (2019) · source