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

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

“Last week the Cruz report reminded us of the risks face by peacekeepers deployed by the Council. The United Kingdom is pleased to have worked with Pakistan to strengthen triangular cooperation between the Council, troop- contributing countries, police-contributing countries and the Secretariat, and looks forward to further discussions on this crucial issue in the forthcoming session of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping. The Security Council needs to work closely with those countries whose troops and police are on the front line when we consider our peacekeeping deployments, and we in the United Kingdom will continue to ensure that we do so when considering mandates. We also need to hear more from civil society and in particular from women.”
2018-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8175 (2018) · source
“In particular, I would highlight the new language on the conduct of informal consultations, the negotiation process and cooperation with non-Council bodies, including the Peacebuilding Commission and the African Union, and I echo what the representative of Ethiopia said on the value of African Union briefers to the Council, something we called for collectively when we were in Addis Ababa for our annual meeting. Many parts of the note reflect best practice, which is built up gradually over the years, but it also signals our collective ambition for a more inclusive, transparent and effective Council that is better able to tackle the challenges of the modern world. One of the ways in which we can deliver this ambition is through a stronger relationship with external partners.”
2018-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8175 (2018) · source
“I would like to thank Ian Martin for his briefing and the Kuwaiti presidency for having scheduled this open debate. I should like also to congratulate Kuwait on taking up the chairmanship of the Informal Working Group of the Security Council on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions. I look forward to a productive two years under its leadership. I am afraid, Sir, that you have a tough act to follow, and I should like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Japan as the outgoing Chair, particularly for its stewardship of the negotiations that led to agreement on a new note 507. The new note 507 is a valuable resource for all current and future members of the Council. It brings together almost all of the Council's myriad procedural documents and contains a number of important changes.”
2018-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8175 (2018) · source
“The voting records of the Council are clear and are available to all. Russia vetoed three different proposals for the extension of the Mechanism, the last of which simply extended it for a short period and requested the Secretary-General to make recommendations, but even that was unacceptable. Finally, on a note of agreement, Ijust want, like my Dutch colleague, to praise the incredible work of the White Helmets, who risk their own lives on a daily basis to save thousands of Syrians civilians.”
2018-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8174 (2018) · source
“I disagree with a lot of what my Russian colleague said, but I will not stretch my colleagues' patience. But I do feel compelled briefly to respond to several of the points that he made. The first point is to say that this is not political for us. Preventing the use of these abhorrent weapons should transcend political disagreements. We do not oppose Russia's important role in Syria at all. We noted the outcomes of Sochi, and we look forward to the proposal for a constitutional committee returning to the next round of Geneva talks, with the full participation of Russia and the Syrian authorities, as was laid out in resolution 2254 (2015). The second point I would simply make is that the notion that it was anyone other than Russia that ended the Joint Investigative Mechanism is absurd.”
2018-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8174 (2018) · source
“Let us stand up for the people of Syria and give them a real investigation into those responsible for the use of chemical weapons - an investigation that pursues justice for the horrific crimes committed against them. Let us signal our determination to pursue accountability by all means available, even if one member of the Security Council is currently preventing us from taking action here.”
2018-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8174 (2018) · source
“If it is confirmed that Al-Assad has again used chemical weapons on his own people, it would not only be another entry in the catalogue of his war crimes, it would also be another attack on us all, Members of the United Nations who have worked for decades - in the words of the Chemical Weapons Convention, for the sake of all mankind - to completely exclude the possibility of the use of chemical weapons. Throughout history, our peoples have said "never again" - among others, starting with the First World War battlefields, in Ethiopia, in Manchuria and in Saddam Hussein's attacks on Iran and on Iraqi Kurds. Let us, the members of the Council, stand up for the peoples of the United Nations, determined that such abhorrent chemical weapons should never be used.”
2018-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8174 (2018) · source
“Yet it has been unable to satisfy inspectors that it has done so. We have to ask ourselves why that is. In 2013 Russia promised to act as a guarantor for the Al-Assad regime's compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. Yet month after month we all sit here and hear that Al-Assad has not done so. Why does Russia not compel the Syrian regime to comply with its obligations and make it impossible for it to use chemical weapons? Tragically, for the people of Syria, the regime continues to use chemical weapons with impunity.”
2018-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8174 (2018) · source
“Yet over the years two separate reports from the JIM, under separate leadership panels, drawing on a broad range of respected independent international experts, concluded that the regime had used chlorine at least three times - in Talmenes in April 2014 and in Sarmin and Qmenas in March 2015 - and had used sarin to attack Khan Shaykhun in April 2017. We should also remember the infamous attack in eastern Ghouta in August 2013, when a separate United Nations investigation found that sarin was used to kill hundreds and injure thousands. That attack brought near- universal international condemnation, and following our concerted international pressure, Syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention. Syria promised, as it was legally obliged to do, to destroy and abandon its chemical-weapon programme.”
2018-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8174 (2018) · source
“Of course, Russia made much of the lack of a site visit to Khan Shaykhun, despite the fact that the Al-Assad regime handed over to the United Nations samples from the site that contained chemical signatures unique to regime sarin, obviating the need for such a visit. It is for those reasons that the current text is unacceptable. The JIM. set a high standard of impartiality and expertise. We expect that standard from any future mechanism. The Syrian regime, of course, claims not to have used chemical weapons.”
2018-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8174 (2018) · source
“That standard has not been used in any other comparable past or current United Nations investigation. It is used in relation to criminal prosecutions in courts of law, which have significantly greater investigative powers and independence than those envisaged in Russia's text. Finally, the proposal insists on site visits, despite the explicit provision in the Chemical Weapons Convention for other ways to gather relevant evidence, recognizing the difficulty of safe and timely visits. There is no scientific basis for this proposal. It is simply an attempt to hamstring future investigations and discredit the JIM.”
2018-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8174 (2018) · source
“We are not specialists on chemical weapons around this table. We rely on independent, United Nations-selected expert panels. The entire purpose of the JIM. was that an independent panel would reach conclusions on the basis of the evidence, taking the issue out of the hands of us, the Member States and Council members, because we have been unable to agree. Russia's proposal looks as if it is designed to avoid the political embarrassment of having to use its veto power to defend the indefensible when independent bodies report on what has truly happened. The underlying intent seems to be to ensure that there are no clear conclusions in future reports. Thirdly, we object to the proposal's demands that the standard of proof should be beyond reasonable doubt.”
2018-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8174 (2018) · source
“Any successor investigation must be empowered to investigate all use of chemical weapons, whoever the perpetrator may be. Yet the Russian proposal focuses only on non- State actors. We have repeatedly condemned Da'esh for its use of chemical weapons, which the JIM clearly reported. But given Al-Assad's track record of chemical-weapon use and its failure to comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention, it is imperative to ensure that any new mechanism also investigates the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime. A second objection is the proposal that experts would merely gather evidence, leaving the Council to decide what it meant. No other United Nations expert panel that I know of is specifically prohibited from reaching conclusions and reporting to the Council on its findings on what has happened.”
2018-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8174 (2018) · source
“We are appalled by this violence and the reports of deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and we call on all parties to the conflict to uphold international humanitarian law and protect civilians. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is already investigating reports of the use of chemical weapons in recent weeks, but establishing who is responsible for that use will be much more difficult, because Russia has vetoed the continuation of the independent, expert OPCW- United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) three times, in order to protect the Al-Assad regime. We would welcome any serious attempt to re-establish a properly independent investigative and attribution mechanism for continuing the JIM's meticulous work. Sadly, we do not yet see that in the Russian proposal.”
2018-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8174 (2018) · source
“I would like to thank High Representative Nakamitsu for her briefing. We are holding this meeting in the open Chamber today after reports of a series of chemical attacks in eastern Ghouta within the past month, as the Al-Assad regime continues its merciless bombing and killing of civilians. Over the weekend, there were further allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Idlib, as well as air strikes by pro-regime forces that reportedly hit three hospitals, leaving doctors scrambling to remove premature babies from their incubators in order to move them. I cannot say that they were moving them to safety, because the reality is that for the citizens of Idlib and eastern Ghouta, nowhere is safe.”
2018-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8174 (2018) · source
“It is against that backdrop that I call on the regime to allow for immediate, safe and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance to meet fully the needs of those who require food and medical supplies. Let all with influence exert it to ensure that. It is our must crucial, immediate request. It is also imperative that all parties adhere to agreed ceasefires and cessations of hostilities, uphold international humanitarian law and protect civilians. Yesterday, a number of us visited the United States National Holocaust Museum's exhibition on Syria. We saw the photographs of those killed and tortured by the regime and we read their biographies, their life stories. It had a profound effect on me, and it brought home how the tragedy in Syria is not just a geopolitical one - it is a human one.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“These events are taking place are in areas where there are meant to be ceasefires with the stated aim of putting a prompt end to violence and improving the humanitarian situation. Unfortunately for the people of Syria, that could not be further from the reality. The deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure in Idlib and eastern Ghouta continues, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law. The intensification of hostilities has displaced approximately 270,000 people within Idlib since 15 December 2017, stretching scarce resources beyond their limits. The escalation of air strikes in eastern Ghouta has resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths since 30 December. UNICEF reports that, in the first 14 days of 2018, more than 30 children were killed by escalating violence in the enclave.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“Let us recall that the backdrop of the Under- Secretary-General's visit was the escalation in air strikes in eastern Ghouta and the north-west, including Aleppo, Idlib governorate and northern Hama. Yesterday at least five people, including a child, were killed by an air strike on a hospital supported by Medecins sans frontieres in Syria's Idlib governorate. The facility was also seriously damaged and at least six people, including three medical staff, were injured as a result of the attack. The air strikes on the hospital occurred while the doctors were receiving people who had been injured an hour earlier in another air strike on a market. Those strikes had already killed 11 people.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“There were no aid deliveries to the area for the whole of December, and nearly 12 per cent of children under five years of age in eastern Ghouta suffer from acute malnutrition. It is appalling that innocent children are once again suffering the most. The Under-Secretary-General also requested the immediate evacuation of hundreds of people who are in need of medical assistance from eastern Ghouta. We call on those who can influence the regime to use all of their authority to allow for rapid, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access and medical evacuations for those in need. According to the Secretary-General, 18 people have already died while waiting for the regime's permission to leave the besieged city. People are dying for want of health care and services that are available fewer than 10 miles away, in Damascus.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“These convoys are needed to deliver aid, including both food and medical supplies, to civilians who have lived in a war zone for almost seven years. That request for consistent, regular access to all people in need is crucial. In 2017, only 27 per cent of United Nations inter-agency convoy requests were approved by the Syrian regime in full. That is significantly worse than in 2016, when 45 per cent of requests were approved. Assistant Secretary- General Mueller's briefing was especially concerning in that respect. We cannot let that happen again in 2018. Ninety-four per cent of those living under siege are located in eastern Ghouta. The Al-Assad regime is using humanitarian aid as a weapon ofwar by restricting access to the besieged population.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“On the basis of discussions and as we iterated today, the Under-Secretary-General set out five clear asks to enable the United Nations to sustain and improve its aid efforts. The United Kingdom fully supports those asks. Unfortunately, the Security Council has been unable to reach agreement on a text that would unanimously call upon the Syrian regime to ensure that those five asks are granted without delay. I want to reflect on this disappointing situation. One of the five key asks of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is the regime's agreement to allow three or four United Nations and Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoys each week across front lines to provide assistance to up to 2.5 million people in besieged and hard-to-reach areas.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“I thank Assistant Secretary-General Mueller for her briefing. When considering the Syria humanitarian issue, we always have in mind the powerful plea last December by the Russian Permanent Representative that we should keep our differences over the politics in Syria out of our consideration of humanitarian issues - a view that we strongly continue to endorse. Last week, Mark Lowcock briefed us on his visit to Syria. It was the first time that an Under-Secretary- General for Humanitarian Affairs had visited Syria in more than two years, having been blocked previously from visiting. The United Kingdom commends the Under-Secretary-General's efforts to start a meaningful dialogue between the United Nations and the Syrian regime in order to improve the humanitarian situation for the people of Syria.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“We, as the Security Council, must also do our part to make the consequence of inaction, including by us around the table, clear because - make no mistake - inaction is a decision, too. It is a decision to allow people to be attacked and to die. We must hold those responsible to account now. The people of South Sudan can wait no longer. Let us not protect the warmongers and abusers. Let that not be a stain on the Council's conscience.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“Under-Secretary-General Lacroix urged us to show that there would be real consequences for violators. We therefore reiterate our call for an arms embargo. It would apply equally to all parties and would not single anyone out for blame. It would send a strong message to those who undermine the Revitalization Forum, and strengthen those in the region who are trying to bring the South Sudanese parties to peace. It is in line with what the region has called for - clear consequences for violators. The parties in South Sudan must start putting the people of South Sudan first. They must fully engage with the Revitalization Forum and refrain from violence. They must allow humanitarian access to all who need it.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“In November, despite the President's decree calling for unimpeded access, nine aid workers were killed and aid was obstructed on more than 100 occasions. All parties to the conflict bear a responsibility for that, but the Government alone is responsible for the bureaucratic impediments - such as the $4,000 work permit fees which continue to hinder the efforts of the relief agencies to save lives. The Council visited Addis Ababa last September for its annual meeting with the Peace and Security Council of the African Union. At that meeting, we talked about supporting the African Union and its subregional organizations. Today, citing statements of IGAD, Chairperson Mogae asked us to make clear the consequences to those who violate, spoil or derail the peace agreement.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“There have been marked improvements in the short time that he has held that post. We hope that he will build on those, including reporting on gender- based violence. An effective cessation of hostilities monitoring body is crucial if we are to prevent further violence. The Mechanism has a difficult job to do, and we call on the Government and opposition groups to stop impeding and criticizing it. We welcome the recent JMEC statement on that. The consequences of the conflict are known all too well by the peple of South Sudan, who are victims of the dire and deteriorating humanitarian situation. Two thirds of the population are in need of humanitarian assistance in what is a man-made disaster. We condemn unreservedly sexual violence in South Sudan.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“We call on IGAD to use its Council of Ministers meeting on 27 January to set out defined consequences for violators. IGAD can identify such individuals and, collectively, we can take action against them. The Security Council must be ready to support IGAD, using all the measures at its disposal. We welcome the joint statement by the United Nations and the African Union on 12 January and fully support South Sudanese civil society, which is calling for accountability for violating the ceasefire. We are concerned by the recent threats against civil society groups as they comment on the cessation of hostilities, which, as signatories to the agreement, they have every right to do. We also welcome the efforts of the Chair of the new Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism to increase the timeliness of reporting.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“The significant military build- up by the Government and by opposition groups in the Malakal-Tonga corridor are also extremely worrying, as are potential offensives in Yei and Akobo. We are also concerned by the movements of First Vice-President Taban Deng and his 500 troops in Jonglei state, which are both a violation of the cessation of hostilities and an inflammatory action in the run-up to peace talks. We therefore welcome the statement of the Chairperson of the IGAD Council of Ministers of 29 December, which strongly condemned the violations and called for those responsible to be held to account. That brings me to our second expectation - consequences for those who obstruct the negotiations process, which includes violations of the cessation of hostilities.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“It must be truly inclusive in order to deliver an agreement that is accepted and supported by the people of South Sudan. Women, youth and the broader South Sudanese civil society must all be allowed to participate meaningfully. We made the Council's expectations clear in the presidential statement issued last month (S/PRST/2017/25) - an end to hostilities, cost and consequences for those who obstruct the Revitalization Forum process, and unimpeded humanitarian access. Let us now take stock ofthe progress that has been made. First, hostilities have not ended. The cessation of hostilities agreement was violated almost immediately after it was signed, and fighting continues across the country today. We are particularly concerned about the fighting in Koch.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“I would like to thank the briefers - Under-Secretary-General Lacroix, Assistant Secretary-General Mueller and Chairperson Mogae - for updating us today. As all Security Council members are aware, the long-term stability of South Sudan is dependent upon securing a political agreement. To that end, we welcome the work of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) on the High-Level Revitalization Forum, in particular the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access. I would like to thank, and pay tribute to IGAD and Ambassador Ismail Wais, who led efforts to bring the parties to the negotiating table. The Revitalization Forum provides the best opportunity to secure a political agreement.”
2018-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8166 (2018) · source
“We must ensure that we can re-establish a mechanism to ensure accountability. We all know where the obstacle to that lies. In response, we will only redouble our efforts to pursue accountability for these crimes.”
2018-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8164 (2018) · source
“For the sake of the Syrian people and for preventing the future use of chemical weapons, we call on Russia to persuade its Syrian friends to get rid of their chemical weapons and comply fully with the Chemical Weapons Convention. By ending the JIM, Russia also stopped its investigations of chemical attacks by Da'esh. The investigators had found that those terrorists had carried out at least two such attacks. We condemn Da'esh unreservedly for its use of these vile weapons, which is yet another reason why we must defeat those terrorists once and for all. The United Kingdom was proud to join the international partnership against impunity for the use of chemical weapons led by our French colleagues today in Paris. The use of chemical weapons is barbaric, illegal under international law and must stop.”
2018-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8164 (2018) · source
“Russia has made it clear several times that it will not support a new investigative mechanism as long as it has the power to hold to account a State Member of the United Nations, and it seems, from a rapid reading of the latest text, that this proposal is another attempt to shift attention to non-State actors. The Russians have even claimed that Syria is a signatory in good standing to the Chemical Weapons Convention. It is not. It has not completed its declaration. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has repeatedly warned of inconsistencies, gaps and omissions. Russia has great influence over the Al-Assad regime.”
2018-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8164 (2018) · source
“But when the Al-Assad regime deliberately ignored its obligation to stop using chemical weapons and continued to do so with careless regard for human life, Russia chose to abuse its power of veto to protect that regime. Russia says that it supported the renewal of the JIM mandate and that it was the rest of us who killed it, because we could not agree with Russia's terms. Yet Russia's proposed draft resolution would have removed the JIM's ability to investigate the Al-Assad regime, which has been found responsible for multiple attacks.”
2018-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8164 (2018) · source
“Last year, it found that the regime had used sarin in Khan Shaykhun. Now, as the regime is escalating its attacks on eastern Ghouta in an attempt to force the besieged opposition to surrender, we remain deeply concerned about continuing reports of the use of chemical weapons in Syria. In all of this, we should not forget that it was the regime's 2013 attack on eastern Ghouta, using sarin, that led to the Council's adoption of resolution 2118 (2013), which had the clear, unanimously endorsed aim of disarming Syria's chemical-weapon programme. Throughout that process, Russia has claimed to be acting as a leading Power, a guarantor.”
2018-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8164 (2018) · source
“When I heard today that Russia had called for an urgent meeting on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, I was glad that we could return to an issue on which the Council has a duty to ensure that those responsible are held to account. That duty is even more pressing today, because yet another heinous attack on civilians was reported yesterday to the Council by the Secretariat. In that attack, in Douma, in eastern Ghouta, at least 21 civilians were treated for symptoms consistent with exposure to chlorine. That followed another reported attack in eastern Ghouta on 13 January, affecting six people. In 2016, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) found in three cases that the Syrian regime had used chlorine gas to attack civilians.”
2018-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8164 (2018) · source
“However, we should also be ready to rectify inadvertent consequences, such as addressing the depreciation of frozen Libyan Investment Authority funds, which remain frozen at the Libyan Government's request until their eventual return for the benefit of the Libyan people. A stable, unified, inclusive Government is the best way to improve the security conditions, the economic fortunes and human rights situation for millions of Libyans. It will also improve global peace and security and our ability to address the challenges of migration. We must continue to stand together in support of Special Representative of the Secretary-General Salame's efforts to achieve this. We, like him, urge Libya's political leaders to put their country first.”
2018-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8159 (2018) · source
“We are also concerned by reported restrictions of civil and political freedoms and the intimidation of civil society organizations, public servants, religious groups and national minorities, including recent attacks on Sufi shrines and Amazigh representatives. These groups must be allowed to participate in Libyan society and the political process. Finally, with regard to the economic situation, the Council needs to continue to protect the Libyan people from economic hardship, including by supporting the restoration of the economy and the delivery of service across the country. We must act robustly against attempts to illicitly sell oil and establish parallel institutions. We need to continue to ensure that sanctions measures keep up with the situation on the ground. That includes the work we have done to address fuel oil smuggling.”
2018-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8159 (2018) · source
“They will help bring an end to the impunity of armed groups, which are inextricably linked to the gravely concerning human rights situation. Ungoverned spaces in Libya create the conditions for abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, which take place against civilians, internally displaced persons and migrants. We fully support the work of the African Union-European Union-United Nations Task Force in tackling slavery in Libya. We call on all parties that are suspected of committing, ordering or failing to prevent such human rights abuses and violations to be fully investigated, and if found guilty, to be held to account for their actions. We also stand ready to consider the sanctioning of individuals involved in people trafficking in modern slavery.”
2018-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8159 (2018) · source
“A more inclusive political settlement would also build a context more conducive to preparing for elections. We welcome the Special Representative's emphasis on ensuring the right conditions are in place ahead of elections, including the necessary political, legislative and security preparations to guarantee their success. As we saw from clashes at Mitiga Airport on Monday, the security situation in Libya remains of deep concern. As we have stated, there can be no military solution in Libya. All parties must exercise restraint and express their support for national reconciliation, which must include the reconciliation of the security forces. Unified security forces, under the command of the civilian Government, which represent and work for all Libyans will also enable the threat posed by extremist groups to be tackled in a sustainable way.”
2018-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8159 (2018) · source
“That must include support for the efforts of Special Representative Salame' to secure consent to amend the Libyan Political Agreement and commitment to the sequencing of the United Nations action plan. As Ms. Sharief highlighted, civil society has an essential role to play in ensuring that the voices of the people are also heard during discussions on the future of their country. All Libyans, regardless of their age, gender or where they are from, must feel represented and understood by their political leaders. That will encourage Libyans to support their political leadership and build trust in the political process. The greatest immediate need is the establishment ofa more inclusive political platform, which is essential to creating an executive better able to improve the security, human rights and economic conditions in Libya.”
2018-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8159 (2018) · source
“I thank Mr. Salame and Ms. Schoulgin Nyoni for their briefings. I also warmly welcome and thank Ms. Sharief, our civil society briefer, who conveyed a very powerful message and eloquently highlighted the importance of an inclusive peace process that includes, in particular, women and youth. Perhaps as a follow-up to the discussion, it would be helpful to hear more from the United Nations Support Mission in Libya about how it integrates the gender perspective in its work. Let me begin by welcoming the update of Special Representative Salame' on the political process and by reiterating the United Kingdom's full support for his work. In our presidential statement of 14 December 2017 (S/PRST/20l7/26), we in the Security Council urged all parties to support the political process in a spirit of compromise for the sake of the Libyan people.”
2018-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8159 (2018) · source
“Smart pledges will help plug persistent gaps. Finally, we must consider the non-military components of peacekeeping. We must support capacity-building work carried out by individual police officers and specialized police teams. This approach bolsters recovery and creates long-term stability. We must also consider how we can generate the civilian component, so that missions do not just keep the peace, but build and sustain it as well. Wider work on management reform has a role to play. Crucial civilian posts must not remain unfilled. We all recognize the positive impact peacekeepers have worldwide. We ask them to take on enormous challenges to protect the most vulnerable. We must do our utmost to improve the systems that support them. We owe this to the brave women and men who serve under the blue banner.”
2017-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8150 (2017) · source
“For example, through our deployment to UNMISS, we are working with Viet Nam, the United States of America and Australia to provide a field hospital in Bentiu, South Sudan, which ensures the provision of medical care for peacekeepers. But coordination needs to go further. First, we must collect performance data and use this to better understand and focus our limited resources to where training and capacity-building are most needed. We must coordinate our collective efforts more broadly. Cooperation should be expanded to cover leadership, gender integration, protection and victim support. Secondly, we must see more partnerships and more smart pledges. We need to develop mechanisms that match up countries that can provide equipment and technology, specialist skills and personnel or logistical support.”
2017-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8150 (2017) · source
“The Women Peace and Security Chiefs of DefenceNetwork, which we launched alongside Canada and Bangladesh in November, is a critical tool to strengthen training and capacity-building on gender throughout peacekeeping and at all levels. We have also provided over $800,000 in extrabudgetary funding to the Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support. The United Kingdom now has over 700 personnel deployed on eight United Nations missions operating in seven countries. These include 380 troops in South Sudan, 40 in Somalia and 280 in Cyprus. We have embraced smart pledging, which was raised by my Minister of State for Defence at the Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Conference in Vancouver. This innovation will enable us to better meet our obligations through a coordinated response with partners.”
2017-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8150 (2017) · source
“Last year we trained more than 11,000 troops from some 30 countries to prepare them for deployments to United Nations missions, including the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic and the African Union Mission in Somalia. Support has ranged from instructor and leadership training through to assistance with the planning, conduct and delivery of national predeployment training for troop- and police-contributing countries. In addition, we continue to support mandatory e-learning predeployment training for all troops to prepare them to respond to and prevent sexual exploitation and abuse.”
2017-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8150 (2017) · source
“We must do more to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of United Nations peacekeeping. This will enable us to better manage the conflicts where peacekeepers are deployed and better protect civilians caught up in conflict, as well as the peacekeepers who take up this crucial role. To achieve this we must invest in the United Nations force generation process. There have been significant improvements to the process, but more needs to be done. When the Council last discussed force generation (see S/PV.8064), the United Kingdom set out three steps which, if taken, would improve the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions: deployment innovation, improved mission performance, and better long-term planning and strategic force generation. Today, I want to update the Council on the United Kingdom's actions to support these three areas.”
2017-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8150 (2017) · source
“Thank you, Mr President, for convening today's important meeting. I would also like to thank Ms. Keita for her briefing. United Nations peacekeeping operations play a critical role in containing and reducing conflict, often in the most challenging circumstances, such as in Mali and South Sudan. There are many examples of the effectiveness of these missions. There are also, unfortunately, examples of the sacrifices that individual peacekeepers make, as we were reminded by the outrageous attack that killed 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers earlier this month. Today we have been briefed on the persistent gaps that remain in peacekeeping operations. We do not always have the right capabilities, equipment and trained personnel to deploy and deliver the demanding mandates that the Security Council sets.”
2017-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8150 (2017) · source
“Looking ahead to next month, we fully support Kazakhstan's decision to prioritize Afghanistan and Central Asia during its presidency of the Council. We look forward to working with Kazakhstan, Council members and regional and international partners to support the efforts of Afghan President Ghani and his Government to build peace and security, with a particular focus on regional connectivity and sustaining peace. The instability in Afghanistan inflicts tremendous suffering upon the Afghan people. The international community can help to change that. If we work together, the people and the Government of Afghanistan can build the harmony and prosperity that have been inaccessible for many decades.”
2017-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8147 (2017) · source
“We are also mentoring the trainers of future female leaders at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy. The Council's adoption of resolution 2344 (2017) ensures that women and peace and security remain at the heart of the United Nations work in Afghanistan, and we welcome the Afghan Government's work on its national action plan on women, peace and security, while urgently calling for its full implementation. With Afghanistan's recent election to the United Nations Human Rights Council - on which we congratulate that country once again - we look forward to working with Afghanistan to promote and protect human rights around the world, including through the fulfilment of its international human rights commitments.”
2017-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8147 (2017) · source