YouSaid · the spoken record

Castro Cordoba

lines on the record: 56
first: 2016-01-26
most recent: 2018-04-16
sittings or episodes: 8
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

“The lack of opportunities, the lack of national policies for their protection and inclusion, as well as structural barriers in all areas that promote discrimination against women perpetuate a cycle of poverty, exclusion and violence, thereby hampering their enjoyment of their rights. It is therefore critical to guarantee equal opportunities, access to education and women and girl's economic, political and social empowerment so that they can assume a vital and transformative role in their communities during and after conflicts, and can regain their dignity and enjoyment of their rights.”
2018-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8234 (2018) · source
“It is essential that all such efforts focus on the victims. Support programmes should be established for the adequate reintegration of Victims into their social structures, which should contribute to the re-establishment of the social fabric of populations suffering the consequences of armed conflicts. Legal frameworks should be established at the national level in order to protect victims and combat the stigma associated with sexual abuse and violence. These should contemplate reparations and compensation, taking into account that different forms of sexual violence require different solutions and responses. Finally, it is essential to involve women and girls in decision-making processes and leadership positions.”
2018-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8234 (2018) · source
“Similarly, sexual violence in the context of armed conflict and terrorism must systematically become a criterion for being subject to sanctions, applied to all those who participate in the financing, planning, or support of armed groups with connections to acts of sexual violence. In order for that to be effective, key actors must collaborate. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General plays an important role in that regard, ensuring fluid communication and the exchange of information. Prevention is key. The systematic inclusion of women protection advisers in the strategic planning processes of political missions and peace operations, as well as adequate gender training to help prevent and respond adequately to sexual exploitation and abuse, are essential. For all of that to be possible, programmes must be adequately funded.”
2018-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8234 (2018) · source
“Fully utilizing existing international legal mechanisms and ensuring accountability are dissuasive means and vital instruments for ensuring justice for victims. It is also important to encourage cooperation and information-sharing, as well as to provide legal assistance to victims and training for security forces and peacekeepers. Similarly, in the context of the United Nations, we welcome such initiatives as the appointment of an ombudsman for victims' rights and the voluntary pact on preventing and addressing sexual exploitation and abuse, promoted by the Secretary- General. It is fundamental to implement Security Council resolutions outlining commitments and plans for the prevention of sexual violence in conflict and to monitor their implementation.”
2018-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8234 (2018) · source
“Sexual violence as a cause of forced displacement is equally worrying, as is the growing risk of violence in the context of mass movements where migrants, refugees and displaced persons are subjected to sexual extortion, trafficking and smuggling, harassment and rape, among other abuses. It is essential that conflict- related sexual violence be considered as grounds for granting refugee or asylum status, with victim assistance policies. We urge States to criminalize all acts of sexual violence in the strongest possible terms, including, where appropriate, by referring them to the International Criminal Court, in order to completely eliminate impunity in such cases. These acts of violence are war crimes, and a zero-tolerance policy must be applied to those who commit, order or condone sexual violence in conflict situations.”
2018-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8234 (2018) · source
“It is incumbent upon us to establish robust legal and institutional frameworks with a View to laying a firm foundation for preventing and addressing gaps in the protection of victims, especially women and girls, and to expand the scope of protection measures to the most vulnerable populations, such as ethnic and religious minorities; women in rural areas; women and girls associated with armed groups; the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population; as well as boys and men, who are equally vulnerable to sexual violence, the prevalence of which is increasing.”
2018-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8234 (2018) · source
“Sexual violence perpetuates conflict and undermines security and stability, disrupting people's participation in the political, social and economic life of their societies. The United Nations, as an Organization, and we, as an international community, carry a heavy burden on this issue, having failed to address the causes of violence and sexual abuse through preventive measures and to eliminate impunity in such cases. The primary responsibility for protecting populations lies with States.”
2018-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8234 (2018) · source
“Mr. Castro Cordoba (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): Costa Rica thanks the Peruvian presidency for convening this open debate on such an important issue. We also thank Ms. Amina Mohammed, Ms. Pramila Patten and Ms. Razia Sultana for their briefings. My delegation aligns itself with the statement to be made by the representative of Mali on behalf of the Human Security Network. Sexual violence is unacceptable anytime, anywhere. However, its widespread use as a tactic of terror and a weapon of war and terrorism, where it is inflicted as one of the cruellest and most terrible forms of social coercion, affecting people's dignity and autonomy in the deepest sense, is particularly worrying and reprehensible.”
2018-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8234 (2018) · source
“Finally, Costa Rica urges that children recruited by armed groups be considered as victims and that they be provided protection and access to child-protection services at all detention centres where they may be located, and that an end be put to impunity for those who commit these serious violations.”
2017-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8082 (2017) · source
“We need to ensure the protection of schools as well as of the educational infrastructure. In 2015 Costa Rica was one of the 38 signatory countries to the Safe Schools Declaration, signed in Oslo, a number that today has increased to 70. We invite those that have not yet done so to join this initiative. We also urge that the listings of those who commit such serious Violations be drawn up on an impartial, independent and evidence-based manner. We believe that there needs to be a uniform, consolidated and more effective strategy for monitoring, reporting and responding to grave violations of the rights of children in the field, including the sustainability of the capacities of peacekeeping operations and special political missions.”
2017-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8082 (2017) · source
“However, we also acknowledge the existence of conflicts and the imperative need to ensure that in this context the norms of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and international humanitarian law do not become a dead letter. It is unacceptable that girls and boys are used as soldiers and that the parties to armed conflict interrupt the provision of drinking water, electricity, gas, food, medicine or humanitarian aid to the civilian population, placing them in a situation of even greater vulnerability. States must adopt protection measures and ensure that schools are safe and welcoming places, including under the most difficult circumstances, and that Government assistance plans incorporate a humanitarian response and the educational framework in general.”
2017-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8082 (2017) · source
“Those who are able to survive have an uncertain future, growing up in countries devastated by war, without any education and with very limited possibilities for developing their individual potential. States have the primary responsibility to provide protection and assistance to children and therefore must strengthen their national capacities to attend to their needs and keep them far away from armed conflict, Violent extremism and recruitment by non-State armed groups. This is why my country believes that we coordinated international efforts must be made on prevention and early warning, because this is the most effective way to meet our international obligations in this area.”
2017-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8082 (2017) · source
“That is why Costa Rica also endorses the Safe Schools Declaration and the statement delivered by the representative of Canada on behalf of the Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict. The statements we heard this morning from Ms. Gamba and Mr. Shaikh described with devastating clarity the horrors suffered by millions of girls and boys as a consequence of armed conflict. Additionally, the asymmetric attacks committed by non-State armed groups have a particularly severe impact on children, particularly when they take place in densely populated areas and are carried out against schools and hospitals. Children continue to be exposed to Violations of their rights, sexual violence, maiming, recruitment as fighters, including to commit suicide attacks, and killings.”
2017-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8082 (2017) · source
“Mr. Castro Cordoba (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): We wish to thank you, Madam President, for having convened this debate. Costa Rica has read and studied carefully the report of the Secretary-General on the issue of children and armed conflict (S/2017/821), submitted in accordance with resolution 2225 (2015). My delegation endorses the statement delivered by the representative of Norway on behalf of the group of countries supporting the Safe Schools Declaration and by the representative of Panama on behalf of the Human Security Network. Costa Rica shares the View that all parties to armed conflict have a particular obligation with regard to the protection of children and that this obligation emanates directly from international law, international humanitarian law, international human rights law and numerous resolutions of the Council.”
2017-10-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8082 (2017) · source
“Costa Rica reiterates its concern over the growing tensions in the conflict in the Middle East and strongly urges the international community to achieve peace in that region, and specifically all permanent members of the Council to commit, in accordance with the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group code of conduct, to not using the veto in case of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. We urge the Council to act expeditiously and decisively to ensure the protection of civilians.”
2017-07-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8011Reprise1 (2017) · source
“War cannot be fought with more war. Peace is not built by fuelling conflicts with arms and bombings. Peace must be built using the tools provided us by diplomacy and multilateralism in order to put an end to this humanitarian tragedy. We believe that we must without delay work to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for the most serious crimes, with a view to putting an end to all actions leading to the deaths of innocents, delivering justice and preventing suffering and the deaths of even more innocent civilians. The only thing worse than this human tragedy is the fact that it results in impunity rather than justice.”
2017-07-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8011Reprise1 (2017) · source
“We cannot continue to overlook the pain of the millions of people who are victims of this political and military struggle. That is why I urge that we do our job and ensure that multilateralism prevails so as to promote solidarity and fulfil the commitment to achieve the goals of the entire international community, not simply those of a group of nations. The United Nations must play its role as the epicentre of global governance on the basis ofrespect for the collective quest for solutions. Costa Rica deems it urgent to find a political solution to this conflict. We must work on establishing a new peace architecture so that we can resolve differences and implement preventive diplomacy, with a view to holding negotiations leading to tangible, lasting and sustainable results. Military options are not solutions.”
2017-07-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8011Reprise1 (2017) · source
“It is crucial that a political solution to this conflict be found it and that we create, as soon as possible, a new peace architecture that would make it possible to resolve differences and lead to the achievement of the objective agreed by the international community, that is, harmonious coexistence between an independent Palestinian State and the State ofIsrael. June marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. That is 50 years of having failed, as an international community, to come together to find a solution to one of the most widely discussed conflicts since the establishment of the Organization. It is a failure of our multilateral system, in which international law must prevail as a central pillar.”
2017-07-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8011Reprise1 (2017) · source
“We therefore appeal once again to the Security Council to fully exercise its mandate to maintain international peace and security, as clearly set out in the Charter of the United Nations. With respect to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Costa Rica reiterates the urgent need to resume negotiations between the parties on the central issues of the conflict, which remain to this day, on the basis of previous obligations undertaken and agreements reached. My country condemns the escalation of recent tensions and the clashes that have resulted in casualties in and around the holy city of Jerusalem, and urges the parties to show the utmost restraint and refrain from any unilateral action that could worsen the already volatile situation.”
2017-07-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8011Reprise1 (2017) · source
“Mr. Castro Cordoba (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): We congratulate you, Sir, and the Mission of the People's Republic of China on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of July. Millions of human beings live daily in anguish, despair and pain as a result of armed conflict. Costa Rica deeply deplores the increase in conflicts in the Middle East. The situation has deteriorated in recent years, and it has not been possible to achieve peace and security in the region. It is urgent that we put an end to the humanitarian crisis we are facing and seek a political solution, as this crisis has become a humanitarian tragedy of shocking proportions and represents an affront to all of humankind.”
2017-07-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8011Reprise1 (2017) · source
“We make this call specifically to all permanent members of the Council so that, in accordance with code of conduct of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group, they commit to refraining from the use the veto when we are faced with the commission of the most heinous crimes, so that the Council can act swiftly to ensure the protection of civilians.”
2017-04-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7929 (2017) · source
“The United Nations must play its role as the epicentre of global governance based on mutual respect and the collective search for solutions. We believe that we must urgently join forces in investigating and condemning those responsible for the most heinous crimes so as to halt any act that results in the death of innocents, bring about justice and end the suffering and losses of more innocent civilians. The only thing worse than this human tragedy is that impunity succeeds instead ofjustice. Costa Rica reiterates its concern about the growing tension generated by the conflicts in the Middle East and vigorously calls on a united international community to achieve peace in that region.”
2017-04-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7929 (2017) · source
“With regard to the conflict in Syria and the insufficient action taken by the Security Council, Costa Rica urges all States members of the General Assembly to take on their share of responsibility and assume their roles as set out under Articles 11, 12 and 14 of the Charter of the United Nations. The General Assembly must act decisively on issues pertaining to the maintenance of international peace and security. That is a collective responsibility. We cannot continue to ignore the suffering of the millions of people who have fallen victim to that political and military game. I therefore urge members that we carry out our work and put multilateralism into practice so that solidarity prevails. along with the commitment to satisfy the interests of the entire international community and not just those of one group of nations.”
2017-04-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7929 (2017) · source
“With regard to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Costa Rica reiterates the urgent need to resume negotiations between the parties on the core issues of the conflict that still exist, based on the obligations already made and on previously signed agreements. We must find a political solution to that conflict and create as soon as possible a new peace architecture for resolving the differences, one that will lead to the achievement of the objectives set by the international community: harmonious coexistence between an independent Palestinian State and the State of Israel.”
2017-04-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7929 (2017) · source
“Such acts are a threat to the territorial integrity and the security of States. Those activities must be addressed and tackled through multilateralism, in accordance with the provisions of international law and in full respect for human rights. In the same spirit, Costa Rica condemns unilateral actions carried out in contravention of the Charter of the United Nations. We reaffirm the primary responsibility of States to prevent and combat violent extremism, but we appeal for a human rights approach in combating it. That approach should encompass the whole of society, including the participation of Governments, civil society, local and religious leaders and the private sector.”
2017-04-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7929 (2017) · source
“The crisis has become a humanitarian tragedy of scandalous proportions, an affront to all of humankind. We therefore once again urge the Security Council to fully exercise its mandate to maintain international peace and security, as clearly set forth in the Charter of the United Nations. My country regrets the recurrent terrorist attacks that have taken place in the Middle East. We categorically condemn all acts, methods and practices of terrorism and violent extremism in all their manifestations, wherever they take place and whoever the perpetrators are, regardless of their motivation. That includes condemnation of financial, material or political support for terrorism as unjustifiable under applicable international law, given its detrimental effects on the enjoyment of human rights and on democratic societies.”
2017-04-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7929 (2017) · source
“Mr. Castro Cordoba (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): We congratulate you, Madam President, and the Mission of the United States of America on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of April. We also welcome the statement made by Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. Millions of human beings live every day in anguish and despair and with the painful memories of armed conflicts. Costa Rica deeply regrets the spread of conflicts in the Middle East. The situation in recent years has deteriorated, and it has not been possible to achieve peace and security in the region. It is urgent that we succeed in putting an end to the humanitarian crisis confronting us and seek a prompt political solution.”
2017-04-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7929 (2017) · source
“The fact that the Security Council has devoted an open debate to the issue of water, peace and security is of paramount importance for this natural finite and vulnerable resource. It shows that we have begun to realize that, if we do not protect it adequately, if we do not measure its true value as a development instrument, if we do not create the institutional and legal structure that is required, water will be a threat to international security, and not a never-ending source of sustainable development and peace as it should be.”
2016-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7818 (2016) · source
“Hence our interest in promoting regional cooperation mechanisms that would pool national experiences and could be shared with other developing countries. We must develop management, financial and planning mechanisms to protect the sources of water that are necessary to guarantee future access to water for our populations, especially the rural population and indigenous communities, while making them active participants in local communities in protecting that resource, which would prevent conflicts over access to water. Within those mechanisms, we can mention, for example, our experience in the payment for water environmental services and measuring the water footprint of all our activities.”
2016-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7818 (2016) · source
“Such progress will be fundamental for protecting the human right of access to water and sanitation, since the United Nations itself recognized that this is a vital right, one that is necessary in order to enjoy all the other human rights. Costa Rica has had valuable experiences in terms of cross-border cooperation, since on both borders we have rivers that unite us with our neighbours. We firmly believe in the need to bolster cross-border cooperation in water management in an ongoing fashion, and not only in the form of projects for the benefit of the cross- border population, which in our region is among the most vulnerable. Our experience in integrated water management and its impact on the well-being of the population are proof of the contribution of water in peacebuilding and peacekeeping, in a real and lasting peace.”
2016-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7818 (2016) · source
“We trust that progress in our efforts, as well as progress in the discussion on the importance of water resources in forums and relevant documents - such as the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the New Urban Agenda (Habitat III), among others - will allow us to identify and to act on opportunities for the benefit of the common good and to contribute to creating real options to achieve lasting peace and sustainable development throughout the world. In that regard, the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6 - ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all - and of all the interrelated goals and objectives, should be a central element of our mission as a multilateral body.”
2016-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7818 (2016) · source
“Although we have an international agreement dealing with transboundary waters, another one on wetlands and many binational agreements on watercourses, we need to think about a dedicated binding international instrument that would protect this resource as a strategic asset for the survival of humankind, but also for the survival of ecosystems. We must also have in place an institutional architecture that would protect this precious liquid, so that future generations can see in it opportunities for peace and sustainable development, and not as sources ofconflicts and wars as predicted.”
2016-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7818 (2016) · source
“What is certain is that water on our planet is sometimes scarce and is unevenly distributed geographically. But that resource is also facing major threats due to its inadequate management, waste, pollution and, last but not least, to climate change, whose effects can be seen in water in the form of droughts, floods and hurricanes, as we were warned by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. All those threats could increase water-related conflicts, both internally and internationally. That is why we believe in the need to ensure that the protection of water protection becomes an international political priority.”
2016-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7818 (2016) · source
“Mr. Castro Cordoba (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): Costa Rica congratulates you, Mr. President, as well as the Permanent Mission of Senegal, for having convened this open debate during your presidency ofthe Security Council. We believe that having an opportunity to discuss this vital resource for the survival of this and future generations, especially in the Council, gives water the appropriate and necessary political priority that it needs within the United Nations. Many have predicted that future wars will be fought over water, and some countries have declared that water is a matter of national security. However, we believe that water can also be a source of opportunities for peace and conflict-prevention through strategic cooperation and synergies that could be forged at the local, national, regional and global levels.”
2016-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7818 (2016) · source
“We stress the importance of compliance with Article 26 of the Charter of the United Nations, which provides for the Security Council to submit to Members plans "for the establishment of a system for the regulation of armaments" with a view to "the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security with the least diversion for armaments of the world's human and economic resources". We are convinced that a world without weapons of mass destruction is the only way to achieve humankind's main objectives, namely, peace, security and sustainable development. That is why we will continue to work towards what is a utopia for some, but an achievable goal for us, namely, a world free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.”
2016-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7758 (2016) · source
“As mentioned in the concept note (S/2016/712, annex) that provides the basis for today's discussion, globalization and technological development facilitate the efforts of the international community to reduce new risks and threats. However, such tools can have unintended effects: they can also foster the danger that, in the long run, such weapons might end up falling into non-State hands. It is therefore necessary to strengthen international mechanisms for controlling the technology and materials needed to develop such weapons. We must also redouble efforts to prevent terrorist groups from acquiring any type of weapon of mass destruction and ensure that the export and import of materials, equipment and technology needed to develop such weapons is subject to control.”
2016-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7758 (2016) · source
“Precisely because we have sufficient credentials and, above all, the moral authority flowing from those customs and practices, we reiterate our call to the international community to avoid an increase in the number of new States that possess nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, which might be acquired either through the use of their own technology or through technology that they have acquired from other States. In addition, we must continue working to eliminate the increase in the quantity and quality of nuclear and other types of weapons by States that already possess such weapons. Finally, we must avoid at any cost an increase in the number of States that possess weapons of mass destruction as a result of the evolution of the civilian use of nuclear and other technologies.”
2016-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7758 (2016) · source
“The multilateral system and international law are our only means of defence. We know quite well that peace and security as a global public good can be achieved, in part by honouring the Charter of the United Nations, in particular Articles 10 and 26, as Costa Rica has been advocating for decades. As a country without an army, we possess no weapons of mass destruction. In our legislation there is a ban on devices that produce asphyxiating, poisonous, paralysing, irritating or tear-generating gases. We have also banned the use, production or introduction into the country of gases, chemicals, toxic or deadly viruses or bacteria that could lead, inter alia, to irreversible physical or mental consequences.”
2016-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7758 (2016) · source
“We also adopted resolution 1540 (2004), which imposes a number of binding obligations on all Member States, including, inter alia, the duty to refrain from providing any support to non-State actors who might attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery. However, implementation still faces many challenges. All of those steps and objectives are very important for some States, but not for all. And yet the international community has not given up on its attempts to achieve a world without nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, and even less on achieving that objective with the benefit of sophisticated verification and control systems. Costa Rica is a small, democratic, disarmed and civilian-based country.”
2016-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7758 (2016) · source
“We have attempted to ban the production of fissionable material, but we have not yet been able to begin the negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament, which has been paralysed for years and does not have universal membership. We have called for greater transparency with regard to arsenals, for the verification of any arsenal reductions by the International Atomic Energy Agency and for the cessation of programmes to upgrade arsenals; however, bilateral and unilateral verification processes continue to be the norm.”
2016-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7758 (2016) · source
“Mr. Castro Cordoba (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): Costa Rica would like to thank you, Mr. President, and your delegation for having convened this important debate. Our country is firmly committed to the international legal system and believes that global disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction can, and should, be achieved through dialogue and the negotiation of legal instruments. Over the years, a number of proposals and measures have been put forward to make progress in this area. We have banned nuclear tests, but the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) has not yet entered into force.”
2016-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7758 (2016) · source
“Given the very complex landscape that we face in terms of new conflicts and unprecedented humanitarian crises, we must use of existing mechanisms such as early warning, as well as new principles such as the responsibility to protect, so that we can take preventive action to safeguard international peace and human rights.”
2016-02-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7621 (2016) · source
“Through that mechanism, the Secretary-General can intervene in a timely manner to seek respect for the purposes and principles of the Charter, especially with a view to preventing conflicts and eliminating threats to international peace and security. But that early warning prerogative granted by the Charter is also an obligation and a responsibility. The Secretary-General has access to privileged information, such as that provided by observers in the field and the personnel necessary for carrying out political analyses that are required. He is therefore placed in a strategic position to make make those warnings in a timely manner so that the Security Council can take the take appropriate measures, and preferably preventive measures, which can also play an important role to ensure the responsibility to protect.”
2016-02-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7621 (2016) · source
“This Article authorizes the Secretary-General to draw the attention of the Security Council to any matter that may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security. Obviously, it refers to new cases that are not currently being discussed and have not been placed on the agenda by any other country. As the Secretary- General clearly indicated this morning, unfortunately this toolhas beenused onlyin exceptionalcircumstances over the past 70 years. That mechanism is a vital tool for conflict prevention and entails an independent political role given to the Secretary-General that he himself must exercise when circumstances require it.”
2016-02-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7621 (2016) · source
“While important progress has been made in the past decade in terms of that principle in reports and resolutions of the bodies of the United Nations, it is important to continue stepping up efforts to enhance its recognition, development and implementation in the proceedings of the Organization. It is vital to move forward as an Organization to assist States in fulfilling their responsibility to protect, as well as in efforts to help the international community to respond effectively and rapidly, in a timely and adequate manner, when collective action to protect is called for. The second aspect that we wish to address has to do with the provisions of Article 99 of the Charter.”
2016-02-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7621 (2016) · source
“I refer here to the responsibility to protect and its application in situations of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. In cases where States lack sufficient capacity to exercise their responsibility to protect, the action of the international community is paramount. Intrinsic human dignity and fundamental rights are not dependent solely on States, whose legitimacy should be based on their service to and protection of their people. In that sense, the protection of human dignity is a legitimate universal concern that transcends borders and calls on the international community to act.”
2016-02-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7621 (2016) · source
“The first is the relationship between the principle of non-intervention and the responsibility to protect. Costa Rica, as a small country with no military that has placed its security and the defence of its sovereignty in the hands of the international multilateral system, upholds the principle of non-intervention. That principle, however, is not unlimited, not only in situations that call for the implementation of Chapter VII of the Charter but also when States should be responsible and the guarantors of the security and welfare of their citizens. Sovereignty confers responsibility. That is why our country upholds another principle that has evolved on the basis of the need to take action in the event of grave human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law.”
2016-02-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7621 (2016) · source
“Mr. Castro Cordoba (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): Costa Rica congratulates you, Mr. President, and all your team on your work in the Security Council presidency and on having proposed three important debates during your term. Holding an open debate on the purposes and principles of our Charter helps us return to our roots and the basic criteria of our Organization, and to confirm that, yesterday as today, they remain relevant. We, the peoples of the United Nations, must redesign the institutional architecture on the basis of those building blocks in order to address the challenges of the new millennium. Let me refer to two aspects of the purposes and principles of the Charter that Costa Rica considers important and can help the ongoing discussion.”
2016-02-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7621 (2016) · source
“We remain confident that the Security Council can fully exercise its mandate to maintain international peace and security and fully uphold international justice and the rule of law.”
2016-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7610 (2016) · source
“With regard to the current situation in Yemen, my delegation is concerned about developments in the conflict and in the situation in which even the Al-Thawra hospital has been repeatedly attacked. Basic services and items, such as water and medicine, are scarce. In the light of this situation, we join the calls of the United Nations to allow humanitarian access to the area and for a permanent ceasefire. We welcome the statements of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights announcing that the Yemeni Government has revised its position and will allow the Special Envoy to Yemen to continue his work in the country. Costa Rica reiterates its concern about rising tensions among regional Powers that escalate the tone of the fighting and therefore makes a strong call for peace in the Middle East.”
2016-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7610 (2016) · source