YouSaid · the spoken record

Chan Valverde

lines on the record: 68
first: 2021-10-21
most recent: 2023-10-25
sittings or episodes: 15
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 Council should promote the participation and protection of women human rights defenders, peace activists and survivors, fully taking into account their rights, safety, dignity and the long-term needs of those individuals and their families. Women have always had a voice. They have shown tremendous leadership and worked on the ground for peace and security. Therefore, this debate should not focus on what can be given to women, but on dismantling the barriers to their participation, advancing the objectives of resolution 1325 (2000) and honouring the immeasurable legacy of the women who have come before me.”
2023-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9452Resumption1 (2023) · source
“To close that gap, Costa Rica calls for greater involvement of civil society and the private sector. States must collaborate with women’s organizations at the local level and recognize their experience and capacity, thereby laying the groundwork for transformative change. Thirdly, it is the duty of States to create safe and enabling environments for women to carry out their work independently and without undue interference, including in situations of armed conflict, and to address threats, violence and incitement to hatred against them, as is well established in resolution 2493 (2019). However, in 2020, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights verified the killing of 35 women human rights defenders in conflict-affected areas.”
2023-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9452Resumption1 (2023) · source
“While women and girls face serious barriers to Internet access and connectivity in rural and conflict- affected regions, online violence prevents them from participating in discussions and participating in private or exclusive spaces, affecting their full and meaningful participation in areas from the negotiation of peace agreements to the consolidation and maintenance of peace. Costa Rica further regrets that online gender- based violence continues to be perceived as less serious than violence that takes place in the real world. Secondly, it is clear to Costa Rica that States lack a firm commitment to empower women’s full, equal and meaningful agency and participation, as there continues to be a significant gap in funding at both the international and local levels.”
2023-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9452Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Ms. Chan Valverde (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): Women’s advancement has stalled, and their underrepresentation continues in multiple official processes and bodies related to the maintenance of international peace and security. Yet women continue to bear a disproportionate burden in conflicts. We must act urgently to avoid further setbacks as we approach the twenty-fifth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000). In that regard, let me make three points. First, most resolutions under the women and peace and security umbrella deplore sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of war. However, the Council has yet to examine online gender-based violence within its normative framework, let alone its intersectionality.”
2023-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9452Resumption1 (2023) · source
“We must do more to redefine that agenda, such as by drafting a new stand-alone draft resolution that reframes education bans as a new form of structural violence against women and girls. It is critical that survivors remain at the heart of our efforts. We must recognize that survivors have differing needs and may face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. We must ensure that their rights are protected, they are treated with dignity, they are able to access to justice and that they can safely, fully and meaningfully participate in decision-making at all levels.”
2023-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9378Resumption1 (2023) · source
“That could constitute a launching pad for furthering those efforts at the global scale. Secondly, conflict-related sexual violence is not just a women’s issue, but a security issue with much wider peace and security implications. Not only can rape serve as a precursor to conflict, a diagnosis of pre-conflict conditions and a symptom of impunity, but it is also evidence of a weak and deficient security sector. A robust security sector will indubitably support women’s participation and improve the protection mechanisms needed to eliminate sexual violence in and out of conflict. Thirdly, all resolutions under the women and peace and security umbrella are focused more on protecting women’s bodies than on unleashing women’s full potential.”
2023-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9378Resumption1 (2023) · source
“However, more must be done to define the practical links between disarmament and arms control and the women and peace and security agenda, in particular at the multilateral level. Costa Rica calls on the Council to promote and include disarmament and arms control considerations in its discussions and decisions on women and peace and security to further advance the agenda’s implementation. At the practical level, Costa Rica calls for greater harmonization between national strategies for implementing the women and peace and security agenda and those for regulating small arms and light weapons, by integrating small arms and light weapons control practices in women and peace and security national action plans and women and peace and security considerations in small arms and light weapons national action plans.”
2023-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9378Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Ms. Chan Valverde (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): Costa Rica deplores the fact that impunity for sexual violence in armed conflict continues to be the norm and that justice continues to elude victims and survivors, from Myanmar to Ukraine, and from Yemen to Haiti. In that regard, allow me to make three points. First, the proliferation and illicit flow of small arms and light weapons and their ammunition contribute to and perpetuate sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict settings, thereby exacerbating the vulnerability of individuals. Consequently, disarmament and arms control are a key approach to preventing and addressing such atrocities, as indeed acknowledged in the United Nations Framework for the Prevention of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.”
2023-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9378Resumption1 (2023) · source
“The success of the children and armed conflict mandate rests on the effectiveness of the tools at the Council’s disposal, in particular the Working Group responsible for issuing recommendations for the protection of children. Costa Rica reaffirms its full commitment to the children and armed conflict mandate and calls on all States, in particular the members of the Council, to redouble their efforts to ensure the effective functioning of those mechanisms.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“One example is the impact of the indiscriminate application of counter-terrorism approaches to the reintegration of children associated with armed groups and forces, as well as the impact of the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas against children. For Costa Rica, the correction of those and other situations must be guided by and for children themselves, centring their voices and experiences and ensuring their full participation in the design of responses. We also call for the protection of community, religious and civic leaders and other human rights defenders, who are the guarantors of truth and the key to reconciliation in the context of armed conflict.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“It is impossible to speak of a new preventive approach or lasting peace when rights are being violated and new generations denied a future. In that regard, Costa Rica vehemently calls on the Council to fulfil its responsibility to protect children in armed conflicts and in other fragile contexts. We also call on it to cooperate with the Secretary-General to implement rigorous and objective processes for the listing of State and non-State perpetrators in the latter’s report (S/2023/363). Secondly, we stress the importance of an intersectional approach to ensure adequate and child- sensitive responses to both prevent and put a stop to grave violations.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“Ms. Chan Valverde (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): Costa Rica thanks the United Kingdom for convening this open debate, as well as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mrs. Virginia Gamba de Potgieter, and the other briefers for their interventions. Costa Rica expresses its profound concern at the continuing grave violations against children in the context of armed conflict, as reflected in the increase in all forms of such violations in the past year. We are extremely concerned that, for the first time, State groups and forces are the main perpetrators of those violations. Costa Rica reminds all actors — and States in particular — of the obligation to respect international humanitarian and international human rights law under all circumstances.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366 (2023) · source
“Thirdly, for Costa Rica, it is crucial to have a women and children-centred approach because they are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Indeed, they are more vulnerable to those effects than men. It is vital to have a gender-sensitive approach to support capacity-building for women and girls in vulnerable areas that is focused on their protection and empowerment. We should also collect gender- disaggregated data and work with relevant agencies, funds and programmes in order to inform policies in a holistic manner. A degraded climate also leads to legitimate impatience in aggrieved communities in the face of a security sector that is increasingly equipped for militarized responses. If there has ever been a fight that cannot be won through force, this is it.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Through its work on the ground, the mechanism has generated invaluable knowledge and insight based on national and local contexts to increase its impact. The deployment of climate security advisers, the improvements made to training programmes and the strengthening of data-based evaluations, including indigenous knowledge, have been crucial for analysis, early warning and the response to climate-related security risks. Costa Rica calls for that mechanism to deliver regular reports on its successes and challenges to the Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission. And we call for an increase in the support provided to the mechanism and increased participation of members in its work.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Conflict prevention in the dry corridor in Central America requires a comprehensive approach that combines sustainable land management practices, climate-resilient agriculture, equitable access to water resources and inclusive governance frameworks and that addresses the root causes of resource scarcity and social disparities. Secondly, we need a coordinator for the climate, peace and security agenda that coordinates and promotes cooperation among various Government stakeholders, international organizations and civil society to comprehensively address climate change-related challenges and the impact that they have on peace and security. In that regard, Costa Rica points to the role played by the Climate Security Mechanism as a platform for coordination on that issue in United Nations operations.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345Resumption1 (2023) · source
“It has overlooked the unique climate-related challenges faced by the region and the potential implications that they have for security. A clear example of that neglect is the dry corridor in Central America, which faces delayed and irregular rainfall, severe and protracted droughts, hurricanes, significant harvest loss and growing levels of food insecurity, all of which creates tension in the management of and access to land and water. That, together with organized crime activity, exacerbates tensions within and among communities.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Ms. Chan Valverde (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): We thank the United Arab Emirates both for this debate and for including a relief, recovery and peace agenda in the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) which will provide an opportunity to all interested parties to discuss the climate, peace and security nexus. Its recommendations and the agreements established in COP decisions will be an invaluable guide to ensure that the Security Council and those responsible for implementing its decisions do so in a cross-cutting manner. In that regard, allow me to make three remarks. First, the focus on climate, peace and security has neglected Latin America and the Caribbean.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345Resumption1 (2023) · source
“While the Security Council intends for Member States, regional and subregional organizations and individuals to do more to manage global crises, the Council must also do more. Keeping the peace requires a more benevolent, cooperative and, above all, determined approach to maintain trust, particularly in this very Chamber.”
2023-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9315Resumption1 (2023) · source
“UNIDIR’s independent research enables decision-making and policymaking in disarmament and peacebuilding, for example, in such areas as the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence on military operations and all domains of warfare, as well as opportunities and challenges. Finally, the United Nations must lead by example and implement flexible, context-specific, attentive and reliable responses to conflict threats. It must act as one, integrating the various pillars of the Organization with inclusive, people-centred, balanced and gender- sensitive approaches so as to build trust with local populations. This involves including women and youth in decision-making processes and policies, as well as engaging with rural communities and civil society organizations.”
2023-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9315Resumption1 (2023) · source
“To ensure that these mechanisms are used successfully, Member States must demonstrate political will and mutual trust. As to the Security Council, it is essential that it introduce into its mandates the tools necessary to better understand the risks arising from the diversion, illicit trafficking and proliferation of arms and ammunition and their impact on security and people’s lives. Secondly, Costa Rica wishes to emphasize the importance of collecting credible and verified data and evidence, in particular through the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR).”
2023-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9315Resumption1 (2023) · source
“The New Agenda for Peace can also revive existing transparency and confidence-building measures and promote the development of new ones applicable to weapons of mass destruction, conventional weapons, cyberspace and outer space, as well as emerging technologies. Such measures can build mutual understanding, lessen misperceptions and miscalculations, improve clarity of intent and ultimately reduce the risk of conflict. In this regard, Costa Rica would like to highlight three aspects. First, Costa Rica encourages greater use of existing tools, such as the United Nations Report on Military Expenditures and the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, which are key to promoting transparency and accountability in military spending and the arms trade.”
2023-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9315Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Ms. Chan Valverde (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): Madam President, Costa Rica welcomes the convening of today’s open debate and congratulates you and Switzerland on your historic presidency of the Security Council. In the current geostrategic context of eroding levels of trust and growing competition, the New Agenda for Peace offers an opportunity to promote transparency and foster trust and dialogue as an alternative to arms acquisitions. It can revive the objective set forth in Article 26 of the United Nations Charter which calls for “the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security with the least diversion for armaments of the world’s human and economic resources”.”
2023-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9315Resumption1 (2023) · source
“All of that is key to ensuring sustainable development, peace and security for everybody. That is how we can silence the guns.”
2023-03-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9299Resumption1 (2023) · source
“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development reminds us that, without addressing Sustainable Development Goal 5, on gender equality and women’s empowerment, achieving sustainable development and consequently peace and security will be impossible. Similarly, the African Union Agenda 2063 acknowledges the important role of women and girls as catalysts for change and prioritizes the aspirations of gender equality and women’s empowerment for the region. While the circumstances in my country, Costa Rica, might be very different than the ones we are discussing, we are also working to apply the same lessons by improving and increasing the participation of youth, local Governments and civil society through our national development and public investment plan, while integrating a gender perspective.”
2023-03-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9299Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Thirdly, we must engage young people and adopt a long-term approach to addressing security threats. The average age of African citizens is under 20 years. We must therefore ensure that Governments, international, regional, civil society organizations and traditional and religious leaders include youth in decision-making processes, in line with the youth, peace and security agenda. Engaging youth in the implementation of the Silencing the Guns initiative in Africa at all levels will make ownership possible, ensure the longevity of security and development policies and encourage changes in behaviour. Fourthly, we must ensure the full, equal, meaningful and effective participation of women in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, in line with the women and peace and security agenda.”
2023-03-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9299Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Small arms and light weapons continue to represent a challenge that affects peace and security, human rights, gender, sustainable development and other areas. To silence weapons, we need to prevent and eradicate the illicit trade and diversion of conventional weapons through effective implementation of international and regional arms-control instruments. Secondly, we need to provide financial and human resources at the local level to mitigate armed violence, end conflict and achieve peace and sustainable development. But in addition to the international sphere, we must work at the national and regional levels, to the extent possible, together with civil society organizations. In that regard, the African Union’s Silencing the Guns initiative is an important framework.”
2023-03-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9299Resumption1 (2023) · source
“But as the saying goes, “if you live by guns, you die by guns”. Many young men died trying to steal cattle. Many young brides became young widows in the care of devastated and traumatized families. In response, in 2016, the POTUMA Women’s Forum was created. Although traditionally excluded from political decision-making, women began to challenge gender norms. They boycotted ceremonies that paid homage to rustlers. They reached across community boundaries to create spaces for dialogue. Although instability continues, the POTUMA Women’s Forum has resolved disputes on several occasions. Their challenge is a common one across civil society: lack of funding for local initiatives. What lessons can we draw from this story? First, we must address the widespread proliferation of small arms and light weapons in communities.”
2023-03-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9299Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Ms. Chan Valverde (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): I want to share a story from the Turkana and Pokot regions of Kenya. Long-standing disputes over agricultural land erupted in violent conflict when the local sugar industry — the main employer — collapsed due to corruption and embezzlement. With climate change, resource extraction and dwindling reserves of arable land, the situation worsened. Faced with poor job prospects, young people dropped out of school. They turned to livestock theft to pay dowries and start families. Increasingly available firearms replaced spears and arrows, and livestock theft became an increasingly deadly activity. At first, some women supported this practice through song, joining in the smuggling of weapons, and in the end insisting on marrying wealthy rustlers, even if that wealth was the result of theft.”
2023-03-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9299Resumption1 (2023) · source
“We remain committed to addressing the implications of sea level rise, including in the context of the third United Nations Ocean Conference, which Costa Rica will co-host together with France. It is time to urgently and jointly move from words to action so as to ensure a safe and stable future for all.”
2023-02-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9260Resumption1 (2023) · source
“A better understanding of the legal implications of sea level rise is therefore urgently needed. In that regard, Costa Rica welcomes the progress made by the International Law Commission on sea level rise in relation to international law. We support the request by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for an advisory opinion, as well as the request to the International Court of Justice with regard to the obligations of States in relation to climate change. In addition, Costa Rica calls for a discussion of the international criminal law implications of acts that cause irremediable ecological damage, including a potential definition of ecocide.”
2023-02-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9260Resumption1 (2023) · source
“It is also essential to recognize, address and mainstream the humanitarian and security implications of sea level rise across the United Nations system. The effects of sea level rise could foment new conflicts over land and resources, which could lead to the creation of ever more dangerous migration patterns and exacerbate the exploitation of vulnerable groups. The Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission can and must jointly deliver an effective response that takes into account human security and sustainable peace, as established by the review of the peacebuilding architecture. On another note, island and coastal States face an unprecedented challenge to their statehood — the risk of large-scale losses of parts or all of their territories, which threaten to undermine the foundations of the current international order.”
2023-02-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9260Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Ms. Chan Valverde (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): As a small coastal country but a big ocean State, Costa Rica is deeply concerned about the impacts of sea level rise, both on the livelihoods of our citizens and on regional and global stability and security. An urgent starting point for this discussion is the fulfilment of the obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. We must meet the agreed emissions cap. We must scale up adaptation and resilience measures, and we must deliver on climate finance commitments, including through the implementation of the loss and damage fund. That is not charity — it is a moral, environmental and economic imperative to ensure international peace and security and guarantee genuine climate justice.”
2023-02-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9260Resumption1 (2023) · source
“The Security Council and all United Nations bodies, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, must recognize crimes of gender-based persecution, including sexual violence and other forms of persecution perpetrated on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, physical characteristics and self-expression. We must also leverage the presence of United Nations agencies in humanitarian settings to expand access to justice for survivors of sexual violence at the community and State levels. We have seen organizations led by young women emerge in post-conflict situations in many parts of the world. Their goal is to place women under the age of 35 at the centre of resilience and peacebuilding efforts. Young women are the missing piece in the peacebuilding puzzle.”
2022-10-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9158Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Secondly, there is an urgent need to expand existing funding mechanisms for women human rights defenders and for new funding streams to be created to deliver resources to civil society organizations led by women or members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities that are working in conflict-affected areas. We welcome the development of the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund for Women Human Rights Defenders, which aims to provide rapid and flexible resources to women-led civil society organizations. Thirdly, Costa Rica calls for the strengthening and expansion of response mechanisms to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence, end impunity for perpetrators and provide comprehensive support to survivors.”
2022-10-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9158Resumption1 (2022) · source
“In 2017, the United Nations Development Programme estimated that more than 30 per cent of recruited children come from families with a widowed or single female head of household. More than two decades and 10 resolutions later, we have not sufficiently explored the role of the private sector in advancing the women, peace and security agenda. Public-private partnerships can promote the post-conflict recovery of local communities, especially by hiring and supporting widows, and they can even encourage their political participation. However, although current efforts have been scattered, we see the potential and urgently need to maximize it.”
2022-10-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9158Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Ms. Chan Valverde (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): Costa Rica thanks Gabon for convening today’s open debate and the briefers for their briefings. In both conflict and post-conflict situations, resilience and recovery depend on hidden, unpaid and domestic work that is largely performed by women. In this regard, Costa Rica wishes to highlight three aspects. First, although the resolutions on women, peace and security do not explicitly mention widows or widowhood, 50 per cent of the female population in post-conflict contexts are widows. Often impoverished, widows and their children have been recruited by armed and extremist groups in the hope of finding physical and economic security there.”
2022-10-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9158Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Similarly, we call for more inclusive processes for selecting the Chairs of those bodies and for a continued push towards greater transparency in preparing the annual report of the Security Council to the General Assembly. We know that improving the working methods of the Security Council will take time and energy. However, given the challenges and expectations of today’s world, genuine and substantial change is needed in the way the Council functions if it is to shoulder its responsibilities. That is what Costa Rica calls for today.”
2022-06-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9079 (2022) · source
“It is frustrating to witness the initiatives and often the voices of high-profile elected members being suppressed by the obstinacy and political games of the permanent members. Such suppression is most obvious in the case of the smallest States, which have also made their way into the Council. Therefore, the equitable allocation of work among all elected members not only ensures equitable, fair burden-sharing but also ensures an accurate representation of the needs and aspirations of all Council members. Costa Rica also calls for more transparency in the work of subsidiary bodies and the selection and independence of groups of experts.”
2022-06-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9079 (2022) · source
“The current practice of penholding restricts the likelihood of elected members being able to make greater contributions, thereby hindering all voices and views from being heard. Costa Rica urges penholding responsibilities to be shared among all Council members so that outcome documents can be representative of the plethora of views held by Council members. Similarly, fair burden- sharing among the subsidiary bodies can no longer be postponed. The current structure of the Security Council limits the scope of its elected members, assigning them the responsibility for sanctions committees and other specialized roles, while curbing their public contributions, such as advocating for unrestricted humanitarian access on behalf of the victims of conflicts that the Council has been unable to prevent or resolve with expediency.”
2022-06-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9079 (2022) · source
“Ms. Chan Valverde (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): Costa Rica thanks Albania for organizing today’s open debate. There is an undeniable connection between the working methods of Security Council and conflict prevention. If the Security Council acts solely in crisis mode, responding and reacting to events instead of preventing them, it will never be able to predict when events will occur, intervene early enough to prevent them from happening and save lives. In that regard, allow me to raise the following points. The hegemonic structure of penholding prevents the elected members of the Security Council from participating in the drafting of important resolutions. That practice marginalizes the elected members, thereby enabling only a few members to frame issues and determine courses of action.”
2022-06-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9079 (2022) · source
“Costa Rica calls on the Council to recognize and adopt the necessary measures to prevent such scenarios and demonstrate its commitment through concrete and sustained actions.”
2022-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9042Resumption1 (2022) · source
“This novel threat requires novel solutions and a better understanding of our conception of the protection of civilians that is adapted to the digital age. Costa Rica calls for the strengthening of commitments for the protection of civilians and critical infrastructure, including an understanding of the applicability of international law in protecting civilians from cyberoperations in contexts of armed conflict. According to the World Bank, 55 per cent of the global population lived in cities in 2021, and by 2050 that figure is expected to increase to 70 per cent. Therefore, the impact of the uncontrolled production and proliferation of weapons and their ammunition, as well as the intensity of cyberattacks against civilian infrastructure, will increasingly affect populations living in densely populated areas.”
2022-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9042Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Those steps, complemented by substantial and more transparent risk assessments of arms and ammunition transfers, can help resolve the contradiction between our efforts to ensure the protection of civilians and the effects of the uncontrolled proliferation and misuse of conventional weapons and their ammunition. Costa Rica believes that disarmament starts at the beginning of the life cycle of weapons, including the decision not to produce or acquire them in the first place. Secondly, the use of cyberoperations as a means or method of warfare in situations of armed conflict poses a genuine risk to the welfare of civilians and critical infrastructure. Power grids, sewage systems and hospitals remain vulnerable to cyberattacks, with grave humanitarian consequences.”
2022-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9042Resumption1 (2022) · source
“It is therefore more urgent than ever that the Security Council, with the assistance of the Military Staff Committee, propose plans for a system for regulating arms. It must include a more robust effort to monitor and enforce Security Council arms embargoes at the national and regional levels. Similarly, United Nations actors such as peacekeeping missions and their troop-contributing countries must also play a central role in monitoring arms and ammunition and related information-sharing with the Sanctions Committees, in line with their mandates. However, they are not doing so in a robust manner.”
2022-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9042Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Ms. Chan Valverde (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): As we commemorate protection-of-civilians week, Costa Rica acknowledges and deplores the undue human toll that armed conflicts continue to inflict on innocent girls, boys, women and men caught in the middle of hostilities. In that regard, let me highlight two aspects. First, Costa Rica regrets that the Security Council continues to fall short in fulfilling its mandate under Article 26 of the Charter of the United Nations. In 2021, global military spending exceeded $2 trillion for the first time in history. We can expect that without a corresponding regulatory effort, we will see increases in the expansion of armaments that Article 26 was intended to prevent, and a consequent impact on conflict and armed violence.”
2022-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9042Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Her interpretation is now an accepted principle of international law and represents a milestone in the struggle to condemn the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. It is time to honour that historic debt to women and to all victims and survivors — all of them, without exception and without distinction — because we all deserve to live with greater dignity under the sun.”
2022-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9016Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Thirdly, Costa Rica believes that the international response to conflict-related sexual violence must be more forceful and should match the achievements made other areas, such as the protection of civilians. Sexual violence in conflict is not a second-rate issue. It is an indisputable priority of the international community, which Costa Rica believes should be systematically reflected in the Council’s reports and actions. While Costa Rica acknowledges the delay in adopting a feminist approach to international criminal law, we highlight the crucial contribution of Costa Rican Judge Elizabeth Odio Benito. In 1998, as a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Elizabeth Odio Benito worked tirelessly to ensure that rape and sexual assault of other kinds were viewed as forms of torture.”
2022-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9016Resumption1 (2022) · source
“The International Criminal Court plays a fundamental role in that regard. Costa Rica urges the Court to continue to promote the implementation of the Rome Statute by adopting an intersectional approach in all proceedings involving sexual violence in armed conflict. Secondly, Costa Rica firmly believes in changing the reductionist binary lens through which sexual violence in armed conflict has been addressed for far too long. For a long time, boys and men and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people have been excluded from discussions on this topic. Costa Rica calls upon the Council to broaden the conversation so that all victims are considered. A victim-centred approach and gender mainstreaming are key to ensuring more inclusive and effective accountability. Invisibility perpetuates injustice and underpins impunity.”
2022-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9016Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Costa Rica thanks the United Kingdom for convening today’s open debate and its leadership on this issue. Sexual violence is not an inevitable consequence of conflicts and States are called upon to prevent, investigate and punish it. In that regard, allow me to make the following remarks. First, Costa Rica deplores the fact that impunity for sexual violence in armed conflict remains the norm; that justice continues to elude victims; and that accountability is the exception, not the rule — from Ethiopia to Myanmar to Ukraine. To put an end to impunity, all State and non-State actors involved in atrocities must be held accountable. That work begins at home, with the adoption of robust legislation and by strengthening judicial institutions and guaranteeing victims and survivors access to justice and the right to full reparation.”
2022-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9016Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Only with women and women’s economic and political empowerment will there be peace. I wish everyone a happy International Women’s Day.”
2022-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8989Resumption1 (2022) · source