YouSaid · the spoken record

Chungong Ayafor

lines on the record

62

first

2002-05-20

most recent

2004-03-04

sittings or episodes

10

sources

un-security-council

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1. “Mr. Chungong Ayafor (Cameroon) (spoke in French): I would first like to thank Secretary-General Kofi Annan for having come personally to introduce his report on children and armed conflict (S/2002/ 1299). This proves, if proof were still needed, that he is determined to keep the issue of children affected by armed conflict as one of the top priorities of the international community. I would also like to pay high tribute to Ms. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund, for her important contribution to the debate. Finally, I would like to thank Mr. Olara Otunnu, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, for his excellent statement.”

   2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source

2. “In conclusion, I should like to raise a subject that is important to my delegation and is particularly topical. In addressing situations of civil war or internal conflicts that pit democratically elected Governments against rebel movements or, more generally, against armed oppositions, the Council has - because of its passivity and a certain complacent condescension - sometimes left the impression of having surreptitiously legitimized certain rebel movements. That problem needs to be explored; it is a source of great concern to which the Council should find an ethical and adequate response.”

   2002-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4677 (2002) · source

3. “That just balance, in our View, is also indispensable for the management of sanctions in a strict sense. Indeed, many examples show that sanctions generally have a more devastating impact on vulnerable populations - women, children and the poor - than on the regimes in place. Thus, we must do a better job of taking the humanitarian dimension into account when the Council makes decisions concerning sanctions. A formula that is beginning to bear fruit - and that we should certainly stress more - is the targeting of sanctions at very specific objectives. In any case, the sociological tailoring of such targeting should be discussed. The Council must have a substantive debate in the near future on the impact of sanctions on the populations and economies of third- party States whose only mistake is to be a neighbour of States that are at fault.”

   2002-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4677 (2002) · source

4. “The other concern that I should like to emphasize at this wrap-up meeting concerns the problem of sanctions that the Council imposes against certain States that violate the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations. The Council is still searching for a global strategy for exiting sanctions regimes. It is also struggling to find effective ways of countering strategies aimed at bypassing sanctions that are used increasingly by organized crime networks. The growing criminalization of economies under sanctions also makes that difficult. The Council must, therefore, find balanced formulas that avoid pushing the situation to the breaking point, because, once a conflict has erupted, it becomes increasingly difficult to return to normal economic and social life in the countries concerned.”

   2002-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4677 (2002) · source

5. “During the open meeting on Iraq in October, the General Assembly got itself invited - there is no other way to describe it - to the Council to say, in particular, that missions to maintain international peace and security had been entrusted to the Council more for reasons of effectiveness and pragmatism than anything else. The Charter does not give anyone a blank check, because, in the long run, it is the body that includes all Members of the Organization and has full legitimacy. The obligation to be accountable must be maintained by all of the principal bodies of the United Nations. This should also remind us that it is the members elected by the General Assembly that give Security Council decisions their democratic legitimacy. In the absence of sound practice, the Council would risk losing its legitimacy and credibility.”

   2002-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4677 (2002) · source

6. “Despite appearances, there is a pattern of behaviour that is shared by the members of the Council, who, willingly or not, are often tempted to believe that agreement between five is the same as agreement between 15. The Security Council would benefit from returning to its initial composition. It is composed of 15 members, but little by little, it is becoming a body of five plus 10 members. That dichotomy can only affect the transparency and the legitimacy to which we all aspire. The most tangible example is resolution 1441 (2002). It was adopted by the 15 members unanimously and responsibly. However, as soon as it was voted on, we returned, in the implementation, to our reflexes as a club of five, of 10, of 2, and so forth. That remark is meant less to criticize the Security Council than to alert it to a problem.”

   2002-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4677 (2002) · source

7. “This morning I would like to focus primarily on two or three concerns. The first has to do with the decision-making process within the Security Council, and in particular the role that elected members are expected to play in the Council. The presence of permanent members in an institution is in itself a decisive advantage. It implies an almost perfect mastery of issues, procedures, practices and even of what is not said. When that permanent membership is accompanied by a particularly favourable relationship of power, there is a tendency to take advantage of that position to advance one's views and interests, sometimes to the detriment of missions of general interest that led to the establishment of the institution in the first place.”

   2002-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4677 (2002) · source

8. “Mr. Chungong Ayafor (Cameroon) (spoke in French): My delegation would like to thank you, Mr. President, for this excellent initiative that makes it possible for our outgoing members to produce a kind of last work based on a two-year experience at the heart of this unique world body that, through a resolution consisting of a few paragraphs, can decide on peace or war. At a time when much attention is focused on the Security Council, this experience reveals more than ever its usefulness and importance. Cameroon will certainly be in a better position to participate more meaningfully in evaluating the Security Council in 12 months, when it, like all five departing members, will be free from the constraints and obligations of solidarity, even complicity, that binds people who belong to the same club.”

   2002-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4677 (2002) · source

9. “The economic and social development of East Timor requires, first of all, complete pacification inside the country and on its borders. The new United Nations Mission will have a delicate and critical role along these lines. It is fortunate that the new Special Representative is Ambassador Kamalesh Sharma, who is a person of experience and great competence. His attributes will be very appropriate in order to complete his mission. My delegation fully supports the draft statement that he will make in a little while and which deals with the concerns that I have just stated. To conclude, I would like to renew to the new authorities and people of East Timor all of our good wishes for peace and success as an independent State. They have the ability and the will to make of their country a land of success. I can only wish them a fair journey.”

   2002-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4537 (2002) · source

10. “My delegation confirms that it will join with the other Members of the United Nations to support the speedy admission of this country as a Member of our Organization. In addition, we are prepared to forge bonds of multifaceted cooperation with the Democratic Republic of East Timor. It is clear that the work accomplished will not be able to thrive unless the international community strengthens its technical and financial assistance to this young State, making sure that there is good coordination of all actions on the part of the donors, both bilateral and multilateral. From this standpoint, we support the decision of the Secretary-General to make his Resident Coordinator in Dili the Deputy Special Representative for East Timor as of tomorrow.”

    2002-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4537 (2002) · source

11. “This Mission succeeds the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). It is once again time to pay an enthusiastic tribute to Mr. Vieira de Mello, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of UNTAET, whose mission is ending today, and to all civilian and military staff of UNTAET for the work they have done and their tremendous success. This positive outcome of the question of East Timor that we are celebrating today has caught all the sceptics out, since it clearly shows the ability of the Security Council to ensure peace and security with substantive results in a reasonable time frame. A new day has dawned on East Timor, henceforth an independent State.”

    2002-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4537 (2002) · source

12. “Mr. Chungong (Cameroon) (spoke in French): I am especially happy to take the floor today on this solemn meeting of the Council to welcome the new, independent State of East Timor. First of all, let me join preceding delegations in wishing you, Sir, welcome in New York and in telling you how joyful we are to see you preside over our work on this exceptional day. My delegation congratulates the new Timorese authorities on this historic day, especially the new President, Mr. Xanana Gusmao. His vision and spirit of tolerance and openness will be useful to his country to consolidate peace, security and the national development of East Timor and the relations of this young nation with its neighbours, in particular Indonesia. On 17 May, we voted for a resolution, which created the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET).”

    2002-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4537 (2002) · source