YouSaid · the spoken record

Cohen

lines on the record: 977
first: 2008-01-22
most recent: 2023-10-24
sittings or episodes: 157
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

“Parallel tracts have not produced concrete results to date, and it is time now to consolidate all work on the detainees and missing persons file under the Special Envoy's offices in Geneva and to regularly include updates on progress towards that aspect of resolution 2254 (2015) in monthly Council meetings on Syria. Unfortunately, efforts to negotiate the release of detainees under the auspices of the Astana guarantors have focused on one-for-one prisoner exchanges between the regime and Syrian armed opposition forces, largely ignoring the plight of the many thousands of Syrian civilians who represent the vast majority of individuals held by the regime.”
2019-08-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8593 (2019) · source
“We are asking the Al-Assad regime only to abide by its own laws and fulfil its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law to expedite the release of arbitrarily or unlawfully detained persons, including persons detained due to political beliefs. The Syrian Constitution prohibits arbitrary detention, outlaws the use of torture and humiliation, requires the State to inform the incarcerated of the reasons for his or her arrest and guarantees incarcerated individuals access to legal counsel, a fair trial and due process. The United States appreciates Special Envoy Pedersen's continued interest in galvanizing progress on the detainee file.”
2019-08-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8593 (2019) · source
“That is an achievable confidence-building measure that would help advance Special Envoy Pedersen's efforts to relaunch the political process, as well as create momentum for the Al-Assad regime and the Syrian opposition to work together. As part of that effort, we also urge the Al-Assad regime to grant the United Nations and other impartial and independent international entities immediate access to Syrian detention centres, particularly those where numerous credible reports of torture and abuse have been documented, including by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. United Nations access to those facilities is imperative to ensure that conditions in regime detention facilities are in line with appropriate international legal standards.”
2019-08-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8593 (2019) · source
“We have seen reports of specific detention centres, including military intelligence branch numbers 215, 227, 235 and 251; the air force intelligence investigation branch in Mezzeh military airport; and the Sednaya prison, and the names of some of the senior regime officials who were responsible for murder, rape, torture and other mistreatment at such centres. We cannot come to the political solution described in resolution 2254 (2015) until those practices end. Today, the United States therefore calls for the immediate unilateral release of civilians, including women, children and the elderly, who are being held in Al-Assad regime prisons, in an effort to pave for the path forward for the implementation of resolution 2254 (2015).”
2019-08-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8593 (2019) · source
“Since 2011, Syrian documentation groups estimate that as many as 215,000 persons, including 35,000 prisoners of conscience, have been detained, the vast majority by the regime, and that 14,000 have been killed as a result of torture, including 177 children. Nearly 128,000 people are currently detained by the Syrian regime, including doctors, humanitarian aid workers, human rights defenders, journalists and others, including women and children. Those numbers have been widely documented by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic and other reputable organizations.”
2019-08-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8593 (2019) · source
“There can be no political solution and no stability in Syria without the reversal of those abhorrent practices and guarantees that regime officials responsible for such practices will be held accountable for their actions. In addition to the moving testimony of our speakers and the thousands of other Syrians who have bravely spoken out against the regime, as well as the photos that have been mentioned, there is exhaustively researched data demonstrating the scale and severity of the crimes committed against innocent civilians in regime prisons. The Al-Assad regime's attempts to silence dissent and erase its crimes have failed, thanks to the courageous acts of bravery of Syrians like Caesar, Dr. Hala and Ms. Amina Khoulani.”
2019-08-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8593 (2019) · source
“Syrians deserve to know the truth about what happened to their family members, receive justice for what they have endured and gain assurances that they and future generations of Syrians can live without the fear of being arbitrarily detained, tortured or disappeared by their own Government. That is why we called for this meeting today. There is both a humanitarian and a political imperative for improving transparency and access to regime prisons and securing the release of the Syrian civilians who have been arbitrarily detained by the regime. The issue of detainees is central. Resolution 2254 (2015) calls for the release of any arbitrarily detained persons, particularly women and children.”
2019-08-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8593 (2019) · source
“In August 2013, a military defector known by the codename Caesar smuggled over 53,000 photographs out of Syria of over 6,700 victims of torture who had died in Syrian regime custody. Those photographs have been independently verified and represent damning evidence of the systematic torture that is present in Al-Assad's prisons. We have heard again and again from Syrian civilians that the fate of those who disappeared at the hands of Al-Assad is foremost on their minds when considering both the prospect of a return to Syria for those who fled the country and the vision for a political solution.”
2019-08-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8593 (2019) · source
“I thank Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo for her briefing. I offer a warm welcome to Dr. Hala and Ms. Amina Khoulani. I thank them for sharing their stories, and we applaud their extraordinary courage for speaking out about the abuses that they, their families and their fellow Syrians have endured at the direction of Bashar Al-Assad and his military and intelligence commanders. The issue of detainees and missing persons in Syria is one of the great tragedies of the Syrian conflict. In 2011, as peaceful protesters took to the streets of Damascus to seek modest political reforms and increase social freedoms, Syrians also sought an end to the fear of torture and arbitrary arrest by Syrian intelligence services. It is difficult to find any Syrians who have not been affected by that systematic practice.”
2019-08-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8593 (2019) · source
“Finally, we wish to convey our thanks and appreciation to United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Special Representative ofthe Secretary- General Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, UNAMI Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General Alice Walpole, Resident Coordinator Marta Ruedas and United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (UNITAD) Special Adviser Karim Khan, as well as all members of UNAMI, UNITAD and the United Nations country team, the Secretariat, and in particular the Security Council Affairs Division, for their hard work in facilitating and implementing this important mission on behalf of the Security Council.”
2019-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8571 (2019) · source
“We also commend and appreciate the time that President Barzani and the Kurdistan Regional Government leaders took to join the delegation in Baghdad from Irbil for our meeting on the continuing engagement between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Government of Iraq to resolve all outstanding issues in accordance with the Iraqi Constitution. We thank the brave civil-society members whojoined us to candidly speak to members of the Security Council about the challenges confronting Iraqi society in the present and in future. They are at the forefront of efforts to realize a better Iraq.”
2019-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8571 (2019) · source
“We extend our thanks to the Government of Kuwait for its co-sponsorship of the mission and its generosity in sponsoring air travel for Council members between Kuwait City and Baghdad as well as accommodation in Kuwait City. Kuwait's sponsorship of the mission is again a positive reminder of the strengthening bilateral ties between Iraq and Kuwait, which send a great signal to the whole region. We also extend our thanks and appreciation to the Government of Iraq, including the President, Prime Minister and Speaker's Offices, the Foreign Ministry and our friend in New York, Iraqi Permanent Representative Mohammed Hussein Bahr Aluloom, who joined us for many of our meetings.”
2019-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8571 (2019) · source
“We thank all members of the Security Council delegation for their insights, perspectives and thoughtful questions throughout our many meetings during the course of our mission. And, of course, we want to thank our Iraqi interlocutors for sharing with us the stories of the progress made and the remaining challenges that they face. We affirm that the mission of the Security Council to Iraq was a success due to the extensive amount of the first-hand information that we obtained in face-to-face meetings with Iraqi and United Nations interlocutors, gathering a better understanding of the aspirations and concerns of the Iraqi people as they begin the process of stabilizing and rebuilding their country.”
2019-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8571 (2019) · source
“We stressed the need for economic reform, attracting greater inward investment, and regional economic integration to better address the aspirations and concerns of the Iraqi people. We noted that while the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) no longer controls any Iraqi territory, the fight is not over. The enduring defeat of ISIS requires the stabilization of liberated areas, building up resilient communities and ensuring continued security for all Iraqis, recognizing that Iraq's diversity is critical to its richness and strength. We also discussed the humanitarian situation with Iraqi and United Nations interlocutors and underscored the importance of the safe, dignified and voluntary return of all internally displaced persons affected by conflict, including in areas liberated from ISIS.”
2019-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8571 (2019) · source
“Personally, returning to Baghdad three years after I completed my assignment at our embassy there gave me an opportunity to observe first-hand the progress that Iraq has made on so many fronts. The first-ever visit to Iraq by members of the Security Council underscored the strong and continued commitment of the international community to supporting Iraq's stability, prosperity, sovereignty and security as it turns the page to a new chapter. In our meetings with Iraqi and United Nations interlocutors, we noted that While much progress has been achieved, there remain challenges facing Iraq in the process of its transitioning into a post-conflict environment, including the delivery of basic services.”
2019-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8571 (2019) · source
“The United States looks forward to continuing to work with the United Nations, organizations such as the Financial Action Task Force, the Group of Seven and the GCTF, and the European Union and partner countries around the world to address both transnational organized crime and terrorism.”
2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source
“We should also develop comprehensive and integrated strategies to counter potential linkages between terrorism and organized crime. The United Nations can strengthen its role in addressing evolving challenges by enhancing its cooperation with regional and subregional organizations, as well as international forums such as the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). The GCTF is leading several efforts to address the linkages between transnational organized crime and terrorism and to bridge the gap between traditional criminal investigators and those who handle terrorism cases. That is especially important, as many home-grown terrorists tend to have prior criminal backgrounds.”
2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source
“Groups such as Al-Qaida also engage in a variety of crimes to finance their activities, ranging from narcotics trafficking to credit card theft. Kidnapping for ransom and extortion are also profitable sources of funds for terrorist groups, including ISIS. In Afghanistan the Taliban profit from narcotics trafficking and extortion - illicit activities that support the Taliban insurgency and prolong the suffering of the Afghan people. In addition to law enforcement efforts to counter criminal and terrorist linkages, it is equally important to engage local communities and non-government actors, including youth, cultural and educational leaders, to concurrently address the underlying conditions conducive to the spread of violent extremism or transnational organized crime.”
2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source
“In the United States we have used the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime as a legal basis more than 650 times since 2005 to provide or request mutual legal assistance, extradition and other forms of international legal cooperation with 99 countries, including for crimes that could directly or indirectly support terrorism, such as migrant smuggling and money-laundering. Linkages between terrorists and organized criminal groups vary by region, as we heard from a number of other speakers. Revenues generated through various forms ofillicit trafficking, including of arms, have been used for terrorism. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), for example, has benefited from the illicit and unregulated purchase of arms.”
2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source
“Strong border security can prevent such groups from taking advantage of trafficking routes, human flows and networks in regions with underpoliced or porous borders. Cooperation, coordination and intelligence-sharing among border security agencies is essential. That is one reason that it is important to collect and analyse advance passenger information (API) and passenger name records (PNRs). API and PNR data can help investigators to identify connections between individuals associated with terrorists and organized criminal groups. Our existing treaties, including the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and international counter-terrorism instruments and protocols, provide a useful framework to facilitate law enforcement cooperation.”
2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source
“They develop ad hoc alliances based on common interests or even cooperate and merge as entities. But most interactions between terrorists and organized criminal groups are ad hoc and opportunistic. Criminal relationships of convenience define those ties much more frequently than shared ideologies. As we have heard, conditions in some parts of the world, including ungoverned and undergoverned territories and areas near porous borders, combined with weak law enforcement, provide opportunities for terrorists and transnational criminal groups to work together. As Ms. Makarenko said, it is there that they collude, collide and conspire. Collectively, we have a number of tools to strengthen border security and counter such activity.”
2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source
“I would like to congratulate Peru on its assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of July. I also congratulate Kuwait on a superb job during its presidency in June. Let me add my warm welcome back to New York to Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere. It is truly excellent to have him with us in the Council and we wish him every success during his time in New York. Ambassador Ma Zhaoxu's distinguished service at the United Nations, his partnership and constructive approach on so many issues and his important voice on the Council will all be missed. We wish him every success in his future endeavours. Let me thank today's briefers and move on to my remarks. Terrorists and organized criminal groups interact and cooperate in various ways. They sometimes coexist in the same territory.”
2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source
“We reject the Syrian representative's 25 June statement during the Syria humanitarian briefing and urge other Council members to do so as well. It is an affront to this organ and the rules-based international order.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8567 (2019) · source
“That does not make the Secretary-General an employee of the United States Government, or the Security Council a United States Government body, any more than funding from the United States Government makes the Syrian American Medical Society an entity of the United States Government, or Mr. Lillie an employee of the United States Government. That was a shameful attack on a humanitarian, particularly in a meeting where the Syrian representative had no problem accepting a humanitarian briefing from a Russian general in military fatigues who has been helping prosecute the war. Finally, his contention that a non-Syrian has no right to brief on Syria would disqualify most briefers whom the Security Council has heard since its founding. The United States cannot let this twisted logic going unanswered.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8567 (2019) · source
“Moreover, his vilification of David Lillie and the cannot go unanswered by the United States or the Security Council. A humanitarian who has risked his life over and over again to help the needy on the basis of humanitarian principle does not deserve to have a diplomat from a region like this one, who has sat out the trauma of his own country's civil war in the comfort of New York, or for that matter anyone, question his bona fides. The allegation that the Syrian American Medical Society is a branch of the United States Government simply because the United States is one of many countries contributing funds to the organization is both offensive and ludicrous. The United States funds over 20 per cent of the cost of this Organization.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8567 (2019) · source
“Beyond the procedural points, he tried to assert that humanitarian workers were somehow complicit in terrorism, that civilians in areas where terrorists are present are not entitled to humanitarian assistance or medical care, and that the schools and hospitals in those areas are by extension legitimate military targets, which they clearly are not. It is outrageous that this representative, whose Government has repeatedly used chemical weapons on its own civilians, prevents humanitarian assistance from reaching its needy and violates international norms and international law by intentionally targeting hospitals, schools and ambulances, would seek to lecture the Security Council on the Geneva Conventions, applications of Security Council resolutions or the rule of law.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8567 (2019) · source
“It is a privilege to address the Security Council - for each of us - and it always should be treated as such. The disrespect bordering on contempt that he showed the Council is unacceptable and begs a response. First, procedurally, the representative in question consistently shows a lack of respect by abusing our time, exceeding the five minutes recommended by presidential note S/2017/507 every time he speaks, by 10 or 20 or more minutes. Two days ago, he tried to assert a procedural position, demonstrating a lack of knowledge about Council rules, when our colleague from the United Kingdom made a point of order regarding his outrageous and dangerous claims.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8567 (2019) · source
“Until the Al-Assad regime and Russia take concrete steps towards a full, immediate and verifiable de-escalation in Idlib, the United States will continue to apply diplomatic and economic pressure through all available means to isolate the regime and its allies. Our preference is to work together on a step-by- step approach. But make no mistake: the United States will seek any and every opportunity to ratchet up our pressure on the regime and its supporters if political progress on the humanitarian and political tracks continues to stall. Our resolve is clear and unwavering. I planned to end my remarks at this point, but I would like to take just a moment to react to the statement of the speaker who addressed the Council under rule 37 on 25 June (see S/PV.8561).”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8567 (2019) · source
“In the meantime, as the United Nations lets Syria political-track negotiations continue, the people of Idlib would administer themselves and be granted access to humanitarian aid deliveries, as enumerated under resolution 2449 (2018). The United States recognizes that there is no path forward without the cooperation of Russia and the Al-Assad regime. Therefore, the United States calls upon Russia to de-escalate its military operations, press the regime to do the same and engage with the United States in a step-by-step process to implement resolution 2254 (2015) that will result in the final stabilization of Idlib and Syria writ large.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8567 (2019) · source
“The United States believes that the reinvigoration of the political process in Syria can and should start with a verifiable ceasefire in Idlib and northern Hama. Groups on the ground, including Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, Russia and the Al-Assad regime must immediately cease military operations and return to the original lines of the 2018 Sochi ceasefire agreement. Not one more shot should be fired, no more barrel bombs should be dropped and no more air strikes should be launched. Turkey should be entrusted to remove terrorist forces from the region, consistent with the 2018 Sochi agreement, and the final status of Idlib should be negotiated between the parties, mediated by the United Nations, as part of the political process in line with resolution 2254 (2015) once a ceasefire is in place.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8567 (2019) · source
“The continued vain quest for a military solution is undermining both security and humanitarian conditions, with the United Nations once again struggling to respond to the needs of innocent civilians. Thousands - perhaps hundreds of thousands - of people will flee Idlib and turn north to Turkey, or west into the Mediterranean, jump- starting a second migration crisis that destabilizes the wider region. The second path is that Idlib and its 3 million civilian residents are protected by a permanent ceasefire agreed between the parties on the ground and endorsed by the unanimous support of the Security Council. Such a cessation of violence would create momentum and a positive political environment in which to launch a political process.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8567 (2019) · source
“The fate of the United Nations political process, resolution 2254 (2015) and the lives of millions of Syrian civilians depend on whether or not the regime and Russia will work with Turkey to stop further attacks in north-west Syria and immediately return to the ceasefire lines agreed in the 2018 Sochi agreement. Idlib must not become another Aleppo, and the United States believes that progress on the political front and a genuine de-escalation is still possible, but it requires the Al-Assad regime to recognize that a healthy political system must accommodate more than one view. At this stage we see two paths for Idlib. The first path is bloody and sadly familiar.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8567 (2019) · source
“Seventeen months after the launch of negotiations at Sochi on forming a constitutional committee, it is time to admit that not only has progress stalled, it is likely to remain out of reach for some time, because that is where the regime wants it to be - out of reach. The time has come for the Council to encourage Special Envoy Pedersen to try other routes to achieving the political solution laid out in resolution 2254 (2015), by focusing on preparing for nationwide elections, with the participation of an estimated 5 million Syrian refugees and observed by the United Nations, by securing the release of detainees and by establishing a nationwide ceasefire.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8567 (2019) · source
“The regime's escalation of attacks on civilian areas, facilities and humanitarian actors, including yesterday's attack on an ambulance carrying White Helmet volunteers, shows that the Al-Assad regime still believes force will make a solution to the conflict attainable, as Damascus actively seeks to avoid negotiating a political solution with representatives of the Syrian opposition. Time and again Syria and Russia have given assurances to uphold ceasefires, adhere to reconciliation agreements and advance the political process. However, those assurances have repeatedly been broken and disregarded. The lack of a political solution continues to put civilian lives at risk. The Council must acknowledge that the Astana group's efforts to advance the political process have failed.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8567 (2019) · source
“I thank Mr. Pedersen for his briefing. The United Nations-led political process in Geneva is the only legitimate and internationally recognized forum to create a lasting, inclusive and peaceful political solution to the conflict in Syria. Three and a half years ago, in resolution 2254 (2015), the Security Council established a blueprint for a peaceful political transition: a new constitution, elections and a nationwide ceasefire. The United States will not accept any attempt by the Al-Assad regime and its allies to use military means in Idlib, or elsewhere, to undercut, circumvent or further delay Special Envoy Pedersen's efforts aimed at maintaining the political process. Nor can we, the members of the Security Council, afford any further delays by the regime to implement resolution 2254 (2015).”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8567 (2019) · source
“However, if negotiations stall or security conditions continue to deteriorate, we will look more closely at the planned UNAMID drawdown. We urge all stakeholders to make significant progress on putting in place a civilian-led transitional Government in the coming months.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8566 (2019) · source
“As security in Khartoum is intrinsically tied to security in Darfur, the four-month technical rollover will allow more time for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to remove themselves from team sites, to ensure that the transfer of future UNAMID headquarters and team sites are for community use and to remain responsive to events on the ground. For now, we support the United Nations decision not to handover facilities or sites to the RSF and to safeguard the sites for civilian purposes. The next four months should provide further clarity on the national political situation. We expect the Transitional Military Council to transition to a civilian-led Government that is able to make progress towards creating the conditions for UNAMID's planned exit.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8566 (2019) · source
“The United States thanks Council members for their endeavours to ensure that the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) is well positioned to continue its mission to protect civilians, support humanitarian aid to 1.2 million internally displaced persons and assist in the creation of an inclusive political process in Darfur. Ongoing armed clashes in the Jebel Marra region between the Sudan Liberation Movement/Abdul Wahid al-Nur rebel group and the Sudanese Armed Forces, intercommunal violence in other parts of Darfur and the recent attack on civilians in Deleij on 9 June serve as reminders of the ongoing security challenges that plague the region. For that reason, we believe that UNAMID should continue to implement its full mandate.”
2019-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8566 (2019) · source
“We intend to do everything in our power to curb malign Iranian behaviour, including through updates to the sanctions regime established pursuant to resolution 2231 (2015), which, as the report of the Secretary-General highlights, are necessary to ensure implementation. We hope our partners on the Council will join us.”
2019-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8564 (2019) · source
“The report of the Secretary-General outlines in detail some important facts: that are Iranian arms and related materiel are showing up beyond its borders in conflict zones in the region, that its missiles and related technologies are hitting civilian targets, and that its terrorist proxies, Hizbullah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, are speaking openly of the support Iran provides to them. Does anyone really believe that Iran is not behind these transfers? The United States has made clear its willingness to engage in dialogue with Iran to negotiate a deal that will better serve international peace and security. But in the meantime, we will not - and the Security Council should not - sit idly by while Iran perpetrates attacks on our partners in the region and on commercial vessels in the Gulf.”
2019-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8564 (2019) · source
“Iranian provocations have been relentless and its excuses for every provocation - from launches using ballistic missiles technology to procurement of prohibited items, to support for the Houthi, to flagrant violations of the arms embargo - strain credulity. Responsibility for Iran's economic woes belongs to Tehran, whether through gross economic mismanagement, corruption or the redirection of its money for militaristic purposes around the region. Iran's own behaviour has caused its economic decline. The false narrative that the United States is to blame for Iran's economic woes strays beyond the bounds of annex B's intention in resolution 2231 (2015). References in the report to other Governments' efforts to work around those measures are inappropriate.”
2019-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8564 (2019) · source
“Had Israel not removed that archive from Iran, it could have been a source from which Iranian scientists could have drawn should the regime decide to reinitiate its previous nuclear-weapons programme. Iran's actions are deeply counterproductive and will increase it Iran's isolation. Notably, resolution 2231 (2015) provides a mechanism for the Council to address significant non-performance by Iran of its nuclear commitments. Iran's defiance of the Security Council and its reckless behaviour threatening peace and security globally must not be downplayed in the name of preserving a deal that does not fully cut off Iran's path to a nuclear weapon.”
2019-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8564 (2019) · source
“As a first such step, Iran said it plans to expand its stockpile of low-enriched uranium beyond 300 kilogrammes by 27 June. It also said that, if its conditions are not met, Iran will also start enriching uranium to higher levels in a return to a nuclear-reactor project at Arak that was well suited to producing plutonium. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has already reported that Iran has installed additional advanced centrifuges and is operating them in numbers that violate its agreed limits on such mechanical testing. Iran is taking these steps even as it refuses to acknowledge that it hid and preserved a secret nuclear- weapons archive from the world.”
2019-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8564 (2019) · source
“The fact that those violations continue for years on end is evidence of lax implementation of the restrictive measures outlined in annex B to resolution 2231 (2015). Meanwhile, we see concrete examples of how Iran is destabilizing the region by threatening international shipping and air space, prolonging the violence in Yemen and supporting the expansion of terrorist groups and proxies throughout the Middle East. These data points lead us to the conclusion that Iran continues to send weapons across the Middle East, in blatant violation of the Council's resolutions. On 8 May, Iran announced that it would take steps to cease performing certain core nuclear commitments - a step that most agree threatens to undermine peace and security in the region and beyond.”
2019-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8564 (2019) · source
“Pursuant to the arms embargo in resolution 2231 (2015), all Member States must take the necessary measures to prevent arms transfers from Iran unless they are approved by the Security Council. Coordinating Iran's military support efforts is Maj or General Qasem Soleimani, Commander of the Al-Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, whom the report notes continues to travel freely in the Middle East despite the travel ban provisions of resolution 2231 (2015). That is not the first time the Secretary-General has reported to the Security Council on the Major General's travel. The report notes that other designated Iranian officials are also travelling in violation of the travel ban.”
2019-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8564 (2019) · source
“The report details the Secretariat's inspection of arms and related material, recovered in Yemen, that were clearly manufactured in Iran, including a new type of unmanned aerial vehicle and a new unmanned surface vessel. The inspection negates the repeated excuse that that weaponry was in Yemen's arsenal prior to the adoption of resolution 2231 (2015). It clearly was not. Groups supported by Iran still openly talk of the military assistance they continue to receive from Tehran, in violation of the United Nations arms embargo. The report cites a televised speech by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and an Al-Quds Brigades spokesperson in May, each of whom spoke of Iran's military shipments to Hamas and to Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip.”
2019-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8564 (2019) · source
“I thank Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo, the Permanent Representative of Belgium and the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations for their briefings. The seventh report of the Secretary-General (S/2019/492) reflects the same tone of concern and increasing alarm of many Member States over the past several weeks. The report comes as Iran continues to destabilize the Middle East, not only through support to terrorist groups and proxy forces but now through attacks on commercial shipping. The findings and information presented in the Secretary-General's report add to the deeply troubling picture of Iran's behaviour.”
2019-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8564 (2019) · source
“The Syrian American Medical Society's network of medical professionals and health facilities are real lifelines to millions of people in north-west Syria. We on the Council must protect them, civil society and civilian populations from any further attacks by the Al-Assad regime and its allies.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8561 (2019) · source
“The United States is also concerned about increasing indications that the regime plans to take full control of the region and about growing frustration among communities in Dara'a and Quneitra, as regime intelligence forces expand their control across the area and establish checkpoints into Dara'a. Reports of assassinations, kidnappings, poor provision of essential services and forced conscription all call into question Russia's role as a trustworthy broker between the Syrian people and the regime forces for improved security and living conditions in the south. Finally, the United States would like to thank David Lillie, Executive Director of the Syrian American Medical Society, for being with us today and for his important and troubling briefing to the Council.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8561 (2019) · source
“The United States is concerned that, despite the regime's recapture - with Russian assistance by brute military force - of areas such as eastern Ghouta and south-west Syria, the United Nations and humanitarian actors continue to struggle for access to those locations. Meanwhile, civilians' access to electricity and safe drinking water in those areas remains intermittent. Eastern Ghouta and south-west Syria have become black holes of information due to residents' fear of sharing information and ending up in the custody of the regime. However, the United States is aware of reports that the Al-Assad regime is deploying a vast network of intelligence checkpoints where regime forces regularly arrest civilians and force them into conscription, in violation of the Russian-brokered reconciliation agreements.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8561 (2019) · source