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

“Unfortunately, the Russian Federation and the track record of the Russian Reconciliation Centre for Syria on de-escalation and reconciliation speaks for itself - another Russian-brokered agreement made, another Russian-brokered agreement tossed aside for military and political expediency. The situation in Idlib is escalating. Thousands were killed last year during the regime and Russian joint offensive in eastern Ghouta - a former Astana- protected de-escalation zone - and the situation in south-west Syria is deteriorating despite a Russian- brokered reconciliation agreement there with local communities.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8561 (2019) · source
“Any attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure as such, including schools and medical facilities, are off limits, regardless of whether they are part of the United Nations de-confliction mechanism. This should not even need to be said, let alone repeated meeting after meeting. When it comes to north-west Syria, it is clear who has control of the airspace and is therefore responsible for the attacks on the de-conflicted sites. The United States therefore urges Russia to assure the United Nations and the Council that it will abide by all of its commitments to the de-confliction mechanism and ensure that Syrian forces also act in full compliance with the de-confliction arrangements. The Russian Federation can - and must - do better to restore peace and bring about a political solution to the conflict.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8561 (2019) · source
“Turning to the situation in Idlib, the United States is alarmed at yet another deliberate escalation of air strikes in north-west Syria by Syrian forces over the past week, despite repeated calls by Council members, as well as the Secretary-General and other senior United Nations officials, for an immediate de-escalation. The United States remains gravely concerned about the possibility that without an immediate and full return by all parties to the 2018 Sochi agreement ceasefire line and the restoration of the de-escalation agreements, the humanitarian conditions in Idlib and north-west Syria could soon be beyond the ability of the United Nations to mount a humanitarian response. The United States takes the Under-Secretary-General's remarks on the status of the de-confliction mechanism very seriously.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8561 (2019) · source
“The Security Council must support the continued authorization of cross-border aid deliveries under resolution 2449 (2018). The United States calls on every Council member, and our regional partners, to ensure that the United Nations can freely implement cross-border aid deliveries through all agreed border crossings, including from Jordan, and in accordance with resolution 2449 (2018). There is no substitute for the United Nations cross-border operations, which are the most transparent, effective and essential way to deliver humanitarian assistance to those who need it most - people like the 3 million civilians in Idlib who, according to Mr. Lowcock, are completely reliant on United Nations cross-border aid deliveries under resolution 2449 (2018).”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8561 (2019) · source
“We stand ready to provide security assurances for United Nations humanitarian convoys to Rukban. Any accusation that the United States is responsible for blocking humanitarian aid deliveries to Rukban is absolutely false. Although thousands of civilians have already left Rukban for relocation centres in Homs owing to the dire humanitarian conditions, the United States does not consider returns voluntary if people are leaving the camp because they are not receiving the food, water, medicine and shelter that they need to survive. We strongly encourage the Al-Assad regime to allow the United Nations unfettered access to Rukban residents from the time they depart Rukban until they reach their home or destination of their choice.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8561 (2019) · source
“Under-Secretary-General Lowcock's briefing today demonstrates that nothing could be further from the truth. The United States renews its call to the Al-Assad regime to approve the United Nations request for a third convoy to Rukban immediately. It must also allow unfettered regular humanitarian assistance to Rukban as long as there are displaced people in the encampment. Furthermore, the United States calls on the Russian Federation to secure the Al-Assad regime's compliance with the requests of the United Nations for a third convoy, as well as to lift the Russian and Syrian military blockade of commercial access to the Rukban camp. The United States supports the United Nations efforts to facilitate voluntary, safe, dignified and informed departures from Rukban in combination with additional aid delivered to the camp.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8561 (2019) · source
“I thank Under-Secretary-General Lowcock for yet another deeply sobering briefing. One hundred and thirty-nine days have now passed since the last United Nations-Syrian Arab Red Crescent humanitarian assistance convoy arrived in Rukban in early February, that is, 139 days in which no heed has been paid to the call of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to ease the suffering. Since February, the Al-Assad regime has failed to approve multiple requests from the United Nations to make a third humanitarian aid delivery to Rukban, where reports of dwindling food supplies are growing increasingly dire. It is unacceptable for the regime to withhold humanitarian aid deliveries as a means of forcing civilians to flee the encampment and furthering its claims that the humanitarian conditions in Syria are stabilizing.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8561 (2019) · source
“And we call on neighbouring countries to crack down on the illicit flow of financing from South Sudan into their banking systems and real estate markets. We urge all parties to follow the positive examples of collaboration at the local level to fulfil South Sudan's potential and bring lasting peace and security to the people of South Sudan.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8560 (2019) · source
“The efforts described are not simple, but there is evidence, particularly at the local level, that the parties can compromise and accomplish important results when they choose to work together. The alternative - a return to conflict and the loss of more South Sudanese lives - is intolerable. The South Sudanese people have already paid a devastating price for the war their leaders imposed on them. We are convinced that the continued engagement of the region is key to building sustainable peace. We appeal to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to stay engaged and appoint a permanent chair to the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission. We call on the region and the signatories to ensure the crisis in the Sudan does not impede the South Sudanese peace process.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8560 (2019) · source
“It also means the Government of South Sudan's delivering on its $100 million pledge to expedite the implementation of pre-transition tasks in a timely and transparent fashion. It means implementing the transitional justice provisions of the agreement, including engaging with the African Union to establish the hybrid court. And it means the opposition's pressing ahead with overdue tasks, such as moving its forces into cantonment and proceeding with combined training. The United States calls on the South Sudanese parties who did not sign the agreement to renounce violence, adhere to cessation of hostilities agreements and seek political resolution to concerns about the peace agreement. We also call on the signatories to engage with such parties in a non-violent and constructive manner.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8560 (2019) · source
“But in the meantime, we welcome its renewal and call on the international community, and on the region in particular, to uphold the South Sudan sanctions regime and help make peace more profitable than war in South Sudan. The Revitalized Agreement is central to the shift from war to peace. As a first step, the signatories will have to move beyond quarrels over procedure and instead use the remaining time during the extension period to make real progress. That means first coming to an agreement on security arrangements, including protection for opposition members of the transitional Government. It means ensuring the work of the Independent Boundaries Commission does not become a flashpoint for more violence. It means allowing UNMISS to fulfil its mandate to protect civilians.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8560 (2019) · source
“There can be no real implementation of the agreement without true respect for the liberties guaranteed in South Sudan's own Constitution. We stress the need for face-to-face meetings between Salva Kiir and Rick Machar, keeping in mind the 12 November date for the establishment of the transitional Government. We are deeply disappointed by the verdict in the case of Peter Biar Ajak and five other men, just days after the Government of South Sudan took an important step by ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Government must guarantee citizens' freedom of expression, as stipulated in the Covenant, and abide by fair-trial guarantees. The flow of weapons into South Sudan is another area of concern. We look forward to a day when peace in South Sudan negates the need for an arms embargo.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8560 (2019) · source
“With the reduction in violence, humanitarian workers are better able to prepare for, and take on, the hunger season, as they have increased access to South Sudanese in need. However, there remain ongoing obstacles to the international community's ability to assist with that effort and support the peace process overall. The Government must adhere to its obligations under the status-of-forces agreement to allow full and unrestricted freedom of movement for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). We are also concerned that, while there is increasing stability around the country, the Government continues to restrict key political and civic freedoms. In fact, that seems to have escalated since the signing of the agreement.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8560 (2019) · source
“I thank Special Representative Shearer, Assistant Secretary- General Gilmour and Ms. Minagano for their briefings. Although the implementation of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution ofthe Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan remains slow, the United States acknowledges that the parties continue to respect the ceasefire in most parts of the country. We also note the consensus approach to extending the pre-transition phase. Nevertheless, the potential for peace remains unfulfilled. Gross human rights violations and abuses persist, particularly in the Equatorias. Violent clashes continue to break out across the country. And by the end of July, nearly 7 million South Sudanese - more than 60 per cent of the population 4 will face severe levels of acute food insecurity, or worse, because of a human-made crisis.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8560 (2019) · source
“We are confident that compromise leading to a transparent and accountable Government will lay the foundation for a sustainable future for all Haitians.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8559 (2019) · source
“That includes free and fair elections, the continued professionalization of the Haitian National Police, the reduction of community and gang violence, the protection of human rights, improvements to prison facilities and detainee treatment, and justice-sector reform. A successful transition will also depend on close coordination among the many stakeholders invested in Haiti's success, including, but not limited to, United Nations entities, Security Council members, local and international partners, the Haiti-based diplomatic corps and the humanitarian assistance community. In the coming months the United States will continue to call for constructive and inclusive dialogue among all Haitian actors.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8559 (2019) · source
“This transition also demonstrates that, as conditions on the ground evolve, the United Nations presence can and should change to reflect the new realities. It is our hope that this transition in Haiti will serve as a valuable model that the Security Council can apply elsewhere. As a long-time friend and partner to Haiti, the United States is clear-eyed about the challenges that lie ahead. It is essential for the Government of Haiti, in partnership with the United Nations and the United States, to recognize the great opportunity this moment presents and to seize it on behalf of the people of Haiti. A successful transition will depend in large part on the Haitian Government's assumption of responsibility for the range of issues the Security Council is mandating BINUH to support.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8559 (2019) · source
“We were pleased to vote in favour of resolution 2476 (2019), which authorizes the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). This is a historic moment. Today we establish a new United Nations special political mission that replaces the lS-year-long peacekeeping mission in Haiti. The United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti and its predecessor, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, made important strides in the areas of stability and security, democratic governance and institutional development and the promotion and protection of human rights in Haiti. We recognize the United Nations peacekeepers' efforts to support a free, prosperous and peaceful Haiti, and we thank the troop- and police-contributing countries whose nations served in those missions.”
2019-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8559 (2019) · source
“Along with their staff and the international humanitarian community, they are working tirelessly to help the parties reach a peaceful, enduring resolution to the conflict and to save Yemeni lives. The United States applauds the Yemeni Government for joining them in this effort and calls on the Houthis to do so without further delay.”
2019-06-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8551 (2019) · source
“The United States supports the World Food Programme's efforts to ensure that critical humanitarian aid is delivered throughout Yemen to those who need it and in accordance with the international humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence. We call on the Houthi authorities to respect those principles and work with the World Food Programme to achieve a swift resolution. With some 20 million people in need of emergency food assistance and more than 24 million requiring some type of humanitarian assistance, it is critical to ensure that aid gets to those who need it immediately. In conclusion, United States support for Special Envoy Griffiths and General Lollesgaard remains steadfast.”
2019-06-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8551 (2019) · source
“We call on the Houthis to demonstrate to the international community that they too are serious about the United Nations process by removing all Houthi-affiliated personnel from the ports of Al-Hudaydah, Saleef and Ras Isa so that the first phase of redeployments can be completed. We reiterate our deep concern about the rise in suspected cholera cases this year and call on all parties to provide humanitarian support, including by providing the funding that was pledged in Geneva in February. We further call on the parties to allow access to food, medical care and safe shelter for displaced people throughout the country.”
2019-06-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8551 (2019) · source
“The ceasefire in Al-Hudaydah is one of the Stockholm Agreement's most important outcomes. It was meant to encourage a nationwide de-escalation of hostilities, but as we have heard, it has instead led to the redeployment of forces from Al-Hudaydah to other battlegrounds. The escalation in Al-Dhale'e and Hajjah threatens humanitarian access and is forcing residents to flee for their lives. Fighting all over the country, not just in Al-Hudaydah, has to end. Apart from Al-Hudaydah, in the rest of Yemen civilians are living in desperation, as today's briefings repeatedly underscored. The Yemeni Government has demonstrated a clear commitment to the United Nations-led process.”
2019-06-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8551 (2019) · source
“It is imperative that the Yemeni Government and the Houthis work in good faith with Mr. Griffiths and General Lollesgaard to achieve the full implementation of the redeployments as soon as possible. That means addressing the contentious issues preventing further progress on the ground while continuing to exercise restraint so that fighting does not threaten the ceasefire. We were pleased to hear of initial progress with regard to positioning additional United Nations monitors, should redeployments proceed as planned. We must all seize the momentum of that progress. The Council should continue to demonstrate full support for the efforts of the Special Envoy and the Redeployment Coordination Committee on the ground. The parties must facilitate the United Nations monitors' arrival in Yemen by providing permits and safe passage.”
2019-06-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8551 (2019) · source
“Iran must stop supplying them with the weapons to do so. Attacks on Yemen's neighbours threaten to derail the progress made by the United Nations and the parties to the conflict and do not serve the greater interests of the people of Yemen. The goal of the United States in Yemen remains consistent. It is to work with our international partners to bring peace, prosperity and stability to Yemen. That is our focus, and we will continue to support Special Envoy Griffiths, Lieutenant General Lollesgaard, Under-Secretary-General Lowcock and Executive Director Beasley. Since December the Council has been urging the Houthis to finish the first phase of redeployments initiated on 11 May, demonstrating their commitment to a political settlement and to the terms of the Stockholm Agreement.”
2019-06-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8551 (2019) · source
“I want to thank Special Envoy Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General Lowcock and Executive Director Beasley for their briefings and for their teams' tireless efforts. The United States acknowledges the tragedy of this human-made crisis in Yemen, which continues to deteriorate as the conflict continues for a fifth year. We strongly condemn the reported Houthi missile attack on Abha airport on 12 June, which injured numerous innocent civilians. The Houthis should be implementing the commitments they made in Sweden instead of launching such attacks. As we repeatedly hear in the Council, there is no military solution to this conflict. The Houthis must demonstrate good faith in the political process and cease their unmanned aerial vehicle and other attacks on their fellow citizens and neighbours.”
2019-06-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8551 (2019) · source
“Those efforts will help encourage a peaceful resolution of the crisis. We urge all parties to continue the process towards a civilian transition in an atmosphere of calm, and we are ready to work with our partners in the Council and the region to support these efforts.”
2019-06-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8549 (2019) · source
“Allowing for an independent investigation of the events in Khartoum and holding accountable those responsible for the recent violence would be a welcomed first step. Beyond this, allowing all political voices to freely express their opinions and withdrawing the Rapid Support Forces and other militia from Khartoum would demonstrate further good will. The United States supports the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council's 6 June communique, the AU's decision to suspend the Sudan's membership and its strong message on the need to transition quickly to a civilian-led Government. We also welcome the recent diplomatic initiative by the Ethiopian Prime Minister, undertaken along with the AU and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, to engage the Transitional Military Council and the opposition.”
2019-06-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8549 (2019) · source
“The United States strongly condemns the killing, beating and sexual assault of protesters and other civilians. We call on the Transitional Military Council to stop these attacks and create a more conducive environment for renewed political negotiations with the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces coalition. Continued international support for UNAMID must be considered in the context of good faith efforts by the Transitional Military Council to responsibly maintain basic services for the people of the Sudan and its progress in facilitating a sustainable political solution for the country. The Transitional Military Council can take steps to show that it is ready to negotiate.”
2019-06-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8549 (2019) · source
“In that regard, reports of an attack on civilians in Deleij in Central Darfur on 9 June are deeply disturbing. That attack resulted in a number of casualties, and we call on UNAMID to investigate. Beyond Darfur, the Sudan's security forces' reported use of violence last week to break up a peaceful sit-in is also alarming. The incident outside of the Sudanese armed forces headquarters in Khartoum killed more than 100 unarmed protesters and wounded hundreds more. Reports that the forces of the Transitional Military Council have directed such violence against civilians, obstructed medical care, blocked access to the internet and restricted media and civil society raise serious questions about the its willingness to negotiate a transition to a civilian-led Government.”
2019-06-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8549 (2019) · source
“I would like to thank Under-Secretary-General Lacroix and Assistant Secretary-General Gilmour for their briefings on the latest developments in Darfur and the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). Since our last briefing in April (see S/PV.8513), the United States has become increasingly concerned that political uncertainty in Khartoum is adversely impacting the situation in Darfur. Stability there is intertwined with the rest of the country and the region, as other speakers have noted. The gravity of several recent incidents in Darfur is especially troubling. These incidents call into question the commitment of the Transitional Military Council to respecting the rights of Darfuris and to acting in good faith to find durable peace.”
2019-06-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8549 (2019) · source
“We look forward to discussing ideas and strategies on how to achieve a more prosperous future for the Palestinian people with international stakeholders at the upcoming workshop in Bahrain later this month. The United States supports continued cooperation between the League of Arab states and the United Nations and looks forward to seeing a strong relationship advance progress toward a more stable, prosperous and secure Middle East.”
2019-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8548 (2019) · source
“Indeed, Iran has deployed many of its resources to perpetuate its revolutionary ideology and malign activities in the region. It should be countered by a strong unified front. It is unacceptable for any party to attack commercial shipping, and today's attacks on ships in the Gulf of Oman raise very serious concerns. The United States Government is providing assistance and will continue to assess the situation. Turning to Middle East peace, the White House is working on a vision for peace that will offer a brighter future for all and will release it when the time is right. We hope all stakeholders will read the plan with an open mind and be willing to engage constructively.”
2019-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8548 (2019) · source
“Only a political solution as outlined in resolution 2254 (2015) will achieve long-term peace and stability for Syria and its neighbours. Iran remains the most significant threat to regional peace and security, engaged as it is in numerous malign activities in the region. The United States welcomes the 31 May statement of the League of Arab States, issued following its meeting in Mecca, in which it called out Iran for its destabilizing behaviour. Iran has gone to great lengths to prolong regional conflicts that radiate instability across the region and exacerbate human suffering. The United States is pressing the Iranian regime to end its role in these conflicts and curtail its support for proxy militias. Individually, the States of the region are susceptible to Iran's coercion, intimidation and malign behaviour.”
2019-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8548 (2019) · source
“Working by, with and through our allies and local partners, we have launched an unprecedented military-stabilization, counter-messaging and law- enforcement effort to counter the evil ideology of ISIS and prevent attacks against our homelands, our personnel, our citizens, our citizens and our interests. We also commend our friends and allies within the League of Arab States for standing firm on not readmitting Al-Assad's Syria and not normalizing relations with his regime until a political settlement consistent with resolution 2254 (2015) has been achieved. International solidarity against normalizing relations is critical in helping bring the Al-Assad regime to the realization that there is no military solution to the conflict.”
2019-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8548 (2019) · source
“The United States also values its important partnership with the League of Arab States, and we thank the League for working with us on our vision of a stable, prosperous and secure Middle East, including the League's ongoing support for President Hadi Mansour and the legitimate Government of Yemen, as the United Nations mediates between the parties to reach a political settlement to end the conflict in that country. We also value the League's key support for the Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS). Today all of the territory that ISIS once held in Iraq and north-east Syria has been liberated. The 75 nations and five international organizations of the Global Coalition should be enormously proud of this achievement.”
2019-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8548 (2019) · source
“I welcome the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland to the Security Council today. I thank all speakers and briefers, including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, for their contributions to today's debate. The United States supports continued cooperation between the League of Arab States and the United Nations, including on key issues such as counter- terrorism, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, post-conflict reconstruction and natural-resource management. We appreciate the efforts of the United Nations to establish a liaison office in Cairo to enhance coordination and look forward to it opening soon.”
2019-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8548 (2019) · source
“Each of us should seek to strengthen the capacity of regional and subregional organizations, given their comparative advantage in securing local buy-in. The Secretary-General has called for greater convergence and cooperation in the Council as a means to support mediation, and we agree completely. We agree that those vital and often underappreciated tools can have a transformative impact in conflicts. We urge the United Nations to lead mediation efforts within current budget parameters. Those efforts can save billions of dollars that would be spent on conflict mitigation and, most importantly, again, can save lives by preventing or ending conflict. The United States stands ready to continue the dialogue on doing more to effectively support the United Nations conflict resolution and mediation efforts.”
2019-06-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8546 (2019) · source
“Let me offer Senegal as an example where the United States has worked to bolster local mediation efforts, coordinating support for a high-level political negotiation between the Senegalese Government and the secessionist movement. By providing targeted political support and funding, we have helped set the conditions that led to high-level negotiations. There are unresolved conflicts currently on the Council's agenda that would benefit from enhanced mediation activities. In one example, improvements the Security Council has mandated for the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei, the peacekeeping operation in Abyei, are stalled due to a lack of progress in mediation between South Sudan and the Sudan.”
2019-06-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8546 (2019) · source
“Collectively, the Secretariat and Security Council must do more to ensure women play an integral role in peace processes both as negotiators and mediators, as President Robinson, the Secretary-General and the Ambassador of France have all noted. Including women in conflict resolution not only accelerates the process, but it surfaces issues that matter most to societies as a whole, making agreements more durable. According to the International Peace Institute, peace processes in which women are meaningfully included are 35 per cent more likely to last for at least 15 years. It is also important to support local and regional mediation efforts, devolving authority to those on the ground.”
2019-06-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8546 (2019) · source
“The United States has a long record of leading mediation efforts that have provided breakthroughs in some of the toughest conflicts, such as the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland and the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In both of those cases, the United States brought the right people into the room and served as a trusted facilitator of the agreements. Mediation is most successful when the right set of stakeholders are engaged and the mediator is trusted. In that light, women's meaningful participation increases the likelihood of successful negotiations, reconciliation and transition processes.”
2019-06-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8546 (2019) · source
“The affected men, women and children have an urgent need of assistance - of our assistance. The Security Council often debates how to use this body to resolve crises. From those discussions, we have established human rights monitoring mechanisms, imposed sanctions and established peacekeeping missions. However, we rarely explore mediation as a tool in resolving conflicts, or how we might better prevent conflict in the first place and thereby save lives, as the Secretary-General and Minister Al Sabah noted. States Members of the United Nations are contributing $6.7 billion this year for peacekeeping, and the United States pays a quarter of that cost. But better prevention and mediation would help prevent costly peacekeeping missions and help provide an exit strategy for existing peacekeeping operations.”
2019-06-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8546 (2019) · source
“I thank you, Mr. President, for organizing this important debate on mediation and peaceful resolution of conflicts. We recognize the leadership of Secretary-General Guterres in advancing the United Nations mediation and conflict prevention work, including the creation of the High-level Advisory Board on Mediation. We welcome the Board's engagement in both resolving and preventing conflict. I would also like to thank the Chair and Deputy Chair of The Elders, Mary Robinson and Ban Ki-moon, for their remarks today and for the vital work they are doing to spearhead mediation and conflict resolution. Day after day, the Council bears witness to the human toll of conflict, from Mali to Myanmar, Syria to Somalia. This year, the United Nations estimates that conflicts and disasters have affected over 130 million people across 42 countries.”
2019-06-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8546 (2019) · source
“Today's adoption marks the Council's first collective call to address this global humanitarian priority. Let us now turn our words into actions together.”
2019-06-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8543 (2019) · source
“In an illustration of our own national commitment to addressing this critical issue, the United States Department of Defense has established the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency. Its purpose is to fulfil a national promise to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing United States personnel to their families and our fellow citizens. While it is clear that much work remains to be done to bring closure to the families ofmissing persons around the world, we remain committed to participating in that and partnering with the ICRC and others to do what we can to support humanitarian efforts to recover remains. It is essential to account for the missing so that families can have some certainty about the fate of their loved ones.”
2019-06-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8543 (2019) · source
“Families separated by conflict may face the anguish of not knowing what happened to their loved ones, and that pain can prevent surviving relatives from grieving, reconciling, and recovering. The uncertainty also negatively affects a society's ability to seek justice and reconciliation. Joint efforts to address the outstanding issue of missing persons by Kuwait and Iraq together exemplify how countries can emerge from conflict to work in a spirit of cooperation and friendship. It is an example that the international community should applaud as a positive step towards justice and reconciliation. As today's unanimous adoption of resolution 2474 (2019), with its 62 co-sponsors, makes clear, all the parties to an armed conflict should enable families to clarify the fate and whereabouts of the missing, including prisoners of war.”
2019-06-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8543 (2019) · source
“More than 20 years after the war in the Balkans, approximately 10,000 people there are still missing, a figure that should give us all pause. We welcome the partnership between the ICRC and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals to support the humanitarian search for missing persons in the former Yugoslavia. Kuwait's own experience regarding the whereabouts and fate of its own missing persons is one that none of us should forget. Nearly 28 years have passed since the end of the first Gulf War, but it remains important to address the issue and bring some measure of closure to the families of those still missing. The United States is working diligently to provide satellite imagery to assist in the identification of remains from the conflict.”
2019-06-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8543 (2019) · source
“More than 6,000 Yazidis were kidnapped by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) in 2014, of whom approximately 3,000 remain unaccounted for, along with hundreds of Christians and Shia Muslims. We strongly support the International Commission on Missing Persons in providing training to Iraqi ministries in the scientific investigation of mass graves and providing support to victims' families. The United States also supports the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/ Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in collecting, storing, and preserving evidence of atrocities carried out by ISIS. We recently committed $2 million in support of its first exhumations, in Sinjar.”
2019-06-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8543 (2019) · source
“As we have heard from other speakers, after eight years of conflict many thousands of Syrian civilians are still missing, the vast majority of them, we believe, forcibly disappeared by the Al-Assad regime. Those who are still unjustly detained in Syria must be released. Their families deserve information from the regime about the fate of their loved ones. Taking such basic humane steps would be helpful in building the foundation necessary for a successful political process in Syria, in line with resolution 2254 (2015). Since 2005, the United States has consistently funded efforts to support the identification, security and excavation of mass graves in Iraq, as our colleague from the United Kingdom noted.”
2019-06-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8543 (2019) · source
“I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for convening and presiding over today's briefing. We also thank Mr. Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Ms. Ghelani, Director for Operations and Advocacy of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, for participating today, and we commend their teams for their critical work in addressing the global challenge of missing persons. The ICRC has brought a much-needed international spotlight to the issue in recent years. All too often, we hear stories of people going missing in times of armed conflict, including notably in the Balkans and Kuwait, and most recently in Iraq and Syria.”
2019-06-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8543 (2019) · source
“As in any such operation, it is imperative that proper after-action investigations establish the facts, and we understand that those are ongoing. Suspending the legitimate exercise of law enforcement is not in the interests ofpeace and stability in the region or ofany ofthe people ofKosovo, regardless of ethnicity. Such events once again demonstrate how critical it is for the parties to immediately return to dialogue negotiations to achieve a normalization deal.”
2019-06-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8541 (2019) · source