YouSaid · the spoken record

Corr

lines on the record: 387
first: 2001-08-20
most recent: 2002-12-20
sittings or episodes: 44
sources: un-security-council

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“In terms of how we approach the objectives in the aide-memoire, this will therefore be an important issue in the period ahead. Finally, women and children almost always are the principal victims of armed conflict. Therefore, as issues for consideration in the aide-memoire, we welcome the inclusion of a number of issues relating to the effects of armed conflict on women and children. We welcome the references made to special protection measures, activities within the United Nations system and mainstreaming of the gender perspective, including the integration of gender advisers in peace operations and expanding the role of women in United Nations field operations. Last year's report of the Secretary-General noted that no peacekeeping or peace enforcement mission has yet been authorized to close down the assets of hate media.”
2002-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4492 (2002) · source
“Ireland, for its part, fully endorses the exclusion of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes from amnesty provisions and would like to see emphasis given to the issue of justice in the aide-memoire. The issue of humanitarian access has, of course, to remain a key priority. I was grateful for the update given by the Under-Secretary-General on this and for the working group study on the issue of engagement with armed groups. On the plight of internally displaced persons, this is also an issue of importance that is highlighted in the aide-memoire. An overriding concern remains the dire humanitarian circumstances in many countries. The Under-Secretary-General mentioned a figure of 4.6 million internally displaced persons in Angola. He also referred to the situation in the Sudan and the recent attacks.”
2002-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4492 (2002) · source
“For that reason, I would like to pay special tribute to the work that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has been doing in this area. It is at the normative level not merely in strengthening awareness of the issues, but also in terms of the practical implementation of important objectives in this area. Much has already been done and we appreciate that. Secondly, on the point of justice - on which we had a very useful meeting between the Council and special representatives from the field a few weeks ago - this is an important issue that is rightly highlighted in the aide-memoire. Bill Berkeley, in his book The Graves Are Not yet Fall - a study of wars in Africa published last year - rightly said that justice is not only an answer to tyranny, but a window on it. We therefore regard this issue as important.”
2002-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4492 (2002) · source
“We feel that the round-table discussions have been very helpful and we think that it is important that, in this area, we also achieve a strong level of coordination between our own assessment and consideration of the aide-memoire and its objectives and what will emerge in terms of the road map. There are three or four very general points of emphasis I would like to make as regards Ireland's View. First, it is clear that the Security Council, the General Assembly, other United Nations agencies and the international financial institutions need to work more closely together in this area. It is also true that national Governments, of course, have the central responsibility, but the issue of coordination and ensuring that there is a broad symmetry in the approaches taken is of critical importance.”
2002-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4492 (2002) · source
“In recent decades, we have constructed an elaborate edifice of international human rights and humanitarian law. Now, the issue of protection of civilians in armed conflict is at the forefront of our consideration. At the same time, we still have to make the transition to the implementation and creation of what the Secretary-General has called in his reports a culture of prevention and a culture of protection. My delegation welcomes the comments made by the Under-Secretary-General this morning on the road map and on the reorganization of the 54 recommendations from the Secretary-General's reports.”
2002-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4492 (2002) · source
“This therefore makes it all the more important that the issue of protection of civilians in conflict situations become a matter of the greatest importance to the Council. For that reason, Ireland very much welcomes the aide-memoire we will be adopting later today. It is rightly noted in the document's introduction that this is not intended to be a blueprint; it is, instead, as has been said by previous speakers, a tool box. We also agree that it is important - Under-Secretary-General Oshima, I think, made this point also - that it be periodically reviewed in the light of our own assessments and in the light of our experience with peacekeeping mandates. Nonetheless, it is a synthesis of the central steps that may need to be considered by the Council in dealing with this critical issue.”
2002-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4492 (2002) · source
“I would first like to join others in thanking you, Mr. President, for arranging today's public meeting of the Council on protection of civilians in armed conflict and also to express warm appreciation for Norway's work, not only in advancing agreement on the aide-memoire we will be adopting later but for Norway's emphasis on this issue over the recent period. The remarks made by Under-Secretary-General Oshima in his briefing emphasize the crucial importance of the issue of protection of civilians in armed conflict. Ambassador Levitte rightly made the point that in the First World War, 95 per cent of victims were soldiers. In recent decades, the casualty toll in wars in many parts of the world predominately relates to civilians.”
2002-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4492 (2002) · source
“The IGAD partners need our support. The peoples of the region need our engagement. We on the Council have a duty to offer this support.”
2002-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4487 (2002) · source
“The United Nations humanitarian and development agencies continue to carry out important, life-saving work in the face of often serious obstacles. Such obstacles include a certain ennui on the part of the international donor community, and we strongly urge donors to respond generously to the Inter-Agency Appeal. My delegation notes the comments of the Minister this morning on the impact of the freezing of the Al-Barakaat accounts. We are also hopeful that a satisfactory solution will be found quickly, which would help ease unnecessary suffering. There is no such thing as a failed society. There may be failed State institutions, there may be weakness of governance, but society and the needs of people transcend more narrow, legalistic definitions. The people of Somalia need the help of the international community.”
2002-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4487 (2002) · source
“2) The Council furthermore insisted that "the territory of Somalia should not be used to undermine stability in the subregion" (ibid.). We believe that if these principles were respected, the security situation in Somalia would be enhanced. We strongly support strengthening enforcement of the sanctions regime. One option might be the establishment of an appropriate mechanism to do so, as it is clear that the regime that has been in place now for 10 years has not been enforced. Ireland welcomes the establishment of an anti- terrorism task force by the Transitional National Government, and we urge that it be seen to be effective and urgent in its work. The report of the Secretary-General points to a perilous humanitarian situation in the country.”
2002-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4487 (2002) · source
“We believe it would be appropriate to look at such proposals and at any other means by which we could help create more favourable circumstances on the ground. We should also now consider how to give greater effect to the arms embargo on Somalia. The reports of preparations for a major offensive, as contained in paragraph 33 of the Secretary-General's report, are extremely worrying, as such reported developments would clearly be in breach of Security Council resolution 733 (1992). In the presidential statement of October last year, the Council insisted "that all States, in particular those of the region, should not interfere in the internal affairs of Somalia. Such interference could jeopardize the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity of Somalia." (S/PRST/2001/30, p.”
2002-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4487 (2002) · source
“The international community has a clear and unambiguous responsibility to the people of Somalia, which obliges us to look beyond the limitations that the current security situation imposes and to reflect and come up with ideas as to what is possible within the constraints to help create the circumstances in which the United Nations can become more fully engaged in Somalia. We in the Council, in short, also have that responsibility. Silence and lack of action is not an option. We have the presidential statement that we adopted in October, which calls for proposals on how the United Nations may further assist in the demobilization of militia members and the training of police personnel from the Transitional National Government.”
2002-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4487 (2002) · source
“The results of the recent inter-agency security assessment mission in Somalia are clear, and we of course accept that, for the moment, the United Nations should not repatriate United Nations Political Office for Somalia. We also hope, and we are confident, that this question will be kept under review. In the meantime, we must see what the international community can do within these constraints to assist the people of Somalia, who for over a decade now have struggled, to a large extent isolated from the support available to the populations of other countries struggling with crisis.”
2002-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4487 (2002) · source
“As the report of the Secretary-General clearly illustrates, various United Nations agencies, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), are actively engaged in promoting peace and reconciliation through various programmes in Somalia, which, as the Secretary-General says, contribute to overall United Nations peace-building objectives. We are encouraged by the briefing that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) gave in Geneva in February when introducing the Consolidated Appeal, reporting that there are approximately 150 United Nations staff working on the ground in Somalia on any given day.”
2002-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4487 (2002) · source
“We strongly encourage all Somali parties to participate in the conference, and to participate without preconditions, in a spirit of compromise and cooperation, so as to complete the process begun at Arta. At the same time, we encourage all parties to continue to focus on achieving reconciliation at the local level as well. My delegation especially welcomes the commitment of the Secretary-General and his Special Adviser Mohamed Sahnoun to assist lGAD countries in implementing the decision taken at the 9th lGAD Summit. Ireland will strongly support an active United Nations role in this area.”
2002-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4487 (2002) · source
“While it is true that only Somalia's leaders can end the suffering of their people, it is also fair to say that it will not be possible without a coordinated, constructive approach on the part of its neighbours. We encourage all States, in particular those in the region, to continue to contribute in this positive spirit to national reconciliation in Somalia. The gain will be not only for the people of Somalia but for wider regional stability and development. The National Reconciliation Conference on Somalia, to be held in Nairobi in a few weeks' time, will be an historic opportunity for the Somali parties - all Somali parties - to begin at last to put the interests of the Somali people - innocent victims of years of mindless power feuding and divisions - ahead of all power struggles and partisan motives.”
2002-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4487 (2002) · source
“It is now clear that the people of Somalia have begun what will not be an easy process to move towards peaceful reconciliation. It is equally clear that the wider international community must support their efforts, building on the first, tentative steps taken at Arta. My delegation welcomes, for that reason, the proposal by the Secretary-General to establish the Committee of Friends on Somalia in New York and in Nairobi. We are particularly encouraged that there is now agreement on a unified regional approach, which offers strong beginnings of new hope for Somalia. Ireland strongly supports the IGAD initiatives agreed at the level of heads of State and Government and foreign ministers since the beginning of the year.”
2002-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4487 (2002) · source
“I want to pay warm tribute to the former Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. David Stephen, for his commitment to the people of Somalia and his untiring efforts in what must be one of the most challenging posts in the United Nations system. I would also like to wish Mr. Winston Tubman, the new Representative of the Secretary-General, every success as he takes on the mantle. We heard in October from the former Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Stephen, that the people of Somalia were ready for peace. We see today in the report of the Secretary-General that the heads of State of the lntergovernmental Authority on Development (lGAD) have concluded that Somalis are tired of conflict and division. It has always been the case that the momentum for peace must come from the Somali people themselves.”
2002-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4487 (2002) · source
“I would like, first, to thank you, Mr. President, for convening this public meeting on Somalia today. My delegation joins others in warmly welcoming Minister Yusuf Hassan Ibrahim, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Somalia, with whom the Council had a very constructive meeting in private session earlier this morning. Placing Council attention on the situation in Somalia has been a priority for Ireland since coming into the Security Council. We are therefore very pleased to see the Council and the wider United Nations membership focus on the issue today in this open meeting. The Permanent Representative of Spain will speak shortly on behalf of the European Union, and Ireland of course fully associates itself with his statement. I would like to thank the Secretary-General for his report, which we have before us today.”
2002-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4487 (2002) · source
“Legwaila, and the Force Commander, and we encourage the parties to cooperate fully with them in the coming period. Finally, I would like to reaffirm Ireland's support for and friendship with both Eritrea and Ethiopia. The presence of more than 200 Irish troops at UNMEE and our long-term commitment to development in the region illustrate our confidence that both parties will take this historic opportunity to turn away from a difficult past and work together towards a better future for their peoples.”
2002-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4485 (2002) · source
“It is widely recognized that the demarcation process will require a massive demining effort. While primary responsibility for this task lies with the parties, we would support the Secretary-General's considering what practical role UNMEE could play to expedite this work. After all, it is clear under the Algiers Agreement that UNMEE's mandate will not be completed until such time as demarcation is complete. Ireland is prepared to consider any recommendations regarding the UNMEE mandate that implementation of the Boundary Commission decision will necessitate. We warmly commend the dedication of the men and women working with UNMEE and their contribution to the peace process. In particular, I would like to emphasize Ireland's full support for the untiring efforts of the Special Representative of the Secretary- General, Mr.”
2002-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4485 (2002) · source
“When signing the Algiers Agreements, both parties rightly recognized the assistance that the United Nations can offer in that process. We strongly encourage both parties to cooperate fully with UNMEE in developing, as quickly as possible, a common understanding of the steps to be taken and to elaborate the appropriate institutional arrangements to ensure that stability prevails and that further human suffering is minimized. In so doing, we strongly urge them to accord maximum cooperation to UNMEE, particularly regarding the security arrangements. Clearly, it will be important that the separation of forces, as achieved by the Temporary Security Zone, continue. We encourage the international community to take on its corresponding obligations to support and encourage that process.”
2002-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4485 (2002) · source
“The fact that both Governments have committed themselves to putting that past behind them, to building a peaceful future through implementation of the determination of the Boundary Commission and to focusing on the pressing humanitarian and development needs of their people is to be strongly commended. It is our sincere hope that both parties may see beyond their current differences to the myriad advantages that neighbourly relations offer the respective peoples, particularly in the border areas, where normal life cannot be suspended indefinitely. These two peoples and these two countries have suffered enough. Wisdom is now putting their past divisions behind them. It is quite clear that the determination of the Boundary Commission should be implemented quickly, in a coordinated and orderly fashion.”
2002-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4485 (2002) · source
“During the mission, it was quite clear from our meetings with political and religious leaders, the United Nations country teams, representatives of the World Bank and civil society and non-governmental organizations in both countries that the focus must now turn towards the future, including the long-term economic development of both Ethiopia and Eritrea. For far too long, both countries have suffered from food insecurity and underdevelopment. In addition to the immediate suffering brought about by conflict, the war absorbed meagre national resources, with devastating impact on the populations of both countries.”
2002-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4485 (2002) · source
“I would also like to thank everyone in the Secretariat who was involved, including in the Department of Political Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and everyone in the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) for their work in support of the mission. Finally, it is also right to thank the leadership of both Governments for their hospitality and support throughout the mission. My delegation associates itself fully with the statement that Spain will make shortly on behalf of the European Union. The report of the Council mission makes a number of observations that Ambassador Kolby detailed earlier, and my delegation fully supports all the observations and recommendations in the report. Therefore, I would like to focus on just a few points.”
2002-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4485 (2002) · source
“It is an honour, Sir, to have you chair this meeting of the Council this morning. It is also a reflection of the commitment of Norway to Africa, in particular the Horn of Africa. On behalf of my delegation, I would like to take this opportunity to commend the leadership of Ambassador Kolby during the Council mission to Eritrea and Ethiopia, and to thank him and all his colleagues in the Norwegian delegation. Ambassador Kolby's wise approach, skill and dedication in leading the mission, and in conveying to both parties the views of the Council at this important juncture, were greatly appreciated by all members of the mission.”
2002-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4485 (2002) · source
“In conclusion, we have many challenges ahead that will require vigour and determination by the people of Bosnia: the forthcoming elections, strengthening civil society, addressing the issue of reconciliation, developing a strategy for domestic war crimes prosecutions, the full implementation of the decisions of the human rights chamber, and respect for social, economic and gender rights. We have come a long way on many of these issues, for which my delegation would like to warmly thank Mr. Petritsch and Mr. Klein. We greatly appreciate what they have done in the recent period.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“Ireland fully supports recent decisions on the streamlining of the international presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina based on the task-force model that has been introduced by High Representative Petritsch, and especially the extensive consultation process that has been undertaken with all peace implementation agencies as well as with the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We look forward to the early implementation of the process, and welcome the strengthened effectiveness of the international presence that will be achieved under that model.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“It is important that they address this task urgently. Failure to reach rapid agreement on that issue will have serious consequences for the holding of elections in October, as well as for Bosnia's integration into European structures. We hope that satisfactory resolution of this issue, as well as enhanced cooperation with Bosnia and Herzegovina's neighbours, can set the country on a road that leads towards integration with the European Union. This itself is in the hands of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“Ireland welcomes the appointment by High Representative Petritsch of the members of the Electoral Commission as part of preparations for the first general elections, to be held in October 2002. It is essential that the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina be able to exercise their democratic rights without hindrance, and we fully support the work of the Electoral Commission. We also welcome the current discussions between political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina to come to an agreement regarding the Constituent Peoples Decision. It is clear that agreement on the implementation of this and other decisions of the Constitutional Court must come from the political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina itself, so as to underline the readiness of the country to be admitted to the Council of Europe.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“We look forward to the cooperation of all the relevant authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina as the transition phase approaches, and we once again urge those authorities to work with High Representative Petritsch and with the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) to ensure the full implementation of the Dayton/Paris Peace Accords and the development, as we have heard emphasized this morning, of viable State institutions. It is also right today to warmly thank Special Representative Klein and all those in UNMIBH, including in particular the International Police Task Force (IPTF), for their achievements to date in restructuring and reforming the law enforcement agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“Therefore, for those of us in the European Union and beyond, this is an important development, substantively and symbolically, and one that my delegation greatly welcomes. The EUPM. is designed to be an element in the European Union's broader strategy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to cover the whole range of rule of law questions as well as institution-building programmes. The EUPM. will contribute to the overall goals of peace implementation as outlined by High Representative Petritsch.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“High Representative Solana has outlined in detail the European Union's decision to ensure the follow-on to the United Nations International Police Task Force (IPTF) as of 1 January 2003, as agreed at the meeting of the European Union's General Affairs Council on 18 February. Ireland welcomes the acceptance of the European Union's decision by the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council, on 28 February. Ireland also welcomes the strong statement of support that the Security Council intends to give to the European Union's decision on ensuring the follow-on Police Mission in the draft resolution that is due for adoption later today. The proposed European Union Police Mission, or EUPM, will be the first mission mounted by the European Union under the rubric of European security and defence policy.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“My delegation would first like to warmly commend High Representative Petritsch for his outstanding contribution to the implementation of the peace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina. We wish him an equally successful final few months as High Representative. We thank him also for the most recent report of his activities regarding the implementation of the peace Agreement. Ireland welcomes the appointment of Lord Ashdown as Mr. Petritsch's successor as High Representative and we look forward to his further designation as European Union (EU) special representative in Bosnia. Lord Ashdown can count on Ireland's full support as he prepares to take up his mandate.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“May I, on behalf of my delegation, join others in warmly welcoming you here today, Sir, at the beginning of Norway's presidency of the Security Council. I would like to assure the Norwegian presidency of Ireland's full support over the coming month. I would like also to take this opportunity to thank Ambassador Aguilar Zinser of Mexico for his excellent presidency during the month of February. Ireland would also like to thank the Secretary- General, High Representative Petritsch and Special Representative Klein for their comprehensive statements this morning. Ireland fully endorses the statement which High Representative Solana delivered on behalf of the European Union. I will therefore make only some brief comments in my national capacity.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“These are very general questions, but, to conclude, I would also like to express appreciation for the detail with which he has gone into these issues. We appreciate very much the work he is doing.”
2002-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4470 (2002) · source
“In terms of the numbers of internally displaced persons or refugees who, once there is a ceasefire, may potentially be returning in much larger numbers to Burundi, there has been some speculation that there have been discussions on safe havens as an interim measure or, given the numbers involved, that a more structured approach will be adopted. I noticed, of course, that Mr. Lubbers used the word "voluntary" in his statement. Does he see the particular challenge in the Great Lakes region and in Burundi as one of the more complex over the coming period? Since, hopefully, there will be a ceasefire before too long, how rapid a movement of returnees does he envisage, given the 600,000, I think, in Tanzania alone?”
2002-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4470 (2002) · source
“What approach, including in the context of the discussions with the African Union on the New Partnership for Africa's Development, could be taken to address the question of long-term refugees, since often - particularly in many African countries - that has been a problem that the international community has tended to ignore and that often, in turn, becomes a very destabilizing factor, sometimes years or decades afterwards, in terms of conflict prevention? The last question I did want to ask, picking up on the remarks of the High Commissioner, refers to the Great Lakes region. We had the opportunity to hear President Buyoya earlier this week.”
2002-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4470 (2002) · source
“This is, in many ways, an abstract question, but the conclusion to those issues, of course, will become deeply operational, depending on how the international community and the Council look at these issues in the future. A second question I also wanted to ask concerns refugees not being allowed to languish in camps, often for decades. The High Commissioner made the point on the repatriation of Eritrean refugees from the Sudan, where, I think, a figure of 36,000 was mentioned. He rightly stressed that many of those people have been in camps since the 19605 and the 1970s. Is there a particular new approach that can be taken? The same, obviously, would become true of Afghanistan, potentially; millions of people, even before 11 September, have been in camps in Iran and Pakistan.”
2002-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4470 (2002) · source
“In terms of the Global Consultations process, the meeting of ministers in Geneva in December and many issues that he has been emphasizing over recent months, he has referred to the need for the international community, building on the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol, to look at new challenges of modernization, as I think he put it, on issues such as the protection of refugees within broader migration movements; burden-sharing, of course, which has become critical because many Governments, as he said, are reluctant to take so many refugees; and the integration of economic migrants, which can be a very difficult issue. Does Mr. Lubbers see, in general terms, an operational set of conclusions emerging out of the process that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is now engaged in?”
2002-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4470 (2002) · source
“On behalf of my delegation, I would also like to thank High Commissioner Lubbers for his very comprehensive and detailed presentation this morning, and also to commend you, Sir, for the leadership and determination you have shown since assuming the presidency. Since many of the points I would have raised have already been answered, I should like to ask just two or three general questions, if I may. One, which Mr. Lubbers addressed at the beginning and conclusion of his remarks as well as in his first response, is related to his use of the word "paradigm" in terms of a new approach by the international community to refugees.”
2002-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4470 (2002) · source
“In conclusion, both in terms of the presidency's programme of work and how it was handled and of the openness to differing views and to the wider membership, we thought this was a month of very real achievement and very much appreciated it.”
2002-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4466 (2002) · source
“Finally, other issues of importance during the month were, of course, the emphasis on African issues generally in terms of particular situations, such as those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea- Bissau and so on. We also welcomed the opportunity to have the open debate on East Timor and the briefings on Afghanistan. We especially welcomed yesterday's consultations on the Middle East and look forward to seeing that continued. We also welcomed the number of meetings with the troop contributors, which you, Sir, mentioned in your opening remarks, and the agreement on the new mechanism for consultation to be chaired by Ambassador Strommen, which we regard as important.”
2002-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4466 (2002) · source
“It was an important debate partly because of the importance of having a genuinely interactive dialogue between the Council and the wider United Nations membership on where we are now in terms of the Counter-Terrorism Committee. The way the presidency structured the debate by alternating members of the Council with others we found to be especially useful. On this, I would also - as other speakers have done - wish to pay tribute to Ambassador Greenstock for the way he has approached the work of the Counter- Terrorism Committee through the briefings of Member States and others. This has created a very broad understanding, which was reflected in the debate on the way ahead in terms of the operation of the Committee.”
2002-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4466 (2002) · source
“My delegation has consistently argued that there is a need for a closer working relationship with, in particular, the Economic and Social Council. We therefore welcome the reference in the presidential statement to the consideration that will be given to setting up an ad hoc working group. We think this is important because the Economic and Social Council, in its own Charter domain, has a strong role in areas of development and coordination. The Council, as it addresses issues of conflict, peace and security, needs to have an interlocutor with which we can mutually consider the differing roles in these areas. So we think that was important. The other issue that we found very helpful this month in terms of the agenda was, of course, the debate on counter-terrorism.”
2002-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4466 (2002) · source
“One important issue that did come out - Minister O'Donnell from Ireland also emphasized this point - was the interlinkage between conflict prevention and development cooperation issues. Development funds, the issue of debt, the issue of trade opening for African countries - it is not possible, in our view, to address one set of issues without the other. This was a point that came very strongly across in the contributions made in the debate and, indeed, it is reflected strongly in the presidential statement that we just adopted and which we very much welcome. Two other issues that did come up in the debate were the importance of coherence in terms of the United Nations role in the wider international community and how issues are addressed in relation to conflict prevention and development.”
2002-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4466 (2002) · source
“We found the open debate on the situation in Africa to be enormously valuable, partly because of the strong level of representation by ministers from Africa and elsewhere, partly because of the quality of the contributions to the debate and partly because this is a moment of transition in Africa and one of real hope, as a result of the transition of the Organization of African Unity to the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development. Other contributing factors were the Council's own work in the area of addressing issues of conflict and conflict resolution and the OAU's increasing engagement in Africa in these areas. All of this meant that the debate was marked by a real sense of new beginnings.”
2002-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4466 (2002) · source
“But, from the point of View of the Council, there is also the important point that it is a listening opportunity, and many of the points made are in turn integrated into our own work. A balance must always be struck - as Ambassador Strommen said - between what Walter Bagehot would have called the efficient and the dignified elements of how structures work. The efficient element is, of course, the need for workability, coherence and coordination, while at the same time showing openness to the views of the wider membership, as well as the United Nations family of institutions, in terms of the insights that they bring to the different issues and to the agenda of the Council. On the substantive issues before us this month, my delegation regarded two in particular as being of great importance.”
2002-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4466 (2002) · source
“For that reason, my delegation would support - and we have been discussing this in the Council in recent weeks - a more interactive approach to the wrap-up debate, with involvement of the wider United Nations membership and a strong thematic focus in terms of the issues that we address. But the wrap-up opportunity is important, and we think it should be built on. In terms of the past month, I would like to make two or three broad points. Ireland welcomed the policy of openness which the presidency brought this month to our work. We had very useful public meetings on Kosovo, terrorism, East Timor and, of course, Africa. Openness and transparency serve a dual purpose. On the one hand, transparency is important for its own sake and for a level of engagement with the wider United Nations membership.”
2002-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4466 (2002) · source
“With regard to the wrap-up, my delegation has always taken the view that these discussions are very useful exercises. They are important on their own merits because they provide a chance once a month to stand back and look at the wider picture. They are important because of the engagement of the Council with the wider United Nations membership. There is one caveat; as you, Mr. President, pointed out, each month the presidency, of course, sets the background to many issues through the manner in which it approaches the agenda, and so it is important in looking at the wrap-up exercise also to bear in mind how we approach the issue of continuity - the complexity of issues.”
2002-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4466 (2002) · source