YouSaid · the spoken record

Eldon

lines on the record: 430
first: 1998-11-10
most recent: 2002-09-05
sittings or episodes: 71
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

“It is important that during the remaining period of his mandate the United Nations system and other players should work together to consider new ideas and strategies for children and armed conflict which will shape their policies in future years. We particularly welcome the Special Representative's work in this area, and have made available up to Â£400,000, or a little more than $600,000, to support his project for country-specific follow-up. This project should bring together all the actors in particular country situations so that they can work among themselves to identify priorities for action and develop greater coherence of approach. We hope this will produce new best practices which will be a lasting legacy from the Special Representative's mandate.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“We have made clear that we will not block any consensus reached. But we must not let that debate distract us from the concrete problem on the ground of the continuing recruitment of thousands of very young children. We are all familiar with pictures of children as young as 10 carrying Kalashnikovs in Africa. Our priority must be the ending of such recruitment and the demobilization and reintegration into society of existing child soldiers. It is a pleasure to see the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict here today. My good friend Olara Otunnu has done much to raise the profile of issues surrounding children and armed conflict and to deal with individual country situations. We welcome and support the catalyzing work he as done so far.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“When wars happen, the protagonists must make sure that children are properly protected. The Geneva Conventions and their Protocols, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter of Rights and Welfare of the Child set out the standards. There must be no impunity for those who ignore them. Those who target children must be brought to justice. The establishment of the International Criminal Court will be an important step towards this. We urge all States to sign and ratify the Rome Statute of the Court. We must raise the internationally agreed minimum age of recruitment for soldiers. The current age of 15 is too low. The United Kingdom is playing an active and constructive role in negotiations on the draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“The United Kingdom has been working to tackle the problem of proliferation of light weapons, for example through the European Union (EU) Joint Action on small arms, which provides a basis for funding small-arms projects in third countries, and through support for the Economic Community of West African States moratorium on the import, export and manufacture of light weapons. In addition, we have established with European Union partners an EU Code of Conduct on arms exports. This Code of Conduct, which is underpinned by a consultative mechanism, aims to prevent the transfer of weapons which might be used for external aggression or internal repression, including use by, or against, children. We call on all other arms-exporting countries to subscribe to the same principles.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“And conflict prevention is best done by promoting democracy and development, by ensuring respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and good governance. These principles must be taken seriously. As the Special Representative has said, Governments must respect their international obligations, including under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has now been ratified by nearly all Members of the United Nations. We must all speak out more clearly when they do not. This is one instance where naming and shaming helps. The proliferation of small arms and light weapons has a particularly damaging impact on children. The existence of so much weaponry in difficult and sensitive areas of the world is in itself destabilizing.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“As the Special Representative said, Mr. President, you are no newcomer to this Chamber. But as the first Council member to speak in this debate, I should nevertheless like to welcome you here. I much enjoyed working with you during your country's transition to independence, when I was here in a more junior capacity in the 1980s. It is a special pleasure to see you here today in your current capacity. Modern conflicts hit children the hardest. An estimated two million have been killed in wars in the last decade. Tens of millions of others have been orphaned, maimed, traumatized, sexually abused, tortured or starved. We all have an obligation to do everything in our power to stop this. Conflict prevention is clearly the best way to protect children.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“For the first time in eight years, Sierra Leone has a real chance of bringing to an end, once and for all, the appalling suffering of its people. The decision we are making today must turn that expectation into reality.”
1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source
“The larger Observer Mission that we are authorizing today is only a stopgap. The recent hostage- taking only highlights the urgent need to address the security of United Nations military observers. We look forward to the Secretary-General's recommendations on the mandate and structure of an enhanced United Nations peacekeeping presence. ECOMOG's continuing presence until the peace is secure will be vital to the success of this endeavour. We hope that the United Nations and ECOMOG will agree soon on their respective areas of responsibility under the new peacekeeping regime. The sooner the new framework is in place, the better for the United Nations, ECOMOG and the Sierra Leonean people. Clarity is needed to mobilize international support for the operation.”
1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source
“We urge all those involved - the World Bank, the Government of Sierra Leone, ECOMOG and the United Nations - to use the resources available to get the programme under way immediately. Urgent contributions are also needed for the World Bank trust fund to help sustain the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme. Secondly, Foday Sankoh must return to Freetown and assume his responsibilities under the Peace Agreement with the absolute minimum of delay. He must ensure that his followers understand and adhere to the Agreement and persuade them to release all remaining detainees, including children. Thirdly, we must establish a full United Nations peacekeeping operation to assist in the implementation of the Peace Agreement and to help create a climate of confidence.”
1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source
“We accordingly pledge our continued support to the Government of Sierra Leone. We will work with and assist the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation and Human Rights Commissions now foreseen for Sierra Leone. We welcome the steps that the Government of Sierra Leone has already taken to realize the Agreement. But the lack of momentum on its overall implementation threatens to undermine the peace. The way ahead is clear. First, the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme must start immediately. Delay risks a descent into wider lawlessness. Beginning the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme will also help alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in certain parts of country.”
1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source
“The United Kingdom views the draft resolution we are to adopt today as a sign of the United Nations determination to support the implementation of the Lome Agreement. It marks a real turning point. But it is only a first step towards a much more substantial United Nations role. We have no illusions. The Lorne Agreement is not perfect. The inclusion of a blanket amnesty for those who have committed appalling atrocities has rightly caused concern. But this was one of many hard choices that the Government and the people of Sierra Leone had to make in the interests of securing a workable agreement. Now the international community must help ensure that the Agreement promotes accountability and an end to impunity, and begins the long process of national reconciliation.”
1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source
“Those compromises, however difficult and uncomfortable, have at last given the people of Sierra Leone a real chance of peace - a peace which they badly need, and a peace which we are here to support today. We pay tribute to the Government of Sierra Leone and to all those who have strived to bring about that peace. In particular, we applaud the vital role played by the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). Without ECOMOG's efforts to bring about peace and preserve security, there would not be a peace process for us to support. We must now focus on the future. Sierra Leone needs a coordinated and sustained effort by the international community to secure lasting peace. What Sierra Leone does not need is a Peace Agreement that fails, as others have done before it.”
1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source
“By chance, Sir, I find myself the first member of the Council to speak in the first open discussion of your presidency. Your presidency marks a real landmark, both for your country and for you personally. We have much appreciated the way in which you have smoothly guided the Council's work so far this month. I want to assure you that you will have our full cooperation for the remainder of your tenure. Sierra Leone has come a long way since the security crisis last December. In the last few months, there have been some very real strides towards peace. As the representative of Sierra Leone has just noted, the negotiations leading to the Lorne Peace Agreement were difficult, with both sides - in particular the Government of Sierra Leone - making some difficult and uncomfortable compromises.”
1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source
“I do not, therefore, want to go too far into the substance of the draft resolution on which we have just voted in my statement now. But I should refer to the suggestion in the Security Council draft resolution, repeated today by the representative of the Russian Federation, that NATO has banned civil flights over a number of countries in the Balkan region. This is incorrect; NATO has no power to do this. What has actually happened is that NATO advised Croatia, Albania, Macedonia and Bosnia that the NATO air strikes could make their airspace unsafe for civil flights. In the light of that advice, these countries decided to close their airspace to such flights. There has therefore been no breach either of the United Nations Charter or of the Chicago Convention.”
1999-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3989 (1999) · source
“As recognized in Security Council resolutions 1199 (1998) and 1203 (1998), it is Belgrade's policies with regard to Kosovo that have caused the threat to peace and security in the region, not the actions of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In the current circumstances, military intervention is justified as an exceptional measure to prevent an overwhelming humanitarian catastrophe. Adoption of the draft resolution before us today would simply have signalled to President Milosevic that there was no check on his repressive action in Kosovo. It would have done nothing to avert an imminent humanitarian catastrophe. That is why the United Kingdom voted against 1t. As I said earlier, our position was explained in great detail in the Council's debate on 24 March.”
1999-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3989 (1999) · source
“As Sir Jeremy Greenstock set out in detail in the Security Council debate on 24 March, the international community has over the past year made exhaustive efforts to resolve the crisis in Kosovo through negotiation. Every means short of force was used to try to avert the current situation. These efforts have failed because President Milosevic has flouted the demands of the international community, including successive Security Council resolutions, allowed his forces to continue their violent oppression of civilians in Kosovo and ignored all appeals to negotiate a political settlement. He has acted in defiance of the expressed will of the Security Council.”
1999-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3989 (1999) · source
“Accordingly, we hope the Secretary-General's report will take a broad View of this subject, based on discussions with a wide range of other actors both within and outside the United Nations system. We hope it will come up with concrete recommendations so that follow- up to this debate will make a real difference and sustained difference.”
1999-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3977 (1999) · source
“We need to look at practical measures, such as the regular sharing of vital security information among United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations. Many of the issues we are discussing today go beyond the immediate remit of the Security Council and are also under discussion in other forums. But that is no reason why the Council should not consider this important matter or have its discussions informed by the views of other actors, and vice versa. We think the Council should operate in coordination with, not in isolation from, the rest of the United Nations system. It also needs to look beyond the symptoms to the causes of conflict.”
1999-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3977 (1999) · source
“Fifthly, the Council should consider whether it could do more to ensure that the needs of civilians are systematically taken into account when designing new peacekeeping mandates, particularly in areas such as human rights and humanitarian issues, including demining. We also need to give further thought to ensuring a smooth transition from peacekeeping to peace- building and to the importance of rebuilding local capacity and civil society. Finally, as all of our briefers have said, we need to consider what more can be done to enhance the safety of humanitarian personnel on the ground, particularly in cases where there is limited consent from the warring parties and the security situation is volatile. We must make sure the United Nations security machinery has the resources it needs to do its job.”
1999-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3977 (1999) · source
“It is pointless to expect a 12-year-old to understand, remember and observe detailed provisions of international humanitarian law. The international community must redouble its efforts to ensure that children are not used as soldiers in war. As Ms. Bellamy has said, once fighting has stopped, demobilized child soldiers - and for that matter, other former combatants - must be given the assistance they need to play a positive role in their communities. Fourthly, we must tackle the problem of small arms, since if former combatants still have access to personal weapons once the fighting is over, they are at great risk of being drawn back into violent ways of life.”
1999-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3977 (1999) · source
“It is obviously just as important to ensure that United Nations peacekeepers themselves are properly trained in human rights and humanitarian law. Secondly, we need to tackle the question of monitoring and enforcement. Education is an important first step. But what can we do if international humanitarian law is still being flouted? The problem of internally displaced persons is a case in point. Some excellent work has been done in codifying the principles governing the handling of internally displaced persons. But there is no mechanism to ensure that these principles are being observed. This problem should be addressed. Thirdly, as Ms. Bellamy and Special Representative Otunnu have said, we should do more to tackle the root causes of the problem. One of these is the recruitment of child soldiers.”
1999-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3977 (1999) · source
“Our objective should be to ensure that this is respected and implemented conscientiously. We must also find practical ways of reducing the risks and confusion on the ground, ways which will survive the breakdown of the rule of law. We hope that the Secretary- General's forthcoming report will particularly focus on this aspect of the problem. I would like to highlight six areas. First, we need to put more effort into education and training. We should lay the foundations for the protection of civilians in armed conflict by disseminating knowledge of human rights obligations and international humanitarian law among security forces so that the individual soldier understands in clear and simple terms what his responsibilities are. This is an area where the ICRC is already doing excellent work in many countries and deserves our full support.”
1999-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3977 (1999) · source
“In this respect we very much welcome the efforts of the Secretary-General to improve coordination between the key United Nations actors involved. We must also redouble our efforts to curb illicit trafficking in weapons and support universal participation in, and implementation of, the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel landmines. We must help vulnerable States to develop responsible and well-trained military and police forces under civilian control. This means continuing to build conflict prevention into our longer- term development programmes and paying increased attention to the security sector. But we must also work to mitigate the effect of violent conflict on civilians, so graphically described this morning. There is already a large body of international human rights and humanitarian law.”
1999-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3977 (1999) · source
“This collapse of law is compounded by the brutal and frankly anarchic nature of contemporary conflict, so graphically described to the Council last month by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and here again today. So what policy conclusions should we draw? The main conclusion we must draw is the importance of conflict prevention, as Ambassador Tiirk has just said. The best way to protect civilians is to try to prevent violent conflict in the first place by promoting economic and social development, as Special Representative Otunnu has advocated, good governance and respect for human rights. We need to recognize the vital importance of conflict prevention and post-conflict peace-building in breaking the cycle of violence which leads to the disintegration of States.”
1999-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3977 (1999) · source
“Most of the conflicts which now come before the Security Council are internal armed conflicts. Increasingly, civilians bear the brunt of suffering or are even deliberately targeted. The protection of civilians has become more difficult because the dividing line between civilians and combatants and between peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel is often blurred. Many of the perpetrators of the attacks on civilians are not under the control of a State or part of a chain of command. The fundamental and disturbing problem is the collapse of the rule of law, both international and internal, in a number of the conflicts with which the Council has to deal.”
1999-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3977 (1999) · source
“First I should like to welcome you, Mr. President, most warmly to this Council meeting. The United Kingdom very much appreciates and supports Canada's initiative in arranging this briefing and the commitment that you personally have given to it. 1999 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Geneva Conventions and the centenary of the first Hague Peace Conference. It is timely for the Council to consider what more can be done to ensure that existing humanitarian law is fully and effectively implemented. We also welcome the fact that this briefing is held at a meeting of the Council, in public and under your chairmanship, which is another step forward towards transparency in our procedures. I should like to thank Mr. Sommaruga, Ms. Bellamy and Mr. Otunnu for their most valuable and interesting contributions today.”
1999-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3977 (1999) · source
“But, as others have indicated, Kosovo is not the whole story in the former Yugoslavia. We would also be interested in Mrs. Ogata's assessment of minority returns to Bosnia. We note that Mr. Carlos Westendorp, the High Representative for implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina, has said that 120,000 returns are possible in 1999, as opposed to between 35,000 and 40,000 for this year. Is this figure realistic, and is UNHCR content that it has the resources to protect such a large number of returnees? I shall leave it there, with many thanks to you, Mr. President, and to Mrs. Ogata.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“We would also be interested to hear what other steps UNHCR is contemplating in follow-up to the Secretary-General' s report. On the former Yugoslavia, UNHCR's performance in Kosovo will be a further, and very important, test of the agency's ability to deliver. Our own initial reports, borne out by Mrs. Ogata's briefing, indicate that it is tackling the job well in very difficult circumstances. We would be particularly interested to hear further information on when the conditions are likely to be right for the refugees to return. How many internally displaced persons are there now, and in what conditions are they living? Is the High Commissioner satisfied with the arrangements in place in Kosovo for protecting UNHCR staff against various security threats such as landmines?”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“We are very pleased that briefings in Geneva of donors on the subject of the Great Lakes by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will now take place every fortnight. We appreciate the amount of information now available on that region. We hope that more can be made available on the refugee situation in West Africa. In the context of maintaining the civilian and humanitarian nature of refugee camps, the Secretary- General's report on Africa referred to a UNHCR initiative addressing security issues among Burundian refugees in Tanzania. We would be very grateful for more information on the progress of what seems to have been an extremely valuable initiative. We would be interested to hear from the High Commissioner what lessons were learned, and whether she feels they can be applied elsewhere.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Thank you, Mr. President, for taking the initiative in calling this meeting. The efficacy of the format is, I believe, amply demonstrated by the stimulating, interesting and very useful briefing that Mrs. Ogata has given, and I should like to pay a considerable tribute to her. Like others, we hope that we will be able to use this format again in the future. Time is short, and I would like to concentrate very much on questions rather than statements. But one point I should like to make of a rather more general nature is that in managing crises, whether of a humanitarian, political or security nature, it is vital to have a regular flow of reliable information. That is as true of humanitarian crises in Africa as it is in other areas.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source