YouSaid · the spoken record

Giraldo

lines on the record: 115
first: 2003-02-20
most recent: 2022-01-20
sittings or episodes: 13
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

“Lastly, today is an important day, and I would like to thank the United Nations Verification Mission for its work. It has played a key role in guaranteeing the implementation of the agreement. I also thank the guarantor countries and the Norwegian presidency for this invitation. I take this opportunity to ask the international community, from the bottom of our hearts, not to leave us alone.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“We signed our Peace Agreement in 2017 in the Mariana Páez territorial area for training and reintegration, which led us to dream of seeing our Colombia become a territory without war. I went there holding the hand of my dear partner and spouse, Alexander Parra. We signed our commitment to peace as a couple lighted by love. Our eyes met there in a sustained moment of passion, tenderness and dreams of peace, far from the anxiety of confrontation. We hoped that peace would give us the possibility of reuniting with our family and our children — the possibility of loving each other and expressing and translating into reality our ideas and convictions free of the anguish of combat, bombings, hate and persecution. Yet, unfortunately, the war reached him, and that is why I have come before the Council today.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“For that reason, the family must be a comprehensive part of the concept of security and cannot remain a dead letter written 92 times in the agreement, and neither can the women, girls, boys and leaders who are being killed or are suffering for that reason continue to be considered as figures by a technocracy that believes that the killing of social leaders and its impact on the families are merely the cost of an agreement that they have tried to tear to shreds through the violence that continues in the territories. The peace that we seek and that we all want is in our hands, because, as my husband used to say, peace is born in our souls. I have suffered war. I have grown up in hope and love.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“Today we recall that the agreement is made up of a series of agreements, which are nevertheless a comprehensive whole, in which the territorial focus applied should prevent us from suffering displacements in the regions and territories in order to flee from forced disappearances, murder, threats and the lack of opportunities. The widows and orphaned children in the post- agreement period are a special population for whom a robust plan with a differentiated and gender focus must urgently be drawn up to prevent them from falling into the trap of poverty, so that they will never be objectified or be victims of any stereotype of gender violence or discrimination.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“I call on the Government of Colombia also not to forget that the word “family”, which is repeated 92 times in the agreement, means that it is the epicentre not only of society, but also of all of us who have laid down our arms to faithfully create democracy. The word “security”, cited in the agreement, not only refers to the means and mechanisms capable of dispelling the risks we run, but must also, according to what has been agreed, be conceived as a democratic value and from the perspective of humanism, which should inspire action by the State.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“That is why I call on the Colombian nation to ensure that the unions and the private sector associations, the comprehensive social security systems, the financial system, the education sector and the civil, labour and family judges do not forget that the transitional system that will lead us to peace with legality requires from all of us an enormous commitment to ensuring that our widows and children of killed ex-combatants receive differentiated yet equal treatment, so that they can have access to some minimum guarantees, such as access to higher education, effective health-care systems, the job market, the financial system and the comprehensive social security systems and rights, for example, the right to a survivor’s pension or a basic income, even in cases where the family units or de facto marital unions of the ex-combatants did not reach the threshold of two years of cohabitation, owing to the premature and violent death of the father or mother.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“But the harsh reality irrefutably demonstrates that there is a generalized rejection, an emptiness directed not only towards us, but also towards our children — the children of peace — who are not responsible for what happened during the conflict, and even less so the children of social leaders who were assassinated during the implementation of the agreement.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“Indeed, it is stigmatization, polarization and social discrimination that have prevented us from reaching the goals of the social rule of law and our children and young people from having effective access to public services, such as higher education, health-care systems, comprehensive and inclusive social security systems, including the financial system and the job market, despite the fact that, within the framework of this great agreement, equality, forgiveness and reconciliation were enshrined as fundamental principles.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“The implementation of what was agreed on requires an indestructible commitment on the part of us all, because equality and the protection of pluralism must be guaranteed without any discrimination in order to ensure and make effective the adoption of positive measures for groups that are marginalized or discriminated against, with a territorial, differentiated and gender focus.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“Today, as we weave peace, we carry on our backs the historic responsibility of generating reconciliation, coexistence and tolerance, even though we now directly endure the inequality that we always emphasized and that led us to confrontation in the first place. Our commitment to building a lasting peace and to restitution for the victims of the conflict means that every day we live in society and every step that we take in the implementation of the peace agreement, we must not forget or make invisible all those we harmed in the war and for which we will be deeply sorry until the end of our days. Therefore, we are now committed for life to ensuring that the violence that made us suffer will never return among us.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“They are the reason why I am here. When we review the Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace, we discover in that 310-page document, the word “family” is mentioned more than 92 times. That is no accident. On the contrary, the Colombian State and we, ex-combatants, agree that we have a common interest in mutual recognition without any distinction and in guaranteeing the supremacy of inalienable human rights as a foundation for achieving harmony for individuals and families. The dream of having a family made up of fathers, mothers and children who did not fight was precisely what led us to abandon the armed struggle forever. When we went to war, we carried on our backs field baggage full of opposition to the inequality that was everywhere in Colombia.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“But I come especially on behalf of the children of peace who lost their parents because they were social leaders or signatories to the agreement; on behalf of the victims of this armed conflict, which we want to bring to an end but which we have not been able to end; those who fled in terror from the scenes of armed confrontation, as is happening right now in Arauca and in the Yari savannah; those who continue to leave their homes to protect their lives; those who, faced with the scourge of war and economic ruin, have no other way out than to suffer the abuse of an exclusionary system; those ex-combatants who, after believing that a peace process would lead Colombia out of war, are now victims of a forever war; and those peasants and social leaders who die without being part of the war. I fight tirelessly for them.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“I come on behalf of Camila, Daniela, Esperanza, Rosa and all the women who have been widowed by the loss of their husbands and partners, who were social leaders, former combatants who were killed, signatories or included in the peace agreement. I also come today on behalf of the sons and daughters of peace. I am referring to the girls and boys who were born in the framework of the dialogue, as well as those who were born in the midst of the confrontation and who now, at last, are part of the family.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“I send greetings to the members of the Security Council, the representatives of the countries who are with us at this meeting and all other attendees, and in particular greetings full of hope and dreams of peace for the Colombian people. I thank all members for allowing me to be at this meeting. Through my voice, I would like Council members to hear the voices of the signatories of the Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace and their families, who day after day wake up and look at the sun with a prayer for peace, calling for strength and encouragement to continue in the arduous struggle for the building of peace, despite the adversities we face daily.”
2022-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8951 (2022) · source
“Perhaps the Colombian children who, in an environment of violence, had the courage to create the "Children's Movement for Peace in Colombia", as well as those children worldwide whose rights have been violated, could serve as examples of the courage that we all must have if we are to rescue them from the hell they are experiencing at the hands of violent groups.”
2004-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4898 (2004) · source
“The incidence of homicide, kidnapping and displacement has begun to decrease, and there has been an important increase in the number of desertions by persons linked to illegal armed groups, especially minors. In 2003, 64 per cent of the demobilized were between 14 and 24. Since 1999, the Colombian State has been complying with its international commitments not to recruit children under the age of 18. Colombia therefore would request institutions and entities with the required influence - such as the Security Council, regional organizations and States - to exert gradual and targeted pressure on those armed groups that continue to violate the rights of Colombian children.”
2004-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4898 (2004) · source
“In this regard, we would like to know the sources consulted that allow the Secretary-General to affirm in paragraph 25 of his report that there has been an increase in the number of arbitrary killings of street children. Indeed, we have statistics to the contrary, given that the combat against these heinous crimes has been one of the priorities of my country's national and local authorities. I did not come here only to comment and expand on the denunciations in the Secretary-General's report of all the atrocities committed against Colombian children by the irregular armed groups operating in my country. I am also here to inform the Council about our commitment and the results of the democratic security policy of our Government to protect the human rights of all Colombians, and in particular those of our children.”
2004-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4898 (2004) · source
“34) According to State statistics, between 1996 and 2003, 1,819 children aged 13 to 17 were kidnapped. According to some statistics, every 37 hours in Colombia a child is kidnapped by an illegal armed group. The Secretary-General also reports in paragraph 44 of his report that "in Colombia, about 40 per cent of mine victims from 1990 to 2003 were children". Furthermore, with reference to illegal armed groups, the Secretary-General notes in paragraph 55 that "fear of recruitment has led many families to flee their homes in rural areas". According to official Colombian Government data, 58 per cent of displaced persons are children and women. Many of those children end up in cities as street children and are sometimes the victims of arbitrary killings.”
2004-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4898 (2004) · source
“One tragic example is that of a boy, only 10 years old, used by the FARC to deliver a bomb. He was killed on 17 April 2003, when the bicycle he was riding exploded. But the acts of terror perpetrated by Colombian irregular armed groups against children in my country is not limited to recruiting child soldiers and executing them if they try to escape, nor to sacrificing them in the perpetration of terrorist acts. As the Secretary- General's report states, "In Colombia, the Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (ELN) and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) have kidnapped hundreds of children for ransom and as a means of terrorizing civilian populations; 215 children were kidnapped in 2002 and another 112 during the first half of 2003." (S/2003/1053, para.”
2004-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4898 (2004) · source
“Thirty-five per cent of the children recruited - most of them by force - desert before a year is up. Many have been executed when trying to escape by their own friends, who are also children. The extreme gravity of the situation is reflected in a Human Rights Watch report which recalls the sad and horrifying testimony of a girl child soldier talking about the execution of her best friend when he tried to escape: "I cannot forget Luis; he was my friend. I voted for his execution so the others would not think that I had a chicken's heart." Concerning the behaviour of these illegal armed groups, Human Rights Watch stresses that, first, they train the children to have no mercy; secondly, they torture and summarily execute children for not doing the work required of them; and, thirdly, they induce children to take part in atrocities.”
2004-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4898 (2004) · source
“Drawing up lists on an annual basis, disseminating them and sharing them among all the Members of the United Nations - so as to ensure that everyone bears these facts very much in mind when having any kind of contact with these types of groups, or when receiving them on their territory - would be one way of exerting moral and global pressure, so that such groups might begin to believe it necessary to put an end to these practices. The Secretary-General's report indicates that 7,000 Colombian children have been recruited by illegal armed groups - that is to say, one of every four irregular combatants in Colombia is under 18. According to estimates by Colombian non- governmental organizations (NGOs), 80 per cent of the children in question belong to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) or to the National Liberation Army (ELN).”
2004-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4898 (2004) · source
“While it is true that all violations against children's rights must be singled out for repudiation, it is important to bear in mind that, in situations of armed conflict, the worst, most systematic and extensive violations of those rights - those with the most profound effects - are perpetrated by illegal armed groups that recruit child soldiers. Child soldiers, because of their status, are in particular danger of being killed, tortured or mutilated - in short, mistreated in every way. Their rights and freedoms are severely restricted, as is their ability to develop their personalities. They are taken away from their families and become victims of sexual abuse. That is why the United Nations, the Council, the Secretary-General and all of us here should be more explicit in condemning these practices.”
2004-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4898 (2004) · source
“Mr. Giraldo (Colombia) (spoke in Spanish): I would like to express our appreciation to you, Madam, for having honoured us by presiding over this Security Council meeting. We would also like to thank Mr. Olara Otunnu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. In expressing gratitude to the mission of Chile for having organized this debate, and to the Secretary- General for his report on children and armed conflict, my delegation would like to share the experiences of our country and our Government in the difficult task of protecting Colombian children, who have been murdered, kidnapped, mutilated, displaced or recruited by the illegal armed groups that operate in the country. Allow me to begin with what I consider an absolutely key priority.”
2004-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4898 (2004) · source
“Also, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Colombia was right when he said, in his speech to this Council on 2 August 2001: "It is ironic that most of the conflicts in which small arms and light weapons are used take place in the developing world, while most of those arms are produced in the developed world. This terrible irony requires the application to the global trade in such weapons of a principle that has already been accepted in the fight against drug trafficking: the principle of shared responsibility" (S/PV.4355).”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“Because of these grave humanitarian and socio-economic consequences of this scourge and because of the serious threat that it poses to international peace, security and stability, it is of vital importance to have controls and rules on the trade in small arms and light weapons at the national, regional and world levels. As this Security Council has already stated, arms-exporting countries are obliged to exercise the highest degree of responsibility in these transactions, and all countries should prevent the illegal diversion and re-export of small arms and light weapons. The Secretary-General quite rightly said that small arms and light weapons, which annually cause millions of deaths around the world, are the real weapons of mass destruction.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“Allow me to conclude by noting that, over the past decade, the use of small arms and light weapons caused the deaths of millions of people, seriously wounded or permanently disabled six million people and contributed to the forced displacement of 20 million people. Countries in conflict, almost all of them developing countries, earmark more than 10 per cent of their annual gross domestic product for treating the victims of these conflicts and for trying to control the some 200 million illicit small arms and light weapons circulating around the world.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“The Panel therefore recommended that the front-line and neighbouring States be urged to establish sanctions assistance offices on their territories with the help of regional and subregional organizations. This recommendation is valid for all conflicts in which there is a destabilizing accumulation and uncontrolled spread of small arms and light weapons and ammunition. Neighbouring countries have the responsibility to avoid allowing their territory to be used to send small arms and ammunition to non-State armed actors in countries in conflict. The United Nations should urge these countries to assume their responsibilities and comply with their obligations.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“Furthermore, it leaves at large in those zones a huge quantity or arms and ammunition, which are transferred to other areas and countries in conflict. The Security Council should also give greater attention to recommendation 10, regarding arms embargoes in situations under its consideration, particularly embargoes against non-State actors. More attention should also be given to the restriction of the supply of ammunition for weapons that are already widely available for non-State actors in countries or regions engaged in or emerging from armed conflicts. On this question, it is worth underlining the observation by the Panel of Experts on Somalia: armed groups in that country require steady access to ammunition more than to arms, which are already available in great quantities in the chaotic war the country is experiencing.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“Nor did it register major progress with respect to the links between the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and the illicit exploitation of natural resources, and no progress was made on the links with the trade in illegal drugs - the subject of recommendation 6. On recommendation 7, related to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, some important efforts by the Security Council were registered. Nevertheless, they are insufficient due to the lack of compliance with recommendation 8 on financing those programmes from the budget for peacekeeping operations. Financing those programmes with voluntary funds, which tend to be very limited, puts at grave risk disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in post-conflict zones and, as a consequence, peace-building.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“We also advocate the adoption of additional measures such as the certification of exports after shipping and the double verification of the end-user certificates. With respect to the recommendations whose implementation depends directly on the Security Council, we note even less progress than on those whose implementation corresponds to States. The Council barely took note of the Secretariat's proposal to create a small arms advisory service on the basis of extrabudgetary resources - recommendation 3 in the report. It did not enhance its interaction with the General Assembly on issues relating to small arms in order to develop long-term strategies within the framework of conflict prevention and peace- building - the subject of recommendation 4.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“This is a typical case in which the good intentions by the exporting State - to control small arms exports and minimize the risk of diversion of those weapons into the illegal trade - end up doing great damage: preventing the affected importing States from acquiring for their legitimate forces the small arms and light weapons they require to fight criminals and terrorists, who possess enough illegal small arms and light weapons to destabilize a country. Therefore, we consider it to be more fair and effective to establish strong national end-user certificates, as well as to set up a regional and global end-user certificate system, and to create a mechanism for information exchange and verification.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“Furthermore, such criteria, applied by the exporting country, violate the right of all States to import and possess small arms and light weapons for their self-defence and security needs, in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which recognizes the inherent right of self- defence. Such criteria also tend to violate the principle of non-intervention and to decide unilaterally what should be the security and defence needs and priorities of the importing country.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“Even more worrisome is the situation regarding brokering activities: only 16 countries have domestic regulations covering this area. Allow me here, Mr. President, to emphasize parenthetically that export control mechanisms should not be based on criteria that take into account only the views and interests of the producing and exporting countries, without consideration of the interests of the importing countries, in particular countries affected by the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. Criteria such as respect for human rights, the existence of internal conflicts and the imbalance between defence and development expenditures, although legitimate and even commendable, are by their very nature subjective, not objective criteria.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“However, a lack of compliance with arms embargoes by Member States is noted - the subject of recommendation 5 - due to inadequate legislation, lack of enforcement and technical capacity limitations. Moreover, there has been no significant progress on legislation to ensure effective control over the import, export and transit of small arms and light weapons or on the use of authenticated end-user certificates - this relevant to recommendation 9. That was noted during last year's First Biennial Meeting of States to consider the Implementation of the 2001 Programme of Action. Only 98 States presented reports, where it is reflected that 78 of them have export-import control laws and only 39 meet end-user certificate requirements.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“In effect, this year in the General Assembly, Member States will begin to negotiate an international instrument to enable States to identify and trace illicit small arms and light weapons - recommendation 1. States are also committed to provide technical and financial support to the Interpol Weapons and Explosives Tracking System - recommendation 2; in this task we underline the financing provided by the United States of America. Member States have also enhanced transparency in armaments through an increased participation in the Register of Conventional Arms and the United Nations standardized instrument for reporting military expenditures - recommendation 12.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“The Secretary General's 12 recommendations can be divided into those that can be implemented directly by the Security Council - those relative to peace- building, conflict prevention and arms embargoes and their monitoring systems - and those that should be implemented by Member States, to which the Security Council can only appeal or encourage their compliance. For my delegation, it is particularly significant that the Secretary-General reported significant progress or encouraging indications on most of the recommendations to be implemented by Member States, while progress on those to be implemented directly by the Security Council is not as significant and indications are not as encouraging.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“The Organization has undertaken a process on these matters that - although it is a slow process - my country appreciates. However, we should ask ourselves if the ongoing efforts are adequate and effective enough to put an end to this scourge. The millions of deaths and injured, the disabled people maimed by these weapons in their massive destruction year after year require of us more action, more commitment and more imagination to face this problem. Could the Security Council deal with this issue under Chapter VII of the Charter the same way it used resolution 1373 (2001) to fight terrorism, taking into account that the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons is an equal or even greater threat to international peace and security? Here I finish my initial thoughts and begin my comments on the report under our consideration.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“In addition, the possibilities of negotiating to resolve such conflicts are negatively affected by the continuous flow of these instruments of war and death. Even already- signed peace agreements have failed because of the armament of the parties, facilitated by the world traffic in these weapons. Scandalized or not, the world watches as major arms traffickers with huge fortunes appear in entertainment magazines with absolute impunity for their grave crimes against humanity. At the United Nations, we talk at length about conflict prevention and resolution. One elementary and effective way not only to resolve and prevent these misnamed low-intensity conflicts, but also to make them nearly impossible, is to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and to control the licit trade in such arms more effectively.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“Mr. Giraldo (Colombia) (spoke in Spanish): At the outset, I wish to congratulate you, Sir, on assuming the presidency of the Security Council this month and on organizing this debate. For a sister country such as Colombia, it is a source of satisfaction to see Chile presiding over the United Nations organ charged with the difficult task of maintaining international peace and security. I should like to begin my statement with some reflections on the subject we are considering. One of the worst tragedies that much of humanity seems condemned to experience proceeds from the use and abuse of small arms and light weapons and from the trade and trafficking in them. Moreover, all so-called low-intensity conflicts are fed, maintained, expanded, deepened and degraded because of our incapacity to effectively fight the illicit trade in such weapons.”
2004-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4896 (2004) · source
“The United Nations must preserve the dignity of each and everyone, the right to life and the right to live without fear. These are universal public goods, which, as our Minister for Foreign Affairs said a year ago in this room, can only be preserved by the community and with the collaboration of all its members. This is the domain of our shared responsibility.”
2003-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4877Resumption1 (2003) · source
“If they are not so trained and empowered, conflicts provoked by illegal armed actors will drag on and on, will worsen, will deteriorate, will mutate, will turn against civilians, will resort to savage terrorism, and will fund it by exploiting illicit resources, and, losing sight of their political dimension, become a criminal lifestyle based on illegal and abundant resources. These are precisely the elements, in illegal armed groups, that make them degenerate into tools of death against women, children and helpless, peaceful civilians. Allow me to conclude by emphasizing that, when confronted with violence and terrorism, as the Charter says, we must "reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person ...".”
2003-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4877Resumption1 (2003) · source
“I know this is a truism, but it is sometimes forgotten, and it is our duty to promote, demand and support any procedure that will lead to the end ofthese conflicts. In the case of democracy in Colombia, it is also necessary to support policies that seek to strengthen institutional mechanisms, and to start by giving the armed forces that serve and uphold law and justice sufficient capacity, acting as they do within the universal principles of respect of human rights and rule of national law.”
2003-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4877Resumption1 (2003) · source
“In addition, this places on an equal footing authorities arising from a democratic decision with illegal armed organizations that flaunt their rifles as a token of their claimed rights. These are organizations that can violate their undertakings with impunity and which, at least in my country, have demonstrated that they do not respect the immunities that treaties and civilized actors grant to the personnel and property ofthe United Nations. We welcome any path that leads to lessening the suffering of the civilian population within armed conflict. But the optimum, the irreplaceable, the definitive way of protecting the entire population is just to put an end to these conflicts.”
2003-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4877Resumption1 (2003) · source
“As it is incumbent upon the receiving State to guarantee the security of humanitarian staff, humanitarian organizations must be subject to restricted access in zones of conflict where the security ofthe humanitarian staff cannot be reasonably assured. To initiate unauthorized dialogues with illegal armed groups in order to obtain access implies a twofold risk. On the one hand, it endangers the security of humanitarian personnel since many of these armed groups do not respect international humanitarian law, and there is also the risk of engaging in political negotiations, which is the prerogative of the Government and which is not consonant with the basic principles of neutrality, impartiality and transparency for humanitarian work.”
2003-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4877Resumption1 (2003) · source
“The reintegration of those former combatants in civilian life will require additional efforts and the support of the national and international community. A chapter of the aide-memoire that requires special attention and care concerns humanitarian assistance and the access of humanitarian organizations to the victims of conflict and the vulnerable population. We believe that it is fundamental for the dialogue between the receptor State and the international community to be based on General Assembly resolution 46/182, which recognizes the basic principles of neutrality and impartiality in the provision of humanitarian assistance, as well as the requirement of consent from the receiving State for the provision of such assistance.”
2003-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4877Resumption1 (2003) · source
“Those measures are to contain democratic safeguards, such as the necessary intervention of an independent prosecutor in the hours following such action, and with the proviso that the Attorney-General's office be informed, as well as the Congress - which is important for political control of operations. The powers proposed are much less extensive than those currently found in the democracies of developed countries that are not confronting a domestic conflict or terrorist threat of the magnitude Colombia faces. Finally, the democratic security policy has filled in certain administrative gaps, making it possible to disarm and demobilize 1,000 members of illegal armed groups. Presently there is a law before the Congress to make that process viable on the basis of justice, reparation and reconciliation.”
2003-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4877Resumption1 (2003) · source
“Those meaningful advances in the protection of our citizens have elicited the support of the Colombian people, which is supporting the Government and actively cooperating with the authorities in restoring the rule of law and in isolating violent agents. If we are to continue our efforts to overcome terrorism in strict respect for the law, however, we need greater powers in keeping with the law. Currently, the Government is seeking a constitutional amendment to enable the public forces, in cases of terrorism, to bring specialized staff to bear in order to arrest, search and intercept suspects.”
2003-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4877Resumption1 (2003) · source
“There is now a police presence in every municipality of the country, including 170 where there were no police before. The homicide rate has dropped 22 per cent; massacres by 35 per cent; kidnapping 34.7 per cent; illegal roadblocks by 49 per cent; and the number of internally displaced persons has diminished by 66 per cent. All of that has been achieved while respecting the law, which is evidenced by the fact that the only complaints of human rights violations are as a result of individual initiatives on the part of some agents of the State - whose cases are being investigated and prosecuted, as necessary - have dropped by 95 per cent.”
2003-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4877Resumption1 (2003) · source
“That policy is not designed to give more power to the State for its own sake, but to prepare the State to better protect the civilian population in all areas and, most especially, from the dangers inherent in armed conflict, and in order to secure the rights and freedoms of all its citizens throughout the national territory. That policy seeks to restore the rule of law and the capacity to deter violent agents by strengthening the legitimate armed forces of the State. That policy maintains an open door to political negotiation with illegal armed groups, as long as they suspend hostilities and respect the ceasefire. During President Uribe's first year in office, the democratic security policy that has been applied to uproot terrorism is now producing its first results, and I should like to cite just a few figures.”
2003-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4877Resumption1 (2003) · source
“She also decried, in parallel with the Secretary-General's report at that time, the illegal financing of conflicts and terrorism by means of trade in illicit drugs, kidnapping and extortion - criminal activities that target helpless civilians. That is why, in supporting the inclusion in the aide-memoire on the protection of civilians in armed conflict of a chapter on the illicit exploitation and trade in natural resources, we wish to state our conviction that any consideration of that topic must include due consideration of criminal activities such as trade in illicit drugs, kidnapping and extortion. Colombia supports those ideas because they reflect elements that underpin the democratic security policy promoted by President Alvaro Uribe Velez since August 2002.”
2003-12-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4877Resumption1 (2003) · source