YouSaid · the spoken record

Guterres

lines on the record: 423
first: 2002-11-14
most recent: 2015-12-21
sittings or episodes: 28
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

“The interreligious and intercommunal dimension of the conflict emerged after the looting and atrocities against civilians committed by Seleka and ex- Se'le'ka members, which were at the origin of the first refugee outflow of last year and which in turn led to the emergence of the anti-Balaka militias. In the beginning, the international community and actors on the ground were slow to understand that the process of disarming the Seleka changed the balance of forces on the ground and that the anti-Balaka was quickly growing into a new monster, with a different nature from the initial, more or less spontaneous self- defence groups.”
2014-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7128 (2014) · source
“While religiously motivated conflicts usually start out as faith being instrumentalized for political purposes, the real danger is that religious tensions then gain a dynamic of their own - a demon that, once unleashed, becomes exceedingly difficult to stop and threatens to completely destroy society. That is what could happen in the Central African Republic. The Seleka alliance was formed from Central African rebel groups and various foreign elements and was indeed predominantly Muslim, although its political agenda had nothing to do with aspirations to create an Islamic State.”
2014-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7128 (2014) · source
“Since its independence, the country has witnessed a succession of coups d'etat, with only one democratic transition - in the 1990s. The State had already been progressively disappearing long before events took a new dramatic turn with the emergence of the Seleka in late 2012. However, this new phase of the conflict differs starkly from the earlier crises, largely due to the way it is tearing apart the social fabric of the country. Until last year, the Central African Republic was largely a stranger to religious conflict, which is why it would be wrong to analyse current events that way.”
2014-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7128 (2014) · source
“But those are areas about which we have always been thoroughly briefed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator. In addition, we are concerned for the safety of the more than 17,000 refugees from other countries still in the Central African Republic, 70 per cent of whom are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We have been supporting the repatriation of those who wish to return from Bangui and Batalimo and are assisting others in Bambari and Zemio, where they are not immediately under threat. Allow me to convey some of my impressions from my recent visit to the Central African Republic, although they go beyond the scope of my immediate responsibilities as High Commissioner, because they clearly show, from a humanitarian perspective, the importance of approving the Secretary-General's proposals.”
2014-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7128 (2014) · source
“But we are far from being able to deliver what is needed, given the very precarious situation of the people we care for. The resources we have are entirely insufficient compared with the rapidly growing challenges we face. In Cameroon, as in other neighbouring countries, robust international financial support is required to respond to the enormous needs of the new arrivals and support those communities that have so generously taken them in. I can say without exaggeration that we are dramatically underfunded and have only been able to respond by using our own limited resources. The Office ofthe United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is also working within the interagency response inside the Central African Republic, leading the protection cluster and coordinating camp management and shelter programmes for the internally displaced.”
2014-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7128 (2014) · source
“Once refugees cross the border, living conditions are extremely difficult. Local communities in all neighbouring countries have responded with enormous generosity, with faith leaders mobilizing the donations from the local population and some families hosting up to 100 refugees in their compounds. In some locations, like Kentzou in eastern Cameroon, the number of refugees and repatriated nationals of other countries hosted there now exceeds the local population, creating enormous pressure on scarce resources and infrastructure in what is a remote area of the country. Humanitarian actors are scrambling to relocate refugees from scattered and difficult to reach locations along the border to sites with better assistance possibilities before they become cut off with the beginning of the rainy season.”
2014-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7128 (2014) · source
“Some 65,000 refugees fled last year, largely in the aftermath of the Seleka coup. Another 60,000 have sought refuge abroad since December 2013, when the violence grew to a horrific scale, including with the emergence of the anti-Balaka militias. In addition, more than 80,000 foreign nationals have left the country, many with the help of their own States and the International Organization for Migration. Cameroon hosts the largest Central African refugee population, with more than 34,000 new arrivals since December and some 130,000 in total. The situation is dramatic, with refugees arriving scared, malnourished and extremely vulnerable after having walked and hidden in the forests for days and weeks. Many convoys to the border are attacked, and international forces are too thinly spread to be able to provide effective protection.”
2014-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7128 (2014) · source
“Mr. Guterres: I do not remember any field visit in my eight-year tenure as High Commissioner that caused me such anguish as my recent trip to the Central African Republic. I was deeply shocked by the brutality and inhumanity that have characterized the violence happening in the country and its consequences on the suffering of the people. The evolution of the Central African refugee situation in the region clearly illustrates that while it is clearly not a new crisis ~ the country has been in some sort of trouble since the beginning - its current phase is in no way more of the same. By the end of 2012 there were already 165,000 refugees registered in the neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Congo. That number has by now grown to more than 290,000.”
2014-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7128 (2014) · source
“What I am asking for today is essential to mitigate the risk of an explosion that could engulf the entire Middle East. But only a political solution for Syria, and an end to the fighting, can fully end this risk. I still have not lost hope that the Syrian parties themselves, all others who are directly or indirectly involved in the conflict, and the international community as a whole - which the Council is mandated to represent - will be able to come together and put an end to the bloodshed. We have seen too many conflicts fester for too long and then spread like wildfire. We cannot afford to have that happen with Syria.”
2013-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7000 (2013) · source
“Some concrete steps have already been taken by the World Bank, the European Union Commission and several donor countries, but what is needed now is a well-coordinated and comprehensive plan of action to help ease the pressure on the most affected host countries and allow them to continue sheltering refugees. UNHCR, with its extensive presence on the ground, is fully prepared to support such an effort. I reiterate my call on all States, in the region and further afield, to keep borders open and receive all Syrians who seek protection. But massive international solidarity with the neighbouring countries is central to making this appeal successful. Resettlement and humanitarian admission opportunities can complement this as useful, even if limited measures of burden- sharing.”
2013-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7000 (2013) · source
“While Lebanon and Jordan are bearing the heaviest burden, we also should not forget the significant impact that the influx has had on the Kurdish region of Iraq, or the enormous efforts made by Turkey in assisting over 400,000 refugees with hundreds of millions of dollars of its own resources. I therefore appeal to all development actors - international financial institutions, United Nations agencies, and national and regional development agencies - to cooperate with the concerned Governments in formulating and supporting community development programmes that will assist these States in coping with the impact of the crisis in Syria.”
2013-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7000 (2013) · source
“Measures must be taken now to mitigate the enormous risks of spill-over and to support the stability of Syria's neighbours so as to keep the situation from escalating into a political, security and humanitarian crisis that would move far beyond the international capacity to respond. The impact of the refugee crisis on the neighbouring countries is crushing, and the recent restrictions on access sound an alarm bell that must not be ignored. It is time to recognize that we cannot go on treating the impact of the Syrian crisis as a simple humanitarian emergency. As the conflict drags on and on, a longer-term approach is needed, focusing on development assistance, especially for those countries and communities that are most seriously affected by the refugee crisis.”
2013-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7000 (2013) · source
“However, I hope that the right balance will be found between measures to prevent dangerous infiltrations and the need to ensure that refugees seeking safety - especially families, elderly people, and women with children - are not stranded in precarious conditions or exposed to the risk of getting caught in the fighting. Beyond the region, I am also concerned about significant gaps in the protection of Syrians in several European countries that are under much less pressure than Syria's immediate neighbours. The assertion that the Syria conflict could ignite the whole region is not an empty warning.”
2013-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7000 (2013) · source
“A number of flights from Syria were turned back last week, following a decision to impose visa requirements and security clearance for Syrians, which are difficult to obtain prior to travel. While I fully understand the challenges Egypt is currently facing, I do hope that the country will continue to extend its traditional hospitality to Syrian refugees, as it has done since the beginning of the conflict. In Turkey and Jordan, which together host nearly 1 million Syrian refugees, the authorities are now carefully managing the borders with Syria, mainly due to national security concerns. The borders are not closed; refugees continue to cross, but many can do so only in a gradual manner. There is no question that it is imperative for both countries to ensure their own security in an increasingly tense regional environment.”
2013-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7000 (2013) · source
“But the conflict in Syria is steadily creeping into Lebanon, with the number of security incidents increasing in Tripoli, the South, and parts of the Bekaa Valley. The country's political system is paralysed and will likely remain so until the Syrian crisis is over. Elsewhere in the region, access to safety is becoming more difficult for people trying to flee. Sectarian clashes have intensified in Iraq, and the country has shut its borders, slowing arrivals to a trickle. I have been in close contact with the Iraqi authorities and hope to be able to overcome this situation in the near future. Let us not forget that Iraq also currently hosts over 160,000 Syrian refugees. InEgypt,whereUNHCRhasregisteredsome 90,000 Syrian refugees, the situation has also deteriorated recently.”
2013-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7000 (2013) · source
“Syria's neighbours have allowed huge numbers of refugees to find safety on their soil, saving hundreds of thousands of lives. But their generosity comes at an increasingly heavy price. While Syria continues to drain itself of its people, the prospects for a political solution and an end to the fighting remain poor, and the warning signs of destabilization in some neighbouring countries are troubling. The continuing influx could send them over the edge if the international community does not act more resolutely to help. In Lebanon, there is now not a single village or town that has not been affected by the presence of more than 600,000 registered Syrian refugees. The country's borders remain open, and thousands of people cross every day.”
2013-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7000 (2013) · source
“Mr. Guterres: I thank you very much, Madam, for this opportunity to address the Council again. There are now nearly 1.8 million Syrian refugees known to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the region. Two-thirds of them have fled Syria since the beginning of this year - an average of over 6,000 people a day. We have not seen a refugee outflow escalate at such a frightening rate since the Rwandan genocide almost 20 years ago. This crisis has been ongoing for much longer than anyone had feared, with unbearable humanitarian consequences. The people of Syria continue to suffer tremendously, and their suffering is now further aggravated by the hot summer temperatures and particularly distressing during this holy month of Ramadan.”
2013-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7000 (2013) · source
“But in Jordan, the regional context is infinitely more fragile than in southern Europe, and the social and political risks are incomparably higher. Helping Syria's neighbours deal with the human fallout of this terrible conflict is crucial for preserving the stability of the entire region. This is not just another refugee crisis; what happens in Syria and in the neighbouring countries potentially has much wider, even global, implications. By keeping their borders open to thousands of refugees fleeing day after day, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and others are doing an extraordinary service to the international community. Failure to give those countries the support that they need to continue providing sanctuary to so many suffering Syrians would not only mean abandoning a people and a whole region.”
2013-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6949 (2013) · source
“Like in Lebanon, the Syria crisis has caused a significant drop in revenues from trade, tourism and foreign investment, compounded by the impact of a very large refugee influx. Jordan's economic indicators are worrying, with unsustainable public and external deficit levels, and the country has had to apply tough austerity measures. My appeal to the international community is to extend the massive financial support that Jordan needs, with the understanding that its economic adjustment requires sufficient flexibility to prevent levels of social unrest that could entirely jeopardize the stability of the country. I know from the experience of my own country what austerity means, and what impact it has on society.”
2013-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6949 (2013) · source
“But security incidents along the border pose a serious challenge for Lebanon. In addition to facing dire economic consequences because of its neighbour's internal turmoil, Lebanon has not received any direct international support in many months. That has to change urgently. International solidarity must match the enormous effort that the country has been making to step up the response to the Syrian crisis and to deal with its staggering implications for the Lebanese economy and delicate social and political balance. Jordan is also coming under tremendous pressure as a result of the conflict next door. Completely dependent on energy imports, and with water scarcity becoming a major problem, the Jordanian economy was already struggling before turmoil broke out in Syria. But the situation has become increasingly fragile since 2011.”
2013-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6949 (2013) · source
“However, Jordan and Lebanon, each hosting about a third of the registered refugee population in the region, must be provided especially solid support. For Lebanon, the Syrian crisis has become an existential threat. The population has grown by more than 10 per cent, if one counts the registered Syrian refugees alone. Most ofthem are staying in the country's poorest regions. Taking into account the refugees who are not seeking registration and Syrian migrant workers, some even estimate that up to a quarter of the population of Lebanon may now be Syrian. Refugees are staying with local families and scattered across nearly 1,200 towns and villages. Some Lebanese households host more than 25 Syrians under their roofs. The political wisdom of Lebanon's leadership has so far kept the country out of the Syrian conflict.”
2013-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6949 (2013) · source
“Syria is much more than a humanitarian crisis. In my last intervention before the Council, I spoke about the real risk ofthe conflict spilling over across the region and of the situation escalating into a political, security and total humanitarian disaster that would completely overwhelm the international response capacity. The first step necessary to avoid such an escalation is for the international community to provide massive support, especially to the two countries that are the most dramatically impacted by the Syrian conflict and the refugee outflow it has caused: Jordan and Lebanon. All of Syria's neighbours need international solidarity, and one should not forget that Turkey in particular has been making an enormous financial investment of more than $750 million in direct assistance alone to over 300,000 Syrian refugees.”
2013-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6949 (2013) · source
“For that to be possible, all of the humanitarian actors involved need levels of financial support that are out of proportion with the established humanitarian aid budgets of traditional donors. Together with my colleagues from UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, I have been asking Governments and parliaments to establish extraordinary funding mechanisms for the Syria crisis. I am also extremely grateful for the generous recent contribution from the Government of Kuwait to multilateral aid agencies, and I hope others will follow that example. We cannot let the Syrian people down. The Syrian people, who have always been extremely generous in hosting refugees from Palestine and Iraq, always sharing their resources with them, now need our support.”
2013-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6949 (2013) · source
“There is no way to adequately respond to the enormous humanitarian needs those figures represent, and it is difficult to imagine how a nation can endure so much suffering. I know that, as High Commissioner for Refugees, I should confine my remarks to the scope of my mandate. As a citizen of the world, however, I cannot refrain from asking: is there no way to stop this fighting so as to open the door for a political solution? But while we continue to wait for a miracle to happen, it is our duty to do everything we can to protect, assist and respect the dignity of all those Syrians who have sought safety abroad, mainly in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.”
2013-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6949 (2013) · source
“Together with our 60 partner organizations and the host States, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is now preparing the fifth version of our regional response plan to assist the ever-growing number of refugees. Valerie Amos, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, is leading similar efforts to update the humanitarian assistance plan inside Syria. That process is still ongoing, but the preliminary planning figures are terrifying. If nothing changes, at the current pace there may be up to 3.5 million Syrian refugees by the end of this year, and probably up to 6.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance inside the country. That is not just frightening; it risks becoming simply unsustainable.”
2013-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6949 (2013) · source
“As of yesterday, counting only those registered or waiting to be registered, there were 1,367,413 Syrian refugees across the Middle East and North Africa. Including the internally displaced, a quarter of the entire population of Syria has been forced to leave their homes. The plight of Palestinian refugees remains as dramatic as I last reported. However, such stark numbers say little about the horrendous suffering of a people, the progressive collapse of a State and the physical destruction of a country. Let us be very clear: there is no humanitarian solution for the Syrian crisis. That is why it is so tragic that we are not even seeing an inch of progress towards a political solution. We as humanitarians, therefore, are forced to go on planning for the impossible.”
2013-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6949 (2013) · source
“Mr. Guterres: First of all, I want to thank the Security Council for this new opportunity to address it on the Syrian refugee crisis. Re-reading what I said in my last intervention, in February, I am almost tempted to limit my present statement to just 10 seconds. Everything that I said last time is still true, but it has all got much worse. If nothing politically dramatic happens, things will go on getting worse for the months to come. Refugees were fleeing Syria at a rate of about 3,000 a day in December. That number grew to 5,000 in January. Eight thousand people have crossed Syria's borders every single day since February. That totals 400,000 new refugees in the seven weeks since my last briefing.”
2013-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6949 (2013) · source
“The potential for the safe and sustainable return of those who have fled is one key concern to be firmly anchored in any road map for the future of the region. Adequate support to countries hosting refugees is another, including, for example, the rehabilitation of refugee-impacted areas once displaced persons are able to return home. I am confident that my old friend Romano Prodi's efforts to bring about an integrated United Nations strategy for the Sahel region will result in a successful framework to enhance that support. Once again, I appeal to the international community to show to all countries of the Sahel the same solidarity they have extended to so many Malian refugees while totally disregarding the impact on their own economies and societies. I again thank the Council for this opportunity to brief it today.”
2012-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6882 (2012) · source
“Secondly, I urge all actors in the conflict, including a potential international force, to protect humanitarian space and ensure that agencies have unhindered access to affected populations. In that context, the autonomy of humanitarian space, with a clear separation between the civilian and military spheres of any international presence, is of fundamental importance. Thirdly, planning for the political transition and post-conflict recovery must carefully take into account those who have been forced to flee. For example, the electoral process must foresee such issues as voter registration of displaced populations, many of whom have lost their identity documents. Similarly, future recovery and resilience strategies will be incomplete ifthey fail to include the dynamics of displacement.”
2012-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6882 (2012) · source
“We find ourselves today at a critical juncture for the stability of the Sahel region as a whole. I would therefore like to end by highlighting three key points related to the activity of my Office. I hope that the international community will take them into account going forward. First, Member States must give full consideration to the humanitarian dimension of the crisis as they consider the appropriate international response. Assisting the displaced and other affected populations is already highly challenging in the current situation. We should not forget that, in any military intervention, even when successful, tens of thousands more people are likely to become displaced in the beginning, both inside the country and across borders.”
2012-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6882 (2012) · source
“Poverty and underdevelopment, exacerbated by desertification and the effects of climate change, are being exploited by ideologies that are based either on ethnicity or on religious extremism. As a result, everyone stands to lose. That problem is exacerbated in Mali today, but we cannot forget its regional implications. If no comprehensive solution is found, the current situation risks triggering something much broader - a series of interlinked crises from Libya to Nigeria and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Aden, thereby threatening the security and the stability of several countries. The humanitarian consequences of such a scenario would be unpredictable. I trust the Security Council to do everything possible to prevent that from happening.”
2012-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6882 (2012) · source
“It must create the conditions for all communities, regardless of their ethnic and social composition and stratification - the Songhai, the Tuareg, the Arab-speakers, the Fulani, the Peul and others 7 to fully participate in a reformed Malian State and in the socioeconomic development of the region. In that regard, the ongoing mediation efforts need full support. A lasting political solution can be reached only with the full engagement of all countries in the region and with a deepened and enlarged consensus at national, regional and global levels. There are many steps required that only the Malians themselves can take. But for their efforts to succeed, the international community will have to be fully engaged in an effective future development strategy that is fair, equitable and fully inclusive.”
2012-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6882 (2012) · source
“The region's remoteness, poverty and vast, sparsely populated territories have made it an ideal operating theatre for actors engaged in highly lucrative organized crime, including drug and arms trafficking, people smuggling and activities linked to terrorism. That entails security risks at the national and subregional levels and beyond, potentially impacting all of West Africa, the southern rim of the Mediterranean and, ultimately, Europe. To be sustainable, a future political framework must include, but also go beyond, the signing of agreements with those elements of the insurgency that are ready for dialogue.”
2012-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6882 (2012) · source
“Assisting a largely nomadic refugee population poses another set of unusual, complex challenges that require humanitarian actors to adapt their strategies for response in innovative ways that are better targeted to the specific character of those communities. The humanitarian challenges I have mentioned are compounded by a number of complex, interlinked factors that make northern Mali, in the very fragile context of the wider Sahel zone, one of the potentially most explosive corners of the world today. As has been mentioned, an area bigger than the entire Iberian peninsula, from which I come, is now without the presence of any State authority and is controlled by armed extremist groups.”
2012-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6882 (2012) · source
“The refugee-hosting States need and deserve much stronger international solidarity to help them manage the additional strain created by the refugee influx. The challenges facing UNHCR and its partners in assisting displaced Malians in the neighbouring counties are also significant. Most of the refugees are hosted in remote, arid areas. It often takes several days of driving on very poor roads to provide them with food, water and medical supplies. In addition to access problems, insecurity, including a high risk ofkidnapping, also hinders the aid effort in several locations, forcing humanitarian actors to move with armed escorts, with all the problems that entails. With refugee sites located close to the border, refugees are potentially exposed to forced recruitment and other spillover effects of the conflict.”
2012-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6882 (2012) · source
“In that context, the international community, especially the countries that contribute more to global warming and its consequences, has a clear moral obligation to help communities build resilience. Resilience is key not only to better preventing and mitigating the impact of natural disasters, but also for adapting to the slow onset of desertification and other processes that are destroying an environment capable of sustaining human life. The countries of the region - Algeria, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mauritania, the Niger and Togo - are to be commended for their generosity and the unwavering commitment they have shown to the principles of refugee protection. All of them have kept their borders open throughout the crisis, despite the enormous pressure that has put on their own often vulnerable communities and scarce resources.”
2012-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6882 (2012) · source
“It is essential to take into account the context of the region - the Sahel - which is facing enormous challenges that range from food insecurity to institutional fragility in some cases, and from widespread poverty to security threats in others. It is the Sahel in its entirety, not only Mali, that needs the attention and the support of the international community. The countries of the Sahel are among the main victims of the accelerating effects of climate change. While drought and desertification are not new in the Sahel, their increased frequency and intensity are. That situation will likely worsen in the future as a potential source of conflict over scarce resources and a new driver of forced displacement.”
2012-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6882 (2012) · source
“Insecurity continues to hamper access by humanitarian agencies, creating calamitous consequences for populations already drained by months of hardship. Protection concerns are growing in the face of widespread reports of serious human rights violations, from sexual violence and child recruitment to the stoning and mutilation of criminal suspects. With the individual verification and so-called level 2 registration exercises soon to be completed, the number of Malian refugees in neighbouring countries is now estimated at more than 140,000. But, as the Secretary-General has observed, we cannot view the Malian crisis in isolation.”
2012-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6882 (2012) · source
“The Mali displacement crisis, which has significant consequences for the wider Sahel region, is a case in point. Nearly 350,000 people have been forced from their homes since the beginning of 2012, many of them seeking protection in neighbouring countries. In a region where drought and prolonged food insecurity had already caused one acute humanitarian crisis, that massive displacement has now created another acute emergency. Almost 200,000 people are internally displaced, the majority of them living with host families or in spontaneous settlements. In the north, both the displaced and the communities sheltering them lack food. In the absence of State authorities to provide essential social services, they struggle to meet their most basic needs.”
2012-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6882 (2012) · source
“First of all, I would like to express my thanks for this opportunity to speak before the Council. Only four days ago, we saw the entry into force of the first binding legal framework on the rights of internally displaced persons - the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, known as the Kampala Convention. A number of countries in the Sahel region, including recently Mali, have ratified this milestone African treaty. (spoke in English) That means tangible progress on the legal level for millions of uprooted people across Africa. The harsh everyday conditions facing most internally displaced persons on the continent today highlight the urgent need to transform those positive legal developments into reality on the ground.”
2012-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6882 (2012) · source
“As an expression of our solidarity today, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao announced in Haiti that Timor-Leste will contribute $1 million to peacebuilding and development initiatives in Haiti. The Fifth Constitutional Government will continue to count on the invaluable contribution of political parties, religious communities, the media, non-governmental organizations and traditional leaders in order to develop the country for the benefit of all of its citizens, based on the rule of law, social justice and inclusion, gender equality, peace and harmony.”
2012-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6859 (2012) · source
“We thank our neighbouring countries of Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, the countries of ASEAN, the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries and the core group for their continuing support to Timor- Leste. As a token of our profound appreciation, in May next year the State and the people of Timor-Leste will decorate every country that has sent citizens to Timor- Leste, as a way of honouring their contributions and as a sign of our deep gratitude to the United Nations. As a Member of the United Nations, we will continue to do our best to guarantee peace and stability in Timor-Leste, to share our experiences and lessons learned, as we are doing now through the Group of Seven Plus, and to continue to contribute in a modest way to United Nations missions and the work of United Nations agencies.”
2012-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6859 (2012) · source
“Taur Matan Ruak. The new Parliament was inaugurated and the new Government appointed, with Xanana Gusmao as Prime Minister. On behalf of the President of the Republic, Mr. Taur Matan Ruak, the President of our National Parliament, Vicente Guterres, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, and of our people, we would like to express our profound gratitude to the Security Council and all its members, the General Assembly, the Secretary-General and the Secretariat, the Special Representatives and Deputy Special Representatives, the commanders of the United Nations military and police forces and all the members of the United Nations missions and the countries that have contributed to peace and stability in Timor-Leste.”
2012-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6859 (2012) · source
“Aderito de Jesus, the Anti-Corruption Commissioner, announced recently that next July Timor-Leste will host the Asia-Pacific Anti-Corruption Initiative of the Asia Development Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In March 2011 the Government of Timor-Lcste applied formally to the Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for membership in ASEAN. In consideration of the importance of becoming part of ASEAN, the Fifth Constitutional Government has appointed a Secretary of State for ASEAN Affairs responsible for the preparations for joining ASEAN. This year we held peaceful and credible presidential and parliamentary elections. A new President was elected, and we witnessed a peaceful transfer of power from Nobel laureate Mr. Jose Ramos-Horta to the former Commander of the armed forces, Mr.”
2012-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6859 (2012) · source
“We have ratified all major international human rights treaties and complied with our reporting obligations. In Timor-Leste we have one of the freest media in our region. We understand, of course, that that success is not only ours; it is also a United Nations success and a success for the international community. From the beginning, the United Nations, through its various missions and agencies, has provided important assistance in the areas of the rule of law, governance, justice and human rights. We remain strongly committed to fighting corruption. Education and prevention are on the agenda of the Anti-Corruption Commission. Mr.”
2012-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6859 (2012) · source
“The poverty rate has declined, from 49 per cent in 2007 to 41 per cent today, but it is still high and remains a major challenge for our country. Access to clean water, sanitation, public health and education, and investment in infrastructure are key priorities that the Fifth Constitutional Government will work towards in the next five years. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative rates Timor-Leste one of the best performers in Asia, and third in the world, in terms of accountability and transparency in the management of our petroleum resources. We have a dynamic multi-party democracy, with four parties represented in the national Parliament. Thirty-three per cent of the elected members of Parliament are women, and several women hold key ministerial portfolios.”
2012-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6859 (2012) · source
“Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO, to launch the new United Nations education initiative was a historic moment for education in our country and around the world. In that context, we would like to pay tribute today to the courage and intelligence of Malala Yousafzai, the brave young schoolgirl from Pakistan; she is an inspiration to us and to the world, and may God help her recover fully. In the health sector, significant progress has also been made. Mortality in infants and children under five years old has been halved. The incidence of malaria and dengue fever and the prevalence of poverty have decreased significantly. The incidence ofleprosy is now lower than one case per 10,000 people, and the World Health Organization considers it to have been medically eliminated in Timor-Leste.”
2012-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6859 (2012) · source
“The gross national product per capita increased 228 per cent during the same period to more than $5,000. Average annual growth has been double-digit for the last four years, and real non-oil gross domestic product growth remains strong. According to the 2010 national census, primary school enrolment in Timor-Leste jumped from a modest 63 per cent in 2006 to 90 per cent today. In the past three years close to 200,000 adults have graduated from illiteracy to functional literacy, and Timor-Leste will be able to proclaim full adult literacy by 2015. The visit in August of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, with Mr. Gordon Brown, the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Ms.”
2012-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6859 (2012) · source
“For that policy to be effective, we had to have local ownership and leadership, so as to ensure that everyone would be an agent of our peace and development. We instituted critical reforms in the security and defence sectors and established new institutions, including an independent civil service commission and an anti-corruption commission, and strengthened the justice sector with the aim of promoting good governance and the rule of law. In 2011, the Prime Minister of the Fourth Constitutional Government, Xanana Gusmao, launched a strategic development plan, aimed at turning a low-income country into a medium-high-income country by 2030. Today, life expectancy at birth in Timor-Leste has increased by more than two years and now averages 62.1 years.”
2012-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6859 (2012) · source
“With hope, courage and a good dose of optimism, we, together with the United Nations, started the extraordinary work of building a new country. We have learned from our problems. During the 2006 crisis, about 150,000 people were internally displaced. We started a genuinely inclusive dialogue among State institutions as well as with civil society. It was important for us that our fragility be recognized, a fragility due mainly to our inability to leave behind our traumatized conflict-ridden past and to the fact that our institutions were still being developed, as peacebuilding and State-building had to go hand in hand. In 2009, Timor-Leste's Government proclaimed a national motto - "Goodbye conflict, welcome development" - enshrining the national spirit that sought to end the cyclical problems that had plagued the country in the past.”
2012-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6859 (2012) · source