YouSaid · the spoken record

Holbrooke

lines on the record: 676
first: 1999-09-11
most recent: 2001-01-19
sittings or episodes: 43
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

“In East Timor I can report some impressive and hopeful signs of progress among the debris of a city needlessly torn apart by war. I cannot, however, give as optimistic or upbeat a report about the situation in the refugee camps in West Timor. Over 100,000 East Timorese are still in those camps, being fed misinformation and inaccurate stories by the militia and therefore are afraid to return. Money spent in those camps by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would be better spent resettling those people in East Timor or, if they are legitimately unwilling to go home, to encourage Indonesia to resettle them in Indonesia, which the Government has promised but has not yet done, preferably by transmigrating them off West Timor.”
1999-11-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4072 (1999) · source
“First, I can report to you, Mr. Secretary-General, that your personal selection as Special Representative in East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, is doing a magnificent job with his understaffed and overwhelmed team. They are deep into the planning for transition to what will be the first new country of the twenty-first century, and they are working effectively with all sides. I also want to single out the International Force, East Timor (INTERFET) forces, under the command of General Cosgrove of Australia, which have brought stability to the region. We met at the border between West Timor and East Timor to discuss opening the border for refugee flow, and effected the first meeting between the Indonesian military, the Australian leadership and the Commander of the guerrilla forces at that border. That was well reported by the media.”
1999-11-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4072 (1999) · source
“Tomorrow my trip will begin to several African countries, including Angola, Rwanda, Uganda, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While there, I will have the opportunity to assess the United Nations work regarding conflict prevention as well as other important efforts. I have just returned, over the weekend, from Indonesia and East Timor, and with your permission, Mr. President, I would like to give you a quick situation report on that area, because I think it is illustrative again, like Bosnia, of how the United Nations can contribute to an area. It is clear that in the month of September the Security Council actions broke the back of a tragedy of over 20 years and opened the door for a peaceful resolution of that problem. In my trip to East Timor I saw evidence of the success of the United Nations effort.”
1999-11-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4072 (1999) · source
“Because Senator Frisk could not make that trip with us, but to illustrate the bipartisan importance we attach to Africa, he is spending two days with us and has met already with many of the Permanent Representatives here and with other members of the United Nations. I thank him for joining us today as a symbol - and I stress this - of the importance that both branches and both parties attach to Africa. Although the United Nations Charter clearly delineates the respective role of United Nations organs in preventing conflict, today's meeting provides us with a unique opportunity to discuss the issue in more depth. I have just returned from East Timor, where the Security Council's actions helped stem a brutal conflict but could not prevent it over the last 22 years.”
1999-11-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4072 (1999) · source
“Senator Frist is not only an outstanding member of the Congress and a member of the majority party who has given so much of his time to issues concerning Africa, but he is also a pioneer in open-heart surgery and heart transplants. Indeed, he performed the first heart-lung transplant in the United States. I am not saying that because I think anyone in the room might need this in the next hour, but, just in case, I wanted all present to know that we will be more secure as long as Senator Frist is with us. As members know, I am leaving tomorrow for Africa with Assistant Secretary of State Susan Rice and with the ranking minority member in that Committee, Senator Feingold of Wisconsin.”
1999-11-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4072 (1999) · source
“I also want to thank the Secretary-General for his statement and all that he has done personally to strengthen the Security Council's role in preventing armed conflict and dealing with its consequences. The United States is pleased that the United Nations and regional and other international groups have decided to make conflict prevention a priority. We support these efforts. Before continuing, I would like to take this occasion - with your permission, Mr. President - to introduce an individual, seated behind me to my right, of enormous importance to our efforts: Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the Chairman of the African Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.”
1999-11-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4072 (1999) · source
“Thank you, Mr. President, for calling this public meeting on such an important subject. I want to express my appreciation, as the month draws to an end, to you, Mr. President, and your whole delegation for your outstanding work - not only in making today's meeting possible, but in giving it a symbolic reality by the earlier meeting with the Joint Presidency of Bosnia, which illustrates precisely the role the Security Council can and should play in conflict resolution and prevention. That historic meeting, resulting in the Declaration of New York, has already produced benefits in Bosnia, and illustrates in specific terms what we are trying to talk about in general terms here today.”
1999-11-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4072 (1999) · source
“We must not forget the costs they have borne and the sacrifices they have already made. It is our responsibility to be there to support them. I thank you again, Mr. President, for convening this historic meeting.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“As I have said before in private session, and I wish to repeat again today, success in Kosovo and Bosnia are equally important to the international community, and one cannot be separated from the other in the long run. Bosnia is years ahead of Kosovo on the time-lines of history, but success in both will be required for stability in the region. The ultimate obstruction to all of this remains what it has been for the last nine years: the leadership in Belgrade. We all know that there are those in Bosnia who will continue their efforts to stop progress and reconciliation. Even among us there are some who will say that democracy, respect for human rights and an end to ethnic hatred are not worth the effort or the cost to the international community. The people who came together in Dayton four years ago understood the price of war.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“As today's Declaration here in New York makes clear, Bosnian leaders must do a better job of establishing and reinforcing the institutions of statehood. They should act so that they represent the interests of all Bosnians and not just a particular ethnic group. The goal of Dayton, and the goal we should address here today, is simple: one country, one central government, two democratic, multi- ethnic entities. The tasks ahead will require each of us, and the international community as a whole, to demonstrate unity, strength and courage as we press ahead with implementation of the Dayton Accords. In this regard, I wish to point out that not far away in Kosovo, Mr. Kouchner and the Kosovo Force (KFOR) are struggling with far greater problems.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“For example, we cannot tolerate separate intelligence services in the Federation, which function as illegal police forces under ultra-nationalist party control. For example, banks and other businesses illegally seized by nationalists during the war must be challenged by joint police forces and the international community. For example, radical nationalist political party obstructionists and individual politicians should be removed from the political process when they seek to destroy it. Here I refer again specifically to my public statements in Mostar two and half months ago that I believe that the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) and radical parties are in open defiance of Dayton and that the Office of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) has the authority to shut them down.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“Let me be clear: fighting these forces is not easy. They are dangerous, and when confronted they will lash out against the voices of moderation and tolerance in Bosnia, as they did two weeks ago in trying to kill Zeljko Kopanja, the brave Bosnian Serb journalist in Banja Luka who nearly died from a car bomb after exposing some of these people for the gangsters and war criminals they really are. Here I would take note of the Government of Austria's rapid and generous efforts towards the rehabilitation of Mr. Kopanja, who has either been moved already or will be moved soon to a hospital in Vienna. To be sure, political and economic reforms now under way will curtail some of the activities of the most obstructionist ultra-nationalist groups. That said, more must be done to confront ethnic parallel institutions and structures of authority.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“This is an important new obligation by the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the international community. Secondly, as President Izetbegovic said in his remarks, much more must be done to enhance transparency, promote the rule of law and fight the insidious cancer that is called corruption. Like many former communist countries in transition, Bosnia is suffering from a culture of corruption inherited from the previous system. The fact is - let us be honest - the Governments of Bosnia could do far more to fight corruption than they have in the last four years. Thirdly and finally, there must be a stronger, sustained fight against the forces of evil and darkness that still lurk in many parts of Bosnia - the murderers, the fascists, the racists, the crooks, the thugs who seek to destroy what has been achieved for their own narrow goals.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“While, as President Jelavic, President Izetbegovic and President Radisic all pointed out, minority refugees have gone back in twice the numbers this year as last year, most of the returns have been to damaged and empty houses in rural areas and outlying villages. Outside of Sarajevo, there has been insufficient return to major cities in the Federation or Republika Srpska. Our efforts on refugee returns must now shift, and we must focus on promoting returns to urban areas and all the challenges that that brings, including new property legislation. I am glad the Presidents here today recognize this problem and declared in the Declaration of New York that they would establish a joint commission, with international representation, that will report back to the Security Council by March of next year.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“And let me state to those who have suggested that they have exceeded their authority under the Dayton Agreements that, as one of the people who worked on the Dayton Agreements, I do not accept that interpretation. The role of the international community is far from over. Indeed, by this historic meeting today, we are reaffirming it and strengthening the United Nations role in that process. We did that earlier this month when we heard from Jacques Klein, the Secretary- General's personal Representative. Let me be specific on what needs to be done. First, the presidency must not shirk from its commitment on refugee returns. This is the test. Can people live in areas where they are an ethnic minority? The news is not yet sufficient or satisfactory.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“I was pleased that President Izetbegovic, whom no one has ever accused of being overly optimistic, said today - and I have never heard him say it before - that the glass is half full. This pleased me greatly, but I know he would agree with me that the rest of the glass must be filled and that we ought to move more rapidly. Four years after Dayton, Bosnia remains far from where we hoped it would be. We call on the Office of the High Representative and on Ambassador Petritsch to press for full implementation. I do not believe that he has expanded his authority or that the Peace Implementation Council has expanded its authority beyond what is authorized in the Dayton Agreements.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“By establishing the State border service, by supporting a single national passport, by creating a permanent executive staff for the joint Presidency, and by expressing a commitment to fund the State ministries fully, the Presidents have, in the New York Declaration, committed themselves to strengthening the central Government, without which Bosnia will not hold together. The Declaration also commits the Presidents to take a number of concrete measures to accelerate refugee returns, the ultimate test of a future Bosnia. And finally, the Declaration signifies that by undertaking a willingness to join international peacekeeping operations, Bosnia is giving back to the international community, rather than simply taking from it. But great problems and concerns remain.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“The Declaration is, I hope, a clear indication by the Presidency that all three men are committed to removing the remaining obstacles to the full implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. With this important act, the Presidents have taken a major step towards consolidating the progress of the past few years and in doing so have helped Bosnia take another step towards fulfilling the vision of Dayton - a unified, single, democratic country. The commitments made this morning have important practical as well as symbolic value.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“But what we have just heard today from Presidents Jelavic, Izetbegovic and Radisic gives us reason for some hope. Over two years ago, in August 1997, when I met with the three Presidents at Sarajevo - two of whom have been subsequently replaced - they could barely sit in the room. They argued over whether or not they would meet and where they would meet, and they barely spoke to each other. But today, two new Presidents join President Izetbegovic to show us and the world that they can work together to reach additional agreements beyond Dayton to strengthen Bosnia. We have an important opportunity before us to push the Dayton peace process forward. The announcement this morning of the New York Declaration is another important step in that direction.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“We were at a critical and difficult stalemate. Several people in this room - including President Izetbegovic, Ambassador Sacirbey, Foreign Minister Prlic, Ambassador Alkalaj, Ambassador Chris Hill, Ambassador Jim Pardew, Rosemarie Pauli and my wife, Kati Marton - were with us at Dayton at that difficult and tense time. The international community demanded that the leaders of the former Yugoslavia make tough choices. And six days later, on 21 November 1995, they did so, signing the Dayton Agreements and giving Bosnia a foundation for peace. Significant as that was, the Agreement in Dayton only ended the war. Winning the peace still lay ahead. Events over the past four years have proved how difficult it is to overcome years of bloodshed and ethnic hatred.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“I believe the elements are in place but that there is some clean-up to do on some issues not related to the United Nations. I am delighted that we appear to have reached a point where we will be able to begin discussing with the United Nations the Helms-Biden-Albright package that will allow us to pay our arrears. So it seems auspicious that on the same day you, Sir, have convened this historic gathering. When I look around the room it seems scarcely believable that we could be sitting here in peace, seeing representatives of elements that were fighting each other for so many years all speaking about their support of the Dayton Agreements. Four years ago, on this very day, on 15 November 1995, we were locked in a difficult, tense negotiation at Dayton, Ohio, as the world watched. We were entering our third week.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“Earlier today, the United States and China reached an agreement on the World Trade Organization (WTO), and I hope that the European Union and Canada will similarly move forward soon. This is a truly historic achievement and I have been in touch with our negotiators, who wanted it noted here today. Secondly, it has been announced today that there will be talks on Cyprus under the auspices of the United Nations - another hopeful and promising development. Finally, before we turn to the matter at hand, I would note that the reports in the media this morning of a breakthrough on the question of the United States payment of its arrears to the United Nations are accurate to this extent: we are within a tiny amount of a final agreement.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“From the Banking and Government Reform Committees, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, from the State of New York and the City of New York. Also form the State of New York, the Congressman in whose district LaGuardia Airport lies - well, you should know who is in charge of your districts, where the airports are - working on the Policy and Trade Subcommittee, Congressman Joseph Crowley. Tony Hall, our Congressman from Dayton, and some other members, are no longer here. I think that covers everyone. Thank you for allowing me to introduce them to you. I hope you will get a chance to know them better. In an era of bad news and difficult crises, today is a remarkable conjunction of several major events.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“First, it is my great honour to introduce the ranking minority member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on the United Nations, the Senator from California, Barbara Boxer. Secondly, it is my great honour to introduce the Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, from the State of New York, Congressman Ben Gilman. Behind Congressman Gilman is the ranking Democratic member of the Committee, from the State of Connecticut, Sam Gejdenson. Also in the group behind me, the ranking Democratic member of the Africa Subcommittee, from the State of New Jersey - in fact, specifically his district is Newark, in case you want to know who is in control of that airport you use - Congressman Donald Payne. Congressman Robert Wexler, from Florida, on the Asian and Western Hemisphere Subcommittees.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“The fact that they have come here during one of the busiest times of the year - a time during which negotiations in Washington over the budget, including the United Nations arrears, have reached their decisive, culminating point - speaks to the importance that we place on the work of the United Nations and to the issue of fulfilling the Dayton Agreements. With your permission, Sir, I would like to introduce them because I believe it will illustrate to our friends from the many nations represented here today the wide and varied responsibilities of the Congress and help some of our friends better understand the unique and important role of the Congress - which, as you all know, pays the bills.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“I thank the delegation of Slovenia for convening this historic Security Council meeting. I would especially like to thank the Foreign Minister of Slovenia and Ambassador Turk for the enormous amount of work they have done to make it possible to hold a meeting that could not have been imagined four years ago and would not have been possible even 18 months ago. I also welcome back to New York Ambassador Lavrov, who arrived only a few hours ago from the region. We look forward to hearing his views on the situation in the Balkans based on his first-hand observations. Before I speak to the issues we are here to discuss today, I would like to recognize the extraordinary gathering of members of the United States Congress who have joined us here today.”
1999-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4069 (1999) · source
“She used her visit to convey our national empathy with the people of Sierra Leone for the suffering they have endured, and our strong commitment to the restoration of peace and reconciliation. Following her visit, Secretary Albright said, "I saw people who had suffered unspeakable horror, yet who sought not revenge, but renewal". It is that process of renewal that we seek to encourage today. We therefore fully support, with genuine enthusiasm, this important draft resolution to establish the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone. We support it because we are committed to working with Africans to make African peacekeeping work.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“We are working to help the Government of Sierra Leone to establish a truth and reconciliation commission and a human rights commission as called for in the Lome Agreement. We support an international fact-finding mission to assist the work and proceedings of the truth and reconciliation and human rights commissions. And we hope - we pray - that these commissions can bring healing and reconciliation to Sierra Leone. We remain committed to the pursuit of accountability. At the same time, we recognize the need to allow the Peace Agreement to bear fruit. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Albright visited Sierra Leone to show support for President Kabbah and his democratically elected Government.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“On my trips to Washington to discuss the issue of United States arrears, I have mentioned the Sierra Leone issue as coequal in importance with East Timor and Kosovo in every discussion with every member of Congress, and have stressed to them that there is no double standard in the United States concerning African peacekeeping - that Sierra Leone is as important to us as Kosovo and East Timor. I am gratified to say that the members of Congress have not objected in the least to this attempt to raise the profile and the importance of both Sierra Leone, which the Secretary of State visited only two days ago, and Africa in general. We remain committed to justice and accountability.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“We also recognize the enormous contributions made by the ECOMOG West African peacekeepers, led by Nigeria, and we commend ECOMOG's readiness to remain in the field and to proceed with disarmament and demobilization. But of course most of the credit must go to the people of Sierra Leone themselves, who displayed the necessary mix of courage and conviction to bring their country out of a terrible war. We hope that the Lome Agreement succeeds. We are prepared to provide appropriate support to that end.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“The United States helped broker the ceasefire and facilitate the peace process. Over the past two years, we have provided more than $100 million to meet humanitarian needs in Sierra Leone resulting from the war. In addition, we have provided almost $16 million in logistical and other non-lethal support to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). We fully recognize that we would not be where we are today were it not for the leadership of President Kabbah and the spirit of compromise displayed by the former combatants. Their willingness to put their differences aside has made the possibility of peace real. In this context, Foday Sankoh and Johnny Paul Koroma have critical roles to play in ensuring that their followers implement the Lome Agreement.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“We will be embracing the historic accord signed in Lome, and dedicating ourselves to its implementation. Over the past nine years, the people of Sierra Leone have been subjected to a horrible war. Half the population remains internally displaced. Over half a million Sierra Leonean citizens have become refugees. Many Sierra Leoneans have lost their lives, their families and their homes. Today's vote is therefore important and timely. Although three months have elapsed since the Peace Agreement was signed, the situation remains fragile. In fact, earlier this week there was another skirmish between rebel factions. This reminds us again that the momentum of the peace process could easily be lost without prompt, strong, vigorous action by the international community. Resolution of this conflict is a high priority for my Government.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“With regard to today's meeting on Sierra Leone, I want to begin by welcoming the statements made and by welcoming the new Permanent Representatives of Nigeria and of Sierra Leone to the United Nations where I, too, am a relative newcomer - I am in my seventh week here. I look forward to working with them closely. I was greatly moved by their remarks and, of course, by those of my friend, Mr. Otunnu, whose eloquent statement could hardly be improved upon. By adopting today's draft resolution on Sierra Leone, the Security Council will be doing much more than merely deploying another United Nations peacekeeping force. We will be acknowledging the end of one of the most brutal civil wars and the beginning of one of the most well-deserved transitions to peace.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“I should like to thank you, Mr. President, for calling this important meeting today. Before I talk about the draft resolution I would like to make a brief comment about a tragic event that occurred this morning in Banja Luka in Bosnia. I refer, of course, to the car bomb attack on Zeljko Kopanja, an important Bosnian Serb journalist, whose life is now in a critical condition as a result. We are here today to talk about similar outrages in Sierra Leone, but this kind of cowardly attack on a brave journalist in Bosnia reminds us that our work is never done and that in Bosnia, where progress has been made, the forces of darkness are still present. This is a direct effort to destroy the Dayton peace process and the work of the United Nations. The attack reminds us again that we have to work for peace throughout the world.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“All of us have a stake in this fight and all of us have a responsibility to act accordingly. Despite the risks involved, we must summon the political courage to address this threat at home and abroad. Again, I thank you, Sir, for calling this important meeting to discuss how we can stop innocent lives from being lost, innocent families from being torn apart.”
1999-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4053 (1999) · source
“We must be relentless in our pursuit, using all means necessary to combat terrorists and their supporters, and we must continue to work together here and elsewhere to this end. Last week's unanimous Security Council action against the Taliban was a significant example of what can be achieved when we work in such a spirit. Next, the United States believes we should move forward on the initiative of France regarding a new convention for the suppression of terrorist financing - a convention we hope will be adopted by the General Assembly in December. And we urge all Members that have not already done so to become party to the existing 11 international conventions against terrorism. Despite the progress made to date, international terrorism has shown no sign of letting up.”
1999-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4053 (1999) · source
“When President Clinton used his General Assembly address last year to focus attention on terrorism, he was underscoring our nation's commitment to addressing fully and effectively this threat to civilized people everywhere. When Secretary Albright recently designated 28 groups as foreign terrorist organizations, she was demonstrating the United States resolve to confront terrorism wherever and whenever it rears its head. And when my delegation introduced a resolution to impose tough sanctions on the Taliban, in favour of which all 15 members of the Security Council voted, to our great gratification, we were demonstrating anew our determination to go after the supporters of international terrorists as well. It is incumbent upon all of us in the community of nations to stand together and to stand strong.”
1999-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4053 (1999) · source
“Thank you, Mr. President, for holding today's important meeting. Your Government should be commended highly for pursuing this important initiative. In this regard, allow me also to express my own Government's firm support for the Security Council draft resolution before us this morning. The United States policy on terrorism is clear and it is simple. Terrorism is a criminal activity regardless of the circumstances or reason. There are no mitigating factors. There are no questions. We do not tolerate it and we will continue to pursue its perpetrators until they are brought to justice. This was the case in the Lockerbie bombing. It is the case with those responsible for the bombings of our embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. We will continue to pursue, arrest and prosecute those responsible for these crimes.”
1999-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4053 (1999) · source
“Statism and corruption - legacies of the colonial and immediate post- colonial periods - are hard habits to break, but Africans are working hard to break them. It is incumbent upon all of us to play a role in this process. We all have an indispensable role to play in helping Africa progress towards peace, prosperity and greater freedom. Strides have been made, but an enormous amount remains to be done. Throughout my tenure as the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, I pledge that, along with the United States Government, I will work tirelessly to further the agenda I have just outlined.”
1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049 (1999) · source
“I will work closely with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and with our able Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, Julia Taft, to enhance our efforts in this area. President Clinton has committed himself to working with Congress to restore United States official development assistance to Africa to the high levels of the past. The Africa Growth and Opportunity Bill, now before the United States Senate, would open United States markets more broadly to African products and give incentives to countries to reform and modernize their economies. We have also given our support to demining programmes both through the United Nations and bilaterally. These efforts assist our work to ease Africa's transition into the global economy.”
1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049 (1999) · source
“Clearly, there is an enormous amount of work ahead of us. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report 1999, 42 African countries are in the lowest third of the countries ranked; the 22 lowest-ranked countries are all in sub-Saharan Africa. Urban unemployment persists at rates of 20 to 30 per cent. Landmines continue to cause deaths and casualties throughout the continent. And Africa is also home to as many as 3 million refugees and almost 8 million displaced persons. As some representatives here may know, I have spent my entire career working on refugee issues. I intend to visit refugee camps on my forthcoming trip. I know what needs to be done.”
1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049 (1999) · source
“Many Africans are tasting freedom for the first time. This is illustrated in such places as Mozambique and Namibia, and I think there was special symbolism, and more than symbolism, in that only nine years after United Nations peacekeepers helped Namibia to independence, Ambassador Martin Adjaba so brilliantly led the Security Council's recent delegation to East Timor and effected a potentially historic breakthrough towards peace. These are but two examples that should give us all hope. It is for reasons such as these that the United States will continue to be a strong supporter of democratic forces across the continent. We will work extensively with non- governmental organizations to achieve this. We must continue to work together to address the economic and humanitarian problems that still exist in too many countries in Africa.”
1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049 (1999) · source
“Senator Frist of Tennessee, the Chairman of the subcommittee on African Affairs of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, a Republican and a surgeon, is personally seized of this issue and is working hard and extensively to gain support for it and greater awareness of it in the United States. Terrorism continues to be a serious transnational threat and one that we must all face together. The United States has been providing anti-terrorism training to law enforcement officers in eight African States. Our third challenge is one we believe in strongly: Africa must continue to develop open societies and open markets. There can be no doubt that throughout this decade, African democracy has made major - indeed in some areas historic - strides. Today, more Africans live democratically than ever before.”
1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049 (1999) · source
“But we must also press the people and leaders of Africa itself to solve the problems on their own and, above all, to prevent them before they begin or escalate. In addition to the threat of instability, the United Nations needs to continue to help Africa grapple with those problems that lie outside the traditional realm of international politics. The scourge of diseases like HIV/AIDS stands out. The statistics, as everybody knows, are truly staggering, and again I compliment the Secretary- General on his personal efforts to heighten awareness of this issue over the last few years. President Clinton is currently seeking from Congress an additional $100 million to fight AIDS worldwide.”
1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049 (1999) · source
“We also believe that we must attack the economic structures that fuel the illicit arms trade - the grey and black markets in diamonds, precious metals and narcotics. Next week, experts in the United States Government will convene a conference to look specifically at the war economies in Angola, the Congo and Sierra Leone. These are just some of the things we must do, but our responsibilities must not obscure a fundamental reality: the people and leaders of Africa must provide a basis for peace. Let me be clear: where meaningful peace agreements are in place, the United Nations should work hard to implement them. Where an international presence is required, the United Nations has a vital role to play.”
1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049 (1999) · source
“What some consider two of the most hopeful countries in Africa now illustrate the dramatic impact of senseless war. Our collective failure to prevent and contain such conflicts is lamentable. The international community has a responsibility - moral, humanitarian, strategic and political - to do more. The United States for its part, has started: through the President's African crisis response initiative it is enhancing Africa's own peacekeeping capacity. So far we have trained some 5,000 African peacekeepers from six different countries through this programme. As Secretary Albright explained last week, the United States has developed procedures to halt United States arms sales to regions of conflict not already covered by United Nations arms embargoes. We encourage other nations to establish and observe such moratoriums.”
1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049 (1999) · source
“Similarly, in Sierra Leone, the United States has been working actively with the Government, the various rebel groups, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations to implement a peace agreement. We are anxious to begin disarmament and demobilization in Sierra Leone while the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) still has a credible force in the field. We need the United Nations to deploy the full complement of authorized observers as soon as possible and be ready to introduce a full peacekeeping operation in December when the Nigerians plan to leave. In Ethiopia and Eritrea, we must continue to work to restore peace. Although both sides have committed themselves to the OAU peace settlement, much work remains to be done.”
1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049 (1999) · source
“In the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a situation that has involved at least eight countries and become the widest inter-State war in African history - we support the efforts now under way to implement the peace agreement so painstakingly negotiated by President Chiluba of Zambia. We will consider recommendations of United Nations military liaison officers on how the United Nations can further the peace process. We urge all combatants to adhere to the signed ceasefire. And the United Nations, in our View, needs a strong, experienced special representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as soon as possible to galvanize peace implementation.”
1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049 (1999) · source
“Towards this end, our efforts should address a four-part agenda: first, we must enhance Africa's security by helping it resolve and prevent armed conflict; secondly, we must help Africa grapple with such transnational threats as AIDS and terrorism; thirdly, we must support Africa's ongoing political transformation towards open societies and markets; and fourthly, we must assist Africa's economic development and address its humanitarian concerns. Allow me to discuss this agenda in more detail and, once again, summarize much of what I would otherwise have said at greater length. In Africa we have to work much harder to solve the conflicts that threaten the continent's future.”
1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049 (1999) · source
“My country is proud to have convened the first Security Council ministerial meeting on Africa two years ago. Last March, Secretary of State Albright hosted the first United States-Africa ministerial meeting, bringing together leaders of 50 African nations to discuss our common agenda. Next month, she plans to make her third visit there as Secretary of State. And, as many here know, because I have discussed my plans in order to seek their advice, I plan to make my first major trip in my present job to Africa in late November or early December. No longer the Victims of colonialism or great-Power competition, the people of Africa have a historic opportunity to see that in the coming century, their lives can be freer, safer and more secure. It is imperative that the United Nations support and foster their ambitions.”
1999-09-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4049 (1999) · source