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

“Let me suggest that the ultimate goal - and therefore the ultimate exit strategy - must be accountable governance and stability, and the fact that international forces can leave without their departure triggering a return to the very things that caused the initial intervention. That is the sine qua non of a just and lasting peace. History shows this truth: peace processes in El Salvador, Bosnia, Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa and Cambodia have all been successful, or partially successful, because they have steered toward democracy and accountability. But the critical result - apart from the fact that armed violence was de-legitimized and that political competition could continue - was that in those countries the wars were over.”
2000-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4223 (2000) · source
“For example, crucial interim goals could be the establishment of the rule of law, the arrest of those indicted for war crimes, and the creation of legitimate democratic institutions. In that regard, I want to praise the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General Bernard Kouchner for the excellent way in which they have conducted and fulfilled part of one of the goals of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), namely, the elections in Kosovo last month. That was a partial step, but it is part of a long-term exit strategy, although there are many more things that must be done.”
2000-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4223 (2000) · source
“The reason for that is that the United States moved away from arbitrary withdrawal deadlines, which were erroneously put forward in 1976-1977 by the Carter Administration, and moved forward towards a policy of keeping the forces there until the mission was fulfilled. When we saw the historic summit of the two leaders of North and South Korea last month, we saw an event that could not have taken place had the troops not remained there. So, again, an exit strategy yes, an exit deadline, no. The term "exit strategy" should never be allowed to mean a hasty or arbitrary departure from a strategically stated goal that is supported by the international community as expressed through the United Nations Security Council. Rather, the term should mean the implementation of a comprehensive settlement.”
2000-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4223 (2000) · source
“It told those people who were trying to out-wait the international community that the United States at least was going to fulfil the mission, not have the mission defined by an arbitrary deadline. To put it differently, our goals must determine the timeline, not the other way around. To take an extreme, but important, example, consider the case of Korea. Nobody in the world thought that international troops would still be in Korea 47 years after the ceasefire there. There was no politician, of any country, in the United Nations command in 1953 who could have envisaged such a thing. But today more than 35,000 American troops are still in Korea, and they are universally accepted as an important part of stability there. They have the support of the American people, and they are no longer an object of criticism by other nations.”
2000-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4223 (2000) · source
“We learned that lesson in Bosnia where, after the Dayton Peace Agreement, five years ago next week, the United States set two arbitrary time limits for its own troop presence: first a 12-month limit right after Dayton, then, secondly, an 18-month time limit in January 1997. Both those time limits were wrong, as I argued at the time. Finally, in December 1997, President Clinton took a brave decision reversing American policy and announcing that United States troops would remain in Bosnia beyond the June 1998 deadline. As President Clinton said at the time, the mission should be achievable and "tied to concrete benchmarks, not a deadline". I cannot emphasize too strongly how important that was.”
2000-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4223 (2000) · source
“We agree that it is highly preferable that peacekeeping operations have an end state, and not be absolutely open-ended. But an exit strategy must be directed towards a defining overall objective, not an arbitrary, self-imposed, artificial deadline. Artificial deadlines encourage belligerents to out-wait the outside intervention, to delay and to wait until the international community goes away, at which point they can resume what they had been doing before. Artificial deadlines give hope to warlords, to criminals and to corrupt officials that they can outlast the international community.”
2000-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4223 (2000) · source
“If we do not deal with the causes of conflict, the United Nations is reduced to dealing with the consequences of conflict, and that means that the United Nations specialized agencies - such as the United Nations Children's Fund, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme - end up spending much more money - I stress that, much more money - on dealing with the consequences than we would dealing with the causes. I need to underscore that one of the oldest sayings in the English language, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", applies directly in this case. This means that we must be very careful, when we talk about exit strategies, not to confuse them with exit deadlines.”
2000-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4223 (2000) · source
“But once a peacekeeping operation is in place, which is what the proper subject of today's discussion is, deciding what conditions are necessary for scaling it down - in other words, an exit strategy - should be a vital part of any peacekeeping mission. Establishing realistic goals and understandings must be a basic part of every decision we make. To be sure, many of our goals are not easy to meet. In places such as Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor, the Congo and Sierra Leone, the international community faces extremely difficult problems. Those societies have been torn apart internally by divisions - ethnic, political, religious and externally fuelled - by corruption and by tragedy. In such places, peacekeeping is a source of stability, and the engagement of the international community offers the best hope for people to rebuild their lives.”
2000-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4223 (2000) · source
“Many countries represented in this Chamber are legitimately concerned about the issue of sovereignty, and about the limits of infringement upon that sovereignty by the United Nations. The principle of sovereignty is fully enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, and I would just state on that delicate point, which is of particular concern to several members of the Security Council, that it is precisely for that reason that, on an issue such as the proposal for the protection of the Palestinian people put forward by Ambassador Al-Kidwa and Chairman Arafat, we say that it cannot be decided without the full consent of Israel.”
2000-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4223 (2000) · source
“This is a time when United Nations peacekeeping is challenged as it has not been before - and this is an issue on which I have spoken out many times as a private citizen as well - and when the demand for peacekeeping is outpacing capacity and resources, as has been made clear by the report (8/2000/809) of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations chaired by Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi. Indeed, the very nature of peacekeeping has been transformed. It used to be defined mainly as border patrol efforts between States, and in some cases, such as Ethiopia-Eritrea, it will still be that. But increasingly, it raises questions of bringing peace and stability in conflicts within States. That is the most difficult issue for the United Nations.”
2000-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4223 (2000) · source
“I just want to underscore for all our friends in the United Nations that, while we have a genuine drama going on as to who the next President of the United States will be, at this point we have an Administration in place; it is functioning; and in no way, shape or form is there any diminution in the strength of the United States or in our ability to conduct foreign relations at this point. I need to underscore that because it has been raised by so many people recently. Your creativity, Sir, in forcing us to address, in a theoretical context, a real and practical problem deserves special commendation.”
2000-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4223 (2000) · source
“Thank you so much, Mr. President, for your creativity in having a discussion on an issue which at first seems abstract, but which in fact goes to the heart of the responsibilities of the Security Council and of the United Nations. Thank you also for calling a meeting on exit strategies at a time when my own nation is looking for one in Florida. I am sure we will find one, but we watch with attention and interest. I want to state at the outset, because it has been raised by so many of my colleagues in the United Nations, that the United States has an Administration until 20 January; our President is currently in Brunei at the summit meeting with leaders of many of the Governments represented here. I believe he just met, or is about to meet, with President Jiang Zemin, and President Putin and he have just concluded their meeting.”
2000-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4223 (2000) · source
“The only way peace can be achieved - the only way the hopes and dreams of the people of the region can be fulfilled - is through negotiations. Neither side wants a future of indefinite confrontation. The way ahead lies through negotiations, to which both sides remain committed, as we have heard here today. At this delicate and dangerous moment, the Security Council should keep its focus on the task at hand: restoring calm and creating a climate in which the parties can take steps that will lead to a just, comprehensive and lasting peace. Thank you, Mr. President, for calling this important meeting today.”
2000-10-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4204 (2000) · source
“Too often in the past, positions taken by the United Nations have tarnished this great Organization's credibility and undermined its ability to play a constructive role in the peace process. Let us not repeat this error again in this cycle of history. Recent events have undeniably been a setback for the peace process, and we cannot pretend otherwise. But let us not allow them to become a setback to our commitment and our efforts to move forward in the peace process and also to restore the United Nations credibility so that it may play whatever role it can in this process. There is, of course, no place for violence, intimidation or pressure in this process, although we recognize that they have been concomitants of the problem for generations.”
2000-10-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4204 (2000) · source
“The world will be hoping that the cycle of violence will be reversed and that the very encouraging and intense efforts to make progress will be resumed. As soon as conditions permit, the United States will chair a meeting of Israeli and Palestinian security officials for the purpose of fact-finding and to prevent a recurrence of the events of the last few days. But I want to stress that the first priority for all parties must be to stop the violence. Now is not the time to be apportioning blame. Israelis and Palestinians have negotiated historic agreements in the past. They have engaged in practical cooperation on the ground. Now, tragically, in full view of a horrified world, victims, innocent victims, have suffered senseless violence. But empty rhetoric does not advance the cause of peace.”
2000-10-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4204 (2000) · source
“President Clinton and Secretary Albright and their colleagues are in ongoing consultations with the parties in a search for ways to end the violence. Tomorrow, Secretary Albright will meet in Paris with Prime Minister Barak and Chairman Arafat. On Thursday, Egyptian President Mubarak will bring the parties together in Cairo for further discussions. I know that my French colleague, Ambassador Levitte, will also want to address the Paris meetings and we look forward to hearing from the Egyptian Ambassador, Mr. Aboulgheit later this afternoon with an important statement on behalf of his Government in regard to Egypt's role. All of these meetings in Paris and in Egypt will have great importance. The world will be watching.”
2000-10-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4204 (2000) · source
“The United States Government joins all the other members of the Council who, I am sure, will express their deep sorrow and regret at the violence we have seen between Israelis and Palestinians in recent days. We offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, particularly those who have lost children. We extend our sympathies to the injured. We pray for the restoration of peace in a region where, as both previous speakers have suggested, there has been an extraordinary effort by the leaders to achieve peace recently - in talks at Camp David, in Europe, in the Middle East and elsewhere. What is needed now is to focus on stopping the violence and to do everything we can to encourage the parties to return to the peace process. This is the only way to end the cycle of heartbreak and sorrow.”
2000-10-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4204 (2000) · source
“Mr. President, once again I must remark on the way in which Namibia's month has got off to a rather dramatic start. I hope you can slow the pace down, but I congratulate you on moving so rapidly to assemble this extremely important Security Council meeting under very difficult and complicated circumstances. I express my appreciation to my many friends, other Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives here who are waiting their turn to speak, and I hope they will understand the very difficult, complicated situation which led to the arrangements announced by the President of the Security Council a few minutes ago. I have listened carefully to the statements of the previous two speakers, from the Palestinian Authority and from Israel, and on behalf of my Government I would like to address what they said on the situation.”
2000-10-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4204 (2000) · source
“The proud people of Yugoslavia have finally been able to make a statement about what they wish. It is time for their voice to be heard. In conclusion, let me thank Mr. Kouchner again for his exhaustive efforts, his Herculean energies, his commitment in the face of extraordinary difficulties - physical, bureaucratic, political - and his personal sacrifices on behalf of the cause of peace in Kosovo, as well as his contribution to the most important electoral event in the Balkans in, in my view, the entire post- cold-war period, if not the entire post-Second-World- War period.”
2000-09-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4200 (2000) · source
“If the winds of change blow true, a Government in Belgrade, committed to respecting the will of its people, will take its rightful place in the international community - including, I believe, in the United Nations. We, the United States, will be prepared to take steps with our friends and allies to lift existing sanctions once a democratic Government has assumed power. We will welcome its application for membership in the United Nations, in accordance with existing General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. Yugoslavia will become a participant and a partner in regional efforts to strengthen and build the institutions of free market democracy. These are very hopeful developments. As I said at the outset, and stress, we are at a watershed moment in the history of the Balkans.”
2000-09-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4200 (2000) · source
“The brave voters of Serbia have now made it clear, with their message of determination, that they wish to end Yugoslavia's international isolation, rebuild its broken economy and form a Government that is neither feared by, nor fears, its people. And what of the international community? It will, can and should play an important role in supporting democratic government in Yugoslavia. Obviously, when and if - and I believe the correct word here is "when" - a democratically chosen Government is installed in Belgrade, it will not agree with every position of the outside world, and the outside world, including the United States, will not agree with every position that it takes. But that is the nature of the free exchange between independent States.”
2000-09-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4200 (2000) · source
“The opposition's conclusions rest on official data compiled at all polling places where the votes were actually counted with all parties present. This is in sharp contrast to the regime's preliminary results, for which no supporting credible evidence has been produced. The opposition is therefore correct when it says that there is no need for a second round. Let us in the Security Council, in this historic Chamber, in this most important of international peacemaking and peacekeeping bodies, have no illusions about what is going on. We in this Chamber and elsewhere have dealt first hand with the Belgrade regime's failed policies in Bosnia, Kosovo and Croatia. We saw President Milosevic's disregard for the electorate in 1996, but we believe that time is running out.”
2000-09-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4200 (2000) · source
“Kouchner, for an extraordinarily important contribution to determining the free will of the Yugoslav people, in your activities within the framework of your responsibilities as the Secretary- General's Special Representative. Again, let me be clear: we are at a historic moment in the destiny ofthe Balkans. The vote appears to have been a landslide for change and democracy and Europe. And even the Yugoslav Government has now been forced to concede that Milosevic received fewer votes than his opponent. By its own calculations, which nobody else in the world accepts, he came out at least eight points behind. The call for a second round is a clear attempt to defeat the expressed will of the Yugoslav people. Credible evidence shows that the opposition is definitely on its way to a resounding victory.”
2000-09-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4200 (2000) · source
“President Milosevic even tried to manipulate the vote in Kosovo, as he has before. In this context, I wish to commend again Bernard Kouchner and his colleagues in the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces and other forces in the Kosovo Force (KFOR), for the extraordinarily important work they did last Sunday to prevent an outcome in Kosovo that could have created a false outcome throughout the rest of Yugoslavia. I cannot say how important it was that Bernard Kouchner was out early, showing the world that there was an absolute theoretical, mathematical limit to the number of votes that were cast in Kosovo. I commend you, Mr.”
2000-09-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4200 (2000) · source
“I commend you, Secretary-General, for the statement you made this morning, and I would like to also quote President Clinton, who said earlier this morning: "What Europe and the United States should do is support the expressed will of the Serbian people, and it certainly appears from a distance that they had a free election and somebody is trying to take it away from them. But whatever we do, I think, should be consistent with the wishes of the majority ofthe people there." The regime in Belgrade has taken every step to prevent a fair election. It tried to rig the election and distort the results. The Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union have concluded that the election was marred by widespread irregularities.”
2000-09-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4200 (2000) · source
“We would suggest strongly that all the people of Kosovo be allowed to wage a campaign free of intimidation in the elections next month. This is a very important election in Kosovo. It will be a historic watershed for the Albanian people of Kosovo, and for the Serb minority in Kosovo, it will be a chance to pick their own destiny within the framework of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). But, talking about elections, allow me to switch briefly to the very dramatic events that are now taking place in Yugoslavia. We are in the middle of a period of immense historical importance in Yugoslavia. The people have voted resoundingly for a democratic future, and the world is listening and watching even as we speak.”
2000-09-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4200 (2000) · source
“Thank you, Mr. President, for calling this important briefing. Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General, for demonstrating by your presence here today the importance that you attach to this issue and the support that you, along with all of us, have for Bernard Kouchner. It is a great honour to welcome my good friend, Bernard Kouchner, back to the Security Council again to hear his report, and again, as I have said so many times before, I don't think one could have picked a better person for the job. He has approached it with just the right mix of creativity and firmness. He has respected his mandate. He is protecting, or trying to protect under exceedingly difficult circumstances, the interests of all Kosovars. He has my Government's full support. We have listened carefully to what he said, and we support what he has done.”
2000-09-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4200 (2000) · source
“I want simply to underline my personal View that, of all the problems we face in the world today - and there are many: the conflicts we are here to try to prevent or contain; nuclear proliferation; population issues; environmental issues; and social and economic issues - I think that this is the most serious problem we face because of the damage it can do to everything else.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“Piot to return to Visit us periodically. I would draw to your attention the fact that he is here more or less on schedule, as was suggested in the January meetings by several of the ambassadors here today. Today's effort should strengthen our resolve. In the days ahead, we will have an opportunity to take further action, including at the Millennium Summit and in the upcoming session of the General Assembly. Let us commit ourselves to bringing the same sense of determination and cooperation then that we have shown today. Again, I thank you, Sir, for making the trip here today, and Dr. Piot, his team and all the people who work so hard on this issue. We in the Security Council are honoured to be able to join the fight to highlight the fact that it is more than a health problem and to help accelerate this battle.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“It must be waged at every level in every agency throughout the United Nations system: in the Economic and Social Council, in the United Nations Children's Fund, in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in the United Nations Development Programme, in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations; by everyone behind a desk in Geneva and New York; and by every humanitarian worker in the field. The challenge of AIDS far surpasses the ability of any of us alone. It will require a combined commitment, our cooperation, our creativity and our resources. Let me stress again that today's action is significant and it is groundbreaking, but it is only a beginning. We welcome today's meeting and we hope that you, Sir, will invite Dr.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“It calls on the United Nations to ensure robust training for peacekeepers. It urges Member States to institute voluntary and confidential testing of all military personnel, especially peacekeepers, and it asks the Secretary-General to develop the means to track nations' policies in military forces around the world. These are all significant steps, but while peacekeeping is the draft resolution's primary focus, the ultimate goal must be to increase international intensity and coordination against HIV/AIDS across the board. The fight against AIDS is not the Security Council's alone.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“In the United States, incidentally, every troop sent abroad gets tested for AIDS. If a soldier tests positive, he or she stays at home to get treated. I might also add that, last week, the Congress, in conference, put $10 million into the Defense Department budget to authorize the Defense Department to participate in working with other Governments and with the United Nations on this issue, as well as with military establishments. I am pleased that this has passed the conference and I hope it will get the support of the full Congress shortly. This draft resolution calls for a number of important measures to address the pandemic on all fronts and all continents and in all populations affected. It urges the United Nations Member States to create effective long-term domestic strategies.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“Once troops become part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission, the United Nations should have an obligation to provide them with education and training; to provide condoms, as the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has now started to do; and to take other actions to prevent the spread of the disease. We must avoid the supreme irony which would occur if, in the course of trying to prevent conflicts, United Nations peacekeepers spread a disease even more deadly than the conflicts themselves. In fact, it is equally true that, in today's world, one cannot have a modern and effective military unless AIDS is taken seriously and troops are tested and educated. It makes as much sense to prepare, arm, train and protect our troops from such enemies as AIDS as it does to protect them from enemies with guns and mortars.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“I mention this because this is not, to me, a new issue, and there is a sense of grim satisfaction that we have - although much too late - come to this action. On that date, I wrote something which, if one changed the name "Cambodia" to the words "certain countries in Africa where peacekeepers are", would be true today. I hope that this draft resolution will go a long way towards ending it. To be sure, the Security Council and the United Nations cannot require Member States to force involuntary testing of their troops. This would violate the United Nations respect for national sovereignty, but we recommend - and Dr. Piot is correct in drawing attention to paragraph 3 of the draft resolution - and urge that all countries increase their testing, especially of those troops that will be sent overseas.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“This is an example of United Nations peacekeeping at its best. But we must also recognize that HIV/AIDS can ironically produce the opposite result from what is intended. On a personal note, I first encountered this issue in 1992 when as a private citizen I visited Cambodia and Visited the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) in Phnom Penh and talked at that time to Mr. Akashi and Mr. Carney and other members of the United Nations team. I was deeply impressed by their efforts, but I was disturbed by the fact that the United Nations forces were already spreading AIDS. I was so disturbed, in fact, that on 27 July 1992, as a private citizen, I wrote a letter to Mr. Akashi and Mr. Carney, raising this issue with them.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“This draft resolution covers many things, but it focuses appropriately on the area where the Security Council has primary responsibility and the most at stake, in particular in addressing the impact of AIDS on peacekeeping. Let me speak here an unpleasant truth. While United Nations peacekeepers perform very admirably, and while all who contribute to peacekeeping deserve our respect and admiration, it is a fact that without proper training, education and steps towards prevention, peacekeepers may also be spreading AIDS inadvertently. I want to pause here for a moment to pay special tribute to the peacekeepers in the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, who so marvellously and bravely battled their way to safety yesterday at Daru, and to express my great sympathy to the Indian peacekeeper, the sergeant who gave his life in that effort.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“This draft resolution also serves as an example of one of the primary purposes for which the United Nations was created more than half a century ago: to galvanize international action to meet common threats. AIDS is not just the problem of a single country. It is notjust an African problem; it cannot be treated simply as a problem of a single continent. In a world defined by globalization and interdependence - two of the catchwords of the modern era - we cannot do triage by continent, and we cannot simply focus on economic interdependence; we have to recognize that while interdependence provides economic opportunities, it also can pose global threats. You cannot deny AIDS a Visa; you cannot embargo it or quarantine it. You cannot stop it at a border. That is why we must work together.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“In his remarks in January, Vice-President Gore reminded us that we owe it to ourselves and to each other and to future generations to fight this disease. He called on all of us to "acknowledge our moral duty and accept our grave and great responsibility to succeed". We are doing so today with this resolution, a historic resolution, as I said before, because it is the first Security Council resolution ever focused on any health issue at all, and it is appropriate that this issue is HIV/AIDS. I believe that today, 17 July, will be marked as a benchmark in the evolution of the Security Council, and it will be a vote that will illustrate our recognition that AIDS is as great a security challenge as we have faced since the founding of the United Nations.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“As recently as a year ago, as recently as seven months ago, few would have considered AIDS part of such a discussion in the Security Council. Today I think that by this action we show that it is. The world is paying attention to Durban and to the Security Council. This week's issue of The Economist, which came out this morning, has AIDS on the cover - another symbol of the importance of this issue to the world. Since 10 January, when we had our new century and new millennium begin in the Security Council with the session on AIDS, chaired by the Vice-President of the United States, Al Gore, we began to acknowledge that the HIV/AIDS crisis is a threat not only in a health sense but also to the prosperity, to the people and indeed to the security of the world.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“I want to say at the outset to my friends who are concerned about the issue of sovereignty and about what the Security Council should and should not do, that this draft resolution in no way infringes on the sovereignty or authority of countries, but shows the collective will of the Security Council, the most important body of its sort in the world. This draft resolution legitimately extends our interest into a field that had previously not been considered. In no way do we undercut the work of our equally important Economic and Social Council; rather, we reinforce it. I would also mention that the American Secretary of Agriculture, Dan Glickman, will be addressing the Economic and Social Council this afternoon.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“We also have here today Reverend Eugene Rivers and Mathilda Krim, two of the great leaders in this fight, and many other people, including some from the pharmaceutical industry, who have come to join us today. I am really honoured that you are here, Sir, because we think that today's draft resolution is historic for the Security Council. It is certainly not the end of the process of fighting AIDS. The problem continues to get worse, as Dr. Piot has just said, and today's draft resolution marks only an important benchmark in the process. But it is particularly important for the Security Council.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“Carolyn Maloney, in whose Congressional district the United Nations is located, is to my right in the first row behind me. Sheila Jackson-Lee, from Houston, Texas, one of the leaders in the great fight, is with us today, as is Barbara Lee, from Oakland, California, who is our most tenacious leader, the originator of the Marshall Plan for AIDS, a proposal she submitted two years ago. She is the person who reinstated the money that some members of Congress tried to cut during last week's debate. I pay tribute to all of these people, and especially to Barbara Lee, for her tenacious and effective efforts in this area. I thank you, Sir, for giving us permission to have them join us.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“Now we have a draft resolution that, as the previous speaker just said, is of tremendous value in this fight. I also want to especially praise the previous speaker, my friend, one of our leaders, Peter Piot, for his leadership in this field and for returning again to the Security Council today. Without his Vision, his creativity and his leadership, I do not think we would be here today. I know that he has told me privately how important the Security Council's efforts are to his efforts. I also want to bring to your attention, Sir, the fact that we have a very distinguished American delegation here with us today. It is led by three leaders of our Congress who have led the fight in the Congress for more funds for AIDS research and AIDS prevention.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“Thank you, Sir, for making the trip from Jamaica to honour us and to highlight the significance of today's meeting by taking the chair yourself on behalf of Jamaica and on behalf of all of us. Your leadership and that of Ambassador Durrant has made today's event possible. I want to thank also all the other countries on the Security Council who have agreed to have this unprecedented resolution on a health issue - the first in the history of the Security Council. I want to look back with the Council members on how far we have come since the beginning of January, when the very question of whether we could discuss this issue in this Chamber was before us - and since March, when we wondered we could put preambular language into a resolution.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“We do not believe that a drawdown in forces is inconsistent with restoring order, because the forces that can be withdrawn are way to the east, in the eastern part of East Timor, where the situation is calm. The areas of difficulty are small, and the people causing the difficulties are well known to the local authorities. I feel very frustrated on this point because I know that everyone in the Council agrees on this, and no one quite understands why the Indonesian Government, which is making such a tremendous effort to grapple with an immense panoply of issues, has been unable to get this particular problem under control. But we need to do it urgently.”
2000-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4165 (2000) · source
“While we are encouraged by these decisions on resettlement, we are also deeply shocked by the continuing militia activities along and across the border in East Timor. The Indonesian Government and its military have failed to disarm and disband these militia. But some militia members are now armed with sophisticated weapons - grenades and automatic weapons - that they did not have before. They used them, for example, against an UNTAET outpost in the Bobonaro district on 21 June, just a few days ago. This attack followed a reported increase in cross-border militia actions during the previous two weeks, including an incident in which a United Nations peacekeeper was injured at a bridge on the border. We strongly believe that the United Nations forces should use force pre-emptively to make clear to the militia that this will not be tolerated.”
2000-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4165 (2000) · source
“Although we support fully the Government in Jakarta, we must again ask whether the Indonesian Government can control the military officers on West Timor, who are certainly capable of preventing this. With regard to the resettling of East Timorese, we have heard plan after plan from Jakarta. We support the new plan, which would resettle militia members, former East Timorese members of the Indonesian armed forces and former East Timorese civil servants outside of the island of Timor, as participants in the transmigration programme. But let us get on with it. Jakarta's approval of this plan is a positive sign that the Government of Indonesia is taking the international community seriously and, more importantly, that it wishes to bring stability to West Timor. This is essential if the project that we have been discussing today is to succeed.”
2000-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4165 (2000) · source
“I have described the climate of fear, and I have expressed my Government's outrage. Last February, when Sergio was last here, every member of the Council said that we had to put an end to these militia incursions across the border. We all agreed that full and lasting reconciliation would not be possible until that was done. Yet - and I say this with a combination of sorrow and anger - the climate of fear is still a reality in these camps. Just last week, one of the most serious of all incidents of the last nine months took place. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had to cease its operations temporarily in the Noelbaki camp after 70 militia members attacked the brave UNHCR staff in that camp. This is inexcusable.”
2000-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4165 (2000) · source
“That would be highly against the interests of stability in all of the South Pacific and the region of the Association of South-East Asian Nations. The United Nations, however, should not overstay its role as a governing power. It should turn into an advisory power - in other words, the kind of role it is playing in places like Bosnia. This is entirely appropriate. The United States should, and I hope will, support that. I say "I hope" because these decisions will take place under a different Administration. While I cannot commit a future Administration, I can certainly speak for the current one in the strongest possible terms. Let me now turn to the question of the refugees. I have spoken in the Council many times about this since I returned from East Timor last December.”
2000-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4165 (2000) · source
“I believe that it is very important to set the date publicly, clearly and early so that the people of East Timor can adjust to it, so that the challenges to it from West Timor can be dealt with swiftly and appropriately by the Indonesian Government - and in this matter we are not satisfied at this point - and so that everyone can be prepared to work on this issue. But I want to state again, and I know that Sergio agrees with me on this, that the independence date is not the day on which the United Nations leaves. It is the day on which the United Nations continues a transition, but continues to assist the people of East Timor in a different way. The world should not expect a date on which the United Nations just disappears.”
2000-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4165 (2000) · source