YouSaid · the spoken record

Ikouebe

lines on the record: 242
first: 2002-10-11
most recent: 2007-05-21
sittings or episodes: 37
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 that regard, the member States of ECCAS welcome the statement of the President of the Security Council of 20 November 2003, and welcome the inclusive approach adopted by the Council that is an eloquent illustration of the way in which we wish henceforth to address the problems of our subregion.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“Central Africa is aware that it can achieve its goals only by strengthening its capacities. We promise to do so, especially through a firmer approach to revitalization of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) in the areas of peace, security, economic development and human development. In order to preserve that determination and unity and in order to remain consistent to that global, resolute and integrated approach, our subregion has always wished all its members to be involved in the international conference on peace and security, democracy and development in the Great Lakes region, and, we would add, in Central Africa.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“When we see the causes of destabilization of a country, such as accumulation of salary arrears, our heads of State organize. They collect money to liquidate part of the debts owed to civil servants in order to calm social unrest. A real will to intervene exists, but it is constrained by the lack of resources. Now what can we say today? We have taken due note of the report and its recommendations, and we say that the time has come, of course, to take action, correctly and without delay, to address all of the problems raised by the assessment mission. We shall do so ourselves in the spirit of the approach formulated by the Council. We shall do so with determination in order to make irreversible the positive steps that we can all observe and to avoid any backsliding or any renewed challenges.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“You will, of course, understand that our leaders then wonder, when they are told that the maintenance of international peace and security is the responsibility of the Security Council and the United Nations. They are told to organize in the proper manner and report to the United Nations and await an appropriate response. Then, when the response is not along the lines that they would wish, they may well question the true determination of the international community to assist them in their efforts. This is just to show that in our countries, we do not always stand idly by when a crisis arises. I would indeed say that, with regard to the Central African Republic and other countries, we do not necessarily merely send out a contingent.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“The Central African Economic and Monetary Community organized a mission, which was led by the Gabonese head of State. A contingent involving forces from a number of countries was dispatched, but it was faced with the eternal problem of logistics. Naturally, our heads of State turned to the United Nations, and you received them here, some months ago, a delegation sent by the head of State of Gabon, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Defence, pleading their cause, saying that we have a contingent but need the United Nations to take the contingent under its responsibility because we do not have the resources. The answer was that, given the nature of the intervention and in the absence of a Security Council resolution, it was not possible for the United Nations to fulfil that request.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“Concerning financing problems and mobilization of external resources, many statements and declarations have been made and many conferences have been held, but in reality we can say that there is many a slip from the cup to the lip. First of all, there are inter-agency consolidated appeals for some of countries of the region, such as Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We have noted pledges of aid and financial support, but when it comes to taking action we note that things often move very slowly to the detriment of the goals to be achieved. Secondly, we also have other selected peacekeeping operations as we have seen over the course of the year in the Central African Republic.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“Here, again, the representative of Cameroon has been very eloquent. We have enough studies on the issue and we therefore wonder why an additional study is necessary. In any event, we welcome the positive will to strengthen the effectiveness and coherence of United Nations programmes in Central Africa. We are ready, therefore, to continue working with the Secretary-General to examine ways to strengthen the essential partnership between the United Nations and our subregion. Central Africa agrees with the Secretary-General that we must move from a culture of reaction to a culture of prevention with regard to peace and security. Central Africa also considers that it is important to develop a logic for follow-up to peace-building and stabilization processes. In that regard, I would like to emphasize two points by giving two examples.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“The request, first addressed to the assessment mission, was recently repeated in Malabo last month, when the ministers of the 11 member countries of ECCAS met for the twentieth Ministerial Meeting of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa. That, then, is where the debate stands with us at this stage. It is a debate on the question of what constitutes a coherent, integrated approach. We do not want to simply add a new form of bureaucracy; we are seeking a solution that takes into account our shared Vision of our problems. As a third issue, we note with great interest the suggestions made by the Secretary-General in his letter of transmission. At the same time we wonder about the purpose of yet another study on the causes of conflict in Africa.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“Let me recall the following. The Special Representatives of the Secretary-General and the United Nations offices and agencies in our countries play an essential role. But, in keeping with the vision of a global, integrated and determined approach to the problems of the subregion - as defined by the Security Council - a coordination mechanism or guidelines for coordination, harmonization and consistency is a necessity. That is why it is important to recall that, in light of that concern, when the assessment mission visited Central Africa, a request was made by our heads of State for the creation of a subregional United Nations office in Central Africa that would constitute a kind of political presence, not just one more office. The representative of Cameroon quite rightly alluded to that request.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“We have, in regard to the free movement of people and goods, a plan for a common passport that will soon be circulated. Those many steps forward can serve as an inspiration to ECCAS as it pursues its own evolution. Further to those reflections, I should like to note that at one point the persistence of conflicts - which caused many countries to give their full attention to the day-to-day management of those crises - may have left the impression that the communal spirit was breathing its last. We are sure that, today, with those conflicts now at an end, the subregional integration plan will find its second wind. A second aspect is the question as to whether the structure we have before us will enable us to have a partner with a political presence in our region. I followed the debate on the question with great interest.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“That institution corresponds to a historic solidarity that is destined to change. Let me give some specific examples so that we can assess to what degree those institutions have intervened. We have the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, which is essentially a customs union that has not yet been incorporated within the Economic Community of Central African States. We have a regional integration body with community programmes that do not yet exist within ECCAS. We have a common currency, which is already a great step forward - we take Europe as our model and, as we all know, it took many years to launch the euro. We have, therefore, a group of six countries with a common currency, an achievement from which ECCAS can take inspiration.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“In any case, such a situation - which is not specific to Central Africa - is destined to evolve as the subregion achieves an advanced degree of integration, and eventually do away with all structures that have lost their raison d'etre. Today, the coexistence of those institutions is not an obstacle. To the contrary, it can help to speed up the integration process for ECCAS, which can benefit from the experience of institutions with proven track records. Now, as you can see I am entering the debate over competing institutions in Central Africa. But, more than that, we are dealing with historic processes. The Economic Community of Central African States, which comprises 11 member countries, is only 20 years old, while the Central African Economic Monetary Community has a 40-year history.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“The new partnership with the United Nations that we aspire to is a function of that concern, and it is to further that objective that we make the following comments, which are far from being exhaustive given the breadth and complexity of the problems under discussion. In the first place, we reaffirm our determination to strengthen subregional integration by revitalizing the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), which is slated to play the primary role in coordinating all the activities that at present it shares with other institutions such as the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CAEMC).”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“We must find a way to coordinate our activities and our efforts, to mobilize all of the key actors involved in the process - Governments, parliaments, non- governmental organizations, civil society, subregional integration organizations, business sectors and so forth- around a coherent vision so that we may address our external partners as a united entity. In that connection, we have to be able to deal with United Nations interlocutors who are willing to see our problems from a perspective that takes into account that common identity that we wish to forge. Particular interest needs to be shown for programmes that have a multinational dimension, like that led by the World Bank for the financing of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration activities in some of our countries.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“Another aspect of that challenge concerns reconstruction and sustainable development, where focus should be placed on the introduction of post- conflict programmes that allow for the transition from policies geared towards emergency humanitarian aid to ones centred on structural development, good governance, poverty reduction, combating HIV/AIDS and malaria, rehabilitation of ecosystems devastated by war, strengthening of mechanisms of community integration and so forth. Here, again, there is a need to stress the mobilization of external resources. With regard to those challenges, and the many others we face, we feel that it is absolutely imperative to have a subregional, coordinated approach.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“Those examples clearly indicate that the subregion does not consider war and destablization to be its inexorable fate, but is, on the contrary, more than ever determined to face up to its responsibilities. Still, the challenges remain enormous - as the report clearly underscores- particularly in regard to the maintenance and strengthening of peace. Efforts must be made to strengthen subregional capacities, support subregional initiatives, implement disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, promote national reconciliation, protect human rights, reintegrate refugees and displaced persons and control the illegal movement of small arms within the region. For all of those problems the nagging issue remains one of financing, which I shall revert to later.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“I refer, in particular, to the peaceful settlement of the political crisis in Sao Tome and Principe; the organization of the national dialogue in the Central African Republic; the establishment of transitional institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the adoption in New York on 25 September 2003, of the declaration of Principles on Good- Neighbourly Relations and Cooperation, between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda; the recent agreement arrived at in Burundi between the Government and the Forces for the Defense of Democracy, which led, yesterday, to the formation of a new inclusive Government; the entry into force of the protocol pertaining to the Council for Peace and Security in Central Africa; the organization in Libreville in July of a peacekeeping operations exercise, and the meeting in Brazzaville in October 2003 of the military chiefs of the subregion with a View to creating a subregional peacekeeping brigade.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“The message we wish to send is one of a Central Africa that wants to emerge from the infernal circle of Violence and poverty to firmly commit itself along the path of dispute settlement, consolidated peace-building and reconstruction. But our countries are also aware that despite the determination of their leaders, positive developments now under way will remain fragile if they do not have substantial support from the international community, particularly from the United Nations. The Secretary-General recently had occasion to commend the satisfactory progress of the situation in the subregion. We would confirm that trend by pointing to the following developments which occurred since the mission's visit, and which reveal a true determination to move ahead with the settlement of conflicts and the strengthening of subregional integration.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“We wish to assure him of our determination to continue working with his team in a dialogue aimed at establishing a true and strengthened partnership between our subregion and the United Nations system. The level of talks held between members of the United Nations delegation and people in each of our countries that were visited, and the high calibre of those exchanges, clearly express the interest taken by leaders of our subregion in strengthening cooperation with the United Nations, especially at a time when solid prospects are emerging from the crisis in most of the countries that have been beset by armed conflicts.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“The aim was, and is, the adoption of a global, integrated, resolute, concerted approach to the problems of peace, security and development in Central Africa, as correctly recalled by the Secretary-General in his letter to the Security Council of 10 November 2003. We wish to thank the Secretary-General for having sent this mission and for presenting to us today the report that our Governments have been looking forward to with great interest. We also wish to commend the members of the mission, especially Mr. Kalomoh, Assistant Secretary- General for Political Affairs, for the high calibre of work done, which broadly takes into account the concerns expressed by our Governments.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“Last Thursday, 20 November, there was a public meeting devoted to preparations for the international conference on the Great Lakes. Today we have this well-attended debate on the review of the interim report of the United Nations multidisciplinary assessment mission to the Central African subregion in June 2003. We are grateful to the Council for the interest it has taken in our region. You will recall that following the debate in the Council of 22 October 2002, on cooperation between Central Africa and the United Nations, the decision was taken to send to the subregion an assessment mission.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“Mr. Ikouebe (Congo) (spoke in French): I have the honour to take the floor before the Council on behalf of the following 11 member States of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), namely Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe and Chad. Earlier, the representative of Cameroon announced that he joined in the statement I am now making. In turn, I wish to say it is rather I who am pleased to join in the brilliant statement that he made, not only on behalf of Cameroon, but on behalf of our subregion. First I would like to say how proud we are to see you, Sir, presiding over the Council during this month of November, during which important debates will be devoted to the Central African subregion.”
2003-11-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4871 (2003) · source
“The outcome of the seminar, in particular the plan for the subregion's activities, will be presented during the first biennial meeting of countries Members of the United Nations, which will be held in New York from 7 to 11 July 2003.”
2003-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4766 (2003) · source
“As well, the ministers welcomed the preparations for an international conference on peace, security, democracy and development in the Great Lakes region. They issued an appeal for all countries of Central Africa to participate in the organization and holding of the conference. Finally, since we are discussing conflict prevention and resolution, I would be remiss if I concluded without announcing that previous to the Brazzaville ministerial meeting of the Advisory Committee, a seminar was held from 12 to 14 May on the implementation in Central Africa of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.”
2003-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4766 (2003) · source
“That is why the ministers have welcomed the dispatch of a Security Council mission to the subregion of Central Africa in early June, to visit areas where great tension persists. They welcome, as well, an inter- agency assessment mission tasked with formulating an approach for problems of peace, security and development in Central Africa that is comprehensive, integrated, resolute and concerted in nature. The ministers expressed the hope that this inter-agency mission might recommend, among other things, the creation of a subregional United Nations office to support the work of peacekeeping and peace-building missions and of the special representatives and special envoys of the Secretary-General in Central Africa.”
2003-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4766 (2003) · source
“I should like to express the gratitude of the countries of Central Africa to the United Nations, which over recent months has created many initiatives for the subregion. We recall the Council's 22 October 2002 meeting on strengthening cooperation between the United Nations system and the Central African region in the maintenance of peace and security. That meeting led to the Council's presidential statement of 31 October 2002 (S/PRST/2002/31), which gave new impetus to the partnership between the United Nations and Central Africa and which served as a frame of reference for the discussions of the nineteenth ministerial meeting of the Standing Advisory Committee, to which I referred earlier.”
2003-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4766 (2003) · source
“With respect to the Central African Republic in particular, the ministers of the countries members of ECCAS meeting in Brazzaville adopted a joint declaration appealing to the international community to provide substantial assistance to that country at this crucial yet promising stage. The ministers also expressed their concern at the tragedy unfolding in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in particular in Bunia. They called on the Security Council to amend the mandate of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) in order to adapt it to the situation on the ground. In that respect, ECCAS welcomes the adoption by the Security Council this morning of resolution 1483 (2003), authorizing the immediate deployment of a multinational force to Bunia.”
2003-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4766 (2003) · source
“In particular, there is need to help in the implementation of peace and ceasefire agreements when they have been signed, and to support the various programmes for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants. There is need also to provide assistance to refugees and displaced persons. The ministers noted that in most cases, we must above all provide concrete follow-up to the financial pledges already made by the international community for countries such as Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Naturally, everyone is aware that peace- building also requires, above all, the improvement of the living conditions of the population and the economic reconstruction of the countries.”
2003-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4766 (2003) · source
“I would like to stress that at that important meeting, the ministers, above all, welcomed the progress made in most States of the subregion in the area of peace and security. In Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, my own country of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, significant progress has been observed, although that progress remains to be consolidated in certain cases. That is why urgent appeals have been made to the international community, in particular to the United Nations and the donor community, to provide the appropriate, substantial assistance enabling the stabilization and subsequent improvement of the situation.”
2003-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4766 (2003) · source
“Since I will later focus on the United Nations missions in Central Africa, I would like to point out that those missions have been intensively prepared for several weeks now in New York, where representatives of the Central African countries have gathered since the beginning of this month to meet with high Secretariat officials to discuss the content of the two missions: the Security Council mission and the inter- agency mission. Both are to go to Central Africa at the beginning of next month, and our representatives have been making preparations for the visit. Since the Congo is the current Chairman of ECCAS, it was my honour to represent all my colleagues at the ministerial meeting in Brazzaville - I shall later describe that meeting. A report on the meeting will be distributed later to all States Members of the United Nations.”
2003-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4766 (2003) · source
“Gambari, for his excellent briefing, which contained suggestions that were entirely compatible with the expectations of Central Africa. For 11 years now, Central Africa has had a United Nations body for cooperative action tasked with promoting preventive diplomacy in this subregion universally viewed as particularly sensitive: the Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa. The Committee held its nineteenth ministerial meeting two weeks ago in Brazzaville, from 14 to 17 May 2003.”
2003-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4766 (2003) · source
“Mr. Ikouebe (Congo) (spoke in French): It is my honour to speak to the Council today on behalf of the members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS): Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda and Sao Tome and Principe. First, I would like to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your initiative of convening this meeting, which provides the subregion I represent with an opportunity to sketch the general outline of developments taking place in that part of the African continent in the area of peace and security, within the framework of partnership with the United Nations. I would also like to congratulate the Secretary-General's Special Adviser, Mr.”
2003-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4766 (2003) · source
“The States members of ECCAS are committed to devoting a substantial share of their resources to such programmes. They expect the international community to assist them in establishing a definitive peace in their subregion. In conclusion, I congratulate the Secretary- General on his excellent report on small arms, which Mr. Dhanapala introduced with great eloquence this morning, and assure him of the full cooperation of the countries of Central Africa in the implementation of its relevant recommendations, the majority of which mesh perfectly with the initiatives and actions undertaken by ECCAS.”
2002-10-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4623Resumption1 (2002) · source
“Today, the presence on Angolan soil of thousands of anti-personnel mines is sufficient to remind us that the fight against that category of arms is a question of day-to-day survival for populations anxious to recover the happiness of a normal life. For the leaders of Central Africa, now that most of the States concerned can entertain real hopes for peace and security, the problem is finding the human, material and financial means to implement peace- building policies. Once all the peace agreements have been signed; once the foreign troops have withdrawn; and once national reconciliation has been achieved, we will have to support all these developments with measures to collect arms and to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate ex-combatants as soon as possible.”
2002-10-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4623Resumption1 (2002) · source
“Within the framework of the programme of work of the Advisory Committee during the period 2002 to 2003, the member countries of ECCAS also envisaged the organization of a subregional seminar on the implementation in Central Africa of the Programme of Action adopted at the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, which was held here last year. Also foreseen is the organization of a workshop on the participation of ECCAS member States in the creation of a United Nations Conventional Arms Register and a United Nations register on military spending. As can be seen, the ECCAS member States are fully conscious of the real danger posed by small arms in an area that is attempting to end a very sad page in its history.”
2002-10-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4623Resumption1 (2002) · source
“During that conference, ECCAS member countries adopted the following recommendations: the harmonization of the national legislations of Central African States in the fight against the illicit proliferation and circulation of small arms and light weapons; the creation of a uniform arms register at the national and subregional levels and a databank on the existing stocks of each country, arms dealers and transport agents; a request for the Secretary-General's support of programmes for disarmament, demobilization and the reintegration of ex-combatants; a request for the assistance of the Secretary-General for the countries in the subregion in their efforts to restructure their armed forces and police; the examination of regional projects to collect arms, in cooperation with international institutions and financial backers, as well as small-scale development projects to promote the economic and social reintegration of those possessing illegal weapons of war; and the creation of a subregional office in Central Africa of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and a more active cooperation between that body and the countries of Central Africa.”
2002-10-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4623Resumption1 (2002) · source
“Those measures and mechanisms were reaffirmed during the subregional conference on the proliferation and illicit circulation of small arms and light weapons in Central Africa, held in N 'Djamena, Chad from 25 to 27 October 1999.”
2002-10-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4623Resumption1 (2002) · source
“At that seminar, the member countries of ECCAS adopted measures and recommended the implementation of the following mechanisms in the fight against the trafficking in and proliferation of small arms: the establishment of national commissions to combat the proliferation of light arms; approaching the Secretary-General of the United Nations to create an advisory mission on monitoring and collecting arms in the subregion of Central Africa; implementation of a community charter on investments foreseeing coercive measures in dealing with companies maintaining armed militias; the creation of a subregional register of conventional weapons; and a review and harmonization of national laws concerning carrying arms.”
2002-10-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4623Resumption1 (2002) · source
“They have done so in order to establish lasting peace and security in a region which can offer a great deal more to Africa and the world. Therefore, numerous initiatives, recommendations and specific measures were adopted in the framework of ECCAS and through the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa, a working tool that the United Nations has put at our disposition to assist us in the highly sensitive domain of peace, security and preventive diplomacy. In July 1999, at Yaounde, Cameroon, there was a high-level subregional seminar on the examination and implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General on the causes of conflict and the promotion of lasting peace and development in Africa.”
2002-10-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4623Resumption1 (2002) · source
“The Security Council is therefore especially requested to take all the necessary measures to encourage, assist, accelerate and strengthen those positive developments in order to make the peace process irreversible. That is particularly the case with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the strengthening of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) is crucial. If I chose to refer to those situations, it was to underline that, as is often the case with conflicts in the Third World, the wars afflicting Central Africa are principally fuelled by light weapons, the subject of today's debate. To deal with this situation, the leaders of Central Africa have adopted an entire series of measures to build confidence among States, to prevent conflicts and to resolve them when they erupt.”
2002-10-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4623Resumption1 (2002) · source
“Simply consulting the agenda of the Security Council, one can see that the situation in Angola, Burundi, the Great Lakes, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic is routinely the subject of intense debates in the Chamber. It is therefore an opportunity for me to thank the Council for all the interest that it has constantly attached to the evolution of this highly sensitive geopolitical and security situation in the subregion. But this is also an opportunity to announce to the entire international community that, for the first time in a long time, prospects for a return to peace are emerging today in the majority of the States concerned.”
2002-10-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4623Resumption1 (2002) · source
“Mr. Ikouebe (Congo) (spoke in French): On behalf of the 11 countries members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) - Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda and Sao Tome and Principe - I would first like to express our pride in seeing you, Sir, presiding over the Security Council for this month. I would also like to thank you for including in the agenda of the Council the sensitive issue of small arms, which is at the heart of the greatest concerns of Central Africa. For, as everyone knows, Central Africa has for some years faced a grave situation of armed conflict, destabilization and insecurity. It was not long ago that of the 11 members of ECCAS, seven were in a situation of war or instability.”
2002-10-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4623Resumption1 (2002) · source