YouSaid · the spoken record

Insanally

lines on the record: 29
first: 1998-04-24
most recent: 2006-03-27
sittings or episodes: 3
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

“Similarly, we must acknowledge the contributions made by MINUSTAH, the Organization of American States, the Rio Group, CARICOM. and other partners to the strengthening of the democratic process. It is important and imperative that this partnership for Haiti now be renewed and reinvigorated to enable that stricken country to consolidate its recent gains and move forward to full development. As a well-known Haitian proverb says: "Men anpil chay pa lou" - many hands make the load lighter. Acting in concert we will be able, hopefully, to see and to restore to Haiti the pride and glory that were born of its early, heroic struggle for freedom and independence.”
2006-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5397 (2006) · source
“We commend the United States, Canada, the European Union, other donor countries and international agencies that have contributed, within the Interim Cooperation Framework, to several development programmes. We urge other States and agencies in a position to do so to respond promptly and fully to Haiti's urgent requirements by making swift and generous disbursements of assistance to that country. The successful transition to constitutional government that Haiti is now in the process of making is largely the result of a very close and productive partnership that has been developed between Haiti and the international community. We laud the determination and efforts of all Haitians at all levels to rise above their present circumstances.”
2006-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5397 (2006) · source
“The Rio Group is of the view that the early implementation of some key priority projects aimed at rapidly improving the standard of living of Haiti's poor will serve to alleviate the prevailing despair and give new hope to the nation for economic recovery and growth. In this context, I may mention that several countries of the Rio Group have already established bilateral cooperation programmes with Haiti in areas of concern. At the level of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the heads of Government have already signalled their readiness to readmit Haiti into the Community's councils and to provide it with further material and technical support.”
2006-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5397 (2006) · source
“All who have witnessed the abject conditions of life in Cite Soleil and other deprived areas of Haiti cannot but be appalled by the misery that is allowed to exist today. The human development indicators of Haiti are well below the average of the other countries of the region, with a vast majority of Haitians living in poverty and with little or no access to adequate health care, education and public sanitation. The Rio Group is pleased to learn that a poverty reduction strategy will be put in place to enable Haiti to reach the Millennium Development Goals within the specified time frame. As experience has also taught us, democratic elections alone cannot guarantee peace and development. To be truly effective, democracy must be nurtured and fortified through equitable economic and social development.”
2006-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5397 (2006) · source
“The internecine violence that has long plagued that country cannot be tolerated if democracy is to survive. We note in this context that President-elect Preval has called for the continuation of MINUSTAH so that the democratic process can be preserved and consolidated. The Rio Group supports the retention of the Mission and would also urge that its mandate now be amply broadened to include a stronger humanitarian and development component. This more comprehensive approach, we believe, will not only improve the Mission's performance but will also enhance its credibility and prestige in the eyes not only of the Haitian people but of the international community. Reducing poverty and creating incentives to economic growth are arguably among the most difficult challenges facing Haiti today.”
2006-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5397 (2006) · source
“In our view, the future stability and viability of Haiti will depend in large measure on our collective ability to strengthen and entrench the foundations of democracy. Strong and effective institutions and machinery will have to be built to guarantee that the benefits of democracy are delivered to all the citizens of Haiti without regard to class, colour or creed. Accordingly, our cooperation with Haiti must be designed to yield, among other things, an education system that is relevant to the particular needs of a largely Creole-speaking population, a strong police and judiciary to preserve law and order and, indeed, all the other basic services such as health and housing that are essential to a decent life. Equally important, there must be a determined effort to eliminate the climate of fear and insecurity that now prevails in Haiti.”
2006-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5397 (2006) · source
“His participation in this forum is indicative of his willingness to engage and collaborate with the international community for the good of his country and its people. On behalf of the Rio Group, allow me to pledge to him our full support for the implementation of his mandate. It is important that at this critical juncture in Haiti's history the international community give serious thought to how best it might assist Haiti - a country that for so long has been hobbled by poverty and conflict - to make a smooth transition to a stable and secure society, firmly embarked on the path to development. As friends of Haiti, the countries of the Rio Group are encouraged by the successful conclusion of the recent electoral process to believe that a unique opportunity has been created for the establishment of peace and development in the country.”
2006-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5397 (2006) · source
“We also wish to commend the Secretary-General for his guidance of the collective effort to assist Haiti through a most difficult and challenging period in its recent history. To the distinguished Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti, Mr. Juan Gabriel Valdes, we offer our appreciation for his leadership of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and acknowledge the pivotal role the Mission has played in the return to constitutional order in Haiti. His presentation today has certainly informed and inspired our own intervention in the debate. We welcome most especially the presence in our midst today of the President-elect of Haiti, His Excellency Mr. Rene Preval.”
2006-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5397 (2006) · source
“On 7 February 2006, the people of Haiti came together in surprising strength and against all odds to cast their votes for the restoration of democracy to their troubled land. It was an impressive display of civic pride and responsibility that brought fresh faith and hope for the future of Haiti. The Rio Group, on whose behalf I have the honour to speak today, applauds their determination and celebrates their triumph. The Argentine Republic, as President of the Security Council, must be congratulated on its initiative to bring the situation in Haiti to this body for further deliberation. We are particularly pleased to see my Minister, colleague, presiding over this important meeting.”
2006-03-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5397 (2006) · source
“It is thus my delegation's fervent hope that out of this debate will come a strong resolution that will reflect the international community's determination to protect those who are unable to protect themselves and who instead must rely on us to champion their cause.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“The Fourth Geneva Convention and its additional protocols, as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, clearly set out principles and standards for the protection and empowerment of children. Today, those conventions continue to be routinely flouted by savage and unscrupulous warmongers. Such barbarism cannot be tolerated by our civilization, since in the end, as one of our country's poets has said, "We are all involved, we are all consumed." We must therefore strive to give these legal instruments more teeth, going beyond ratification to full implementation. As the primary guarantor of international peace and security, the Security Council has a clear and present obligation to deal condignly with the inhumane use of children in armed conflict.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“The hopes of every nation for future development depend on its youth. Instead of being used as cannon fodder, a nation's youth should be nurtured and trained to become agents of construction, rather than of destruction. They should be schooled in the art and science of nation- building instead of learning to become killing machines. For once so used, it is difficult for them to return to normality. As refugees or internally displaced persons, they are denied the customary opportunities of education, training and family stability which they need if they are to become useful citizens. In the face of this distressing situation, it is imperative that we seek to strengthen the international legal instruments that have been forged to protect the rights of civilians in conflict, particularly the young and the innocent.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“The attendant economic marginalization of many developing countries in the world economy, as well as the social impact of structural adjustment programmes, have been clearly cited by Mrs. Machel and others as conditions which create instability and conflict. Whether in Africa, Asia, the Americas or Europe, conflict eventually erodes the infrastructure of all countries involved, making it difficult if not impossible for them to have productive economies. In this context, my delegation, like others, would like to draw attention to the negative effects that economic sanctions can have on the more vulnerable groups of society. In many cases, if not most, sanctions can lead to deprivation of adequate food supplies and basic social services, resulting in great hardship, especially for children.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“More strenuous efforts are needed to enhance respect for accepted standards of behaviour and to devise more effective means to insulate children from the impact of war. Guyana reiterates its call for a concrete ban on anti-personnel mines and for continuing efforts to expand mine clearance. As for the many victims who have been made to suffer this type of brutality, the international community must afford them every chance for physical and psychological comfort and rehabilitation. As we also realize, we cannot fully address the impact of armed conflicts on children without an examination of the sources of these conflicts. Repeated studies have shown that persistent economic, social and political crises contribute to the breakdown of law and order in all societies.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“Graga Machel provide graphic testimony of the impact of armed conflict on children. These documents attest to the disastrous consequences of conflicts and, more importantly, to the need for urgent measures to be taken by the international community to deter the further involvement of children. Among such measures could be firm action to bring those who are responsible for such crimes to justice so that they might feel the full weight of international opprobrium and condemnation. Rape and other forms of sexual violence in the context of armed conflict should be deemed - as the Special Representative suggests - as criminal acts subject to harsh punishment. Similarly, we should seek within the international legal system to prohibit the use of children as military pawns in conflicts.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“At the same time we express our profound admiration to the wide array of United Nations agencies such as the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as the many non- governmental organizations which, despite many constraints, labour in service to the children of the world. We urge their continuing coordination and cooperation so as to maximize the impact of their collective efforts. As we have been made painfully aware, the new genre of intra-State conflicts has altered both the nature and the scope of war. Today, the battle lines encompass the civilian population, including defenceless women and children. The reports produced by the Special Representative, Mr. Otunnu, and by Mrs.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“We are grateful to you, Sir, and your delegation and all the members of the Council for sponsoring this timely debate aimed at promoting a greater awareness of this problem. We are especially heartened to see you personally presiding, and so selflessly, over our deliberations, even at this late hour. I also wish to pay tribute to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Mr. Olaru Otunnu, for successfully raising the profile of this issue in the world's attention, and more particularly for his compelling presentation earlier today.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“There can be no more monstrous crime against humanity than the use and abuse of children in times of armed conflict. Most animals, even the lowest forms, instinctively protect their young from harm. Yet man, despite his supposedly superior level of intelligence and the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, has been known to subject his progeny to unimaginable horrors. Children die daily as a result of being dragooned into war. Every day and everywhere, we see televised images of the young maimed and made old by constant exposure to abduction, forced labour and violence. Concerned as we are with this terrible scourge, the Government of Guyana joins the resounding call that has been made today for an end to what has been properly termed the modern-day version of child sacrifice.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“President, the Government of Japan, and by the Government of the United States to offer incentives for the expansion of Africa's productive capacity. Such special programmes could conceivably offer African countries the opportunity for economic take-off. In conclusion, let me echo the view that the report goes beyond Africa and may apply, mutatis mutandis, to other stricken regions of the world. Indeed, many of the diagnoses and recommendations which it proffers can be directed elsewhere. Developing countries everywhere, therefore, will watch with interest to see how this report will be implemented and we will do all in our power to ensure that its promises are fulfilled. For the success or failure of the measures which it presents will not be that of Africa alone. The failure or success will be that of us all.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source
“As a consequence, many of these countries cannot take advantage of arrangements to provide them with preferential market access for their commodities, which are, in any case, in the process of disappearing. Not surprisingly, therefore, although Africa has almost 22 per cent of the world's population, the continent accounts for only 2 per cent of world trade. That, I think, is a very telling figure. It is to be hoped, as the Secretary-General says, that the special initiative already taken by the United Nations to promote African development, as well as the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 19905 (UN-NADAF), will assist Africa, if implemented properly, to make some progress in the next decade. Of further encouragement, I should mention, are the steps taken by your own Government, Mr.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source
“The total debt, we are told, now stands at an astronomical $338 billion. How can we truly speak of development with that kind of burden? At the same time, official development assistance remains extremely limited, and with extremely low gross national product, more than half of the continent's population lives in conditions of dismal poverty. The eradication of poverty has therefore to be a primary focus of international efforts in support of Africa's development. In such straitened circumstances one can understand that some African countries are hardly in a position to attract foreign investment, which, as we all know, flows mainly to countries deemed to be safe havens.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source
“This book is indispensable to a full comprehension of the difficulties in which some African countries find themselves today. Admittedly, it is not too helpful to dwell on the past when one's energies can be better applied to shaping the future. Very often, however, unless there is a true appreciation of the fundamental issues involved, there can be no guarantee of finding definitive and durable solutions to outstanding problems. For the seeds of democracy, good governance and human rights to germinate and grow in Africa, one must remove the detritus of colonialism and lay down structures that will be conducive to a new culture. Compounding the disadvantage of a weak physical infrastructure is the serious debt overhang to which many have referred and which now plagues most African countries.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source
“Stronger regional bodies that are closer to the local situation and are therefore better able to understand and respond to them can help stem the tide of conflict through the early initiation the procedures for peaceful settlement set out in Article 33 of the Charter. However, while no one can deny the negative consequences which conflicts hold for African countries, it is fair to say, I believe, that the primary causes of political and social instability in the region lie in the weak economic and physical infrastructure which exists in most countries. The ravages left by colonialism are not easily remedied. To understand the phenomenon of African underdevelopment today, one has to read the classic analysis by Walter Rodney, a distinguished scholar and compatriot of mine, in his seminal work, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source
“Our own experience in the Latin American and Caribbean region has amply demonstrated that while the United Nations must retain primary responsibility for international peace and security, there are, as the Secretary- General suggests, benefits to be derived from cooperation between organizations within the ambit of their respective constitutions. I recall the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity saying to this body that, for want of a nail, the horse in Rwanda died. I think that thereafter we learned the lesson of closer cooperation among our respective organizations.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source
“To turn now to specific parts of the report, beginning with what may be called the political chapter, we find that the analysis of conflict situations and their causes is both comprehensive and perceptive. Some conflicts, particularly those in recent years, do indeed have their roots in age-old controversies and in ethnic divisions and rivalries. However, external factors have also undoubtedly contributed to the eruption of conflict in many places. Certainly, the major arms-producing countries have been responsible for the growing supply of weapons to fuel wars. In addition, as the Secretary-General said, early-warning systems and adequate peacekeeping and peace-building machinery are essential to reduce the threat and consequences of conflict. We agree with him entirely that greater emphasis must now be placed on preventive diplomacy.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source
“We cannot but applaud these observations, since we believe that Africa's failure in the past to achieve progress has been due in large measure to the imposition of external perceptions and prescriptions which did not take account of the particularities of the continent's needs. To its credit, this latest report of the Secretary- General does not pretend to offer facile solutions to the problems of African countries. Instead, it limits itself to a broad survey of today's realities and to a brief indication of those areas in which cooperation among Governments of the region, the international community and the United Nations can prove beneficial. Consequently, the report may thus be better seen as a framework for action rather than as an exhaustive compendium of definitive proposals.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source
“Written as it is in the first person, it reflects the personal commitment of the Secretary-General, himself an African, to the cause of that continent's development. Equally reflective of his perceptions of the Africa dialectic were the remarks he offered on the launching of the report. He was careful to remind his audience that not all of Africa was in difficult throes and that conflict situations were fairly well defined. And indeed, it may be observed that several African countries now show encouraging prospects for economic development. The Secretary-General also publicly recognized Africa's capacity for dealing with most of its own problems, making it clear that the recommendations contained in the report were not intended to supplant, but rather, as he said, to complement, the continent's own efforts.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source
“Our participation, I hasten to add, was not prompted by a belief that we have any advice to offer Africa on how it should manage its affairs, but rather by the sense of solidarity which we feel with its people. Coming as we do from a similar colonial past, we share many of their limitations and problems as well as their hopes and aspirations for a better life. These historical bonds led us over the years to our active role in the struggle for African independence. Now, with the liberation of the entire continent, we would wish to see this political freedom not only preserved but fully matched by economic independence. The report is to be welcomed as an attempt to highlight those issues that are critical to Africa's future development.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source
“Let me say first of all, Mr. President, how pleased we are to see you in the Chair - despite the very long day you have had today. I also say a word of welcome to our new Deputy Secretary- General, who has joined the Security Council for these deliberations, and a word of appreciation to the delegation of Gambia for its stewardship of the Council last month. As a country which has always had close relations with sister States in Africa, Guyana felt compelled to participate in the Council's debate on the report which has been presented by the Secretary-General for consideration by the relevant organs and agencies of the United Nations.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source