YouSaid · the spoken record

Jeremy Greenstock

lines on the record: 1,478
first: 1998-07-30
most recent: 2003-07-25
sittings or episodes: 194
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

“Finally, will President Kagame take action, within the scope of his responsibility in practice in that region, for the protection of human rights and to ensure that child soldiers are not recruited into any military activity in the area of the Rwandan Patriotic Army's operations? I think all these questions are very important for our discussions and I hope that we can make progress over the next few weeks leading up to the meeting on 21 and 22 February with the Political Committee in this Council.”
2001-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4273 (2001) · source
“We believe that his presence there to continue these discussions is exceptionally important. And there, or elsewhere, will he meet President Joseph Kabila again soon? President Kabila has indicated to us that he wishes to continue his bilateral communication with President Kagame, and we would like President Kagame's reciprocal agreement in principle to that. The next question is: Has President Kagame given instructions to his armed forces to respect Congolese property and to refrain from any exploitation of the mineral wealth of the Congo? That is a top requirement of the Security Council and we will be pursuing that. I hope that that is taken very seriously by his Government.”
2001-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4273 (2001) · source
“Secondly, does President Kagame accept the Secretary-General's proposal of a first confidence- building measure: withdrawal from Pueto by President Kagame's forces, in combination with the deployment, by arrangement, of observers from the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)? I think that if President Kagame could take the first step in implementing the disengagement agreements we would begin to get somewhere. It would be extremely important and would put pressure on other parties to make balanced disengagements which get the thing going. And that, after all, is what we need in terms ofthe steps that have to be taken over the next few weeks. Thirdly, will President Kagame go to the Lusaka meeting, which, I understand, has been arranged for 12 February, of heads of State of the region?”
2001-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4273 (2001) · source
“I would very much like President Kagame's confirmation that he accepts that as a basic principle of what we are going to try to do over the next few weeks, because certain things follow from that, and, of course, follow from what has already been written in terms of Council resolutions, the Lusaka accords and the disengagement agreements to which Rwanda is party. As a sub-question, President Kagame mentioned as one of his three core issues the need to settle the issue of the members of the former Rwandan Armed Forces (ex-FAR) and Interahamwe; could he indicate to us how many fighters bearing arms we are talking about? Some perhaps could be reabsorbed into the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) or into Rwanda's structures; some will not be. How many are we talking about, that President Kagame is concerned about?”
2001-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4273 (2001) · source
“It is becoming clear to us that the new Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo accepts the principle of combined security for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for Rwanda and for Uganda, in particular - there are other States involved as well. They have indicated to us specifically that if the talks that are now beginning and that must continue - because dialogue is essential here 4 focus as a prime objective on the combined security of the Great Lakes countries, then they can see some progress being made. They will respect Rwanda's legitimate interests if Rwanda respects theirs.”
2001-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4273 (2001) · source
“Thank you, Mr. President, for leading us today. Your presence here, I think, testifies to the importance of this meeting. It is extremely good to have President Kagame with us. I think that, from the comments he has heard so far from around the Council table, he will have a very clear sense of where the Council is coming from. I do not want to make any real comments; I would like to put some questions to President Kagame, subscribing in particular to what the representative of Ireland has just said as a foundation for what I am going to say, coming as we both do, along with France, from the European Union's position on this issue. In the past few days, since President Kagame's meeting with President Joseph Kabila in Washington, we have had further discussions with the Congolese President and with his authorities.”
2001-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4273 (2001) · source
“I hope this debate will help the drafters of the ECPS report to focus on practical proposals to improve United Nations peace-building strategies. What are the key elements of peace-building? Which actors are best placed to implement them? How can coordination within the United Nations system be improved? What roles are there for the ECPS and the Department of Political Affairs peace-building unit? If clear answers to these questions are provided by the report, we will be in a much better position to take a significant step forward in improving the capacity of the United Nations in this essential area and in uniting all the major players in the peace-building field into a coherent whole.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“The report on peace-building that will be issued in March through the Executive Committee on Peace and Security (ECPS) provides a good opportunity for this sort of lessons-learned exercise. The United Kingdom is committed to helping the report produce practical, forward-looking conclusions, and that means taking stock of where we have reached. We must make sure that regional perspectives to conflict prevention and peace-building are taken into account. We are therefore supporting a series of worldwide seminars over the next six weeks, led by the International Peace Academy (IPA), which will help to develop this thinking. The one that will take place in New York on 12 March will complete the series. The IPA and we will be sending colleagues further details.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“I think that that experience is beginning to bear fruit. In that meeting we did not focus only on the need for capacity-building in East Timor; equally striking was Jose Ramos-Horta's emphasis on the need for security for East Timor if all of this effort is to have a lasting effect. UNTAET is certainly far from a perfect mission. It has faced, and will continue to face, some serious problems. But we must also welcome the integration of its approach. As we look ahead to planning a follow-on mission there - which will certainly need a peacekeeping element and civilian police, as well a capacity-building function - we must also look to the past and apply the lessons we have learned from East Timor to the rest of our work.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“This represents our own recognition of the need for a more integrated response to conflict. We are keen to look at any effective peace-building measures that might be funded from it. When I spoke at the Council's open debate last July on the prevention of armed conflict, I said that it was time to convert our fine words into action. There is a long way to go, but I am encouraged to point to a recent example of our beginning to get things right. Here I shall abbreviate the comments set out in my written text. I refer to the experience of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and the debate that we had on 26 January, when it was clear, from Sergio Vieira de Mello's briefing, that a process of coordinated developmental planning had gone into the whole UNTAET operation.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“We have to remember that not following up, not implementing what we put forward in our resolutions, places a dead hand of inaction over the whole United Nations system because of the central role of the Security Council. We promote the centrality of that role, but we do not fully carry out the implementation process. We cannot go beyond our remit; we have to coordinate. But to fail to act fully in accordance with our remit puts a burden on the rest of the system. Fourthly, Member States must bear their own responsibility for cohesion, both internally and with each other. Foreign, finance and development ministries must communicate. Recognizing this, the United Kingdom Government has recently established a Global Conflict Prevention Pool, funded from the budgets of several departments.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“The Security Council itself could feed into such a process through its Working Group on peacekeeping. Here, let me depart from my text for a moment to say a word about the Security Council itself in this respect. The Security Council is, undoubtedly, a central organization for peace-building, but it cannot achieve results on its own. We are not particularly good at implementation and follow-up. One of the main purposes of the United Kingdom proposal to establish a working group on peacekeeping was to deal with exactly that issue: to interconnect with other parts of the system and focus on implementation and follow-up. There are some good ideas in the European Union statement, as there were in that of Ambassador Levitte, which we have already heard, on how we can proceed with that.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“It would make sense, for instance, in respect of each major conflict in the developing world - and remember that 20 of the 38 poorest countries are or have recently been in the midst of conflict - to establish a team approach at Headquarters which brings all the main actors together operationally. This is why the United Kingdom has so strongly supported the concept of Integrated Mission Task Forces, also contained in the Brahimi report. It is a pity that the Secretariat has not yet found an opportunity to set one up, despite the endorsement of the Security Council and the General Assembly. There are a number of current missions that would benefit from such an approach, not least the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and, potentially, the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“The Brahimi report contains a key recommendation, in paragraph 47 (d), that the Secretary-General should draw up a comprehensive plan for strengthening the United Nations peace-building capacity. This Council should today be giving its views on what might go into that plan. The essential foundation is the idea of a continuum of activities: conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peace-building are not separate activities; they cross over and interact with each other. Rivalries and jealousies between different players in the United Nations system have to be broken down, and regional organizations and donor countries must be brought into the strategy. The Secretary-General's leadership and activism in this respect are vital, and the United Kingdom will support him.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“The background documentation for the high-level meeting gives details on the strategic framework and common country assessment mechanisms, which are designed to develop a coherent and effective international response to a particular country in crisis. This approach looks promising; we would be grateful for more information on how successful the mechanisms have so far been in practice, and how they are going to be developed. We are particularly interested in accelerating work on how to reconstruct the rule of law in conflict-torn countries, and the statement of the European Union spells this out in detail. It is essential to get the police and the judiciary functioning quickly again and to bring to justice those who have committed atrocities. Third, coordination on the ground has to be matched by coordination at the centre.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“It would allow a range of skills available within the United Nations system to be brought together under one roof, providing exactly the sort of comprehensive analyses that this Council and the Secretary-General so badly need. We should use the coming months to put in place a properly thought- through structure to achieve this, with a logic and a resource cost which can win the support of all. The countries or regions themselves affected by conflict must be brought into the process. African leaders, for instance, are beginning to indicate how strong their interest is in a fully coordinated approach. Second, the integrated approach must apply to the critical work of the United Nations agencies and their partner organizations in the field.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“In the same context, I warmly welcome his decision to appoint a deputy special representative in Sierra Leone both to oversee the economic and social aspects of the peacekeeping programme, including disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, and to act as the United Nations Resident Coordinator. So how do we put this new approach to work? The first task is to deepen our analysis. Our means of identifying and responding to crises tend to be superficial and haphazard. Analysis must stretch beyond the immediate conflict into its roots. This was why the Brahimi report's proposal for an Information and Strategic Analysis Secretariat (EISAS) is in principle right.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“In making the paradigm shift to a more integrated approach among the international institutions, we have to accept that the distinction so frequently drawn in recent months between development and security is a false one. Conflict and poverty feed off each other; so must conflict management and development. We need comprehensive and integrated policies that recognize the links between resolving conflict, building peace, reducing poverty, promoting education and improving health. The Secretary-General is right to point to a distinction between developmental activities in the shadow of conflict and normal development work. We must consider this in greater detail.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“But the task goes beyond the ability ofthe Security Council or the Organization as a whole. The entire international system has to improve its professionalism if we are to make a difference. Bilateral actors, United Nations agencies, the Council and the General Assembly will all have to play their part. At the meeting tomorrow decisions will be needed on how the regional organizations can develop their key role. Cooperation should start with the essential business of sharing information and analysis. The capacity of regional organizations could be extended by the double-hatting of special envoys, exchanges of staff with the Secretariat and the arrangement of specialist training and secondments. I hope the high-level meeting will consider the full range ofoptions.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“I am heartened by the Secretary-General's decision to call a high-level meeting with the regional organizations on building a comprehensive approach to peace-building, and it is an excellent idea to have the Security Council and Member States feed their views into that meeting. So thank you, Mr. President, for the initiative and the preparation by your delegation. The representative of Sweden will make a statement later in our debate on behalf of the European Union, and the United Kingdom fully subscribes to that statement. But I would like to make some points in my national capacity. I have been arguing for some time that the United Nations should take a more integrated approach to tackling conflicts at their roots and in a coordinated way. The Secretary-General has set out his views clearly this morning, and I support his approach.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272 (2001) · source
“Let us hope that we will soon be applauding President Kabila for making the crucial difference in ensuring the success ofthat programme.”
2001-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4271 (2001) · source
“We very much welcome the early positive indications from President Kabila in that respect. At the request of the Council, the Secretary- General will this month be reviewing the situation on the ground and the MONUC concept of operations. We want to move forward, but we can do so only when the Secretary-General is satisfied that the conditions are right and will allow us to play a useful role. This depends on forward movement by the parties and on clear evidence of support and protection from the Government and armed forces of the Democratic Republic ofthe Congo. We now have a programme and a clear opportunity for making real progress in implementation of the peace process, leading up to the Council's meeting on 21 and 22 February. Let us make the most of it. The United Kingdom will contribute forcefully to that objective.”
2001-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4271 (2001) · source
“In December last year, we rolled over the mandate of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) for a further six months. We need to use this period to move forward. The United Nations has been in limbo for far too long, and the Secretary-General made it clear to us this afternoon that he wishes this to change. But MONUC, so ably led by Ambassador Morjane and keen to carry forward its purpose, can deploy and carry out its role only in parallel with implementation by the parties to the peace process. The parties must give MONUC their full, practical cooperation. As host Government, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has a particularly important role in this respect. Free access and security must be provided for MONUC, as well as for humanitarian agencies.”
2001-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4271 (2001) · source
“In this respect, the United Kingdom very much welcomes the pledge in President Kabila's inaugural statement to restore normal democratic life in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with full respect for human rights and justice, and to hold nationwide elections. We call on all the Lusaka parties fully to respect human rights and humanitarian standards. It also might be useful to explore the scope for a multi- donor mission to assess the humanitarian situation across the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which would give us a much better understanding of the scale of the problem and the level and kind of assistance needed. Then, there is the question of the United Nations role. I come to this thirdly because the way in which we can move forward depends first on the progress made by the parties.”
2001-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4271 (2001) · source
“We wish therefore to see the early establishment of an open, inclusive dialogue, as set out in the Lusaka Agreement, that will allow the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to map out a new future for their country and suffer no longer the presence of foreign troops on their soil. We encourage the Congolese authorities to reengage with the facilitation appointed by the Organization of African Unity in taking this forward. I make a particular appeal to President Kabila to take the lead in this. He has the most important role to play, not just in moving forward dialogue among the Congolese people, but much more generally in creating an atmosphere that will allow truly open and representative dialogue to flourish.”
2001-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4271 (2001) · source
“In this light, it is welcome news that President Kabila met yesterday in Washington with President Kagame and we would be most grateful if the President or his Foreign Minister could give us a summary account of that meeting or an assessment of its import. There can be no progress towards a political solution without direct communication between the opposing parties to the conflict. This Council insists on a political solution to the conflict. A military solution is clearly unachievable, but the political track can only truly come alive if credible progress is made in creating a political framework that will give a voice to all Congolese people. If we all put the rights and wishes of the ordinary, peace-loving people of the Congo first, we will reach a solution to this conflict surprisingly quickly.”
2001-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4271 (2001) · source
“The Kampala and Harare disengagement plans have followed. We now need to see the solid, steady implementation of the peace process which has been missing for the past year or so. This means a strong focus on the Lusaka Agreement and we welcome President Kabila's clear reaffirmation of its importance today. I think there are three key areas to address in the run-up to our meeting with the Political Committee on 21 and 22 February. On the military side, we welcome the general restraint shown by all the parties in recent days. This needs to be sustained and built upon. It is essential for the parties to be in contact and to get back to work on disengagement and withdrawal plans, mapping out achievable, concrete steps and setting a realistic timetable. They then need to take forward those plans.”
2001-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4271 (2001) · source
“I warmly welcome you, Sir, to the Council chair and offer you my compliments for starting your presidency with this important meeting. I congratulate President Joseph Kabila on his assumption of the presidency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and offer my delegation's warm thanks to him for his extraordinary initiative in coming to New York so early in his presidency and seeking this meeting with the Council. I also renew the United Kingdom Government's and people's sincere condolences on the loss of his father. The United Kingdom values highly the opportunity to have this discussion today. We must make the most of it to confirm our commitment at last to moving the peace process forward. The principles are all set out and were signed up to more than 18 months ago in the Lusaka Agreement.”
2001-02-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4271 (2001) · source
“It is vitally important that the General Assembly special session result in increased and accelerated country-level action to tackle HIV/AIDS across all sectors, paying particular attention to prevention and to a coordinated and coherent international response. It is also vitally important that our work here in the Council, in the funds and programmes, in the Economic and Social Council and in the specialized agencies contribute positively and effectively to that process. Let us decide together, today in the Council, to mainstream HIV/AIDS in all our relevant work on international peace and security, especially in Africa, and to insist on positive results.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259 (2001) · source
“The cooperation framework agreement between UNAIDS and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is a significant step, and we congratulate both teams on taking it, as well as on setting up a senior expert panel on HIV testing for peacekeepers. A year on from Ambassador Holbrooke's initiative, we have come some way, but we have a long way left to go. The year 2001 is an important year in global efforts to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Outside this Council, the General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS in June offers an opportunity to focus international attention on the need for yet greater efforts and yet more political and financial commitment to tackling the epidemic.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259 (2001) · source
“We welcome that resolution and its follow-up resolution, resolution 1325 (2000), on the importance of HIV/AIDS awareness training for military and civilian police personnel and peacekeeping personnel, which is essential, too, for the protection of women affected by armed conflict. The United Kingdom is pleased to be working with UNAIDS to develop practical proposals for United Nations peacekeeping forces and other uniformed services. We warmly welcome, too, the focus that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is bringing to the problem, which Under-Secretary- General Guehenno set out so clearly this morning.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259 (2001) · source
“In this context, the United Kingdom commends the work of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in providing a framework for cooperation and leadership of the United Nations response to HIV/AIDS. Peter Piot has done a really excellent job over the past year in following up Security Council resolution 1308 (2000), and I welcome his report this morning. We support UNAIDS development of a United Nations system strategic plan. In resolution 1308 (2000), on the importance of HIV awareness among peacekeepers, the Security Council showed that it was ready to engage in a joined- up approach to HIV/AIDS. It is clearly right that we concern ourselves with the welfare of deployed troops and with the civilian populations whose vulnerability to the risk of infection can increase significantly during conflict and instability.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259 (2001) · source
“Nowhere are the consequences more widespread or more devastating than in Africa, where 21 million people live with HIV/AIDS every day and where four fifths of all HIV/AIDS deaths have occurred. The very scale of the HIV/AIDS problem requires an effective, efficient international response. But more than that, it requires a coherent response. We have all been involved in the United Nations system's effort to bring together economic, social, political and military actors to present a more coordinated and coherent approach to conflict. As a cause and consequence of conflict, and as a human and developmental tragedy, HIV/AIDS needs and deserves a similar effort.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259 (2001) · source
“It is a human development issue, an equity and equality issue and a significant threat to international peace and security. It therefore needs the coordinated response of United Nations bodies, including the Security Council. HIV/AIDS reverses development gains by destroying family structures, preventing adults from earning and leaving children exposed and vulnerable. In reversing development gains and creating environments in which political and ethnic tensions can worsen, HIV/AIDS can contribute to the proliferation of armed conflict. And, conversely, it becomes increasingly clear that security conditions have a direct impact on the spread of HIV/AIDS and that conflict and civil unrest can increase vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, particularly among women and children.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259 (2001) · source
“In addition to the EU effort, the United Kingdom is making significant new resources available internationally and to the United Nations to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including, most recently, $38 million to the United Nations Population Fund to help prevent a critical shortage of condoms in the developing world. We salute the similar efforts of other countries, and urge those who have not yet reviewed their contributions to do so as a matter of priority. Together we must do what we can to develop and promulgate vaccines and treatments and to make life easier for HIV/AIDS victims. But preventing new infection is of the highest importance in slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS and limiting its human and developmental costs. The massive and rapid spread of HIV/AIDS is not just a health issue.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259 (2001) · source
“There is one other tribute that I would like to pay in this context, and that is to his team at the United States Mission to the United Nations. They have been to a very special sort of charm school over the last 17 months. They have been nurse and midwife to a whole mongrel family of initiatives, pronouncements, orders, counter-orders, crises and real, solid achievements. They deserve our thanks for their role in shaping the extraordinary contribution of the United States to the United Nations and in preserving the sanity of the United Nations, no doubt at some small cost to their own. Sweden will later make a statement on behalf of the European Union (EU) with which I align the United Kingdom.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259 (2001) · source
“We have made good progress since. It is a legacy, among many others, that he leaves to the Council and the United Nations. That is why I want to recognize at this, his last Council meeting, the extraordinary achievements of his 17 months. He has not just made us think differently about the United States and its relationship with the United Nations, and made us do things in that context of which we did not think ourselves capable, but he has made us think differently about the issues themselves. What we often lack in our business at the United Nations is sheer political intensity, and he has brought us that in huge measure. I thank him for his electric input and friendship, and for his capacity through leadership, to elevate the United Nations.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259 (2001) · source
“You do us honour, Mr. President, by sticking with us through this week, and I thank you for chairing this important debate. I would also like to acknowledge warmly the presence of the Norwegian Minister of International Development, who is with us today. My delegation is extremely grateful for the comprehensive, full, interesting statements that Under- Secretary-General Jean-Marie Guehenno and Executive Director Peter Piot made to us this morning. I shall come back to those in a moment. But I want particularly to thank Ambassador Holbrooke for bringing the HIV/AIDS debate into the Security Council a year ago. That meeting was unprecedented; some questioned its wisdom. Looking back, it was clearly the start of a process that has helped break the global silence on an immediate and widespread threat to mankind.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259 (2001) · source
“Above all, it would help us to see beyond the frequent assumption that political attitudes are always the problem, when there are often concrete and resolvable difficulties that should be addressed. I look forward to your summing up of this debate, Mr. President. It is clear from what we heard from the troop contributors this morning that we have food for thought and a need for pragmatic change. Where there are substantive ideas for progress that can find consensus, we should move to decisions quickly, but we should be clear that what is required is as much a change of approach as a change in procedure. My delegation is beginning to make that shift and we look forward to working through the various problems that we will face in the future with our partners both in the Security Council and in the wider United Nations system.”
2001-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4257Resumption1 (2001) · source
“A working group would give us the machinery to address that issue. It might also play a role in establishing a more direct and proactive relationship with the troop contributors, who could perhaps think of forming a corresponding grouping for each main operation. Neither should such a working group shy away from the difficult questions that United Nations peacekeeping must face if it is to become a truly professional force for international peace and security. These could include questions such as the increasingly robust nature of modern peacekeeping and - another issue I raised in the November open debate - the reasons why modern hi-tech armies may be unwilling to put themselves under United Nations command and control. These are not easy questions to address and we will not always agree, but a frank and open discussion would help.”
2001-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4257Resumption1 (2001) · source
“I think it is now time to move to a decision on this idea, which will provide the Council with a new instrument to increase the effectiveness of its work in this area, while respecting the prerogatives of the General Assembly. A working group would bring cohesion to the way the Council handles peacekeeping, currently all too often dealt in an ad hoc way in piecemeal discussion or through thematic debates. It would allow us to take a step back from time to time and examine the overall trends in our work on peacekeeping, learning lessons where we can. It could examine in depth particular issues causing problems. It would also help us to look carefully at our working methods. We need to be sure that we are getting the best military advice and that our own decisions are militarily sound.”
2001-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4257Resumption1 (2001) · source
“We need to revisit the concept of an Information and Strategic Analysis Secretariat, or EISAS, which was contained in the Brahimi report. Resolution 1327 (2000) gave us a good framework for all this work. Holding a private meeting at key stages of the consideration of new or evolving mandates will help. But new procedures are only half the story. We also need a step change in our attitudes. We in the Council, the Secretariat and the troop contributors have a shared responsibility to make those consultations productive: to exchange views in a frank and forthright manner and to listen to what others have to say. When I spoke at the Council debate on "No exit without strategy" on 15 November, I suggested forming a working group of the Council to look at generic peacekeeping issues.”
2001-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4257Resumption1 (2001) · source
“We also need to bear in mind that Security Council consultations with troop contributors cannot cover all of the ground. Informal consultation between troop-contributing countries (TCCs) and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations will remain critical to the task of preparing and sustaining effective peacekeeping operations. As the European Union statement made clear, this will require decisive action to give the Secretariat the capacity it needs to do the job. While the new posts endorsed by the Fifth Committee before Christmas are a good start, we need to take further steps to improve the planning capacity of the Organization, the military and the civilian police. A proper flow of information to the troop contributors means ensuring that the Secretariat has a proper analytical capacity.”
2001-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4257Resumption1 (2001) · source
“We need to explain better to them the specific concerns that are driving our work. The aim is, as the European Union statement says, greater transparency throughout all the phases of a peacekeeping operation. That is not to say that the Security Council should devolve its Charter duties. The troop contributors are not contesting, I think, that the Council makes its own decisions, in line with its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. But we must do so on the basis of the widest possible consultation. Our decisions have to be right, and the implementation of them has to be quick and effective. No national defence system, and no large corporation, would separate out its decision-making and its operational processes to the extent that the United Nations has done up to now.”
2001-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4257Resumption1 (2001) · source
“And they will help to ensure that the resolutions we adopt will not be paper tigers, fruitless in practice because the necessary contributions cannot be found for a mandate that is over-ambitious. Everybody recognizes that the arrangements we have had for cooperation with troop contributors in the past have not worked properly. The standard meetings have too frequently been desultory affairs, with little or no exchange of views, though the fault for that is not necessarily only on one side. We need to know how current or potential contributors feel about the decisions we are planning to take. They need to be able to comment on the Secretariat's and the Council's analysis of the situation. For instance, what information might they have from their contingents on the ground that would impact on our considerations?”
2001-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4257Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Contingents have been given new and tougher tasks in ever more complicated situations, where the political problems are not necessarily solved by a force deployment or a peace agreement. We should be clear that the benefits of a more proactive approach to cooperation are not merely to be found in building a better relationship with contributors, important though that may be. Driving for more effective peacekeeping operations means ensuring that contributors know what to expect in both general and specific terms. Better and more regular consultations will ensure that national contingents do not arrive in theatre unprepared or unequipped for the mission that the Council expects them to fulfil. They should mean a more cohesive operation, with all contributors clear about the goals that the Security Council has set.”
2001-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4257Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Some of the contributors to the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) spoke this morning about their particular experiences of that operation. The points of criticism are perhaps not quite so clear cut as has sometimes been suggested, but we must take careful note of what they have said. The Brahimi report also pointed out the need to involve troop contributors in our work in a much more systematic way. The truth is that peacekeeping operations in 2001 face much more complex challenges than the mechanisms we have so far put in place can meet. The nature of conflict has changed. National contingents have harder work to do in securing peace in situations where the parties to a conflict can be difficult to identify and where their commitment to peace is all too often ambivalent, or worse.”
2001-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4257Resumption1 (2001) · source
“It was a good idea to have this debate in this format. As we in the Security Council, and others in the wider United Nations system, grapple with making peacekeeping operations work better, one thing has become clear. We - that is, the Council and the Secretariat - need a comprehensive approach to peacekeeping that looks at reform in a cohesive way and raises the professional capability of the United Nations effort across the board. Our key partners in that must be the troop contributors. I very much agree with Ambassador Cunningham's accent on partnership. The non-paper that your delegation, Mr. President, circulated before this debate acknowledged that this is not a new subject. But it has resurfaced with force in recent months.”
2001-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4257Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Mr. President, it is very good to see you in the chair today. Thank you, Mr. Minister, for your delegation's very imaginative approach to this debate. I also would like to thank the Deputy Secretary-General for her statement, which set us off to a good start. The Permanent Representative of Sweden spoke this morning on behalf of the European Union, and what he said reflected the United Kingdom's views on the fundamental points of this issue. But I would like to say a few words from our own perspective as a Council member and as a regular and major contributor to peacekeeping in one form or another. I would also like to react to some of the interesting and substantive interventions of troop contributors this morning, which set out a number of points that we will have to take into account.”
2001-01-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4257Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Finally, I should like to welcome contact between the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and UNMIK on the issue of Kosovar Albanians detained in Serbia. We hope a decision on their release can be taken as soon as possible. This will be a valuable confidence-building measure. I urge Foreign Minister Svilanovic to do all he can to move forward this important step towards normalization. The United Kingdom is pleased to have sponsored the presidential statement which we are about to adopt.”
2000-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4249 (2000) · source