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

“I am very grateful to Ambassador Holbrooke for his report, and as the first member of the mission to speak after him, I wish to thank him for his generous words about the mission and the members of the mission. I echo everything he said about the value, the pressures and the enjoyment of being on the mission, and I would like to pay tribute to him as leader. It may have seemed, from what one saw in the media and on the television, that this was a one-man mission. One would be wise to imagine what it would have been like if Ambassador Holbrooke had been a mere member of the mission, and not its leader. But I would like to say that he led the mission with a sense of inclusiveness and equality among members of the mission that was both an example and an inspiration to us, and I would like to thank him for that.”
2000-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4143 (2000) · source
“And let us not forget the national level. The primary responsibility for the protection of civilians does not rest with the Security Council, with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). It is the responsibility of the belligerents in conflicts: of Governments, of non-State actors and particularly of their leaderships. They too must make a commitment and expect to be reproached by the international community if they do not - a commitment to, where possible, resolve their disputes through peaceful means and to respect the rights and security of civilians. Such an understanding of the rights of the individual is indispensable to the sort of step-change that we are seeking today.”
2000-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4130 (2000) · source
“The European Union statement, to be made by Portugal this afternoon, goes into greater detail on legal aspects, on small arms and on vulnerable groups, so I shall leave United Kingdom comment on these points to my distributed text. But we regard it as particularly important that combatants are educated in their obligations under international humanitarian law. This is a complex and ambitious agenda in front of us. It adds up to the mainstreaming of conflict prevention throughout the United Nations family of institutions. The Security Council cannot succeed on its own. The United Kingdom will vote for the draft resolution before us. In doing so, I encourage the wider international system, both intergovernmentally and through the United Nations agencies, to examine how best to make their own contribution.”
2000-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4130 (2000) · source
“That is the first area where the Council can make a difference. It contains concrete commitments which we should strive to keep in practice. But more significant than that, it states that the targeting of civilians and the systematic violation of their rights can constitute a threat to international peace and security - a wake-up call to the Security Council, if we are listening. The Secretary-General's report makes clear that the protection of civilians in armed conflict goes wider than simple physical security. For example, the international legal framework has made dramatic strides in recent years with the Rome Statute and the Ottawa treaty on landmines, both still awaiting the signature and ratification of too many Member States.”
2000-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4130 (2000) · source
“But more than these, we need an improved system-wide approach that will consolidate the expertise of all relevant bodies without stifling the capacity of any to do the work that it does best. We need to produce clear-sighted analysis, comprehensive and integrated planning and well-resourced implementation. As for post-conflict activity, let us think beyond protection and assistance during conflict and establish coherent strategies to build peace after the war is over. The move from crisis to reconstruction needs early thought and coordination across the United Nations family. We cannot wait until the peacekeepers and humanitarian teams have left before putting our plans in place. This is something which the United Kingdom is trying to do in Sierra Leone. The draft resolution before us concentrates on the promotion of physical security.”
2000-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4130 (2000) · source
“We need also to forge operational links between the regional organizations and the Security Council that can bear the weight of the work we have to do. Most fundamental of all, we need to make the psychological leap to tackling conflicts at their roots - their economic, social, structural, sometimes personal roots. We will not always succeed. When we fail, peacekeepers may well be needed. The report which is being prepared by Lakhdar Brahimi and his panel will address the vital question of how we can do better in deploying peacekeepers. The United Kingdom is keenly interested in that report and expects from it an ambitious agenda for us to address. We need reformed Security Council procedures and reinforced Secretariat structures.”
2000-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4130 (2000) · source
“The Secretary- General this morning pointed to the Central African Republic and to Prevlaka as welcome exceptions to this, and Macedonia was another. But national priorities tend to make us shy of committing resources, and we slip too easily into a focus only on the immediate causes of conflict. It is time to take a more professional approach to human security and conflict prevention. We should be making a real effort to improve coordination and information flow within the United Nations system. We need to strengthen the proactive role of the Secretary-General, so that coordination with the Economic and Social Council and the relevant United Nations agencies can begin to work more naturally. It is interesting to see that a number of us now are taking up this theme of the coordination between separate bodies of the United Nations.”
2000-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4130 (2000) · source
“The goals in this draft resolution lie at the heart of a sustainable conflict- prevention strategy. What is the next step for us, the members of the Council? James Orbinski, President of the International Council of Medecins Sans Frontieres, made an excellent presentation to Council members in an Arria-format meeting last week. He said at one point that "the central task in achieving protection of civilians is to clearly define problems and solutions - not to settle for vague problem definitions that mask political causes and responsibilities". I think that President Kellenberger has forcefully made the same point to us in this debate. The Security Council's first objective should be to contain threats to the peace. But we often appear hamstrung in undertaking actual preventive measures well in advance of the outbreak of violence.”
2000-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4130 (2000) · source
“It will have value in the world outside only if it is the catalyst for a more systematic approach by the Council to the protection of civilians in specific conflicts. Last Friday we took stock of what happens when the United Nations and the international community get things wrong. The Carlsson report on Rwanda and the Secretary-General's own report on Srebrenica illuminated our collective commitment to human security; but I am not clear what we would do tomorrow if Rwanda hit us again. The concept of security for individuals does not stand in opposition to that of security for States. It plays an intrinsic part in the wider objective. When individuals are protected, and their human, economic, social, political and cultural rights are upheld, international stability is consolidated.”
2000-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4130 (2000) · source
“The working group on civilians in armed conflict has worked long and hard to produce the draft resolution which we will adopt at the end of this meeting. It is a good draft resolution and the Canadian delegation is particularly deserving of congratulations. I should just like to add that our experts recently have done particularly good work on a number of resolutions. When texts are not coming to ambassadors for solution, that is a sign that something is going right in the procedures of inter-delegational activity here, and that is very much to be welcomed. But I should like to look forward for a moment. This meeting needs to set down a marker. Today's draft resolution is not the end of a process.”
2000-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4130 (2000) · source
“Thank you, Mr. President, for Canada's leadership on this issue. We are impressed by the stamina you are showing in keeping up with our arcane procedures in this body and I think we are going to miss you. I should also like to express the United Kingdom's appreciation for the Secretary-General's and Deputy Secretary-General's personal involvement in this issue, which is very important, and to pay tribute President Kellenberger of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), not only for coming to join us this morning, but also for giving us a speech that we shall have to think about. On that basis, I am sure that he will be welcomed back to this Council whenever there is a subject that affects the ICRC.”
2000-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4130 (2000) · source
“The text, the process which has led to it and, most importantly, the action which must follow from it, also send a forceful message about the seriousness of this Council's business. We must live up to it.”
2000-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4129 (2000) · source
“While all Member States are affected, the draft resolution places a particular burden on States neighbouring Angola. We very much welcome the commitment which the States of the Southern African Development Community have already expressed to follow up this draft resolution. That is in their interests, because peace in Angola would make a significant positive difference to the region. At the same time, we recognize the burden on them. Some of the measures needed, such as tightening up controls of borders and airspace, will not be easy to implement. As this draft resolution makes clear, the international community needs to consider how it can help. Today's draft resolution addresses more than the achieving of peace in Angola.”
2000-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4129 (2000) · source
“I congratulate Canada and thank Ambassador Fowler for the impetus you, Mr. President, and he have delivered to implementation of United Nations sanctions on UNITA. This effort, and the work of the Expert Panel, both solidly supported in practice by the United Kingdom, have already sent an important message: that violators of sanctions will be pursued. UNITA now knows that, even before the Security Council has taken its decisions, law-breaking friends are harder to find, illegal supplies harder to secure and stolen diamonds harder to sell. Making this draft resolution work will be tough going. It will require a new level of cooperation among Member States, and between Governments and the private sector. It will require technical expertise and political will. The United Kingdom will play its part.”
2000-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4129 (2000) · source
“The fact that this draft resolution is being adopted today and that this discussion is taking place today already silently expresses much of the United Kingdom's message. We all want to see an end to the decades of misery caused by the conflict in Angola. We all believe that the only way to achieve this is to deprive UNITA of the practical means to continue to wage war. We have all, in previous Security Council resolutions, committed ourselves to sanctions on UNITA in order to achieve that goal. When a leader and his organization in civil conflict reject peace and ignore the will of the majority of ordinary people, then sanctions are one of the few tools the United Nations has at its disposal to try to make them reconsider. Having decided on a sanctions regime, we must make it work.”
2000-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4129 (2000) · source
“We need experienced and energetic help also from the Secretariat, and the General Assembly must be prepared to authorize the resources necessary for a properly equipped and properly staffed sanctions unit headed by a senior officer. The system has to be capable enough to tap into national facilities for information and investigation. In the end, our aim must be to have as effective an international effort on sanctions-busting, including illegal arms flows, as we are beginning to have on drugs, terrorism and money- laundering. Does anyone think that is asking for too much? I believe that if we invested in such an international capability on sanctions, and if Member States as a whole carried out their obligations in support, the United Nations Charter would be more widely respected in practice and conflicts would occur less frequently.”
2000-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4128 (2000) · source
“There has been much discussion of "smarter" sanctions. I hope that modern technology will be able to help us in the financial arena. I rather suspect that the fox will be able to stay ahead of the hounds in this particular hunt, but it is a vital area. Since money is such a slippery commodity, let us see where we get to with diamonds and with arms. They will be difficult enough, as the case of Angola will show us. Again, the United Kingdom thanks Canada for the leadership it has shown in implementing sanctions against UNITA to provide us with momentum in our wider tasks. The role of the sanctions committees is, as we have seen, the key. Their chairmen have a particular responsibility, but all Council members have to be prepared to put themselves out in support.”
2000-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4128 (2000) · source
“Briefly, sanctions regimes adopted by the Security Council should, ideally, present clearly defined and realistic objectives and a clear exit strategy; ensure consistent application by describing clearly the precise scope in terms of goods and services sanctioned; devise a workable mechanism to achieve the objective; provide for regular review of implementation; provide scope for flexibility and graduation up and down the scale in response to the target's reactions; set out effective arrangements for enforcement by all States, but especially neighbours, and take into account the resources and the national legislative action required; and, lastly, devise from the beginning ways of protecting the innocent from unintended consequences while maintaining the intended impact of the sanctions themselves.”
2000-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4128 (2000) · source
“The United Kingdom will not only play a constructive role in the group, we will be prepared, if Council colleagues approach the task in the same spirit, to acknowledge where the Council has underperformed in the past and where sanctions have failed to produce the right results. The Secretary-General said this morning at the International Peace Academy seminar, "Getting sanctions right has often been a lesser objective than getting sanctions adopted". We have here an important opportunity to upgrade United Nations effectiveness in the maintenance of peace and security, to deter more powerfully those who are tempted to use force illegitimately to secure their political objectives and to alleviate the damaging side effects among the innocent and the vulnerable. The United Kingdom will feed its detailed ideas into the working group.”
2000-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4128 (2000) · source
“We need them to bring into line those States and regimes which breach the boundaries of acceptable behaviour, defy the international community and ignore diplomatic efforts. It is essential for the Council to take the initiative to refine this powerful instrument and improve its effectiveness. The United Kingdom welcomes the decision of Council members to establish a working group to improve the effectiveness of United Nations sanctions. Their mandate is a challenging one. The working group should take account of the conclusions and recommendations of the series of seminars.”
2000-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4128 (2000) · source
“We appreciate your presence, Mr. President, and your upfront leadership at this meeting. We could have quite a long exchange about sanctions, but the analysis has been largely completed in the series of excellent seminars and workshops over the past two years and in academic works like The Sanctions Decade by Lopez and Cortwright. So what this session should do is lay the basis for a revised Security Council approach. The case for the use of sanctions remains compelling. Apart from the threat of or the use of force, they are - in their full range, from travel bans at one end to comprehensive economic embargoes at the other - the only coercive measure available to the international community to respond to threats to international peace and security.”
2000-04-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4128 (2000) · source
“We must ensure that lessons learned from Rwanda inform future Council discussions. The Rwanda and Srebrenica reports are inextricably linked to wider issues of United Nations peacekeeping capability and humanitarian preventive action. These issues have implications for other United Nations bodies, not just the Security Council. This point is borne out by current discussions on conflict prevention, which are detailing the need for a comprehensive approach going much wider than peacekeeping. We therefore applaud the Secretary-General's intention to tackle these issues in a broad-ranging report on peace operations due to be issued this summer. Today's discussion must inform that process and lead to effective decisions by the Council which draw the right lessons from this appalling story.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“But at the same time we have to recognize where fault lines remain - and in any long- term conflict such fault lines will be deep and extend to the population at large, not just to political and military players. This principle is bound to apply in most peacekeeping operations, not least those currently before us in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We must also be prepared to recognize and respond to signs of a major shift in the political or humanitarian situation. As the report makes clear, this means that any peacekeeping operation needs to have both a political analysis capacity and a human rights monitoring capacity. This underlines the importance, moreover, of the continuing efforts of the United Nations to strengthen its rapid reaction capability.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“At the same time, the Council and the United Nations membership as a whole must demonstrate the political will to act on that information, however unpalatable, to tackle complex humanitarian emergencies. It is easy to underline the need for greater responsiveness and flexibility. In an organization of 188 equal States, that is not always so easy to deliver. But we as a Council have to be clear that no peacekeeping mandate is set in stone, that operational changes are part of the Council's business and that the underlying principles and responsibilities of the United Nations must not be ignored or set aside. We know that for a peacekeeping mission to work, there must be a peace to keep. And it is right that any peacekeeping mission must be based on the commitment of all parties to a peace accord.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“This failure became evident in two important aspects: first, the original mandate was based on the commitment of the parties to the Arusha Peace Accords but did not properly take account of the fragility of those Accords; second, and most important, the Council failed to respond to the drastically changing situation on the ground. It is apparent that there were real problems in the flow of information, including to the Security Council. Some of the causes were structural. But there also appears to have been a perception - probably justified - that the Security Council, and maybe the United Nations membership as a whole, did not have the political stomach for hearing and responding to the unadorned truth. This is fundamental. The Council needs accurate, timely and unfiltered information.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“For instance, we are now providing long-term development assistance to help Rwanda to meet international development targets, and I think that answers one of the points made by the Ambassador of Mali. For its part, Rwanda has made specific commitments in the areas of national unity, good governance, conflict resolution, poverty reduction and economic stability, commitments which it must fulfil. The Carlsson report highlights a range of failures encompassing all those involved, and it puts forward a number of recommendations for the future. I will focus on those issues relating to the Security Council. Perhaps most damning is the apparent failure to face up to the reality on the ground when it really mattered.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“We also need to look to the future of the people of Rwanda. What they need now is political commitment and practical support in their efforts to rebuild their country. The United Kingdom Government is committed to working in partnership with the Government and the people of Rwanda to build national unity and develop democratic processes in a society where trust was destroyed by genocide. Rwanda also needs to restore the rule of law and address the devastating economic impact of the genocide. Given the background of 1994, and before that the legacy of decades of divisive and exclusionary rule, such a task will take time. The United Kingdom is committed to working in an open partnership with Rwanda to keep that process on track.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“The United Kingdom is grateful to Canada for organizing this open debate and for thus following up the discussion of the Carlsson report which the United Kingdom instigated among members of the Council in December. We pay tribute to Prime Minister Carlsson and to his Korean and Nigerian colleagues on the Inquiry for the excellent job that they have done and to the Secretary- General for taking this initiative of commendable transparency. It is important that our discussions should look to the future. We must all, Member States and the Secretariat, be prepared to learn from the report of the Independent Inquiry team, to discuss its recommendations in depth and to explore any other realistic ways to avoid such humanitarian catastrophes in future. The United Kingdom is very ready to do that.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“Too often in Africa we have seen progress at one point washed out by things moving back in from the region or from outside. The flow of small arms is one example, but regional politics can also do damage. We may have to watch that very carefully in Sierra Leone, for instance. But with the elections in Senegal, the success in Guinea-Bissau and - I hope - with an improvement in the fragile situation in Sierra Leone, West Africa is beginning to show us a bit of an example of how we can do things in Africa. We must keep an eye on that post-conflict situation. So I would want this subject to come back to the Security Council so that we can keep a check on this part of it and not turn our backs on it because we think that the work has been done.”
2000-03-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4121 (2000) · source
“I share the unity of view in both the thanks and praise that have come out of the statements this morning, and also in the note of optimism that we have seen a relative success for the United Nations in Guinea-Bissau. I just wanted to make two quick points. One is that we must, on this issue, make sure that we get the post- conflict situation right. I think this is a chance for us to go on focusing on what happens after the worst has been resolved, with the help of the United Nations and the excellent work done by Mr. Nana-Sinkam and the United Nations Peace-building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS). That includes, as people have said this morning, focusing on the police and the armed forces in particular. But there is another aspect to it, and that is the regional aspect.”
2000-03-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4121 (2000) · source
“We welcome his suggestion that there should be a constant review of progress under resolution 1284 (1999), and we strongly support his call for Iraq to cooperate with that resolution, and with this Council, so that we can work towards the suspension and the lifting of sanctions. If Iraq refuses that opportunity, then it is the Council's duty, with the Secretariat, to make the most of the huge opportunity offered by resolution 1284 (1999) to make a difference to the lives of ordinary Iraqis.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“As today's debate has made clear, there is much to be done to improve the situation in Iraq. But the full solution lies in implementation of this Council's resolutions, and in particular the programme we have devised in resolution 1284 (1999). We may want sanctions to end, but the Council cannot just put a line through its responsibility for the security of the region. As the Secretary-General said this morning, the only satisfactory outcome is for Iraq to return to full compliance with the decisions of the Council, so that sanctions can be ended and the Iraqi people restored to a normal life.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“Those that occur we deeply regret, but we should beware of Iraqi statistics that tend to inflate military and civilian casualties for propaganda effect. There would be no risk if there were no Iraqi threat. Before finishing, I would like to pay tribute to the efforts of all the United Nations personnel involved in the implementation of the humanitarian programme, and in particular to the Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme and the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund. Theirs is arduous work in the most difficult of circumstances, but they have worked with courage and dedication, and they can be proud of their efforts in implementing the largest and most complicated humanitarian programme in the history of this Organization. We should all offer them our continued support and help.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“These ends are justified under international law, in response to a situation of overwhelming humanitarian necessity. The United Kingdom is not prepared to leave Kurds, Shiahs or others exposed to renewed threat from the Iraqi air force. Given its record, none of us can doubt that Baghdad would resume this activity if it could. Our aircraft target only aircraft and ground facilities which target them. There is no bombing campaign. The tempo of activity is actually determined by Iraq - not by the coalition forces. If Iraq stopped attacking our aircraft, we would stop responding to this aggression. Our action is strictly limited to proportionate responses and carefully targeted to avoid civilian casualties.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“Iraq has also failed to account for huge quantities of stolen Kuwaiti property, including the national archives. As a result, Kuwait is still a society and a country traumatized by the 1990 invasion, a fact witnessed by those of our spouses who recently Visited the Gulf. I very much welcome the Secretary-General's appointment of Ambassador Yuli Vorontsov, as provided for under resolution 1284 (1999), as his high-level coordinator. The United Kingdom looks forward to his report and will do everything we can to assist his work. One or two delegations referred earlier in this debate to action in the no-fly zones. The no-fly zones were established in support of Security Council resolution 688 (1991), which called on Iraq to end its repression of the civilian population. That repression continues.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“Even worse, it denies the Iraqi people the full resources that should be available to them. In addition to the provisions I have already described, resolution 1284 (1999) brings the Council's focus more closely onto a humanitarian issue that should concern us all here. Since the Gulf war, Iraqi obstruction has constantly hampered efforts to account for the whereabouts of the 600 and more Kuwaitis and others who are missing. Iraq has provided sufficient information to close only three files. Since 1999 Iraq has refused to attend the meetings of the Tripartite Commission, the body which aims to resolve these cases. Further progress has therefore been deliberately prevented. Meanwhile, the families of the missing are left to suffer.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“We should follow that example in the Committee established by resolution 661 (1990) and our work in the Council itself. We have been engaged much more intensively on Iraq than on Angola, and the regional and international security implications are even greater. It is time to develop an operational response, focusing first on monitoring holds and smuggling as a composite package to support the improvement in procedures in the resolution 661 (1990) Committee. We should also consider including the legislation of additional oil outlets and legalizing other currently-illegal oil flows in order to transfer oil and revenue into the oil-for-food programme, where they belong. This illegal traffic insulates the Baghdad regime from the effects of the Council's policy, which is to take sanctions suspension and disarmament together.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“Instead of being used to rebuild a hospital in Baghdad or provide clean water for a Village, this money is being spent by Saddam Hussein's regime for the sustenance and comfort of the Iraqi elite and military; perhaps even for the support of Iranian dissident groups, an ironic point when you consider the Iranian protection for smuggling through the Gulf. We urge Iraq's neighbouring States to take steps to prevent this illegal trade and clamp down on those who seek to profit at the expense of the Iraqi people. Ambassador Fowler, through his work on the Angola sanctions Committee, has set us an excellent example of how the Council should get to grips with sanctions enforcement so that sanctions have the effect intended. We know that would benefit the long-suffering Angolan people.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“The Committee was presented with clear evidence that since mid-1999 smugglers have stepped up their activities to the point of now exporting illegally over 400,000 tons per month of gas oil from Iraq, using the protection of Iranian territorial waters to transport oil to traders in the United Arab Emirates. The Committee has also heard convincing evidence that smugglers are also exporting oil through other neighbouring States, including Turkey. The potential revenue from all these operations must now exceed $1 billion per year.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“But let us keep the matter in perspective; the United Kingdom has approved 98.8 per cent of all contracts submitted to the sanctions Committee under the oil-for-food programme - 98.8 per cent. I welcome the statement from the United States representative this morning that Washington will now make a constructive effort to refine its holds procedures. What else can we do to maximize the revenues for the humanitarian programme? Yesterday our sanctions Committee heard a briefing from the Multinational Interception Force on its operations in the Gulf and on the enforcement of the Council's resolutions.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“This does not make sense; nor does it give us the confidence that all potential dual-use items are being properly monitored. We should all work with the Secretariat to increase the number and effectiveness of observers. Perhaps this is something to be considered in the context of the draft resolution approving extra spending on oil spare parts. But whatever the real deficiencies we have to face in the contract system, the United Kingdom does all it can to approve contracts and avoid unnecessary hold-ups. Our procedures for the review of contracts have been examined to minimize all delay. We welcome the Secretary-General's proposal this morning that a mechanism should be established to review holds.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“This is clearly too low a standard for the Council to accept. We encourage the work which the United Nations is doing with Iraq and its contractors to improve the submission of contracts. Another cause of holds is the lack of information about the end-use of oil-for-food products in Iraq. This could be improved by more effective monitoring and observation in Iraq. Every resolution concerning the humanitarian programme, beginning with resolution 986 (1995), through 1153 (1998), and finally 1284 (1999), calls for the United Nations to ensure that goods are used for the purposes authorized in Iraq. Although the programme has more than trebled in size since 1996 and now involves complex infrastructure projects, the number of United Nations observers in Iraq has not increased since the programme's inception.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“We have held a contract for the provision of state-of-the-art military radio communication equipment, of far greater capability than needed, say, by the health ministry. We have held a contract for military respirators, whose only use is for military chemical-weapons or biological-weapons purposes. The United Kingdom will process its examination contracts quickly and objectively. But we will not be diverted from carrying our share of responsibility to prevent Iraq from rearming. Apart from this small number of dual- use cases, the biggest cause of holds is simply a lack of information on contracts. Sometimes multimillion-dollar contracts are submitted with one sentence of information describing the goods in that contract. In other words, we do not even know what is being imported by Iraq.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“It is time to put this problem in perspective. The Council has to implement all its resolutions. Only as a corpus do they ensure the security of the region. Iraq must not import items it could use to rebuild its military or weapons-of-mass-destruction capability. This is our core collective responsibility. It cannot be left to one side. Yet only a small minority of Council members assume a full responsibility for doing this. The rest of the Council, frankly, assumes that we will. If we did not, Iraq would be able to obtain dangerous items. Take three examples of contracts we have stopped in the last few weeks alone. We have queried a contract for a neutron generator which can be used in the development of nuclear weapons.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“We have approved the lists of educational, health, agricultural and food goods for import into Iraq, rendering the whole process of getting the goods into Iraq smoother and faster, so that a vast array of civilian goods can be imported without any delay. The sanctions Committee is looking at other positive measures. We await the United Nations recommendations on a local cash component, which will make a real difference locally. It is good to have the Council once again in operational mode on Iraq. We must implement these measures quickly, constructively and effectively. The United Kingdom is ready to approve the Secretary- General's recommendation for an additional $600 million for oil spare parts. We look forward to a Council decision on that and related issues. Many members are concerned about the number of holds on contracts for Iraq.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“If Iraq makes that choice, we in the United Kingdom are committed to the reality of the suspension of sanctions, and, when Iraq has fulfilled its obligations, their lifting. Once Iraq takes that watershed decision, I firmly believe that suspension could take place in a matter of months. If Iraq does not take that opportunity, even so resolution 1284 (1999) offers the potential to do a significant amount for the people of Iraq in the meantime. This is not just the United Kingdom's View; it is also the Secretary-General's, as he makes clear in his report, and that of others who have spoken today. Already the ceiling on Iraq's oil sales has been lifted, allowing Iraq to export a potential $17 billion this year, a huge increase on past years, and the highest level since 1980.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“The "humanitarian" section of that resolution is being put into action now, but the faster we can move on the whole resolution, the sooner we shall reach the objective of sanctions suspended and security, including control of weapons of mass destruction, assured. Hans Blix has been appointed, with all our support, to establish and lead the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). We hope that Iraq will agree to accept UNMOVIC so that the Commission can finish the job of disarming Iraq and continue effective monitoring so that we can all be confident that the region is secure. We encourage Iraq to cooperate in this. Let me be clear on a fundamental point.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“I first thank the Secretary-General for his very comprehensive and useful report and for his succinct introduction of the report this morning. At last we are getting down to operational discussion of the implementation of resolution 1284 (1999). A major motivation for the United Kingdom in promoting that resolution was the need to improve the humanitarian situation in Iraq. This debate has to focus on practical solutions. There is a great deal which can be done without crossing the well-worn lines of political differences, which do not have to inhibit us today. The implementation of resolution 1284 (1999) is the key, and I think we have Council consensus on this.”
2000-03-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4120Resumption1 (2000) · source
“If this means handing the implementation on to another organization, then we will need to consider what preparations are necessary to ensure continuity. I should welcome Mr. Annabi's comments on that. My second point is on an exit strategy for UNMIBH. The Secretary-General's report does not give us a sense of the overall plan for the Mission's future activity. While JSAP is a specific example of a programme that is completing its objectives and winding up its activities, there is no similar trajectory for the bulk of UNMIBH's activity and we would be very pleased to see a more focused assessment of achievements to date and a game plan for future action. That does not detract from our admiration of what UNMIBH is doing, but I think it is sensible to look forward in that sense.”
2000-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4117 (2000) · source
“In this context, we are looking forward to seeing the report from Special Representative Carl Bildt on this subject when he comes to New York next month. I want to make two brief specific points. My first is on the Judicial System Assessment Programme (JSAP), which the report refers to in describing the termination by the end of this year of that Programme. This is a valuable Programme, in the United Kingdom's View, the findings of which will be fundamental to the badly needed reform of the judicial system in Bosnia. The reports which JSAP is now issuing need to be implemented. We understand that the United Nations is not envisaging any extension of JSAP's activity in this area after its mandate expires and I would encourage the Secretariat to consider how implementation of this programme is going to be best pursued.”
2000-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4117 (2000) · source