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 thank Mr. Annabi for his updating report. The United Kingdom very much welcomes the Secretary-General' s report. We support its judgements and we warmly commend the work which the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) is doing on the ground there. We feel that significant progress is being made at last in the areas of judicial reform and integration of the local police forces. An independent judiciary and effective police enforcement are essential to our wider objective of Bosnian ownership of reform. I am glad, too, that Mr. Annabi has reported to us progress, again, in establishing a State Border Service. The advances made in supporting a free and fair society in Bosnia and Herzegovina are important for the stability of the Balkan region has a whole.”
2000-03-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4117 (2000) · source
“We would be grateful if the Secretariat could shed some light on the reasons for this delay in disbursements from the United Nations trust fund.”
2000-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4114 (2000) · source
“I think the Council this morning should make it clear that we find continued militia activity and any residual complicity with it on the part of the TNI completely unacceptable. UNTAET must be allowed to do its job and bring this province through to independence without the unwelcome attentions of those in West Timor who still feel that they can affect the situation, or who indeed oppose the Jakarta Government's interest in creating stability in East Timor. My third point is about the disbursement of funds. We are a little concerned at the slow rate of disbursements from the United Nations trust fund. In stark contrast with this is the availability of funds from assessed contributions for the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor.”
2000-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4114 (2000) · source
“The recent outbreaks of violence actually sound like the worst we have had since the deployment of the International Force in East Timor last autumn. There have been press reports - perhaps assumptions, maybe evidence - that the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) have been to some extent involved in these outbreaks of violence. The Assistant Secretary-General said to us this morning that it seems that elements of the TNI continue to tolerate or even support militia activity in East Timor. It is very good to hear that UNTAET has pressed this issue vigorously in Jakarta. The Indonesian Government are clearly aware of some of what is going on. They have made it clear that they do not support and will not countenance continued or residual complicity between the TNI and the militia, but we must make sure that they follow up on their promises.”
2000-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4114 (2000) · source
“The first is the increasing criminality in East Timor. We are all aware of it. It stems from an anarchical situation in the recent past. The United Kingdom hopes that the deployment of the rapid-reaction unit will help with that particular difficulty. We pay tribute to Portugal for leading on this front, and we welcome the stricter controls in the whole area of police activity that Mr. Annabi spoke about this morning. We also welcome the opening of the East Timorese police training school and the establishment of the Police Assistance Group, which are both steps in the right direction. We hope that these moves will help UNTAET bring unofficial security groups, as they are called, under its control. But my second point, I think, is even more serious. This is the continued reports of militia activity in East Timor.”
2000-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4114 (2000) · source
“I warmly thank Mr. Annabi for the update he has provided us this morning. I think we will all want to pay tribute to what Special Representative Vieira de Mello has achieved so far in East Timor and to commend the whole team of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) for what they are achieving there. I think it is a sign of our confidence in that team and that leadership that we assume that, in spite of the difficulties in East Timor, things are going steadily and inexorably in the right direction towards a stable independence. But the briefing we have had this morning and news we have had over the last couple of weeks, I think, remind us that there are still some problems, some quite serious problems in East Timor. I just want to cover briefly three of them.”
2000-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4114 (2000) · source
“I commend your decision, Mr. President, to hold this open meeting as a sign of the Security Council's concern for Sierra Leone, and I hope that the conclusions we come to this morning will support and strengthen the efforts of those on the ground who are working for a lasting peace.”
2000-03-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4111 (2000) · source
“I think that you should make it clear, Sir, if Council colleagues agree, that Council members endorse the conclusions of the Secretary- General's report; that they place great weight on the early implementation of all aspects of the Lome Peace Agreement and commend the efforts of Special Representative Adeniji and of UNAMSIL to this end; that they are disappointed by the slow progress being made in the DDR process in particular; and that they call upon all signatories to the Lome Agreement, and in particular upon Chairman Sankoh and the RUF, to reaffirm and demonstrate a concrete commitment to the Lome peace process by allowing the extension of State authority throughout Sierra Leone, in full cooperation with UNAMSIL and with the United Nations team as whole, and by instructing the RUF membership to disarm and to surrender all weapons, including their heavy weapons, their mines and their anti-aircraft equipment.”
2000-03-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4111 (2000) · source
“I hope that Security Council partners who are able to do so will show the lead on this. The holding of this open briefing is itself a signal of the Council's concern for the fragile situation in Sierra Leone and of our determination to see the Lome Agreement implemented. But I think that, since the press is not present at this meeting, a statement directly to the media by you, Mr. President, after the meeting, would add to the impact. When I saw him early on 9 March, President Kabbah had in his hand the text of the statement you made on 8 March after the debate on the humanitarian situation in that country, and he was encouraged by it.”
2000-03-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4111 (2000) · source
“Our Sierra Leone peacekeeping effort, currently the largest United Nations peacekeeping effort worldwide, preceded that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo chronologically and is likely to set a pattern for those that follow. Donor support is therefore absolutely vital. The high-level donors' meeting which the United Kingdom is organizing in London on 27 March will be convened by the Secretary of State for International Development and attended by President Kabbah and, I hope, the Deputy Secretary- General. Its purpose will be to further energize political and financial support for the peace process and to identify the priorities for international funding over the coming period. Urgent assistance is needed if the ground is to be laid for free and fair elections next year and for the eventual departure of UNAMSIL.”
2000-03-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4111 (2000) · source
“But the Council must monitor this aspect carefully, and insist with the Secretariat that UNAMSIL is brought up to full strength quickly, in quality as well as in quantity. I encouraged Special Representative Adeniji, as part of his important functions, to conduct and inspire a nationwide public information campaign, to bring home to Sierra Leoneans what an important asset UNAMSIL is for them and to seek their cooperation. Then there is the question of resources. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is currently seen as the litmus test of the work of the United Nations in Africa, and the United Kingdom agrees with that. But Sierra Leone, too, is a crucial test.”
2000-03-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4111 (2000) · source
“But the people of Sierra Leone have somehow come to believe that the United Nations was responsible for removing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) - which, with some justification, they trusted to protect them - only to replace it with what seems to them to be poorly equipped and not-so-well motivated United Nations contingents with a different mandate. The loss of the Guinean contingent's weapons, of course, added to this perception. I went to some trouble on my visit to explain publicly that ECOMOG made its own decision to stop operating, that UNAMSIL is the neutral peacekeeping force called for by all the signatories to the Lome Peace Agreement and that it is perfectly capable of doing its job if the signatories do theirs.”
2000-03-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4111 (2000) · source
“Elections are just as much an opportunity for the RUF as for other parties, and they must contribute to making Sierra Leone proceed on the Mozambique, rather than the Angola, model. The Council can guess whom I place in the role of a potential Savimbi if it goes wrong in the Sierra Leone context. The Security Council should be aware that UNAMSIL has got off to quite a difficult - perhaps not fully successful - start. That is no criticism at all of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Adeniji, Force Commander Jetley or other senior United Nations figures there, who are working commendably hard, in the most difficult circumstances, to produce results, and are taking tough action where they can.”
2000-03-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4111 (2000) · source
“The United Nations could otherwise be there for a very long time. I am pleased that President Kabbah made it quite clear to us during our visit last week that clear and transparent selection procedures will be established for entry into the army and the police and that any Sierra Leonean, from whatever faction, will be eligible if he has the right qualities. Elections are going to be a vital part of the implementation process. In a country where State authority extends to less than half of its territory, organizing elections will be a complicated business and, no doubt, a costly one for the international community. But we have to make the constitutional timetable stick if we can - presidential elections by the end of February next year and parliamentary elections three months after that.”
2000-03-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4111 (2000) · source
“The Council's authority, in support of the Lome Peace Agreement, is being thwarted here in that respect, just as it has been over the travel ban. Insisting on the proper implementation of Council decisions is an important source of pressure on the parties. It is also essential if there is to be a lasting improvement in the appalling humanitarian and human rights situation in the country. I am glad that the Secretary-General has identified as a priority the rebuilding of new, democratically accountable Sierra Leone armed forces and police. The United Kingdom is contributing personnel and resources to these activities, both of which - army and police - are crucial not only for filling the security vacuum in the country but also for allowing UNAMSIL to do its job and then depart.”
2000-03-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4111 (2000) · source
“The Secretary-General is absolutely right in his report to be pointing the finger at Sankoh and the RUF as the main impediments to the deployment of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and to further progress in general in the implementation of the peace process. Secretary of State Short asked him repeatedly to speed up the RUF's response to DDR and to stop blocking UNAMSIL's deployment. Sankoh only bristled in reply, claiming that the RUF were doing no such thing, that he had never authorized killing as a policy, that the RUF had not deprived the Guineans of their weapons and that he had never sold a single diamond to pay for arms. There is, of course, independent evidence that the RUF has done all of these things.”
2000-03-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4111 (2000) · source
“I watched a number of Revolutionary United Front (RUF) members hand over what looked like relics from the First World War in applying for their $300 for the DDR process. Clearly, the good weapons, however obtained, are being hidden in the bush. The onus is therefore on the political leaders to respond to this tangible desire for peace. President Kabbah has already shown that he is prepared to make important compromises to ensure an end to conflict. I made the point to him that he must also know how and when not to compromise, when to be tough for the people's sake. I think he took that point. I did not get the same sense of commitment to peace from the other main factional leaders, least of all, perhaps, from Foday Sankoh.”
2000-03-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4111 (2000) · source
“The first thing to strike a visitor - and I travelled outside Freetown to the township of Masiaka and to the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) camps at Port Loko - is the overwhelming desire of the great majority of Sierra Leoneans for peace and a normal life. There is, for instance, no religious animosity among the communities of Sierra Leone. I think that Muslims and Christians live together in Sierra Leone in harmony as great as anywhere in Africa. I would guess that even a majority of rank-and-file former combatants are eager to disarm and rebuild their civilian lives. But the DDR process, having so far attracted over 18,000 participants, is now slowing to a trickle because combatants are not getting orders to come in. Mr. Annabi also referred to the quality of weapons that are being handed over.”
2000-03-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4111 (2000) · source
“The United Kingdom warmly welcomes the Secretary-Generals first report under Security Council resolution 1289 (2000), not least for its clear indication of the problem areas in implementing that resolution and of the priority areas now for United Nations action. We are also very grateful for the briefing that Mr. Annabi has just given us, which brings us up to date on a number of important aspects. 1 can say straight away that the United Kingdom has no objection if he extends the reporting period to 60 days. We understand the pressures which the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is under at the moment. My visit to Sierra Leone from 8 to 10 March, which coincided with that of the United Kingdom Secretary of State for International Development, Ms. Clare Short, bears out the main conclusions in the Secretary-General's analysis.”
2000-03-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4111 (2000) · source
“The leaders of the West African region have a particular responsibility and influence. If properly implemented, the Lome Agreement will enable the Government of Sierra Leone to establish control over the whole of the country and its own resources for the first time in eight years. This is important not just for Sierra Leone and its people, but for the stability and prosperity of the whole subregion. In substantively expanding UNAMSIL and widening its mandate, the Security Council today is acting again to help give the people of Sierra Leone the means to achieve the peace they so desperately need. We must assure that over the next crucial months we will give the United Nations force and the Government of Sierra Leone all the support and assistance they need in this to sustain the progress made in 1999.”
2000-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4099 (2000) · source
“We will press ahead with the substantial programmes of assistance which we have already established, in particular in the security sector, rebuilding and retraining the Sierra Leone armed forces. But we and other current donors cannot shoulder the burden either indefinitely or alone. Wider and more substantive international support is needed. The first urgent requirement is funding for the DDR programme. The vast effort and expenditure involved in mounting this 11,000- strong United Nations force will be wasted if the DDR programme which they there to help implement is not fully funded. A further $23 million is needed now. The international community also has a task in ensuring that the parties, and Mr. Foday Sankoh in particular, fulfil their commitments. We must press for this relentlessly.”
2000-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4099 (2000) · source
“The UNAMSIL Commander will need the full support of the Secretariat here in New York, and all UNAMSIL troop contributors must ensure that their troops are of a high standard, ready and able to meet the challenges that they face. In this respect we were very concerned at the DPKO report of the recent incident affecting certain UNAMSIL contingents. I want to turn attention now also to the role of the wider international community. Without our continued determination and support, even an expanded UNAMSIL force cannot keep Sierra Leone on its current positive path. Sierra Leone will need sustained outside assistance for some time. The United Kingdom is committed to continue to be a significant player. Since March 1998 we have contributed nearly $65 million to Sierra Leone.”
2000-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4099 (2000) · source
“As the six new UNAMSIL battalions deploy and move out into the north and east of the country, we will be asking them to ensure the disarmament of hard-core rebels in their own heartlands, and we will all need to stay in close touch with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), as the United Kingdom will, about UNAMSIL'S capacity logistically and militarily to do this. UNAMSIL is not a Chapter VII peace enforcement operation, but we all recognized in formulating the mandate for the force, as set out in the draft resolution before us, that this task will require a robust and serious stance against possible threats. UNAMSIL must act with the determination and the flexibility to see this through.”
2000-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4099 (2000) · source
“Sierra Leone may be a small country, but this is an enormous challenge for the United Nations. It is in effect no less of a test of the United Nations commitment to conflict resolution in Africa than what we are contemplating for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a test not just of our willingness to intervene - the deployment of the first phase of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has shown that - but of the United Nations actual ability to deliver effective peacekeeping of lasting impact and value.”
2000-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4099 (2000) · source
“Sierra Leone has come a long way since the bleak prospects of a year ago, and the thanks for that are due first and foremost, I think, to the forces of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) who defended Freetown and prevented its fall to the rebels. So it is important that we begin today by giving credit to the ECOMOG forces. But the draft resolution we are about to pass marks a key transition from the ECOMOG stage. It marks the international community's readiness through the United Nations to take over ECOMOG's role and together with that the full responsibility for the provision of security in Freetown and at the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) camp, as well as for many other aspects of the Lome peace process.”
2000-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4099 (2000) · source
“Annabi let us know which countries so far have agreed to contribute troops to the enlarged UNAMSIL and whether he can give us a clearer idea of the time frames that he is envisaging for full deployment? I will stop here. I will make other comments when we come to our second meeting.”
2000-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4098 (2000) · source
“We are very grateful to Mr. Annabi for his briefing and for all the hard work that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is doing to get the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) in on the ground. At this point, I only want to ask a couple of questions about UNAMSIL's ability to deploy. First, as regards the logistical effort that needs to be upgraded, I wanted to ask whether there were still shortfalls or whether the gap has been filled with civilian contractors. And is it logistics that is affecting the ability to deploy UNAMSIL outside Freetown at an early date, or are we going deeper into the business of the capacity of UNAMSIL's contingents at this moment to go beyond a very restricted area of operations? Thirdly, could Mr.”
2000-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4098 (2000) · source
“Both reports illustrate graphically the seriousness of what happened in East Timor last year. The United Kingdom considers it vital that those responsible for the serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law in East Timor be brought to justice. At his meeting with Prime Minister Blair two days ago, President Wahid of Indonesia made it clear that Indonesia wants to see justice done. We very much welcome this commitment. All cases should be pursued vigorously, even if they lead to the top. The United Kingdom has offered support to that process. While we do not close off any options, we look forward to a credible legal process in Indonesia. It is important that the Security Council respond to the Secretary-General's letter of 31 January, covering the report of the International Commission of Inquiry. I am sure that you, Mr.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Vieira de Mello has outlined is highly undesirable, and we must try to ensure that UNTAET's activities show a secular increase and get off to a very good start, not least - as the Special Representative has outlined - so that the United Nations can maintain the confidence of the Timorese people. Finally, I should touch on the issue of human rights, which Mr. Vieira de Mello has mentioned as one of UNTAET's key objectives, particularly in the context of investigating and safeguarding evidence of serious crimes during the unhappy period last year after the consultation. We welcome the publication of both the International Commission of Inquiry report and the report of the Indonesian Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations in East Timor, known as KPP-HAM.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“I hope that it will be possible for UNTAET to blend into the deployment of these people a suitable training element so that the police force can start off completely on the right foot. The progress on the establishment of the public administration is welcome, too. But here again I want to underline our concern at the delays in disbursement of much-needed funds for reconstruction and other projects. It is very important that the World Bank trust fund come on line quickly so that these programmes can begin. I hope that the Special Representative and the Secretariat will not hesitate to come forward if they feel that there is anything that members of the Council or the Council itself can do to speed that process along. Clearly, the sort of vacuum that Mr.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Clearly crime is likely to come down only when ordinary people in East Timor have a means of pursuing their livelihoods. But also it requires an effective civil policing operation to ensure that the gains already made in terms of security and civil society are not lost. The proposed start of civilian police training in March is therefore very welcome. Clearly, it is right that this should be targeted towards effective local law enforcement, and, clearly, it is good that UNTAET is now taking initiatives to bring more local police officers back on line. I would only add, though, that it is important that when those local police come on line they operate in accordance with internationally accepted standards.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Clearly, the sooner that those elements of the military desist from their activities and recognize that they, like everyone else, must work towards the common objective of an independent and peaceful East Timor, the better. Secondly, the work that the UNTAET civilian police component have done so far is encouraging, but we are concerned about the rise in crime noted in the Secretary- General's report. Clearly there are a number of elements to this. I was particularly impressed by the fairly shocking statistic that Mr. Vieira de Mello quoted at the beginning of his statement: that 80 per cent of the population is now without means of support, whereas prices are twice as high as they were before the consultation. This requires a complex strategy.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“We welcome the progress that has been made in the smooth transition from INTERFET to UNTAET, and we hope that this will be continued so that it finishes on schedule, by the end of February. But I was slightly concerned to hear Mr. Vieira de Mello's remarks about militia activity around Oecussi. Clearly, this is something that both INTERFET in its remaining time and UN TAET will need to watch very closely. If the Special Representative of the Secretary-General can throw any further light on UNTAET's assessment of militia influence, activity and ability to mount continued disruption, we would be very interested to hear that assessment.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“We do not have much time this morning, and I really want in my statement to concentrate only on two or three points. They are, first, our concern - and here we agree with what Sergio Vieira de Mello has said - that money is not being made available on the ground fast enough to allow reconstruction and other elements of the UNTAET package to get under way. The second is the security situation, on which there is mostly good news, but where there are some slightly worrying elements as well. And the third is our concern over the slow pace of civilian police deployment. On security, I think the Council owes a debt to both the International Force in East Timor INTERFET and UNTAET for restoring stability in the security situation.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“At the outset, I congratulate you, Mr. President, on your assumption of the office you now hold. It is good to see you in the hot seat so soon after your arrival in New York, and my delegation pledges to work with you, not only during this coming month but for the remainder of Argentina's term on the Security Council. It is very good to have you here. It is good also to see my very good friend Sergio Vieira de Mello back in New York and to hear such an impressive briefing. The systematic and objective-based approach that he has just outlined suggests that East Timor does indeed stand a very good chance of becoming the paradigm of nation-building that he mentioned. Long may that systematic, accurate and targeted management of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) continue.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Such a working group might have regular meetings with the representative of the Chairman or the Secretary- General of the OAU. Our colleagues will have other and different ideas, and we look forward to discussing them in this forum and more informally. We look to the Argentine presidency to take forward some of these ideas as soon as it can put them on the schedule. But one way or another, let us agree today to use the energy, imagination and focus generated by the "month of Africa" to fuel a continuing and productive effort.”
2000-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4096 (2000) · source
“I suggest that the Africa experts of Council members establish themselves as an informal but permanent working group to look at African problems - away from the day-to-day demands of Secretariat briefings, mandate renewals and other Council business. The purpose of such a group would not be to draft statements or resolutions but to examine whether the Council is using all the appropriate tools at its disposal to follow up on this month; to ask why certain issues are perhaps not being brought before the Council; to consider whether a group of friends or a contact group might have useful input on a particular Council item; to check whether the provisions of Council resolutions on Africa are being properly implemented; and to consider whether briefings by the OAU or regional African Group representatives could help inform the Council's work.”
2000-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4096 (2000) · source
“Hain also drew attention to the peacekeeping needs of Africa, and to the need to increase capacity, an issue on which we need to do more and to do so early. All of these points need to be acted upon. I would like, in particular, to see a more regular dialogue with the OAU; that has not yet been established. I think that we would have raised that issue with Secretary-General Salim had he been here. We need to work on that now, to make sure that it happens on a regular basis. With that partly in mind, I want to make a modest proposal for taking forward some of these ideas from the "month of Africa".”
2000-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4096 (2000) · source
“But let us not lose sight of the importance of other approaches - less headline-grabbing, and perhaps lower key, but, in the long term, just as critical to success for the United Nations Africa agenda and for the triumph of results over rhetoric. In December, Minister Peter Hain chaired a meeting on Africa in this Chamber from which he drew a number of conclusions. He noted that there was a broad consensus in favour of regular and more structured consultation and coordination between the Council and the OAU and regional bodies; of the greater use of tools such as joint envoys and missions, an issue which Ambassador Baali brought up this morning; and of more regular meetings between the Security Council, the OAU and subregional bodies. Mr.”
2000-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4096 (2000) · source
“We have concentrated in particular, however, on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I think that that is now going to be the most conspicuous test of whether this month has been worth it. The United Kingdom hopes that work will begin immediately on a draft resolution and that it can be completed this week. The Lusaka parties have made it quite clear that the longer they have to wait for the deployment of these observers to monitor the ceasefire and redeployment of forces, the less likely it is that their commitments will hold and that national reconciliation will be a reality. United States efforts in the past month have therefore demonstrated how important high-profile, big- impact diplomacy is for making progress on Africa's problems.”
2000-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4096 (2000) · source
“How are we going to deal with the issue of resources? Overall, however, I think that the Council's record on Africa is improving. We now have a substantial peacekeeping operation up and running in Sierra Leone, which the Deputy Secretary-General has called the most immediate test for the Council in Africa. The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic is drawing to a successful conclusion. Ambassador Fowler's efforts on Angola really have put the squeeze on UNITA's sanctions busters. Another example is the work of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on Ethiopia and Eritrea. Although we have not taken that work forward in the Council, there has been good liaison between the United Nations and the OAU on a very discreet and confidential mediation effort which I hope is now beginning to bear results.”
2000-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4096 (2000) · source
“I believe that it would be right to bring it to the attention of the General Assembly and also for the Council to follow up the AIDS debate in checking, in liaison with other United Nations organs, how to move United Nations action on AIDS forward. The Security Council's special concern with Africa did not begin this month, and it will not end this month. We have already spent a great deal of time in the past two years trying to help Africans get Africa right. Some of our efforts were perhaps better targeted than others. Mrs. Ogata's message on refugees and internally displaced persons was a very important one. But I do not think that the Council knows how we are going to follow it up. There are relentless challenges that have stretched the resources of the Council and the Secretariat to the breaking point.”
2000-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4096 (2000) · source
“The Burundi debate provided an important platform for former President Mandela's facilitation. The Angola meeting helped keep pressure on arms supplies. My Minister of State, Peter Hain, today made another statement, in South Africa, to draw attention to the United Kingdom's determination to follow up on particular abuses of sanctions and to try to bring people to justice. The debate on the Democratic Republic of the Congo achieved the strong recommitment of the parties to Lusaka and made more likely the early sending of a peacekeeping force to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The ground-breaking debate on AIDS also brought that issue to the centre of the Council's agenda.”
2000-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4096 (2000) · source
“There is no doubt that the "month of Africa" was to some extent a calculated risk. It has drawn attention to a continent of huge problems where the Security Council has been trying hard but has not achieved the results that we or Africans wanted. But I, personally, believe that it was an exceptional initiative and was thoroughly worth doing, if only to bring into public relief the need for a greater effort on Africa. That, itself, was worth doing. It has, of course, created expectations. I do not think that President Chiluba and the Foreign Ministers of South Africa and of Namibia would be with us this morning unless they wanted to check whether the Security Council was following up on the rhetoric. I think that that is what we have got to do. We have seen some concrete results.”
2000-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4096 (2000) · source
“How are they going to be encouraged to do that? I think that Mr. Mandela's appointment, and indeed the public attention which this meeting of the Security Council has brought to this issue, must above all create a momentum for such a change of perceptions and for the strengthening of the link between the Arusha political process and the political facts of life in Burundi. Time is not on Burundi's side and I think now is the opportunity for all the people of Burundi to rise to the challenge of resolving their differences. Mr. Mandela said that regional peace needs all the component parts to be stable. Well, we must get Burundi right not just for the people of Burundi, but also for the continuing search for stability and security in the region and in the continent.”
2000-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4091 (2000) · source
“We have not really discussed them this morning, but they are bound to take up President Mandela's attention: the composition of the army, the electoral process and, perhaps most difficult, how to make the transition work from the present situation to a situation that is stable and acceptable to the international community. Madiba Mandela has confirmed that the process has failed so far on reform of the security forces and on the integration of armed groups into the regular security forces' set-up. Mr. Mandela has indicated that these difficulties can really be dealt with only by a change of perception on the ground. I think this, above all, is what we are looking to him for. He said that political leaders need to do their groundwork at the grass-roots level and look for compromises on the major political issues.”
2000-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4091 (2000) · source
“The draft resolution that we are about to adopt, and which the United Kingdom supports, does not, in the end, mention the regroupement camps, but my Government, like the Secretary-General, condemns those camps. They are not the right process for the handling of the humanitarian situation. We do hope that President Mandela will use his influence to make sure that those affected by the humanitarian crisis be allowed to return to their homes and that there be unhindered access to them as well for the humanitarian agencies. On the political process, the Secretary-General referred to the principal areas of disagreement between the parties.”
2000-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4091 (2000) · source
“Let me comment briefly on two aspects: the humanitarian and the political. The Secretary-General has just said to us, in a very important analysis of the situation, that we are now on the verge of another humanitarian catastrophe. It may be, as the Secretary-General has said, that we would blame the Government of Burundi for such a catastrophe, but the international community cannot afford that after Rwanda, after Srebrenica and after other things that we have not got right. We have to insist with all the parties to the conflict that the human rights of the people of Burundi have to be respected, that humanitarian law has to be abided by and that there has to be access for the humanitarian agencies of the United Nations and non- governmental organizations to the people of Burundi who are suffering.”
2000-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4091 (2000) · source
“I have to admit to Madiba President Mandela that the Security Council has been scratching its head on the issue of Burundi. We did not seem to be getting very far last year - last month. The Government of Burundi was, frankly, not listening to the international community. It was not putting the people of Burundi first. I think that President Mandela's appointment is a very important turning point in this particular crisis, and perhaps for the hopes for regional peace in that part of Africa. His willingness immediately to see all the groups involved in this conflict and to encourage inter-party dialogue both inside and outside the framework of the talks will, I think, encourage a sense of ownership in the final agreement on a political solution by all Burundi and increase the chance of a successful implementation.”
2000-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4091 (2000) · source
“We need some progress now on the political front, on the humanitarian front and on the sanctions front to show that the continuation of the civil war is absolutely pointless. We thank you, Mr. President, for your initiative in bringing this to the Security Council in open meeting, and we hope that the publicity that this meeting will give to this question will help us move forward in practice.”
2000-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4090 (2000) · source