YouSaid · the spoken record

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1999-08-25

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2008-12-31

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un-security-council

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1. “In an attempt to reconcile the hopeful signs with the continuing tragic situation on the ground, Ambassador Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, wrote in his letter of 26 July 2007 addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council that "These opportunities must be seized and built upon and the illegal actions of Israel, which move us all in the opposite direction, must be rejected, and Israel must be compelled to cease its violations of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, to abide by resolutions of international legitimacy and to seriously pursue peace in good faith." (S/2007/459, fifth paragraph) The international community bears the responsibility to ensure that political progress in Palestine is coupled with a change for the better in the lives of ordinary Palestinians.”

   2007-08-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5736 (2007) · source

2. “Industries which were once the backbone of Gaza's economy and food system, such as the agriculture and fishing industries, are suffocated by the current situation and risk losing all viability." (United Nations News Centre, web- page, 28 August 2006) Mr. Vercken went on to report that the destruction of nearly 400 hectares of agricultural land, including irrigation pipes and greenhouses, had left farmers destitute with no support to re-cultivate their land. He went on to say that Gaza's infrastructure lay crippled, affecting the lives of the 1.4 million population on a daily basis. He also said that power and water supplies remain low and unreliable.”

   2007-08-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5736 (2007) · source

3. “Additionally, thousands of Palestinian political prisoners continue to languish in Israeli jails. On a daily basis, Palestinians in the occupied territories continue to face an Israeli policy that violates the basic principles of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Those actions undermine positive movements towards peace. In particular, the situation in Gaza deserves our special attention. A year ago yesterday, 28 August 2006, Mr. Arnold Vercken, Country Director of the World Food Programme in the occupied Palestinian Territory, said the following about Gaza: "The economy is really reaching rock bottom.”

   2007-08-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5736 (2007) · source

4. “The call by United States President Bush for the holding of an international conference on Palestine in the coming months to bring the parties together in order to reinvigorate the peace process has also raised hopes in the Middle East, and indeed beyond the region. However, those encouraging developments have yet to be translated into progress on the ground in Palestine. The reality is that Palestinians continue to live under occupation, which they have endured for decades. They face daily hardships, compounded by the 550 checkpoints that restrict their movement and access. The violent incursions by the Israeli army into Palestinian areas continue unabated, while Israeli settlements and the separation wall expand, despite international condemnation.”

   2007-08-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5736 (2007) · source

5. “Let me start by thanking Mr. Michael Williams, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, for his statement. We too wish him well in his next endeavour, which we hope will be less turbulent than the one he has just completed. My delegation aligns itself with the statement to be delivered later today by the Permanent Representative of Cuba on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. In the past several weeks, there has been encouraging movement towards re-igniting the search for peace in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The meetings between Palestinian President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert have been a positive development, as was the historic visit to Israel undertaken by two Arab foreign ministers representing the League of Arab States to promote the Arab Peace Initiative.”

   2007-08-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5736 (2007) · source

6. “In organizing this open debate on conflict prevention and resolution, the Congolese delegation has given us the opportunity to discuss ways to improve the manner in which the United Nations can address the issue of conflict prevention in a coherent and coordinated fashion. We believe that the draft presidential statement before us lays a good foundation for that effort, and we support 1t.”

   2007-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5735 (2007) · source

7. “The establishment of the Peace and Security Council; the African standby force; the Early Warning System; the Pan-African Parliament; the Economic, Social and Cultural Council; the New Partnership for Africa's Development; and the African Peer Review Mechanism have gone a long way in improving security as well as creating sustaining conditions of political stability, good governance and economic development. It is now up to the United Nations to use its convening power to link all global efforts to create a better and safer world for all the world's citizens. We all share the responsibility to ensure that the United Nations lives up to expectations in strengthening regional and continental structures to complement global initiatives in conflict prevention.”

   2007-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5735 (2007) · source

8. “Yet Africa remains confronted by conflicts driven by underdevelopment, poverty and hunger, lack of democracy, injustice, religious extremism and plain ignorance. It would therefore seem obvious that a reassessment of how the United Nations contributes to conflict prevention must be undertaken, taking into account the practical experience gained over many years of resolving conflict in Africa. The active role that the African Union has played and continues to play in conflict prevention and resolution in Africa is a huge asset in complementing the efforts of the United Nations.”

   2007-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5735 (2007) · source

9. “The former Secretary-General called on the United Nations to adopt a prevention strategy rather than rely on the usual reactive response to conflict. He argued that such a strategy called for a more holistic and developmental focus in addressing the root causes of conflict, including addressing socio-economic, cultural, environmental, institutional and other structural causes of conflict, rather than treating only its symptoms. Two further reports on the prevention of armed conflict, in 2001, and a progress report on the prevention of armed conflict, in 2006, were published. They contained numerous recommendations on how the United Nations could collectively mobilize greater coherence and focus for conflict prevention.”

   2007-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5735 (2007) · source

10. “Nearly a decade ago, former Secretary-General Kofi Annan published a comprehensive report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa. The report stressed, among other reasons, the following factors contributing to instability in the African continent: historical legacies - that is, colonial frontiers, political legacies and commercial relations established under colonial rule; support for authoritarian regimes during the Cold War era; internal factors such as the nature of power-sharing and the politicization of ethnicity; and external factors - that is, economic interest, competition for resources, the destabilization of neighbouring States and the effects of war economies.”

    2007-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5735 (2007) · source

11. “Conflicts in one country have the potential to destabilize neighbouring countries, with devastating consequences. It is therefore critical to build on national processes and to implement regional strategies to combat such challenges as transnational crime, drug and human trafficking and the proliferation of small arms. South Africa has always welcomed efforts by national Governments, the African Union and the United Nations to address challenges of conflict prevention in a meaningful manner. It is important that strategies dealing with conflict prevention continue to be further developed and harnessed in order to produce tangible and visible results. In other words, there can be no peace without sustainable development, democracy and the protection of fundamental human rights.”

    2007-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5735 (2007) · source

12. “During the historic working session between the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council, concrete suggestions were made about developing synergies in the area of conflict prevention and peacekeeping at the institutional and operational levels. Our deliberations today can only further strengthen the response of the international community to making peace sustainable in Africa and, indeed, elsewhere in the world. Conflict prevention cannot be addressed in isolation. Matters of conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peacekeeping are linked inextricably to peace and stability, good governance and the deepening of democracy, and all can contribute to concrete efforts towards achieving sustainable social and economic development.”

    2007-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5735 (2007) · source

13. “We wish at the outset to express our appreciation to the Congolese presidency for organizing this important meeting. We also wish to welcome the Secretary-General and to thank him for his unwavering support for Africa. We believe that his trip to the Sudan comes at just the right time, when we need a push to make sure that the people of Darfur are not forgotten. In addition, we welcome Ambassador Merores, representing the Office of the President of the General Assembly, and Ambassador Christian in his other incarnation, representing the Peacebuilding Commission. This debate comes after the recent visit by the United Nations Security Council to Addis Ababa to consult with the African Union on common strategies to address ongoing conflicts in Africa.”

    2007-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5735 (2007) · source

14. “While we are not entirely satisfied with all of the elements of the draft resolution before us, my delegation will vote in favour of the draft resolution because we continue to believe that UNIFIL has a positive role to play in bringing about long-term peace and security in Lebanon.”

    2007-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5733 (2007) · source

15. “South Africa supports the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for an additional year, as recommended by the Secretary- General and as requested by the Prime Minister of Lebanon. However, my delegation would have preferred to have had a draft resolution of a technical nature. There is no reason to have included in the draft resolution unrelated sensitive issues which the Council has on numerous previous occasions commented on in various resolutions and presidential statements. We are concerned that these unrelated issues tend to be selectively chosen from other resolutions and statements of the past.”

    2007-08-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5733 (2007) · source

16. “We also tried to seek solutions and ways in which we could deal with those issues. In the report, members will see, of course, that the issue was not only Sudan, but we did receive reports on other urgent issues on the African continent, including the issue of the Lord's Resistance Army and other relevant issues. I present this report and say that, together with my co-leader, we think that we met the mandate that the Council had set out for us with this mission, and it was indeed an honour for us to carry out the mission.”

    2007-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5717 (2007) · source

17. “We had a working meeting that included the Foreign Minister of Ghana, at which we discussed a number of issues, including Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cote d'Ivoire; the latter two States were part of our itinerary. President Kufuor encouraged the Security Council to follow up on those issues and adopt a resolution that would quickly facilitate the deployment of a hybrid operation in Sudan, as the situation was very serious and needed urgent attention. So, I must say, in conclusion, that, for my delegation, it was an honour to be co-leader of this trip, and I am sure that members of this Council - and indeed, members of the wider United Nations community - will see in this report that we tried to the best of our ability to address all the urgent issues that are important to the African continent.”

    2007-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5717 (2007) · source

18. “We are looking at a draft before us and trying to make it more relevant to the understanding that we had all the time. Another issue that is linked to the visit to Addis Ababa and to Khartoum is that the Council would 07-42533 come back and consider requesting the preparation of joint African Union-United Nations timelines for deployment of the hybrid operation in Darfur. This timeline is important, because we think it important for everybody to know what is expected of the Government of Sudan, what is expected of the AU and what is expected of the Security Council. The mission then proceeded to Accra to see President Kufuor of Ghana, the Chairperson of the African Union. Even though it was the eve of the AU Summit, President Kufuor was able to set aside significant time to meet with the United Nations Security Council team.”

    2007-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5717 (2007) · source

19. “Later on, we also met with President Al-Bashir, and both President Al-Bashir and Foreign Minister Ajawin, as reflected in paragraph 24 of the report, confirmed their full acceptance of the hybrid United Nations-African Union operation. They said that they accepted it without any conditionalities and expected the Security Council to move ahead and adopt a resolution. Our understanding of what the operation would be is contained in paragraph 25 of the report, which states that the operation would be as outlined in the African Union-United Nations plans for the hybrid operation in Darfur contained in the 5 June report of the Secretary-General (S/2007/307/Rev.l), and would be mandated by the AU Peace and Security Council - which they have already done - and the United Nations Security Council.”

    2007-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5717 (2007) · source

20. “We are looking at the draft, but we just want to be sure that it stays in the spirit that we had on the trip. It was a spirit of cooperation between the United Nations, the African Union and the Government of the Sudan in addressing the issues of Darfur. That spirit is very important in terms of what will be contained in the resolution, which should essentially be an implementation resolution. When we arrived in Khartoum, we met first with Foreign Minister Ajawin, together with his high-level officials, including the governors of the three Darfur States. We engaged with them about the concerns that this Council has about the situation in Darfur.”

    2007-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5717 (2007) · source

21. “07-42533 With Chairman Konare we discussed an issue that was very important to our mission and that was upcoming: our trip to the Sudan. The discussion related to what this Council can do in terms of preparing a resolution on the Sudan. Chairman Konare, as shown in paragraph 20 of the document before us, urged the Security Council to "adopt a resolution authorizing the operation and recommending United Nations funding" (S/2007/42l, para. 20). Mr. Konare said that, in his view, "assured funding would generate sufficient numbers of African troops to maintain the African character of the operation" (ibid.), as per agreement between the United Nations and the AU. As the Council knows, there is a draft before us that has been provided by the United Kingdom, as the lead country.”

    2007-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5717 (2007) · source

22. “Out of that meeting came a statement which we have asked the President to circulate as an official document of the Security Council. One of the things that came out of our meeting with the African Union Peace and Security Council was an agreement that we would like to have these consultation meetings between the United Nations Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council take place at least once a year, if possible, and in each of the capitals. They could come this way, or we could go that way, but at least we would meet once a year. We also discussed common issues that come before this Council because most of the resolutions that we end up adopting originate with the African Union Peace and Security Council.”

    2007-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5717 (2007) · source

23. “I have the honour to report on the Council's visit to Addis Ababa, Khartoum and Accra, which we undertook jointly with Ambassador Jones Parry of the United Kingdom. One of the most important things that we did was to spend significant time in Addis Ababa with Chairman Konare and other high officials, discussing issues that always end up before this very Council as it tries to find a way in which, in partnership with the African Union (AU), we could make our work much smoother and understand the positions of two different bodies that happen to deal with similar issues. One of the things we also did while in Addis Ababa was to hold a formal Security Council meeting together with the African Union Peace and Security Council.”

    2007-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5717 (2007) · source

24. “It is now incumbent upon all members of the Security Council to discharge their responsibly to oversee the appropriate reallocation or disposal of the UNMOVIC material and equipment so that available information and expertise is retained within the United Nations system with appropriate safeguards. The international community now needs to support the new Iraqi Government in its efforts to transform Iraq into a stable and peaceful country that is part of a Middle East region that is free of weapons of mass destruction. South Africa will vote in favour of the draft resolution, even though we would have preferred the mandate of the United Nations weapons inspectors to be closed on the basis of a United Nations report.”

    2007-06-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5710 (2007) · source

25. “Paragraph 14 of resolution 687 (1991) clearly states that disarmament in Iraq would, "represent steps towards the goal of establishing in the Middle East a zone free from weapons of mass destruction and all missiles for their delivery and the objective of a global ban on chemical weapons". That provision was later to be re-emphasized through the adoption of resolution 1284 (1999). Those Chapter VII resolutions remain in force, and hence the Council continues to be bound by its duty to help bring about nuclear, chemical and biological weapons disarmament and the removal of related delivery systems in the Middle East. The draft resolution also does not adequately clarify what will become of the proliferation-sensitive material in UNMOVIC's archives and the roster of experts.”

    2007-06-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5710 (2007) · source

26. “At the outset, we should recall that the destruction of Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programmes and missile systems was set out by the Security Council in resolution 687 (1991) as a precondition for the ceasefire that ended the first Gulf war. The sanctions against Iraq have been linked to the question of whether Iraq still possessed weapons of mass destruction programmes and related delivery systems or the intention to reconstitute those programmes. It is also important to recall in that regard that the entire Security Council programme to disarm Iraq was based from the outset on a regional dimension.”

    2007-06-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5710 (2007) · source

27. “We, too, would like to convey the South African Government's appreciation to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and its predecessor, the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) for the outstanding and highly professional work they have carried out, often in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles that were placed in their way. We pay tribute to the present and former staff members of these organizations, including the former Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC, Dr. Hans Blix, who worked under extremely difficult conditions.”

    2007-06-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5710 (2007) · source

28. “All in all, I must say two things. For me as the representative of South Africa, it was a tremendous honour to work with my colleague the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom as co-leader. I will always value this experience, especially as someone who is in the Council temporarily. This is one of those things that I will take away when I leave here. The other thing is that I also want to pay tribute to our Secretariat friends who accompanied us. I am in awe of what they did. They woke up long before I did, and they interpreted for me where the language was very difficult. I just want to be on the record to say that we are in awe of the help that they gave us. We thank them very much. It made our trip very nice.”

    2007-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5706 (2007) · source

29. “But we need a timeline that spells out what the Security Council will do, what the AU will do and what the Department of Peacekeeping Operations will do. I hope that this issue will be visited at an appropriate time. Finally, we also visited Accra, where we met with President Kufuor of Ghana, Chairman of the African Union. We were very honoured that the Foreign Minister of Ghana spent a long time with us engaging on the details of the issues and offering the views of the African Union. They also affirmed to us that they viewed the agreement on the hybrid mission in the 07-39489 Sudan to be a very positive thing for the African Union as a whole. They hope to take up that issue this weekend when the African Union Summit meets again in Ghana. The President of Ghana was also pleased to meet with us. We also got his views on the issues.”

    2007-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5706 (2007) · source

30. “Again, in my personal view, I found the senior officials in the Sudan to be very forthcoming and unambiguous in their acceptance of the hybrid force. They were also willing to engage and exchange views. We felt that was a very important positive step with regard to the situation in Darfur. Indeed, President Al-Bashir himself confirmed the same thing to us when we met with him later in our visit. We therefore felt that this was at least a major breakthrough, in that the issue that is now left as a challenge for us is implementation. I would like to raise an idea that we informally talked about on the plane, namely, that we now need a timeline about who is going to do what. As I said, the AU has already followed up on one of their responsibilities.”

    2007-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5706 (2007) · source

31. “But we thought that the fact that we have begun to engage on this issue was extremely important. There were a few things that we wanted to follow up concerning that issue. One thing which I must mention is that there was talk during our visit to Addis Ababa about the fact that the mandate of the Africa Union Mission in the Sudan would expire at the end of this week. I saw yesterday that in fact, as promised by the African Union Peace and Security Council, the Union's mandate in the Sudan has been extended for another six months. That shows that some of the issues that we discussed and thought should be followed up have indeed been taken up. We then proceeded to Khartoum, where we of course met with the Foreign Minister and senior officials, including the three governors of the Darfur province.”

    2007-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5706 (2007) · source

32. “It is therefore important that there should be an exchange of views between the two Councils to make sure that whatever Africa is engaging in is to the benefit and within the intentions of the international community, in particular the Security Council. The other issue that we discussed was one that arose during the South African presidency in March, namely, a way to explore how the United Nations could, on a case-by-case basis, which was the phrase that was used, be able to assist with resources, in particular in cases where the African Union is acting on 07-39489 behalf of the Security Council. That is a very difficult issue because it involves rules that are not set in the Security Council, but rather next door in the General Assembly, about how assessed contributions can be handled or used.”

    2007-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5706 (2007) · source

33. “President, to ask that that outcome be reproduced as an official document of the Security Council so that it can be referred to in the future. Two things stand out in that agreement. One was the desire of both Councils to see the exchange of views between the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council happen every year, because of the issues that come before the Security Council that most of the time, originate from Addis Ababa. We therefore felt that it would be very useful if we could have a meeting together once a year. The other thing that was important for those of us in Africa was an understanding that on peace and security matters the African Union always acts on behalf of the international community.”

    2007-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5706 (2007) · source

34. “We had meetings with Commissioner Djinnit, and an even longer meeting with President Konare, Chairman of the Commission, and exchanged views in detail on issues that are before the Council. Speaking on behalf of my colleagues, I must say that we found their advice very useful in determining how they viewed some of the issues that they deal with on a day-by-day basis. We also had a formal working meeting between the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council. That in itself was also very significant, because we were able to exchange views on a variety of issues that come before the Security Council and that also come before the African Union Council in Addis Ababa. At the end of that meeting, we agreed on an outcome. We will very soon write to you, Mr.”

    2007-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5706 (2007) · source

35. “It is an especially great honour for me, Mr. Minister, that you are presiding over this meeting today, because I know how much Belgium has been assisting us on the African continent. My task today is to very briefly and informally recall the mission that I had the honour to lead, together with the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom. There will be a report that will give 2 all the necessary details about what happened. But I thought that I could perhaps take a few minutes to give the Council my own impressions of what took place. One of the most useful things - something that is always useful when it happens - was the fact that we had significant time with the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa.”

    2007-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5706 (2007) · source

36. “In this regard, the role of the Peacebuilding Commission is critical in ensuring that natural resources are taken into consideration when developing its integrated peacebuilding strategies for countries emerging from conflict. The nexus between natural resources and conflicts manifests itself in different ways in different countries. A holistic approach is critical in designing a multifaceted policy response to these complex issues in the areas of governance and the role of the private sector, and in addressing inequality and underdevelopment. This debate today, in our view, will certainly assist in developing such partnerships and broad holistic approaches. It is for this reason that we support the statement that will be adopted today.”

    2007-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5705 (2007) · source

37. “The role of targeted and individual sanctions has also become an important tool in the hands of the Security Council in addressing the illicit trade in natural resources and its negative consequences. However, the reversibility of targeted sanctions can act as an important carrot in ensuring that once behavioural modification has been ensured, those measures are reversed. A case in point is the recent lifting of the Liberia timber and diamond sanctions regimes. In the case of peacemaking and peacebuilding, the Council should ensure that the root causes of conflicts and the role of resources as a contributing factor are addressed in the peace agreements as a way of ensuring that countries do not relapse into the vicious cycle of conflict.”

    2007-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5705 (2007) · source

38. “In responding to conflicts, the Security Council has since 2000 implemented numerous sanctions regimes. The success of those regimes can be assured only if States and transnational corporations exercise their obligations to fully adhere to and implement the sanctions regimes imposed by the Security Council. The role of the United Nations expert groups in monitoring the implementation of the sanctions regimes and in ensuring compliance with and enforcement of those regimes is indispensable. It is therefore critical that the capacity and role of the Secretariat and the expert groups be continuously improved and enhanced in order to have a proper appreciation of and response to changing developments on the ground.”

    2007-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5705 (2007) · source

39. “This situation makes the role of traders, transport companies, international banks and transnational corporations a critical part of this debate. On the other hand, the home Governments of those involved in trading with rebels, smugglers and arms traders must also be held accountable for the actions of their entities abroad. In the case of diamonds, the Kimberley Process has demonstrated how effective industry-wide initiatives could be in creating accountability and ensuring that the illicit export of resources is curtailed. Accountability, transparency and ethical behaviour on the part of the private sector in the trade of natural resources should therefore be encouraged. This approach would be a proactive way to ensure that natural resources contribute to peace, prosperity and economic development.”

    2007-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5705 (2007) · source

40. “During the 2006 United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Natural Resources and Conflict in Africa, the meeting identified the "need for a broad and holistic approach that takes cognizance of the interconnectedness between natural resource governance and other peace, security and development issues" as well as the "need for coordination, cooperation and partnership in addressing natural resources". In many countries that have seen conflict, it is the rebel movements that have developed access to external markets of the developed world, as demonstrated in the evidence gathered on the many conflicts that have become the subject of the Security Council, such as Angola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cote d'Ivoire.”

    2007-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5705 (2007) · source

41. “The discussion of natural resources and conflict is indeed both timely and necessary. By proposing such a specific topic, the Belgian presidency has made it possible to draw a clear distinction between African countries that are at peace, where natural resources have become the lifeline of the people, as opposed to those countries that are caught up in conflict or emerging from conflict. Africa is a continent richly endowed with some of the most sought-after natural resources, such as oil, diamonds, cocoa, coltan and timber. While many African countries use their resources to promote a better life for their people, it is in countries where there is conflict that the presence of those natural resources has become a curse.”

    2007-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5705 (2007) · source

42. “The principle of national consensus in establishing international tribunals is an important aspect of peacebuilding and national reconciliation. Therefore, regrettably, South Africa will abstain in the voting on the draft resolution before us.”

    2007-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5685 (2007) · source

43. “In discarding the Lebanese Constitution the Security Council is contravening its own decision regarding the need to respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and political independence of Lebanon. The Security Council is mandated to act with impartiality and without bias. It cannot be seen to be taking sides in internal Lebanese politics. There is a danger that the imposition of the special tribunal on Lebanon without the consent of all the parties concerned will detrimentally affect the political stability of the already fragile Lebanese State. It will also politicize international criminal law, thereby undermining the very foundations of international law. Furthermore, we have concerns about the precedent that this draft resolution will set.”

    2007-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5685 (2007) · source

44. “Therefore, we still hold out the hope that the Lebanese parties can use the period specified in the draft resolution - between now and 10 June 2007 - to come to a political agreement on the tribunal, and not leave it to be imposed upon Lebanon. We maintain that it is not appropriate for the Security Council to impose such a tribunal on Lebanon, especially under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. In that regard, my delegation has frequently cautioned that the Security Council should be judicious in its invocation of Chapter VII of the Charter. We also do not believe that the Council has the right to bypass the procedures required by the Lebanese Constitution for the entry into force of an agreement with the United Nations.”

    2007-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5685 (2007) · source

45. “The decision was also taken to set up a special tribunal comprised of Lebanese and international jurists and prosecutors located outside Lebanon to prosecute any persons identified by the investigation and the Lebanese authorities as suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and other Lebanese leaders. 3 South Africa fully supports the establishment of the tribunal and expects it to operate with impartiality and in accordance with Lebanese law and the highest international standards of criminal justice. My delegation regards Lebanese ownership of the tribunal as being of paramount importance and believes that it is incumbent upon the Lebanese authorities and people to reach a consensus position on the matter.”

    2007-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5685 (2007) · source

46. “South Africa unequivocally condemns the assassinations of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Mr. Rafiq Hariri, and other Lebanese leaders. Indeed, there is a consensus within Lebanon and internationally on the need for the United Nations to assist the Lebanese authorities in their efforts to bring to justice those responsible for those grave crimes and to end all impunity. It is for that reason that the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission was set up to assist Lebanon with its criminal investigation.”

    2007-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5685 (2007) · source

47. “I propose that all future reports and briefings by the Chairpersons of those three Committees provide a full disclosure of the financial expenditure and human resources from the Secretariat utilized during the reporting period. That approach could also be followed by all other subsidiary bodies of the Security Council. We owe that to the membership of the United Nations. We believe it should be normal practice.”

    2007-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5679 (2007) · source

48. “For example, the Financial Action Task Force does not have the expertise or the mandate to address the issue of so-called proliferation financing. It is a specialized body with limited membership that is designed, inter alia, to address the financing of terrorism and money- laundering. It is necessary to address the issue of coordination between the three subsidiary bodies, which was raised both in the 2005 World Summit Outcome and in the CTC review of December 2006. The 2005 World Summit called on the Security Council to consolidate its anti-terrorism activities and reporting requirements. In that regard, I would like to conclude by making a practical suggestion to improve the transparency and accountability of the CTC, the 1267 Committee and the 1540 Committee Vis-a-Vis the wider United Nations membership.”

    2007-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5679 (2007) · source

49. “South Africa is cautious regarding proposals currently before the 1540 Committee that would allow donors to direct the work of the Committee or empower select groupings of States to manage its outreach programmes and visits and to provide the information that would be used to develop sets of lessons learned, good practices and benchmarks for compliance. It seems to us that the clearing-house approach of the Committee with respect to technical assistance remains the most appropriate one. It is important that the Security Council respect the mandates of independent functional and technical multilateral bodies and regimes. There is a danger of duplicating work that has already been done elsewhere, or of imposing the Security Council's priorities on bodies that were designed for specific tasks.”

    2007-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5679 (2007) · source

50. “The Committee's current focus on technical assistance and non-reporting by developing countries notwithstanding, a primary threat of weapons of mass destruction and related technologies, materials, financing and delivery systems falling into the hands of non-State terrorist actors originates from States that possess or are capable of possessing WMD. The weak link is therefore the very existence of weapons of mass destruction, and the question arises as to whether the Security Council can continue to ignore disarmament and approach proliferation in a selective and often politicized manner.”

    2007-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5679 (2007) · source