YouSaid · the spoken record

Kuzmin

lines on the record: 337
first: 2008-06-05
most recent: 2023-03-07
sittings or episodes: 60
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

“Only when a candidate has obtained the required majority of votes in the Security Council shall I communicate the result to the President of the General Assembly, and I shall request the Council to remain in session, pending the receipt from the President of the General Assembly of the result of the voting in the Assembly. The Council will now proceed to draw lots to select two delegations to serve as tellers. The names of the delegations of France and Sweden have been drawn. I request each of them to appoint one of their members to serve as teller. At the invitation of the President, Ms. Baikari (France) and Mrs. Anderberg (Sweden) acted as tellers. The President (spoke in Russian): May I take it that the Council is now ready to proceed with the election of a member of the International Court of Justice? It is so decided.”
2018-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8292 (2018) · source
“If the members do not wish to vote for this candidate, they should leave the box blank. Only the candidate whose name appears on the ballot is eligible for election. Therefore, votes may be cast only for the candidate whose name appears on the ballot papers. I should like to inform Council members that, in accordance with established practice, the ballot papers in the Security Council will not be counted until it has been verified that the ballot papers in the General Assembly have also been collected. The Council will remain in session pending the receipt of that information.”
2018-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8292 (2018) · source
“If, in the first ballot in either the General Assembly or the Security Council, the candidate does not receive an absolute majority, then pursuant to rule 61 of the provisional rules of procedure of the Security Council, a second ballot will be held. Balloting will continue in the same meeting until the candidate has obtained the absolute majority of votes. The voting will be held by secret ballot. When we proceed to the vote, members of the Council will receive a ballot containing the name of the candidate. No withdrawal will be accepted once the ballot papers have been distributed. However, it will be possible to withdraw between ballots. Members of the Council will be requested to place an "X" in the box next to the name of the candidate if they wish to vote for the candidate.”
2018-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8292 (2018) · source
“I am also informed that the Legal Counsel made a similar recommendation to the President of the General Assembly. The nomination of the aforementioned national groups is as follows: for Mr. Yuji Iwasawa, Slovenia and Paraguay. The Security Council has before it a memorandum by the Secretary-General, contained in document S/2018/487, describing the present composition of the Court and setting out the procedure to be followed in the conduct of the election. I should like to remind the Council that under Article 10, paragraph 1, of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, "Those candidates who obtain an absolute majority of votes both in the General Assembly and in the Security Council shall be considered as elected." The required majority in the Security Council is eight votes.”
2018-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8292 (2018) · source
“I should like to inform members of the Council that I have received a letter addressed to me by the Legal Counsel, dated 20 June 2018, informing me, on behalf of the Secretary-General, that after the established deadline for nominating candidates, namely, 16 May 2018, the national groups of Slovenia and Paraguay submitted additional nominations to the Secretariat. I should like to draw the Council's attention to the fact that those nominations relate to the candidate already nominated by other national groups and whose name therefore already appears in document S/2018/488. The Legal Counsel recommended that, in accordance with established practice, I inform Council members orally on the day of the election about the decision of the aforementioned national groups.”
2018-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8292 (2018) · source
“The Security Council will now proceed to the election of one member of the International Court of Justice, in accordance with Article 13 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, to fill the seat that has become vacant following the resignation of Judge Hisashi Owada as a member of the Court, effective on 7 June 2018. I draw the attention of the Council to document S/2018/488, which contains the name of the candidate nominated by national groups: Mr. Yuji Iwasawa (Japan).”
2018-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8292 (2018) · source
“Governments act based on their international legal obligations. This situation will continue to steadily erode the level of trust in the International Criminal Court. That, alas, is the reality and our assessment of the situation. I am therefore unfortunately compelled to say that the ICC today is not a body capable of effectively carrying out the tasks that the Security Council originally entrusted to it. I now resume my functions as President of the Security Council. I give the floor to the representative of the Sudan.”
2018-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8290 (2018) · source
“However, the mere fact that a situation has been referred to the ICC by the Security Council does not automatically cancel the immunity of official representatives of the Governments involved. We hope that the States parties to the Statute also realize that. The immunity of Government officials from criminal prosecution is one of the key norms of customary international law and an extremely important factor for stability in international relations. According to customary law, there are no exceptions to the personal immunity of high officials, while all other government officials enjoy functional immunity. What the ICC has created, therefore, is a situation where we are seeing States consistently refusing to comply with the warrants issued by The Hague for the arrest of the President of the Sudan. This is not surprising.”
2018-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8290 (2018) · source
“The International Criminal Court (ICC) continues to call on States Members of the United Nations, including those that are not party to the Rome Statute, to arrest and turn over to the Court various subjects of its investigative activities. I am referring in particular to the arrest of the President of the Sudan based on resolution 1593 (2005). However, the resolution clearly states that States that are not party to the Rome Statute have no obligation under it, and they are therefore not required to satisfy this type of request from the ICC. If my memory does not deceive me, that was inserted into the resolution at the suggestion of the United States.”
2018-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8290 (2018) · source
“I will now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of the Russian Federation. I wanted to comment on the Prosecutor's report, but there is basically nothing to comment on. There has been zero progress in the investigations. The report, a document that in theory should deal with the Court's activity, is largely devoted to listing the international travels of the President of the Sudan, while the rest of it is stuffed with quotations from the Secretary-General's reports and verbatim transcripts of Security Council expert briefings. One topic, however, is worthy of attention and I will consider it in more detail.”
2018-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8290 (2018) · source
“1 thank Prosecutor Bensouda for her briefing. I shall now give the floor to those Council members who wish to make statements.”
2018-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8290 (2018) · source
“In accordance with rule 37 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of the Sudan to participate in this meeting. In accordance with rule 39 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I invite Ms. Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I give the floor to Prosecutor Bensouda.”
2018-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8290 (2018) · source
“IfI may, I would also like to comment on what the Polish Foreign Minister said regarding the proposed initiative to voluntarily give up the right of veto in the case of atrocities and the most serious crimes. As the Council is aware, the institution of the veto is a very important component of the system of checks and balances in the United Nations, and a core element of our mechanism for collective decision-making that encourages Council members to seek compromises. For those who possess it, the permanent members of the Council, having the right ofveto is notjust a prerogative, it is also a great obligation and responsibility. The use of the veto has more than once spared the United Nations from an association with dubious ventures that resulted in the suffering of civilians.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“We continue to be seriously concerned about attempts to freely interpret the norms of international humanitarian law with regard to the protection of civilians in armed conflict, as well as their association with all kinds of concepts. Just recently, one delegation on the Security Council pulled the concept of so-called humanitarian intervention out of thin air. A missile attack on the territory of another State was explained by humanitarian considerations, clearly out of concern for those being shelled, of course. I would therefore like to reaffirm our position that using any means of response with the aim of protecting civilians, particular any means involving the use of force, is possible only if it is sanctioned by the Security Council and is in strict accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“A number of Western countries have played a not insignificant part in this through their open connivance in Kyiv's violations of the Minsk agreements, which are the only legal basis for a settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine. The activities of humanitarian agencies are an important factor in the protection of civilians. Their work should be founded on the Charter of the United Nations and the basic humanitarian principles and should supplement efforts to political solutions to conflicts. In that context, two of the fundamental principles at issue are respect for the sovereignty of States and non-interference in their internal affairs.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“What is going on right now in Ukraine is particularly painful for us. We will talk about that in more detail on 29 May, when the Polish presidency is planning a special briefing on Ukraine. But given the topic of today's debate, I cannot omit to cite the tragic numbers of civilian casualties, which Poland's Minister for Foreign Affairs has also mentioned. As a result of the armed conflict unleashed by Kyiv against its own population in south-east Ukraine since April 2014, more than 2,500 civilians have perished, 105 of whom died in 2017 and 10 so far this year. As many as 9,000 people have been injured, and hundreds are missing without trace. There are at least 138 children among the dead, 109 of whom died in Donetsk and Luhansk. The intensity of Kyiv's shelling of residential areas has noticeably increased lately.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“Hordes of so-called investigators appear from somewhere with vague mandates from various bodies, in most cases conducting their investigations from a distance and on the basis of reports from specially selected mass media and information from the Internet. It is the rule for such so-called investigators to have their own so-called top-secret informants and sources who under no circumstances can be revealed. We are simply asked to believe them. Unfortunately, these games, which we have frequently been compelled to witness even inside our Organization, contribute nothing to achieving the noble goals of preventing and minimizing the suffering of civilians. Such double standards, alas, have been clearly evident in the information disseminated about the military campaigns in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and other countries.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“However, to our great regret, today we are seeing an extremely damaging trend towards an unprecedented politicization of the humanitarian arena in international relations. Despite all our efforts, thousands of civilians continue to die during conflicts. The fact that a large percentage of the victims are women, children and the elderly, medical workers, journalists and humanitarian personnel is especially worrying. These people's grief instantly becomes a backdrop for political strategy games in which constructive dialogue is subsumed in a flood of unverified news items and primitive judgments. Accusations appear and the guilty are instantly designated. Some do not hesitate to support their accusations with blatant misinformation from dubious sources such as the notorious White Helmets, for example.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“Mr. Kuzmin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We thank the Polish presidency for organizing today's meeting on the problem of the protection of civilians in armed conflict, a very important issue that we should be addressing. We would also like to thank Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Mr. Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Ms. Hanaa Edwar for their contributions to our discussion. We share the Secretary-General's desire to see us unite our efforts to prevent conflict and protect civilians. It is support for the central role played by the United Nations, international law and traditional spiritual and moral values that will enable us to make progress on a unified agenda and overcome our differences.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“We believe that with an attitude like that, using the services of the Court is pointless. Our delegation is determined to do whatever is necessary to enable the members of the Council to avoid repeating the unsuccessful experiment of referring Security Council issues to the ICC.”
2018-05-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8250 (2018) · source
“The Court continues to worry about the army's operations in the Derna area, but for some reason the Prosecutor has said nothing about the mujahidin, who for all practical purposes are holding the local population hostage. The report once again draws attention to the catastrophic situation of refugees and migrants in Libya. There can be no question that more attention should be paid to combating the criminal networks that are linked to the illegal migration through Libya. We completely agree, but that situation should be approached comprehensively, including by identifying the purchasers of human commodities in the countries of destination that receive migrants. We feel that once again the report attempts to present the Libyan dossier as a kind of burden imposed on the Court by the Security Council.”
2018-05-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8250 (2018) · source
“We take note of the fifteenth report of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on the investigations of the situation in Libya, as well as the fact that during the reporting period, members of the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC visited Libya for the first time in five years to conduct investigative activities. That is in fact the most noteworthy event mentioned in the report. There have otherwise been no substantive changes, unfortunately. The work of the ICC remains selective in its approach. Every arrest warrant issued has been directed at people from Muammar Al-Qaddafi's circle. Not one case dealing with the alleged crimes committed by insurgents and terrorists has been initiated so far. The ICC long ago distanced itself from investigating issues related to civilian casualties resulting from the NATO strikes.”
2018-05-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8250 (2018) · source
“Mr. Kuzmin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): First and foremost, I would like to wish our colleagues a happy Victory Day, which marked the beginning of the foundation of our Organization 73 years ago. Concerning the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Libya, the situation in Libya remains complex. We believe that the path to national reconciliation and restoring the country's unity and State institutions lies in a broad intra-Libyan dialogue. Russia supports the efforts to advance the political process, which should be coordinated under the auspices of the United Nations. We hope that the action plan for Libya developed through the United Nations will be implemented effectively.”
2018-05-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8250 (2018) · source
“Mr. Kuzmin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We propose voting on whether the meeting should be held today or not. Obviously, we assume that the issue that should be put to the vote is whether today's meeting should be held in principle. We have not yet adopted the agenda for today's meeting. If we had, the meeting would take place. But that has not happened.”
2018-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8209 (2018) · source
“Mr. Kuzmin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): I would just like to explain that the item on our agenda, "The situation in the Middle East", is an existing agenda item and that of course we are not against it per se. What we are against is holding today's meeting in the format that has been proposed. Therefore, I would ask the President to formulate the question to reflect the fact this is a procedural vote.”
2018-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8209 (2018) · source
“We believe that the Secretariat blindly obeyed the delegations that decided to hold this briefing, in violation of the division of labour among the main organs of our Organization, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. In the circumstances, we believe it essential to cancel the meeting and we are therefore obliged to ask the President to put the issue to a procedural vote.”
2018-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8209 (2018) · source
“I note once again that their subject is that infamous regime, rather than the extremists whom they openly support and who have been terrorizing the people of Syria for eight years now. That only confirms our fears about the deeply politicized nature of this initiative, which has nothing to do with concern for the Syrians. We would also like to ask the Secretariat to explain the reason for circulating to delegations a note on human rights in Syria from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, despite the fact that we did not request that information. The United Nations system is not organized so that any United Nations body can send the Security Council any information it feels like.”
2018-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8209 (2018) · source
“Mr. Kuzmin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): The Russian Federation is opposed to holding today's meeting, as we immediately informed our colleagues on Friday, 16 March. We see no justification for such a meeting, since human rights is not a subject on the Security Council's agenda. That is what the Human Rights Council deals with in its work in Geneva. The mere presence of Mr. Ra'ad Hussein in New York is not a convincing reason for him to brief the Security Council. However, as I understand it, the French delegation, along with a number of others, has already explained the real reasons behind today's meeting. They want to hear about how the Syrian regime, as they refer to it, is violating the rights of its own people.”
2018-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8209 (2018) · source
“Mr. Kuzmin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): As far as I know, today's meeting was not scheduled in the Security Council's agreed programme of work for this month. Our delegation would be extremely grateful to you, Mr. President, if you could explain what exactly we are supposed to discuss at today's meeting and whom the Council plans to invite as briefers.”
2018-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8209 (2018) · source
“We are ready to share the experience we have accumulated in implementing these and other anti-terrorism security initiatives with the CTC and all interested partners.”
2018-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8180 (2018) · source
“In that regard, as long ago as 2011 we created special commissions responsible for inspecting energy infrastructure facilities for anti-terrorism protection. We conduct joint counter-terrorism exercises and training sessions on a regular basis, including with the participation of the private sector. After the March 2010 terrorist attacks in the Moscow metro, we established a complex programme for the transport security of the population, under which transport infrastructure facilities are equipped with modern protection devices. Incidentally, according to our data, as many as 70 percent of terrorist attacks around the world occur either on transportation or through the use of vehicles. Besides this, in 2012 we established our Centre for Cyber Incident Response in Information Systems of Government Authorities.”
2018-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8180 (2018) · source
“The Security Council has in its arsenal a whole range of decisions aimed at protecting critical infrastructure from the threats of terrorism, centred around its founding anti-terrorism resolution 1373 (2001). In our view, the premise, affirmed in this toolkit, that it is States that have the primary responsibility in the fight against terrorism and, correspondingly, in protecting their lands and infrastructure from terrorist threats, is of fundamental importance. For our part, we prioritize issues related to improving the legal framework and implementing practical tasks for protecting critical infrastructure. One of the main targets of terrorist attacks in Russia are fuel and energy facilities.”
2018-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8180 (2018) · source
“The situation is complicated by the fact that the elements of critical infrastructure are deeply interconnected, and they frequently operate in more than one jurisdiction. We firmly believe that in these circumstances, the exchange of information and best practices between specialized international and regional platforms, under the central coordinating role of the United Nations, is particularly essential, and we welcome the work of the Counter- Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) in that regard. As Mr. Mesa-Cuadra rightly noted, the interaction of the CTC and CTED with organizations such as the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Anti-Terrorism Centre of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.”
2018-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8180 (2018) · source
“Mr. Kuzmin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We are pleased to welcome the new Chair of the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), Mr. Gustavo Mesa-Cuadra Velasquez, Permanent Representative of Peru. We are grateful to him for his very detailed report. Today the threat of terrorism has expanded on a huge scale, including geographically. Terrorists take advantage of gaps in our border control systems to travel across frontiers; they use modern technologies to recruit followers and search for sources of income; they exploit captured enterprises in conflict zones and increasingly invest in legitimate businesses, as we discussed a few days ago (see S/PV.8178). However, infrastructure facilities - airports, oil refineries, communication networks, banks - continue to be extremely attractive targets for terrorists.”
2018-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8180 (2018) · source
“Instead of increasing unilateral pressure on the Sudanese authorities at this politically sensitive phase, we might perhaps do better to focus our efforts on measures to restore mutual trust and establish dialogue. The principle of objectivity calls for a comprehensive assessment of the actions of all parties to the conflict. In that regard, we listened most carefully to the information provided on the steps taken by the investigation to clarify the circumstances of the attack on African Union peacekeepers in Haskanita. We note that the attack was only one among several episodes that have threatened the lives of those who are on a noble mission in the region. There must be a full- fledged investigation into all such incidents. The initial steps taken by the Office of the Prosecutor in that respect clearly deserve support.”
2008-06-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5905 (2008) · source
“In each individual case, the right balance must be struck between the requirements of personal responsibility and the interests of the peace process. In our view, that is not an easy task, but it is possible. The Russian Federation deeply regrets and is concerned by the information contained in the report of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court with respect to ongoing violence in Darfur. We anticipate that the outcome of the current Security Council mission to countries in Africa, including the Sudan, will give us a more detailed picture of events there. A great deal has been said today about problems in establishing cooperation between the Court and the Government of the Sudan, which leads us to conclude that there are several reasons underlying the current situation.”
2008-06-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5905 (2008) · source
“Mr. Kuzmin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): Allow me to thank the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo, for his briefing and his seventh report on measures to investigate the situation in Darfur in accordance with resolution 1593 (2005). We commend the efforts of the Office of the Prosecutor to strictly abide by its mandate, to assess events in that Sudanese province from an exclusively a legal standpoint, and to independently and impartially carry out its functions to establish the truth. The fight against impunity is important. However, in our view, it must be carried out in direct linkage with the overall efforts to restore peace in the Sudan. Carefully weighed and prudent action is called for if we are to avoid further complications on the path towards a settlement in Darfur.”
2008-06-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5905 (2008) · source