YouSaid · the spoken record

Kyslytsya

lines on the record: 887
first: 2010-10-26
most recent: 2023-12-29
sittings or episodes: 80
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

“The Council should continue the dialogue with troop- and police-contributing countries in formal and informal consultations during the establishment or renewal of peacekeeping operation mandates, in order to ensure proper and on-time personnel training and equipment supply to the missions. Proper conduct by, and the discipline of all personnel deployed in, United Nations peacekeeping operations are vital to their effectiveness. The Council must continue to support the Secretary-General's initiative to eradicate sexual violence in United Nations peacekeeping operations. It is essential also to ensure gender balance integration in peacekeeping operations, which would certainly further improve their capabilities to address gender- based violence, thereby contributing dramatically to conflict resolution.”
2019-05-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8521 (2019) · source
“If an operation's mandate has nothing to do with the implementation of peace accords, such a peacekeeping operation will not serve its main objective of establishing lasting peace and can result in the freezing, or even in the escalation, of the conflict. Any peacekeeping operation relies on appropriate force generation to be able to deliver on its mandate. One should not be deceived by a false belief in the ability of peacekeeping operations to function efficiently and effectively without proper funding and sufficient capabilities, including aviation assets, advanced intelligence and modern technologies.”
2019-05-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8521 (2019) · source
“Ukraine proceeds from the understanding that the United Nations has to use all its potential to prevent the outbreak, resurgence and prolongation of armed conflicts. Gross human rights violations are often a precursor to the outbreak of a military conflict. Yet some Member States try very hard to prevent the United Nations and the Council from addressing human rights violations as an issue of international peace and security. The consequences of such irresponsibility can be seen in many places around the globe. Decisions on peacekeeping operation deployment should be based on a political solution or guided by peace agreements, which must include the protection of civilians.”
2019-05-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8521 (2019) · source
“Ukraine's involvement in United Nations peacekeeping did not cease even at the height of the ongoing armed aggression against my country, and even as Ukraine continues to await action from the Council on the deployment of a peacekeeping operation to the occupied territory in Ukrainian Donbas. Unfortunately, the casualty level in United Nations peacekeeping remains a grim reminder of the still unsatisfactory level of personnel safety and security. On the other hand, the action for protecting civilians as an integral part of the peacekeeping endeavour still lacks efficiency and determination. Both issues have often similar or closely interlinked causes, as was rightly outlined by the briefers. I see several essential issues to be addressed for success here.”
2019-05-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8521 (2019) · source
“There are certainly palpable results achieved in the implementation of the September 2018 Declaration of Shared Commitments on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, which Ukraine also joined. However, we still have a long road before us to make contemporary and fully effective peacekeeping a reality. For Ukraine, as an active troop contributor and an initiator of the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, the theme of our discussion has much practical meaning. Ukrainian Blue Helmets have been participating in United Nations operations throughout the world. In many cases, they have been instrumental in reaching peace - from the Balkans to Liberia.”
2019-05-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8521 (2019) · source
“That Mission continues to be a decisive stabilization factor on the ground with the substantive support of Ukrainian attack and military transport helicopters. From the briefings it appears indisputable that, to keep up with an unpredictable world, the United Nations peacekeeping endeavour urgently requires additional reform. It is high time to assess the current state of play and prospects of United Nations peacekeeping. I sincerely hope that this debate will contribute to that Vital exercise. We fully support the efforts of the Secretary- General to implement a robust, comprehensive United Nations reform agenda within the Action for Peacekeeping initiative.”
2019-05-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8521 (2019) · source
“I would like to join the participants in today's discussion in expressing our sincere gratitude for the organization of this important debate. It is only fair that this meeting take place during the presidency of Indonesia - a nation with an outstanding peacekeeping record. I am about to deliver a statement in my national capacity; however, I would also like to signal that Ukraine aligns itself with the statement to be delivered by the observer of the European Union. I would like to express our gratitude to the Secretary-General and the briefers for their valuable input to the discussion. It is a particular pleasure for me to welcome the Force Commander of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lieutenant General Elias Rodrigues Martins Filho.”
2019-05-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8521 (2019) · source
“Finally, I would like to close my statement with a quote of a notable Swedish scientist, Alfred Nobel: "Good wishes alone will not ensure peace". It seems like this is the right time to stop enjoying ourselves or, as they say in English, this is the right time to stop having a ball.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“Ukraine, as an initiator of the aforementioned resolution of the Human Rights Council on the role of prevention in the promotion and protection of human rights, firmly believes thatwithout a systematic approach to prevention throughout the entire Organization, we will not be able to succeed in preventing new conflicts or the resumption of old ones. In matters of preventing conflicts and gross violations ofhuman rights, the speed and determination of the United Nations are crucial. In 1994, in Rwanda, and later in Srebrenica, the United Nations failed to react promptly to prevent genocide. In 2014, neither the leadership of the United Nations at the time nor the members of the Security Council managed to stop Russia's military aggression and occupation of Crimea and Donbas.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“As a member of the Council during the two previous years, Ukraine strove to highlight the preventive role of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. We welcome the adoption today of resolution 2427 (2018), which will allocate greater powers to the Special Representative to implement her role in conflict prevention. We are encouraged by the approach just set out by Ms. Virginia Gamba when she said that we must "move to an era of prevention". That is fully in line with the general vision of the Secretary-General on the reform of the peace and security pillar based on the concept of the prevention of conflict. It is evident that preventive diplomacy represents a major tool that the United Nations should deploy more.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“We also continue to attach great importance to the Safe School Declaration, a framework to ensure better protection for schools and students. The Government of Ukraine intends to endorse the Declaration after completing the necessary internal procedures. We note the absence in the report of the Secretary- General to a reference to the situation concerning Ukranian children affected by the conflict in the Donbas region of Ukraine. Such a situation reflects the efforts of the Government of Ukraine to protect and save the lives of the children impacted by the armed aggression. Ukraine pays special attention to the reintegration of almost 240,000 children out of around 1.7 million internally displaced persons.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“That country can easily contribute to the resolution of conflicts by putting an end to its practices of constantly and deliberately undermining the international legal system, abandoning its aggressive policies, withdrawing its troops from the occupied territories of neighbouring States and ceasing to flood the region with heavy weapons. On our part, Ukraine has always been consistent in its policy of ensuring the protection of children in situations of armed conflict. With the endorsement and ratification of basic documents such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol, as well as the Paris Commitments and Paris Principles, Ukraine has fully committed itself to the protection of the rights of children.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“This conflict has already claimed way too many lives, including those of 80 innocent children on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17, which was shot down four years ago, in July 2014, by a Buk missile system of the Russian fifty-third Anti-Aircraft Military Brigade, which had been brought into the territory of Ukraine from the Brigade's permanent base near the city of Kursk. Let me remind the Council that, in 2015, the Security Council draft resolution (S/2015/562) aimed at creating an international tribunal to prosecute persons responsible for the attack on Flight MH-17 was vetoed (see S/PV.7498) by a country claiming that "international legality is the main attribute of a stable world and security".”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“Another brutal examples is the detention of six teenagers, citizens of Ukraine, in September 2016 in the city Yasynuvata by the Russian occupation administration on charges of subversive activities. Those children remain under illegal arrest in detention facilities. The question of their release has been discussed in Minsk at the Trilateral Contact Group. Unfortunately, no progress has been achieved yet. Approximately 200,000 boys and girls live within the lS-kilometre zone along both sides of the line of contact. They all long for peace finally to come to their land, when they can go to school without worrying that their classes could be interrupted by sudden artillery shelling and be able to take a walk in the fields or forests without fear of booby traps or mines.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“11) Back then no one sitting at this table could imagine that the same Council member would launch a full- scale armed intervention against a neighbouring State, illegally occupy parts of its territory and resort to the same tactics it vehemently condemned, namely, shelling densely populated civilian areas and endangering the lives of civilians, including children. As a recent example, on 28 May a lS-year-old girl died after an artillery attack by Russian forces on the city of Toretsk, in Donbas. Moreover, there are also reports that children as young as 15-years-old have been recruited into armed youth groups and are taking part in active combat as full-fledged members of combined Russian and Russia-led militant forces, including as youth reconnaissance and sabotage groups operating in the Government-controlled territory of Ukraine.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“Unfortunately, despite existing preventive mechanisms, we witness a lack of their implementation in situations of emerging conflicts. I would like to remind the Council that, despite the existing resolution on the role of prevention in the promotion and protection of human rights that was initiated by Ukraine, long before the armed aggression launched by the Russian Federation, the Human Rights Council was unable to use the preventive instruments on human rights violations at its disposal. Twenty years ago at the open debate on children and armed conflict, a permanent member of the Security Council noted that "Leaders of military factions are using children ever more frequently in armed conflicts as cannon fodder." (S/PV3896, p.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“In that context, enhanced cooperation by the United Nations with regional and subregional organizations at all stages of the conflict cycle could make a substantive contribution. It is equally important that adequate levels of funding and support be provided to Governments to assist them in carrying out reintegration programmess aimed at children scarred by armed conflicts. Access to education, psychological support and rehabilitation are important building blocks in devising and implementing effective strategies for preventing the escalation of current conflicts and the emergence of new ones. It is worth mentioning that monitoring is an important preventive mechanism that can identify risks of a sharp deterioration of a situation and make respective recommendations for early action.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“It is regrettable that, since the first Security Council open debate on children and armed conflict (see S/PV.3896), which was held in 1998, children have continued to be disproportionately affected in situations of armed conflict. As documented in the Secretary-General's report (S/2018/465), the scale of the violations committed against children is extremely alarming. Behind the data lies enormous human sorrow, which impacts children's lives and causes long-term psychological trauma, thereby making violence and insecurity permanent features of their everyday lives. Let me therefore echo other speakers who took the floor before me by saying that the right thing to do in the face of these grim facts is to intensify our common efforts to ensure enhanced protection for children in armed conflict.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“Ukraine greatly appreciates Sweden's initiative to hold this open debate, Mr. President, as well as your personally presiding over it. We thank Ms. Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and Ms. Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director, for their briefings. Ukraine welcomes the initiative of Sweden on adopting updated resolution 2427 (2018), on children and armed conflict. Byjoining as a co-sponsor, Ukraine once again underscores its commitments on protecting children in situations of armed conflict. I am about to deliver a statement in my national capacity, but I also would like to highlight that Ukraine aligns itself with the statement to be delivered by the observer of the European Union.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“In conclusion, we call on all States and parties to armed conflict everywhere to respect international humanitarian and human rights law and to abide by the orders of the Court in The Hague.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“What is that if not a direct violation of resolution 2286 (2016), which the Council adopted unanimously in 2016? Back in 2005, during a debate in the Security Council on the same subject that we are discussing today, one delegation emphasized the need "to stress the role played by the International Criminal Court and to recall the as-yet-untapped potential of the Fact-Finding Commission created in accordance with article 90 of the first Protocol Additional to the 1949 Geneva Conventions on protecting victims of war." (S/PV5319, p. 19) Despite the fact that I am quoting a representative of the Russian delegation, I would readily subscribe to every word. I deeply regret that, unfortunately, the position of one permanent member of the Council is not as permanent as it could have been in order to save the lives of many.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“In 2017, an inter-agency commission on the application and implementation of international humanitarian law in Ukraine was established with the aim of identifying the most pressing humanitarian needs, setting concrete goals, monitoring the implementation of tasks and assessing efficiency in addressing the needs identified. All that is just a fraction of what has been done to help civilians during the ongoing military conflict instigated and fuelled by Russia, which continues to flood the Donbas region with its weapons and military personnel. Right now, the conflict may be in a low-intensity phase, but it is no less deadly. For example, on 20 February, a Ukrainian military medic, Ms. Sabina Halytska, was killed when riding in a vehicle clearly marked with a red cross that was struck by a Russian antitank guided missile. She was only 23.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“For example, the Donetsk Filter Station, located in the so-called grey zone, supplies potable water to almost 400,000 people on both sides of the line of contact. However, five members of its service personnel were wounded on 17 April after their car came under fire from Russian-backed forces. Ukrainian deminers have cleared mines and ordnance from more than 1,000 civilian infrastructure facilities and more than 150,000 explosive remnants of war, including almost 1,000 improvised explosive devices purposely set up by Russian-backed forces.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“In keeping with the request contained in the concept note for today's debate (S/2018/444, annex), I will highlight what my country is doing to provide the best possible protection for civilians as Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine enters its fifth year. As was mentioned earlier, according to United Nations estimates, some 3.4 million people from the Donbas region now require humanitarian assistance and protection. With 1.5 million registered internally displaced persons (IDPs) since 2014 - the first year of the conflict - the Ukrainian State has increased more than six-fold its budgetary allocations for monthly cash payouts to those IDPs. The Ukrainian authorities are doing their utmost to ensure the continuous functioning in the Donbas region of objects of critical infrastructure that benefit the local population.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“So long as impunity rules the day, so long as some States Members of the United Nations, including one well-known permanent member of the Security Council, could not care less about implementing the decisions of the International Court of Justice, the Council will be doomed to go in circles around the issue of the protection of civilians, addressing it but never really resolving it. What is the solution, one may well ask. I think that we have to get real. In the absence of a supranational body to enforce international law, it becomes the joint responsibility of us all, meaning that no crime of aggression or other transgression against the international rule-based system can be tolerated under pretexts concocted just to protect one's own narrow interests.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“Moreover, we are witnessing a worrisome trend of new and devastating conflicts emerging and the agenda of the Security Council continuing to grow. In all fairness, many countries and international organizations, including the United Nations, have taken very concrete and practical actions to alleviate the suffering of civilians in numerous armed conflicts. However, the lack of comprehensive and enforceable action on an international scale hampers our progress in this area.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“Ukraine shares the Secretary-General's grave concern about the situations of armed conflict in many countries in which the civilian population, in particular women and children, suffers disproportionately as a result of active military operations. However, what is really disheartening is that despite a near-universal recognition by States Members of the United Nations of the need for full compliance with international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, the issue of the protection of civilians in armed conflict remains as topical today as it was in 1999, when the Council adopted resolution 1265 (1999). Almost two decades have passed, and we all continue to express concern, strongly condemn, urge, call for, underline and so on.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“Sir, Ukraine deeply appreciates the initiative of Poland to hold this open debate, as well as the fact that you personally are presiding over this meeting. We thank the Secretary- General for presenting his report on the issue of the protection of civilians (S/2018/462), as well as the Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross for his presentation. As I am about to deliver a statement in my national capacity, I also would like to highlight the fact that Ukraine aligns itself with the statement to be delivered by the observer of the European Union. We welcome the fact that for the first time the dire situation of civilians in Ukraine affected by the Russian military aggression in the Donbas region of Ukraine was referred to in the report of the Secretary-General.”
2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source
“It is our joint responsibility to assist the younger generation in pursuing their aspirations to build a better world of tomorrow, to equip them through education with the right tools and to make sure that young people become agents of peace and positive change.”
2018-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8241 (2018) · source
“Therefore, with regard to the youth population, the Government of Ukraine has moved away from the patronizing stance of working with youth to an inclusive approach of youth participation. We note that such an approach is also advocated by the authors of the study before us. Ukraine is convinced that the role of youth in ensuring peace and security cannot be overestimated. The energy and creativity of young people can contribute to the development and progress of their societies. Unfortunately, there are also numerous examples showing that energy can be, and is, exploited for destructive purposes.”
2018-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8241 (2018) · source
“In that regard, we strongly believe that education has to, and will, play a leading role in shaping the future of our youth, reinforcing their role in public life and instilling a spirit of open-mindedness, tolerance and a can-do attitude. To achieve that goal, an educational reform was launched in 2017 with the adoption of a law on education. That, among other things, is fully in line with the recommendation of the progress study to support inclusive labour policies and practices that ensure equal access for all young people to the labour market and the enjoyment of fundamental principles and rights at work. We reiterate our position that the empowerment of youth and youth-oriented organizations is essential in promoting positive role models, finding proper responses to violence and building a peaceful social fabric.”
2018-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8241 (2018) · source
“We therefore demand that the Russian Federation stop the illegal practice of the conscription of young men in the occupied territories and respect its obligations as an occupying Power in accordance with international humanitarian law, as defined by the General Assembly. No matter how proud the actions of Ukraine's youth make us feel, repelling the foreign aggression and managing its consequences is not the fate we envisioned for our younger generation. Therefore, the Government of Ukraine is now committed to qualitatively strengthening the potential of our youth, as well as creating equal opportunities and guaranteeing equal rights for them.”
2018-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8241 (2018) · source
“My delegation has repeatedly urged the Russian Federation to accept its international legal responsibility, and we demand the termination of its wrongful acts in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol and certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. As an example, according to the latest report on the human rights situation in Ukraine of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which was released a month ago, the Russian Federation continued to compel Crimean residents into its armed forces, conscripting at least 4,800 men within two campaigns in 2017, in violation of international humanitarian law. Moreover, courts in Crimea started to hear cases on charges of draft evasion.”
2018-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8241 (2018) · source
“I should like to highlight the fact that youth are among those who suffered most in Ukraine from the Russian aggression in Crimea and Donbas. Young people in those areas lost their chance to receive quality education and to work. More than 60 per cent of internally displaced persons are young women. Nevertheless, tens of thousands of young people actively volunteered by providing support to our armed forces in the fight to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. Youth and student organizations became equally active in delivering aid and humanitarian assistance to the people affected by the ensuing hostilities.”
2018-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8241 (2018) · source
“We firmly believe that the 1.8 billion young people around the world can play a crucial role in building a world that is more peaceful than what we have now. That can be achieved through ensuring the inclusiveness ofyouth policies aimed at seamless social integration and accommodating young people's positive and creative potential, to the benefit of societies. We shall continue to pay special attention to this issue through United Nations programmes and special procedures for youth. Young people are the future. While actively contributing to peace and security through participation in peacekeeping operations - I invite those present to just look the average age of Blue Helmet personnel - they also suffer most from political and man-made disasters, as do women and children.”
2018-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8241 (2018) · source
“Graeme Simpson, and we welcome the progress study on youth and peace and security (see S/2018/86) prepared by its members in response to the resolution. I would like to assure my colleagues that the Ukrainian Government is carefully studying the recommendations contained in the report and will consider them in the process of further adjustment to its national youth policy. Unfortunately, we have to admit and agree with the conclusion of the study: many young people around the world are frustrated by the tendency of their Governments and international actors to treat youth as a problem to be solved, instead of as partners of peace. It shall be one of our priorities to address that challenge, in order to contribute to international peace and security.”
2018-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8241 (2018) · source
“Ukraine aligns itself with the statement to be delivered by the observer of the European Union. In my national capacity, I would like to add the following. I would like to express our appreciation for your initiative, Mr. President, to hold this open debate on the issue of youth, peace and security. I also thank the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth, Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake, for her briefing, as well as the other briefers for their input. Just over two years ago, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2250 (2015), recognizing that the energy and creativity of young people should be harnessed and actively engaged in shaping lasting peace and contributing to justice and reconciliation. We highly appreciate the work of the team led by Mr.”
2018-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8241 (2018) · source
“Having said that, the Council is not beyond redemption. In fact, not much is needed - just a responsible attitude on the part of permanent members to fulfil their duties for the good of the world. So far, that aspect of the Council's work has been found wanting.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“And it continues, with the constant sending of arms and ammunition to sustain the war and a de facto occupation of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Russian delegation may also claim, as it usually does, that our remarks have no relation to the subject of today's discussion. Our answer is very simple. Russia's actions undermined and continue to undermine the international rules-based system, and they constitute a direct threat to international peace and security, which is the subject that the Council has to concern itselfwith. In conclusion, Ukraine is convinced that without a radical reform and complete overhaul of the Security Council as it stands, we can expect only more of the same - long discussions, sometimes even interesting ones, but which have a limited impact where real and concerted action is needed.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“In 2008, it occupied a part of Georgian territory; in 2014, it illegally occupied and attempted to annex Crimea and then expanded the armed conflict to the Donbas region of Ukraine. Has the Council been able to provide a fitting response? We are all well aware of the answer to that question. In anticipation of Russia's usual tirades concerning a so-called referendum in Crimea and a civil war in the Donbas, I will just remind those who may have forgotten that it all started with the deployment of Russian troops without insignia in Crimea; with the sending of Russian-trained armed groups and Russian special operations forces into eastern Ukraine; with rocket salvos launched from Russian territory into Ukrainian territory; and with Russian regular army troops crossing into Ukraine.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“Finally, the premise of an effective and efficient Security Council must be based on the assumed and expected respect for the Charter of the United Nations and the norms and principles of international law by all Member States. I would like to specifically underline the importance of the latter point. To our deepest regret, the world is currently living in an era of the erosion of the rule of law, in which the arbitrary application and selective or arbitrary interpretation of norms and principles of international law, with the respective obligations and commitments deriving therefrom, are becoming a routine occurrence. The most obvious manifestation of that is the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation towards its neighbours.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“First, the veto right of the permanent members of the Council means that substantive action is possible only when the interests of the five permanent members do not conflict, ifnot coincide. In other cases, the Council is left paralysed. Moreover, the lack of a mechanism to overturn a veto means that there are no incentives for a veto-wielding member to try to work out a solution on a contentious issue. Secondly, the scope of implementation of resolutions has always been limited by the level of readiness of countries to comply. Examples of non-implementation and outright violations of resolutions abound throughout the Security Council's history, and the list of offenders is quite extensive. This selective approach to implementation does not bode well for the Council's ability to make a real difference in various situations on the ground.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“At the same time, debates are held, consultations are regularly conducted, numerous resolutions are adopted and press statements are produced - in an almost mechanized manner. That is not to say that all of this is not important; it is merely to underline the limited impact of the Council's work. The Council is not as effective as the international community and many people around the world hope and expect it to be - and not because it deliberately ignores some issues or does not work hard enough. On the contrary, the Council's agenda is growing and, with every passing year, its members spend more and more hours deliberating in the Chamber or in the neighbouring Consultations room. That state of affairs is a result of the way the Council was conceived and constructed to function.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“The ongoing development of nuclear and missile programmes by the North Korean regime remains a standing threat to international peace and security, despite the introduction of the Council's most robust sanctions regime to date. That list is by no means exhaustive, as there are many other cases where the Council's intervention was less than successful. In our opinion, it is important to bear in mind that perspective of the Council's work when we consider issues such as the Council's ability to address contemporary challenges to international peace and security. We believe that the Council should be able to do much more, but we also recognize the fact that it can do only so much.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“For instance, the multifaceted challenges in the Democratic Republic of the Congo remain largely unresolved, despite the fact that the country hosts the largest United Nations peacekeeping operation. In current hotspots in the Middle East, including in Syria and Yemen, an array of tragic events are unfolding before our eyes. Even the Council's most intense efforts on such issues garner results with only marginal influence on the overall situation. Even blatant Violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention are yet to be dealt with in a decisive manner. Thus far, impunity appears to rule the day. The Middle East peace process remains in a perpetual deadlock. The composition of the Council changes but the messages and signals heard around this table for decades are by and large the same, with no progress on the ground.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“We are pleased that those documents reflect several of Ukraine's priorities, including making the Council's field visits more transparent. Alongside those positive examples in the Council's work, there is a much longer list of issues where the Council could have put its vast potential to better use. Such shortcomings, or even outright failures, are seen not only in cases when cross-cutting, thematic or new subjects are concerned - such as environmental degradation, links between human rights and security, the protection of civilians, the role of women and so on - but also in clear-cut cases of difficult security issues, which are the traditional purview ofthe Council.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“Another aspect that is probably not as Visible from outside the Council, but is nevertheless just as important, is the improvement in the working methods of the Council. That is an area that never fails to attract harsh criticism from the wider membership of the United Nations, which has strong opinions on how the Council should or should not discharge its duties. In that regard, I would like to commend the dedication and hard work of the Japanese delegation, which provided impetus and leadership in the negotiations on updating presidential note S/20lO/507 and the Handbook on the Working Methods of the Security Council and drafting presidential note S/2016/619, with regard to the selection of Chairs of the Council's subsidiary bodies.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“We welcome that positive shift, since threats to international peace and security cannot be addressed effectively in isolation. Today's debate is another confirmation of the growing understanding of that nexus. We hope that the Council will continue to explore this topic and discuss the ways to address the root causes and multipliers of conflict in a comprehensive manner. I must mention the progressive changes made in the process of selecting the new Secretary-General. Notwithstanding the glaring shortcomings and outdated practices that remain, in particular with regard to so- called non-disclosure or so-called confidential results of indicative votes on candidates, great strides have been made to ensure a level playing field for all candidates and to increase the overall transparency of the process.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“Numerous discussions were held and landmark decisions were taken on countering the efforts by terrorists to spread their ideology, recruit followers, raise funds and procure weapons and plan and perpetrate attacks. Ukraine contributed to the Council's endeavour by raising the issue of protecting critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks. We are proud that, after the adoption of resolution 2341 (2017), several States Members of the United Nations have taken concrete steps to implement it at the national level. The agenda of the Council has expanded considerably, owing to the close interlinkage between threats to international peace and security and such challenges as human rights, development and climate change, to name just a few.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source
“The peaceful resolution of the constitutional crisis in the Gambia, which was achieved first and foremost thanks to the actions of the Economic Community of West African States and the unified position of other regional partners in West Africa, can also be put on the positive side of the ledger of the Council's work. Over the past two years sanctions against C6te d'Ivoire and Liberia were lifted. The United Nations Blue Helmets left C6te d'Ivoire, as their presence was no longer required, although they remain in Liberia, in significantly reduced numbers, for contingency purposes. The Council has been particularly active in addressing the threat of terrorism.”
2017-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8144 (2017) · source