YouSaid · the spoken record

Levitte

lines on the record: 1,215
first: 2000-03-21
most recent: 2002-11-12
sittings or episodes: 146
sources: un-security-council

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“We need only mention the unprecedented number of national initial and follow-up reports submitted to the Committee, as well as the evaluation letters which the Committee has provided them in return. We should also mention the significant number of States that in recent months have become parties to several international conventions and protocols suppressing certain terrorist acts, in particular, the 1999 Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. This work has made it possible to take a truly global inventory of the legislative and administrative measures adopted by States in the multifaceted area of the fight against international terrorism. Crucial as it may be, that inventory is, however, only an initial step. First, all States without exception must send a report to the Counter-Terrorism Committee.”
2002-10-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4618 (2002) · source
“Now, together, we assess the road that we have travelled. Historic in many aspects, Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) remains central in the determined efforts of the international community to combat the scourge of terrorism. We owe that success in large part to the work of the Counter- Terrorism Committee. Without that organ for regular monitoring of the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001), what would have happened to the effective implementation of the resolution? Innovative in many regards - especially because of the transparency of its work, which is often mentioned as a model to be emulated - the Committee has so far completely fulfilled the mission entrusted to it.”
2002-10-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4618 (2002) · source
“Mr. Levitte (France) (spoke in French): We wish to express our best wishes at the beginning of a month that is very important to the Security Council regarding international peace and security. We have full confidence in you, Mr. President, and in your team. France would like to associate itself in advance with the statement to be delivered on behalf of the European Union by the Permanent Representative of Denmark. In my national capacity, I would like to begin by expressing my warmest congratulations and our gratitude, first, to Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, and next, to all those who work with him in the British Mission and to the Vice-Chairmen who support him. Nor can I fail to mention the Committee's independent experts. They have all done an absolutely remarkable job. A year has passed.”
2002-10-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4618 (2002) · source
“At the risk of surprising my colleagues, I would say that 1 gladly side with British pragmatism. In France, we are obsessed with codifying everything, beginning with our Constitution. Experience has shown that now, and at an ever faster pace, we are changing our Constitution because the world is changing very quickly. As for the English, they do not have a written Constitution, and they are doing very well. I think that perhaps we should follow the wisdom and pragmatism of the British in our working methods. It is good to develop our working methods. I believe that we have been to do so fairly quickly. Let us continue to do so without getting bogged down too much in codification.”
2002-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4616 (2002) · source
“It is true that for two years we have tried to agree on and to adopt a document. We are deadlocked. Nevertheless, we can observe that after the decade of sanctions, we have been able to develop a tool that is at our disposal alongside words, statements, resolutions and the use of force. Today, sanctions are a more refined and more targeted tool. We have introduced time limits. I think that is a major advance, even if some seated at the Council table do not agree. We have also begun to pay attention to humanitarian consequences. I think that those are two areas of progress, among others, that demonstrate that on that issue too the Council has been able to evolve in the right direction. I will conclude by asking about one suggestion made by Ambassador Mahbubani. Is it necessary to codify all of this?”
2002-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4616 (2002) · source
“His actions are an example of what we all should be doing when we have the responsibility of chairing a committee or working group. The ad hoc working group on conflict prevention and resolution in Africa is also a very good working tool, which we should use even more. I would add a last point. Security Council missions beyond the Chamber, to countries, have become for us - and also, I think, for our partners in the various regions that we visit - an absolutely indispensable element for working better with the countries concerned and with regional and subregional organizations. Those examples show that we have indeed been able to evolve. Ambassador Mahbubani referred to the successes and frustrations that we have had over the past year. I would mention an issue to which he referred: sanctions.”
2002-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4616 (2002) · source
“It is true that never in the history of the United Nations has the Security Council held so many public meetings. We have broken all records. He was right in mentioning our openness to civil society through our Arria-formula meetings, which enable us to meet with the representatives of non-governmental organizations, who come to enrich our work and who transform the Council's image by showing its ability to listen, beyond the circle of States, to all those who can make a useful contribution. Aside from those meetings with civil society, our ability to work with other Member States has also improved. Ambassador Greenstock once again deserves to be commended, this time as Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee.”
2002-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4616 (2002) · source
“Some would say that the progress is not yet rapid enough. But I am struck by how the Security Council has been able to develop its working methods pragmatically. If we compare the Council to the General Assembly, we could say that in this friendly competition, the Council has taken the lead. When we take a look at the way in which the monthly programme is decided on and prepared, when we see the goals we set for ourselves, and when we think about the wrap-up sessions, which are dear to some and criticized by others, we can say that in terms of organization, we are making progress while still retaining the necessary flexibility in our work, which is dictated by constantly changing events. Ambassador Mahbubani spoke of transparency.”
2002-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4616 (2002) · source
“The Security Council is a slowly evolving animal, but I think that the example given by Ambassador Greenstock is a good start on an analytical section, which could gradually find its way into the beginning ofthe annual report. Beyond my comments on the annual report, I think that today's discussion is an opportunity to reflect once more on our working methods. What strikes me in listening to Ambassador Mahbubani, as compared to his statement last year in the General Assembly, is that in his view we have made a great deal of progress. I think that is an accurate judgement. If we take a look at the development of the Security Council's working methods since its creation more than 50 years ago, we can see that we have gone from a period of hibernation to a period of increasingly rapid development.”
2002-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4616 (2002) · source
“I would like to begin by welcoming the extraordinary determination demonstrated by Ambassador Mahbubani, Christine Lee and the entire Singaporean team in transforming the annual report. I think that is a small but absolutely necessary task. We no longer have an unusable compilation but a report enabling anyone to find an immediate record of our work during a given year. Not only have we saved money for the United Nations, which in itself is a good thing - in fact, we will have to decide among ourselves what to do with those savings - but also and more importantly, we are making available to all Member countries a genuine working tool. As did our friend Kishore, I would like to include Ambassador Greenstock in my congratulations because the introduction is, I think, the beginning of an analytical section.”
2002-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4616 (2002) · source
“Mr. Levitte (France) (spoke in French): I had a text to read out, but I think that after Ambassador Mahbubani's long statement, I will instead contribute to a spontaneous discussion, at the risk of having appear in the verbatim record statements that are not carefully weighed word by word. Kishore Mahbubani's final comment was interesting. It was, in the end, a practical recommendation. I think that if we wish to have lively debates, we must make sure that texts such as that just read out by Ambassador Mahbubani can be included in the verbatim record without first having to be read out. That way, we would then be able to have the conversation that I am now trying to start. I think that this is an additional reform that we should consider.”
2002-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4616 (2002) · source
“This will require, among other things, implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, all of which are equally binding, in their entirety, upon all parties.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“In the current context of mutual defiance between the parties, we deem essential the creation of a third- party mechanism to assess and monitor the implementation by each party of the measures expected of it. The early holding of an international conference could also make a useful contribution to defining parameters as well as the role of each party, thereby enhancing the chances of success of future peace negotiations. The course set by the Quartet must be maintained and its various elements further defined. The members of the Quartet are committed to doing so, and they will continue to work towards that end in the coming weeks. But it is the parties themselves which must demonstrate in the field, above and beyond words and professions of faith, their dedication to the goals set by the international community.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“This will require not only an improvement in the security situation but also a commitment to, and the implementation of, parallel progress in other areas and in the political area in particular. From this perspective, the most recent meeting of the Quartet made it possible to chart a course towards the resumption of the peace process. France, like many other countries, welcomed this positive development. The general framework for a three-phase plan leading to the settlement of the conflict has been defined. The framework sets out the stages of the plan and the measures that are expected of the parties as well as a timetable for their implementation. It gives the Quartet a key monitoring role.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“It is, of course, essential that the Palestinian Authority use every means at its disposal to prevent terrorists from acting and to arrest and bring to justice the perpetrators of, and masterminds behind, terrorist acts, and punish them as severely as possible. France's message in this regard is unambiguous. It is equally essential that Israel realize that the security imperative - which is entirely legitimate - cannot serve as its only strategy. I would echo the words of the Secretary-General, as well as the statement made by his Special Envoy to the Council last Friday, in saying that the approach taken, which is based on security alone - the so-called sequential approach - has failed. We must rekindle hope.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“France demands that they cease immediately, and it has said so to the Israeli authorities. Meeting violence with more violence, laying siege to the Palestinian Authority and destroying its infrastructures can in no way contribute to the fight against terrorism or to meeting Israel's legitimate security concerns. Rather, these acts further impede the Authority's ability to combat the terrorist scourge. They prevent the implementation of the reforms entered into with the unanimous support of the international community and which are essential to establishing a new partnership for peace. Reforms must be encouraged, not slowed down. The current operation against the Palestinian presidency can only delay them.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“France condemned in the strongest possible terms these heinous and unjustifiable acts. They discredit the cause they claim to serve. I reiterate here in the Council France's solidarity with and condolences to the families of the victims of these barbaric acts. Hope was destroyed also by those who, blindly or deliberately, were unable, or did not wish, to put to good use the relative calm that had prevailed for almost six weeks. By continuing its military operations during that period - when no attacks took place against civilians in Israel - and in so doing killing many Palestinian civilians, the Israeli army played right into the hands of the most extremist Palestinian factions. Ongoing military operations aimed at the offices of the President of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah are unacceptable.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“Mr. Levitte (France) (spoke in French): France fully endorses the statement to be made shortly by the representative of Denmark on behalf of the European Union. The situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories has tragically deteriorated in recent days. Given the responsibilities conferred upon the Security Council by the Charter, the gravity of the situation fully justifies the Council's meeting today to hear the views of the parties and to carefully review the situation and respond to it accordingly. Renewed hopes of returning to the path of dialogue and peace negotiations have been dashed by the recent terrorist attacks against Israel in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv, which have claimed many innocent victims, as well as by the terrorist act last week that deliberately targeted Palestinian schoolchildren in Hebron.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“Its encouraging work has underscored the need to work hand in hand on all the issues - political, institutional, security-related, economic and humanitarian. This is the only possible path to a just and lasting settlement. It is today essential for the Israelis and the Palestinians to renounce violence once and for all and to commit themselves to that path with the assistance of the whole of the international community.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“France has constantly pressed this point: violence will not lead to a solution. It cannot be an option for those Palestinians and Israelis who wish to establish a just and lasting peace between their two peoples. It is only through dialogue that the two parties will succeed in providing decent living conditions for their peoples, while realizing their legitimate aspirations to live in two States - Israel and Palestine - coexisting side by side within secure and recognized borders. France once again calls on both parties to refrain from any further act of violence, the sole effect of which would be to provoke further ones. It calls on each party to continue efforts to bring about a lasting resumption of dialogue. This is the objective that the main actors concerned aim to achieve within the "quartet".”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“As the Secretary-General has said, Israel has a legal and moral responsibility to avoid the loss of innocent lives. In its response to terrorism, it must refrain from having recourse to this kind of indiscriminate operation. More generally, Israel must put an end to extra-judicial executions, of which civilians are all too often the Victims. France recalls the need to respect in all circumstances the norms of international humanitarian law. At a time when certain signs, such as the reopening of Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem or the resumption of direct contacts between Israeli and Palestinian officials, had given us some grounds for hope that tensions would ease and that there would be a return to dialogue, the action undertaken in Gaza threatens to restart the cycle of violence.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“Mr. Levitte (France) (spoke in French): Once again the Council is obliged to meet because of a tragic worsening of the situation in the Middle East. France and the European Union have strongly condemned the Israeli military action taken on 22 July in a densely populated area of the Gaza Strip. That attack resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries, including a number of children. France once again takes this opportunity to reaffirm, before the Security Council, this condemnation in the strongest possible terms. France wishes also to convey its profound distress and sympathy to the injured and to the families of the innocent victims. While Israel has a legitimate right to defend itself against terrorism, such a deliberate act is unjustifiable and can in no way contribute to resolving the current crisis.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“We need to get specific details from the Government as to number of personnel, composition, cost, timetable and set-up. Moreover, a genuine programme for the disarmament and reintegration of the militias is vital, as Lakhdar Brahimi has noted. France, in cooperation with all of its partners, will early next week be preparing a draft presidential statement to reiterate these main messages and, above all, to lend the Council's full support to the tremendous task that has been undertaken with such success by Lakhdar Brahimi and President Karzai.”
2002-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4579 (2002) · source
“This, of course, presupposes good coordination among donors, under the auspices of Lakhdar Brahimi. The other instrument, of course, is the military clout of the coalition. Above and beyond this, the priority remains the creation of unified, multi-ethnic security and police forces. As Ambassador Negroponte has noted, France is closely involved in this effort, alongside the United States. Sixty of our trainers are now training the 2nd battalion of the Afghan national army. In September, the 4th battalion will have its turn. There are many difficulties involved, however, in particular in the area of recruitment and remuneration. As the Ambassador of the United States has noted, there is an urgent need for the Afghan authorities to undertake an operational plan to establish security and police forces.”
2002-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4579 (2002) · source
“Turkey is determined to pursue the outstanding efforts deployed by Britain, and France will continue to lend its full support to ISAF. One could discuss interminably the merits and drawbacks of extending ISAF's deployment to the provinces, but this is probably an academic issue. Indeed, no country represented in this Chamber is, as far as we know, prepared to dispatch the thousands of troops that would be necessary to the provinces of Afghanistan. So what can be done to rein in the warlords? First of all, we must lend full support to President Karzai's courageous efforts to secure the return of the customs duties and to bring the principal warlords to Kabul. We must make full use of all of the instruments available to the international community, such as, first of all, economic conditionality, as set out in resolution 1401 (2002).”
2002-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4579 (2002) · source
“But trafficking must also be addressed, and that is why France, in spring 2003, will be holding an international conference on drug routes originating from Afghanistan. Economic assistance is essential, but will be futile without support for security. Lakhdar Brahimi has told us that humanitarian agencies and non- governmental organizations have abandoned certain projects for security reasons. What, then, must be done? Should the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) be deployed beyond Kabul and the surrounding area? The question has been debated at great length this morning. It is true that ISAF is doing a remarkable job. During the six months of the British command, the crime rate in Kabul dropped by 70 per cent.”
2002-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4579 (2002) · source
“But it is not enough for the money to arrive; it must also be spent on tangible projects. At the moment we are perhaps seeing too much institutional cooperation and too few quick-impact projects with tangible results, such as the building of roads and the reconstruction of housing. The Transitional Authority also will have to increase its own resources, in particular customs- related resources, at the expense of the warlords. Its budget deficit for 2002, although it results partly from the massive return of refugees, is not acceptable - $257 million of a total of $460 million. Another question demands our attention: the combat against drugs. The Transitional Authority has embarked on a courageous campaign to eradicate cultivation. It must be pursued resolutely, and it will require assistance in terms of replacement crops.”
2002-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4579 (2002) · source
“That presents President Karzai with the tremendous challenge of moving from the emergency phase - the first six months of Government - to the reconstruction phase. And he must do it quickly, before the positive effect of Bonn and the Loya Jirga dissipates. Nothing will be possible without the assistance of the international community. It is essential that the money continue to arrive. The Tokyo Conference launched a mini-Marshall plan for Afghanistan, with the promised commitment of $1.8 billion. How much of that amount has actually been disbursed? France, for its part, respects its commitments: 70 million euros in 2002. A large part of that has already been spent on specific projects such as the rehabilitation of two French Afghan secondary schools in Kabul.”
2002-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4579 (2002) · source
“The situation remains fragile, especially in the north. The confrontations between the Jumbesh and Jamiat factions prolong a climate of impunity. A woman working for a non-governmental organization was attacked. A United Nations staff member was murdered. Even in Kabul, Vice-President Haji Qadir was assassinated with impunity, in broad daylight and in the centre of the city. That act should not go unpunished, like the assassination in February of the Minister for Aviation, Abdul Rahman or the attempted assassination of Marshal Fahim in February. The Transitional Administration must do everything possible to identify those responsible. How can we prevent Afghanistan from being once again haunted by its old demons? Afghans must benefit from the dividends of peace. The effects of the regime change must be tangible.”
2002-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4579 (2002) · source
“Admittedly, the size of the Government has not been reduced: five Vice- Presidents, three national security advisors and 30 ministers. However, the ethnic make-up of the Government has been somewhat balanced. Now, more than 50 per cent are Pashtuns and slightly less than 30 per cent are Tajiks. Above all, for the first time in 23 years, Afghans were able to be consulted. Afghanistan was able to come very close to a genuine democratic experience. How much ground has been covered in just six months! But that does not mean that the job is done - far from it. The country is still vulnerable to a reversal. When we recall the fratricidal conflicts that took place from 1992 to 1996, it was the mujahidin who destroyed Kabul and not foreign invaders. There are a number of disquieting signs, as Mr. Brahimi has noted. His great concern is security.”
2002-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4579 (2002) · source
“Mr. Levitte (France) (spoke in French): I wish to begin by warmly welcoming Lakhdar Brahimi in our midst. It is difficult to steal him away from the Afghan people, who have adopted him. He has been an honorary citizen since the Loya Jirga met and conferred that honour on him. However, we need to hear him on a regular basis, because each time he comes to see us we hear the expression of a genuine strategy based on a clear-sighted and uncompromising analysis of what is really happening. In spite of Lakhdar Brahimi's lucid and clear briefing, I think we must hail a true Afghan miracle. All the Bonn deadlines have been met. Mr. Brahimi has just confirmed that for us. The Loya Jirga has been a great success. It took place in a calm atmosphere and kept its promises.”
2002-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4579 (2002) · source
“Perhaps with the three heads of State we can crystallize the progress that will have taken place in the intervening period through the activities of Morocco and give additional momentum to the peace process in the region of the Mano River Union.”
2002-07-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4577Resumption1 (2002) · source
“But I would like to ask Under-Secretary-General Prendergast, what stage are discussions between the Department of Political Affairs and the Liberian authorities on this point. The third idea was mentioned by Sir Kieran, the upcoming installation in Dakar of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa. How does he see the role of Mr. Ould-Abdallah, among the other stakeholders - that is, ECOWAS and the Rabat process, lead by the King of Morocco? The fourth and last idea concerns the Rabat process. If it makes good progress in coming months, could we take advantage of the General Assembly session this autumn to invite to a meeting of the Security Council the three foreign ministers of the region? We already have two right here.”
2002-07-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4577Resumption1 (2002) · source
“We believe ECOWAS deserves encouragement in their its efforts. The United Nations should, for example, help ECOWAS set up the four early warning regional centres. I would like to refer specifically to four elements. First, and this point was made by other speakers, we need to set up the contact group of interested countries within the Mano River Union as quickly as possible. This group should be limited in composition, but it needs to be established urgently. Second is another urgent matter. We need a representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Liberia. I am sure the United Nations Office in Liberia should be strengthened. I know this is not easy, because President Taylor has the unfortunate habit of rejecting people proposed to him.”
2002-07-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4577Resumption1 (2002) · source
“However, a sanctions committee is not enough for providing a strategy. I entirely support what General Diarra has said on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). We discourage any seizure of power by force, and we must condemn Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) in its attempt to do this. We need to assist all political forces in Liberia to prepare as best they can for the presidential elections to be held in 2003. Accordingly, the statement adopted last week in Ouagadougou seemed very positive to us. One understands that we need to elaborate, in partnership with the other stakeholders, a true strategy for Liberia, just as we did for Sierra Leone. From that standpoint, today's dialogue, including with ECOWAS and Morocco, is particularly useful.”
2002-07-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4577Resumption1 (2002) · source
“First of all, personal relations between heads of State are a key factor for peace in this region, as indeed elsewhere in Africa. Restoring good relations among the three presidents of the Mano River Union is a priority, and that is why France welcomes in particular the role now played by the Rabat process. I salute the commitment of King Mohammed VI to the peace process in the Mano River Union region. My second point is there can be no peace in the region unless there is peace among the three countries - I would say within each of these three countries. What is striking today is that, if we have a clear strategy that is working for Sierra Leone, we do not have a comprehensive strategy for Liberia. Of course, we have the sanctions committee, and I welcome the role played by the Ambassador of Singapore.”
2002-07-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4577Resumption1 (2002) · source
“Mr. Levitte (France) (spoke in French): I too wish to welcome the two ministers who have honoured us with their presence today, in particular my neighbour at the Council table, Francois Fall. I also thank you, Madam President, for your presence and for the excellent way in which you are guiding our debate today. I would like to begin by paying special tribute to the United Kingdom for its determined commitment in service of peace in Sierra Leone through the presence of ground troops, which at a particularly difficult time made it possible to restore full credibility to the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), and through the United Kingdom's resolute commitment to rebuilding the State and the economy of a devastated country. We are here in a brainstorming session. I would like to note three things.”
2002-07-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4577Resumption1 (2002) · source
“The Council has the duty to think first of the people of Bosnia, who are slowly emerging from a terrible tragedy and who deserve the solidarity of the international community.”
2002-07-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4568 (2002) · source
“With regard to UNMIBH, if we do not reach an appropriate agreement on the International Criminal Court by the weekend, we shall have to decide to extend its mandate one last time, until 31 December, as provided in the draft resolution submitted by Bulgaria. In order to respond to the concern of the United States, we could - as suggested by the Secretary-General - add to that text a paragraph stressing the primacy of the ICTY's competence over that of the International Criminal Court. If that solution is not accepted by the United States, France will fully support the draft resolution of the United Kingdom allowing for the orderly withdrawal of UNMIBH and its replacement, on 1 November, by the European Union Police Mission.”
2002-07-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4568 (2002) · source
“Who, at the end of July, will replace in southern Lebanon the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, created 24 years ago at the initiative of the United States? Sixteen forces of various sizes are deployed today throughout the world. They are carrying out difficult missions. They deserve the full support of the international community. We must recognize that they are irreplaceable. If ever proof were needed, it would suffice to ask - as I have just done - who would agree to replace them. Let us not take them hostage. Let us think of all the peoples for whom they represent the only hope of peace and progress.”
2002-07-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4568 (2002) · source
“No one contests the major responsibilities shouldered today by the United States, including military ones. However, there are many crises in which Washington does not want to be directly involved. There is only one way to help resolve those crises: the Blue Helmets. If Washington, by this weekend, confirms its veto with respect to the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) and then proceeds to veto every mission extension that arises, who will take over the responsibility for those forces? Who will complete the restoration of peace in Sierra Leone, begun so successfully by the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, supported by the United Kingdom? Who will have the responsibility of completing the remarkable work accomplished by the United Nations in East Timor?”
2002-07-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4568 (2002) · source
“The principle of complementarity, and the combined recourse to articles 16 and 98 of the Rome Statute, allow our United States partners a near-guarantee in that regard. France has made a specific proposal regarding article 16 and is ready to discuss that within the limits authorized by law - I repeat, within the limits authorized by law. However, it cannot accept modification, by means of a Security Council resolution, of a provision of the treaty. Furthermore, even if the United States manages to persuade a majority of the Council to take that course of action, one may question the effect of such a resolution on the decisions to be taken by the Court. It is certainly not in the Council's interest to see any conflict of norms arise. Finally, I should like to say a word about United Nations peace operations.”
2002-07-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4568 (2002) · source
“Therefore, there is no reason to fear that the work of the Court's judges will be any less irreproachable than that accomplished, to the satisfaction of all, by the ICTY judges. The International Criminal Court marks major progress in building an international order based on law. It targets criminal leaders who have victimized their people, such as those who have held sway in Cambodia or in Sierra Leone, in Rwanda or in Yugoslavia. As Kofi Annan wrote in his 3 July letter, "... in the history of the United Nations no peacekeeper or any other mission personnel have been anywhere near the kind of crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC." The United States, nonetheless, wants to be sure that none of its nationals serving abroad will be brought before this Court.”
2002-07-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4568 (2002) · source
“That safeguard does not exist in the ICTY statute. Fourthly and finally, the Security Council, on the basis of article 16 of the Rome Statute, may decide to suspend an action initiated by the Court for a renewable period of a year, which is not provided in the ICTY statute. Those four differences demonstrate that the Rome Statute, as it stands, responds far better to the concerns of the United States than does the ICTY statute. I reiterate that, throughout the six years of its implementation, the ICTY statute has never elicited the least criticism on the part of Washington. I would add that the criteria and the modalities provided in the Rome Statute for the election of International Criminal Court judges is scarcely different from those provided for the election of judges to the ICTY.”
2002-07-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4568 (2002) · source
“First, the ICTY Statute permits the Tribunal to compel national courts to drop a case and cede it to the ICTY - this is called the principle of primacy - whereas the Rome Statute provides that the Court can prosecute persons only if competent national courts do not prosecute; this is called the principle of complementarity. Secondly, indictments prepared by the ICTY Prosecutor are confirmed by a single judge, whereas the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor can undertake a prosecution only with the authorization of a pretrial chamber composed of three judges. Thirdly, article 98 of the Rome Statute enables any State requested to cooperate with the Court to invoke a bilateral agreement according immunities to the nationals of a third State in order not to comply with the Court's request.”
2002-07-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4568 (2002) · source
“France very much hopes that by the end of the week the Council will have been able to find a solution that addresses the concerns of the United States while fully respecting the Statute of the International Criminal Court. I now come to the Rome Statute. As it stands, it offers the United States far more substantial safeguards than does the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which, nevertheless, has never elicited the least concern in Washington. Allow me to demonstrate this point with four specific examples.”
2002-07-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4568 (2002) · source
“Mr. Levitte (France) (spoke in French): France fully supports the statement made on behalf of the European Union by the Ambassador of Denmark. As my country addressed the Council on this issue on 30 June, today I wish simply to speak in greater depth on a few points relating to the Rome Statute and to peace operations. First, a word about our attitude towards this issue. France respects, though it does not share, the position of the United States regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC). France hopes that the many hours of discussion in the Council and among capitals will make it possible better to understand this subject and thus achieve greater convergence on possible solutions.”
2002-07-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4568 (2002) · source
“For France and several Council members, those two options would make it possible to respond to a great extent to the United States concern, in full accordance with the letter of the Rome Statute. Those two possibilities are still before us today. Together with its partners in the Security Council, France is willing, in coming days, to seek, through a constructive dialogue, a sensible solution that is acceptable to all. What is at stake, as the Secretary- General has stressed, is the very capacity of the United Nations to continue its peacekeeping operations - operations that provide irreplaceable services to the international community as a whole.”
2002-06-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4563 (2002) · source
“The first would be to use paragraph 2 of article 98 of the Rome Statute, which would enable the United States and any other State not a party to the International Criminal Court to conclude with the host country of a United Nations force a bilateral agreement whereby the consent of the United States would be required in the event that the Court required the transfer of an American national member of that force. The second solution would be, as France and the United Kingdom proposed, to use article 16 of the Rome Statute in order to enable the Security Council to request the International Criminal Court on a case-by- case basis, through a resolution, to not be seized for a one-year renewable period, in the case of an ongoing investigation on a member of a force who is a citizen of a State that is not a party to the Rome Statute.”
2002-06-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4563 (2002) · source
“The simplest thing for the United States to do is to withdraw the 46 United States police from the 1,586 that make up the UNMIBH international police component, so that they could then be removed from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in the very unlikely situation that one of those unarmed American policemen commits genocide, a war crime or a crime against humanity that falls within the restrictive provisions of the Rome Statute. There is simply no reason to kill UNMIBH in order to protect the 46 policemen and other United States civilian citizens. However, there is another path, that of the law, which would allow us to take into account the American concern. Two legal solutions could be considered.”
2002-06-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4563 (2002) · source