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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“In this particular case, the organization involved at the meeting was the European Union, and the offer it made through the Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels on 18 February was unanimously accepted by the PIC Steering Board. I was delighted that the European Union was thus in the forefront of institutions actually carrying out the Secretary- General's ideas on how to develop coordination and complementarity between the United Nations and regional organizations. As Mr. Solana said, in coming months the United Nations and the European Union will be cooperating closely to ensure a seamless transition from UNMIBH to the European Union Police Mission (EUPM).”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“Hays, for the work they have accomplished over more than a year to encourage this to happen. The international civilian presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be more compact, more coherent, and thereby more effective. On the subject of restructuring, I would like to comment on the future of the International Police Task Force (IPTF) of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH). At our meeting on 5 December with Mr. Klein, I stressed that, as far as France is concerned, UNMIBH is an exemplary peacekeeping operation, with an exit strategy, ready to hand over at the end of 2002 to a regional organization that is to follow on with some of its functions.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“It is equally advisable to arrest the indicted persons and refer them to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, beginning with Karadzic and Mladic. France actively supports the action of the Stabilization Force (SFOR) on the ground in this connection. We would urge all responsible officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina to unreservedly lend their cooperation to this action. The international community must be prepared to support the Bosnian authorities in the best possible way to carry out the needed reforms. The restructuring agreed last week by the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) will certainly be helpful. Actually implementing the PIC's conclusions must begin without delay. We would like to thank Mr. Petritsch and his deputy, Mr.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“The imminent admission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Council of Europe will be an initial stage. On the matter of priority tasks, ensuring development in the country is an essential goal. To that end, it is essential to improve investor confidence in the safety of the economic environment. In that light, promoting the rule of law, combating corruption and impunity and strengthening the independence and credibility of the judicial system are tasks that must be at the heart of public action. This requires, inter alia, full respect for jurisdictional decisions, beginning with decisions taken by the Constitutional Court. All members of the executive power that are involved in this matter at the State level, in the Federation and in the Republika Srpska, have the responsibility to ensure compliance.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“The last meeting of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Conference, which was held on 28 February, took a very clear position in this regard. Mr. Petritsch, Mr. Klein and Mr. Solana are involved directly in the restructuring and will continue to play a decisive part together in the coming months. As Mr. Petritsch recalled, the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina still requires the constant attention of the international community. The momentum of reform must be maintained, and work to implement the Dayton Agreements must be broadened. Continuing this process, begun a year ago by the Government of Mr. Zlatko Lagumdzija, will require courage, determination and perseverance. Once completed, it will open up the door for Bosnia and Herzegovina to join Europe.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“Mr. Levitte (France) (spoke in French): It is an honour to have you, Sir, presiding over our meeting today, and I would like to express our gratitude. The Secretary-General set the tone for our meeting with his clear and realistic statement. France is particularly pleased at the joint participation in our meeting of the High Representative, Mr. Wolfgang Petritsch; the Special Representative of the Secretary- General, Mr. Jacques Paul Klein; and the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, Mr. Javier Solana. This event has great symbolic importance and underlines the exemplary cooperation developing on the ground between the United Nations and the European Union. A major restructuring of the international presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina will happen soon.”
2002-03-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4484 (2002) · source
“Listening to the Palestinian representative - and I believe that I will soon be listening to the Israeli representative - it seems to me that there is today an opportunity to be seized to engage in a collective and constructive effort so that the Security Council can adopt a text that can contribute to a lasting ceasefire and to restarting a genuine peace process. France is ready to work resolutely to that end. S/PV.4478”
2002-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4478 (2002) · source
“The two countries that have signed a peace treaty with Israel - Egypt and Jordan- are involved in patient and constructive diplomatic efforts that we must encourage. In addition, the involvement of Saudi Arabia, whose Crown Prince suggested some particularly interesting ideas, must be welcomed. We hope that all of this will yield fruit and that it will be widely supported within the Arab world. Of course, the involvement of the United States, a sponsor of the peace process since the Madrid Conference, is essential. We hope that it will be active and resolute. It will be all the more successful if it is done in concert with the other members of what is referred to as the "quartet", namely, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union. In closing, what is to be expected of the Security Council?”
2002-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4478 (2002) · source
“In broader terms, we pay tribute to, and encourage, the various initiatives for dialogue and informal exchanges of views made recently by peace supporters on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides. I am thinking in particular of the two groups meeting around Yasser Abd Rabbo, Sari Nusseibeh, Yossi Sarid and Yossi Beilin. I would also like to recall the peace initiative of the presidents of the Knesset and of the Palestinian Legislative Council, which opens up a path to dialogue among the elected representatives of the two peoples. Everyone's efforts and ideas are needed and useful. Above and beyond the ideas put forth by France and some of its European partners, many other countries - particularly in the Arab world - have an essential role to play, and can make a useful and constructive contribution.”
2002-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4478 (2002) · source
“Holding a popular referendum under international monitoring would of course mean - on the basis of the Tenet plan and the recommendations of the Mitchell report - that both sides take steps to establish an effective ceasefire and that trust be restored. These measures should lead to the Israeli Army's withdrawing to the positions it held before September 2000 and to a lifting of the restrictions. Our ideas are a contribution to the ongoing reflection. It is a matter of re-mobilizing peace supporters in both camps and emerging from the cycle of violence. In this context, France also fully supports the courageous and responsible efforts of the Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, Shimon Peres, and of the President of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Abu Alaa. Those efforts should be supported and continued.”
2002-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4478 (2002) · source
“As the Council is aware, those ideas include, on the one hand, the holding of elections in the Palestinian territories centred on the theme of peace. On the other hand, they involve recognizing a Palestinian State as a point of departure for a negotiating process. These two proposals complement each other closely. On the one hand, they involve confirming that most Palestinians believe in the principle underlying the peace process. On the other hand, they involve restoring the feeling in Israel that there is a majority in the Palestinian camp that supports peace, and that there are institutions with mandates to resume negotiations. We are well aware that these proposals raise sensitive questions regarding implementation.”
2002-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4478 (2002) · source
“It is urgent and imperative to re-establish the political track, which has disappeared, and to re-launch a genuine political process of dialogue and negotiation in the Middle East as a whole with a view to achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace settlement on the basis of the implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and the application of the key principle of land for peace, which has been at the heart of the peace process since it began at Madrid, 10 years ago. It is this belief in the need to re-launch the political process to give the peoples once more some hope for a negotiated peace that motivates the European Union's ideas, and those of France in particular.”
2002-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4478 (2002) · source
“Destroying the Palestinian Authority's infrastructures runs counter to the demands made on it to shoulder its responsibility for a return to calm. Israel also has its part to play in ending provocations such as extra-judicial executions and in lifting the restrictions inflicted on the Palestinian people that feed the cycle of violence. President Arafat must have full freedom of movement.”
2002-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4478 (2002) · source
“The struggle against terrorism must be pursued with the utmost energy, but it must be accompanied by an equally energetic search for a political solution. Peace and security go together. That was the approach courageously taken by Itzhak Rabin; it is also the approach taken here in the Council by the Secretary-General. There can be no durable ceasefire without the relaunching of a political perspective that corresponds to the legitimate aspirations of Israel and the Palestinians. For Israel, this means full recognition of its right to live in peace and security within internationally recognized borders. For the S/PV.4478 Palestinians, it means the establishment of a viable, independent and democratic State as well as an end to the occupation of their territories. A peace process can take place only between partners.”
2002-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4478 (2002) · source
“The dramatic deterioration in the situation in the last few days cruelly illustrates the stupidity of using force, violence and terrorism. Secondly, the parties need the assistance of the international community to emerge from this trap of violence without falling back into it, so that a real constructive process can be restarted. Naturally, this would assume that there is a shared political will on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides to resume direct dialogue, without which efforts from the outside would be in vain. The policy of military reprisal has been pursued for more than a year now, and resorting to violence leads nowhere. Violence does not give Israel security; it plunges the Israeli and Palestinian peoples into intolerable conditions of life.”
2002-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4478 (2002) · source
“It is urgent that the Council support the path that be outlined. The new escalation of violence between Israelis and Palestinians is extremely grave. As the Secretary- General himself stressed last Thursday, the parties are at the edge of the abyss of total war. The number of dead and wounded continues to increase: 977 Palestinians and 279 Israelis killed since September 2000. This toll is intolerable. Both sides are losing. France deplores the loss of human life and sympathizes with the Palestinian and Israeli populations in their suffering; they are the primary victims of this vicious circle of violence and the absence of any hope for peace. The entire international community, and the Council in particular, are in agreement on the following two points of diagnosis. First of all, there is no military solution to the conflict.”
2002-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4478 (2002) · source
“Mr. Levitte (France) (spoke in French): France associates itself fully with the statement that will be made shortly on behalf of the European Union by the Permanent Representative of Spain. First of all, I should like to thank you, Mr. President, for having organized this public debate on the situation in the Middle East, in response to the legitimate and fully justified request by the Palestinians, as conveyed by the Ambassador of Yemen on behalf of the Arab Group. France believes it is normal and essential that the Security Council, in accordance with its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations, be able to debate and express its Views on the current situation, which is unquestionably a threat to international peace and security. In his statement last Thursday, the Secretary-General was the voice of wisdom and reason.”
2002-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4478 (2002) · source
“It would also be in keeping with the current efforts being undertaken by the Angolan Government and by Mr. Gambari - efforts that France fully supports - with a View to relaunching the Angolan peace process on the basis of the Lusaka Protocol. In that context, even an indirect discussion between the two parties on the establishment of humanitarian corridors would be a first step that could prove decisive for the return to the peace process.”
2002-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4472 (2002) · source
“In insecure areas, assistance could be made more secure by the use of strong military escorts provided by the Angolan authorities, which would allow greater access to those zones. Finally, there is a third part of the territory - areas under UNITA control or very isolated and dangerous areas. We believe that, as the representative of Colombia said, we could consider the idea of establishing humanitarian corridors. I would like to ask Mr. Oshima about how feasible such corridors would be. Of course, the Government of Angola would need a guarantee that such corridors would not be used by the rebels. On the other hand, if the Government of Angola were to accept the idea of humanitarian corridors, that would obviously be a gesture of encouragement to the population.”
2002-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4472 (2002) · source
“De Mul on the recent initiatives taken by the Angolan authorities with regard to resettlement, demining and the opening up of areas, initiatives taken on the basis of recommendations by humanitarian organizations. I have another question to ask Mr. Oshima. There have been allegations about the forced movement of the population, and I would be interested in receiving further information from OCHA about those allegations. Indeed, if people are forcibly displaced, that clearly has disastrous humanitarian consequences. Generally speaking, we would like to see greater access to people in distress. Areas controlled by the Angolan Government could be further opened up to humanitarian organizations.”
2002-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4472 (2002) · source
“We must therefore keep up the pressure on UNITA. The international community and the Angolan Government are searching for an appropriate response to this humanitarian crisis. We welcome the new commitments of the Angolan Government - the significant increase in assistance to the population in distress. We believe that the Government must make an even greater commitment to the struggle for survival of the people concerned. However, the modalities of the new governmental programme must be clarified, particularly as they relate to the time frame, and we would be pleased to receive more information from Vice-Minister Chikoti in this regard. We would also welcome comments from Mr. Oshima or Mr.”
2002-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4472 (2002) · source
“Mr. Doutriaux (France) (spoke in French): I consider this discussion to be very useful, thanks to the briefing provided by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) through Mr. Oshima. From the information provided by Vice-Minister Chikoti, we know that the humanitarian situation in Angola is extremely alarming; hence the usefulness of today's debate. I do not wish to repeat everything that Mr. Oshima said. However, when a third of the population of a country is displaced, when a tenth survives only because of humanitarian assistance and when hundreds of thousands of people find themselves in a critical situation, we must discuss the issue in such a way as to enable everyone to act together. We are well aware of the cause: it is conflict, the responsibility for which falls mainly on UNITA.”
2002-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4472 (2002) · source
“In a word, in conclusion, we must all together pursue our efforts to ensure that independent East Timor is and remains a fine example of the successful establishment of a State in accordance with the wishes of its people and with the decisive support of the entire international community.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“A threefold partnership should be established, first, among the United Nations bodies, in which the General Assembly would have an important role to play in formulating peace-building strategies; secondly, between the Security Council and the troop contributors, which must be properly consulted, in accordance with the innovative formula contained in resolution 1353 (2001), in private meetings with the Council; and, finally, between the Security Council and the other stakeholders, including such international financial institutions as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; such regional organizations as the Association of South-East Asian Nations and the Asian Development Bank; bilateral donors and private corporations. We must establish global partnerships, pursuant to the wishes of Secretary-General Kofi Annan.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“After that, our Council will adopt a resolution that will be of particular importance because it will establish the integrated United Nations mission. In this context, we deem it desirable for our Council to hold its next debate in the presence of representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as it has done repeatedly in the past.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“The logic of this will be different, as the Secretary-General stressed in paragraph 101 of his report: "it is important that international assistance to East Timor revert to a normal development model as soon as feasible". The form of the future international presence has been largely drafted. It seems satisfactory, with a two- year time frame, a civilian presence geared towards some key needs of the Timorese Administration, and a military presence which will be gradually reconfigured in order best to meet the needs of the Timorese: 5,000 men on independence day, and after that it will be undoubtedly between 2,500 and 3,000. All these issues will be addressed in the next report of the Secretary-General, scheduled to be issued in April following the Timorese presidential elections.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“UNTAET will thus confirm what has been unanimously welcomed as one of the great success stories in the history of the United Nations. UNTAET has, in exemplary fashion, discharged the various elements of its mandate. The political and administrative transitions are taking place smoothly; security has now been established throughout the territory; the process of reconciliation is well under way; and, finally, the conditions for economic revival are now present, and the first figures attest to this fact. But the history of East Timor does not stop there, of course. Another success story remains to be written: that of the post-independence period.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“The success of the transition to independence owes a lot to him; it was he, in fact, who was, and remains, the architect of the integration of the future independent East Timor into the regional environment. In the space of just a few months, he has successfully presided over the normalization of relations with the Government of Indonesia and, in particular, relations with President Megawati. Later in this debate a statement will be made on behalf of the European Union. France fully supports that statement, and as we are one of the last speakers in this debate, I will limit myself to just a few comments. Today's debate is occurring at a turning point in the history of Timor. UNTAET will continue its mandate until 20 May, independence day. A resolution will be adopted tomorrow for that purpose.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“I, too, would like to say how much we appreciated the presence of Prime Minister John Howard at this table, and I pay tribute to the role that Australia has played throughout this great adventure in East Timor since the very first days of the International Force in East Timor (INTERFET). As was the case in previous meetings, I would like to warmly welcome Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, and I thank him for his usual clear, precise briefing. It has perfectly covered the outstanding work done by the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) under his effective, inspired guidance. I would also like in the most warm and friendly way to once again welcome to this table our friend Jose Ramos-Horta, the East Timorese Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“Mr. Levitte (France) (spoke in French): I was just saying to my neighbour and friend, Ambassador Franco, that he took the words right out of my mouth. I wanted to congratulate you, Mr. President, for having organized this morning two debates that are two important symbols of the role that the United Nations can play in helping peoples in dire straits to affirm their rights and achieve their aspirations. It is fortunate that we had these debates one after the other this morning. I do not want to extend this parallel further, because Ambassador Franco said this in Spanish and made the point better than I could in French.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“There is no doubt that France, with the OAU today, the African Union tomorrow, and the Security Council, is and will remain by the side of the African countries that wish to move forward towards peace and development.”
2002-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4460Resumption1 (2002) · source
“That is the case, for example, with the Senegalese contingents that today serve with the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More generally, France welcomes the determination of African heads of State to take in hand the development of their continent. We have already expressed our support for the African initiative, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). On 8 February in Paris, President Chirac will convene a meeting of about a dozen African heads of State and Government and the President of the OAU in order to review the work done within the framework of NEPAD, with a view to the G-8 Summit in Kananaskis.”
2002-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4460Resumption1 (2002) · source
“That is why, more than 40 years after the wave of independence, France remains the leading donor of bilateral aid to the African continent, providing it with $4.5 billion in 2000. In addition, it has cancelled debt on a huge scale, amounting to more than $8 billion. France is also determined to continue its efforts to promote peace, together with the OAU and the Security Council. It has 5,800 troops on the African continent today, in Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon and Senegal, at the request of those countries. But France now wishes to help the Africans themselves handle security problems. Our Reinforcement of African Peacekeeping Capacities programme (RECAMP) is helping to train and equip African units that can be placed under United Nations command.”
2002-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4460Resumption1 (2002) · source
“All donors can make a decisive contribution to the success of these two peace processes by making an immediate commitment. It is essential that the ravaged peoples of these two countries receive now the dividends of the peace to come. Only these global strategies will make possible the lasting progress of good governance and human rights. It is in this context that a proposal has been made to create a working group on Africa. The idea seems interesting to us, and it will be necessary for Council members to consider the particular mandate that might be conferred on this group. France is resolutely committed to all of these matters. The ties formed by history account for our position, but there is another reason behind it. For France, Africa is a matter of the heart.”
2002-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4460Resumption1 (2002) · source
“A unit of independent experts could be established under the supervision of the Security Council and sanctions committees. France will submit a text on this subject to its partners in the next few days. The promising partnership between the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Security Council has been steadily expanded to other institutions. In the face of complex conflicts, the Council has elaborated exit strategies that include a military component, certainly, but also the necessary reconstruction of the State, the economy and the society of the countries concerned. To implement these coherent strategies, we have learned to work with the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This is the case in Sierra Leone. It should also be the case in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
2002-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4460Resumption1 (2002) · source
“They were imposed on UNITA and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), and proved effective because they were carefully targeted and associated with clear-cut political objectives. Most of the sanctions now have time limits, and their implementation is regularly evaluated and monitored by panels of independent experts. This is how the Council brought to light the key role played by the trafficking in arms and highly valuable natural resources in the perpetuation of conflicts in Africa, from Sierra Leone to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and from Liberia and Angola. We must further increase our pressure to halt instances of such trafficking, which are inter- related. From this perspective, France is proposing the creation of a permanent follow-up mechanism on the application of Security Council embargoes.”
2002-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4460Resumption1 (2002) · source
“We are determined to continue our action until peace is achieved. We shall be unflagging in our resolve. As I said before Minister She Okitundu this morning, the time has surely come to consider, with our African partners, the objectives of a new Council mission that could go to the Great Lakes region in the spring. Altogether, peacekeeping operations in Africa involve more than half the total number of Blue Helmets deployed throughout the world, at a cost of more than $1.5 billion. This shows the extent to which Africa is an absolute priority for the Council. As a complement to diplomatic efforts and the deployment of peacekeeping troops, the Council has made better use of the instrument of sanctions.”
2002-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4460Resumption1 (2002) · source
“In Burundi, the Council supported the initiatives of Presidents Nyerere and Mandela. France welcomes the assistance of South African troops in the implementation of the Arusha Accord. It supports the regional initiative and calls on the rebel movements to return without delay to the peace process. Next week, the Council will have the opportunity to make a detailed and particularly timely review of this question with President Buyoya. But it is perhaps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that the Council has invested most, and rightly so. In three years, the conflict there, in which seven neighbouring States are involved, has claimed 2.5 million Congolese lives. Through a series of meetings, a trusting partnership has been established between the Council and all the signatories of the Lusaka Accord.”
2002-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4460Resumption1 (2002) · source
“In the Horn of Africa, 4,000 United Nations soldiers are supervising the Peace Agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Our Council will soon be sending an important mission there to help resolve outstanding problems. It will prepare the way, we hope, for the unfaultable implementation by the two countries of the Boundary Commission's decisions on the demarcation of the border. We must turn our attention again to Somalia. The country has been abandoned by everyone for too long. The hopes born of the Arta process have unfortunately not been realized, and the Council must now throw its full weight behind the initiative taken by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) heads of State at their recent meeting in Khartoum. As soon as circumstances permit, arrangements must be made for the United Nations to return to Mogadishu.”
2002-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4460Resumption1 (2002) · source
“More often, however, our Council is invited to act in conflict resolution in support of efforts begun by the Africans themselves under the auspices of the OAU and subregional organizations. Today, it is important to welcome the success of the peace operation led by the United Nations, in conjunction with ECOWAS, in Sierra Leone. With more than 17,000 soldiers deployed, the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone is currently the largest Blue Helmet operation. As a result, 43,000 combatants have been disarmed and demobilized. On the strength of this achievement, we can organize elections which will put a final end to 10 years of conflict. There has been too much talk of the United Nations failures not to focus now on this promising development. We are all determined to conduct this operation to complete success.”
2002-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4460Resumption1 (2002) · source
“It did so, for example, in May 2000 by going to Addis Ababa and Asmara to try to prevent war between Ethiopia and Eritrea and to plead for the implementation of the OAU Framework Agreement approved in Algiers. It was in that spirit, too, that our Council issued yesterday an important statement on Madagascar, as was done by the OAU previously. The Council, of course, fully supports the initiatives of the OAU and subregional organizations to prevent conflicts. I am thinking in particular of the early warning observatories of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. I have in mind, too, the moratorium on small arms in West Africa and, to cite something more immediate, the proposed meeting of the three heads of State of the Mano River Union.”
2002-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4460Resumption1 (2002) · source
“Africa has made indisputable progress over the past few years in regard to both entrenching democracy and economic development. However, numerous conflicts, domestic and inter-State, are slowing and eclipsing the gains. That is why, at the request of African leaders, the Security Council has progressively agreed to become engaged there in a partnership for peace and security. It is a partnership that requires all the instruments of intervention available to the Council. First of all, there is conflict prevention. In the interests of discretion, it is usually the Secretary- General who commits the authority of his office, calling on the parties concerned to seek a peaceful solution. When it believes the moment to be ripe, however, our Council does not hesitate to act.”
2002-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4460Resumption1 (2002) · source
“Mr. Levitte (France) (spoke in French): France thanks you, Sir, for presiding personally over this meeting. We also thank Mauritius for having taken the initiative of convening this public debate on Africa, a continent central to the Security Council's concerns and commitment. I welcome the presence of our friend Mr. Amara Essy, Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), who embodies the hopes for the African Union. I would like to express our gratitude to the ministers who have done us the honour of joining us at this table and to Ambassador Ivan Simonovic', President of the Economic and Social Council. Later in the debate, Mr. Javier Solana, whom I welcome, will deliver a speech on behalf of the European Union, with which France fully aligns itself.”
2002-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4460Resumption1 (2002) · source
“Michael Steiner is taking on his responsibilities at a crucial time: after the 17 November elections and before the effective establishment of the institutions of provisional self-government. He can count on our full support in his difficult task.”
2002-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4454 (2002) · source
“It would be desirable for representatives of the new elected Kosovar institutions soon to join UNMIK representatives at future meetings. The establishment of pragmatic cooperation on matters of common concern can only be positive. Mutual understanding, inter-ethnic reconciliation and, more broadly, rapprochement of the Balkans with Europe would gain from such cooperation. In the short term, progress on prisoners and missing persons would be desirable, and it seems to be within our grasp. Kosovar political leaders should speak out clearly and quickly in favour of the return to Kosovo of persons belonging to minorities. Action in that regard would bolster projects undertaken by UNMIK, which we hope will go forward more quickly.”
2002-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4454 (2002) · source
“This year again, the fight against insecurity, violence and organized crime will in a general sense be at the centre of UNMIK's concerns. In the interest of Kosovo and of the entire region, it is essential to continue resolute action in that sphere. KFOR and UNMIK - especially its police and justice pillar - will continue to be engaged in that work. Kosovar political leaders must lend their full support to ensure the success of this essential activity. Another of the priorities for the new year is to expand the dialogue with the Yugoslav authorities, and we earnestly call for this. Here, it is necessary fully to implement the Common Document signed on 5 November by Mr. Haekkerup and Mr. Covic. In that regard, the 18 January Belgrade meeting of the High- ranking Working Group established by that document was a good sign.”
2002-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4454 (2002) · source
“In that connection, those elected must quickly name all members of the presidency of the Assembly and elect the President of Kosovo. The active and responsible involvement of the members of the Assembly is required by the spirit of this democratic process: a boycott is no solution. I join others in stating our concern at the murder of Mr. Ismail Hajdaraj, a member of the Kosovo Assembly. We condemn that cowardly attack against an elected Kosovar representative. We support UNMIK's efforts to arrest the perpetrators, bring them to justice, discover their motivation and identify their possible backers. We categorically condemn intimidation, violence and attacks against pluralism; under no circumstances can they be tolerated in Kosovo's public life.”
2002-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4454 (2002) · source
“However, at this point the self-governing institutions are not yet in place, the presidency of the Assembly is not yet complete, and the process of electing a President of Kosovo has not yet been concluded. The Government is therefore not yet constituted. Accordingly, as of today, the devolution of power provided for in the Constitutional Framework has not yet been completed as planned. It is therefore important that Kosovar political leaders live up to the expectations of their peoples by helping to invigorate the provisional self-governing institutions. Those institutions should be established as quickly as possible so that they can fully assume the functions allocated to them by the international community.”
2002-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4454 (2002) · source
“Two months ago, on 17 November, Kosovo voters of all ethnic origins elected the 120 members of the Kosovo Assembly. They went to the polls peacefully and in large numbers, thereby demonstrating their sense of responsibility. In so doing they made a decisive contribution to a new stage of the implementation of resolution 1244 (1999), namely, that of the provisional self-governing institutions. Under the Constitutional Framework, those institutions will gradually take over major UNMIK functions and become responsible for the day-to-day administration of Kosovo. The foundations have therefore been laid for Kosovars themselves to take over the management of their daily lives.”
2002-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4454 (2002) · source
“Mr. Levitte (France) (spoke in French): First of all, I would like to thank Under-Secretary-General Jean-Marie Guehenno for the information he has given us about the situation in Kosovo and the prospects there. Like others, I would like to pay tribute to Mr. Hans Haekkerup for the real successes he achieved in the last year. France welcomes the Secretary- General's announced intention to appoint Mr. Michael Steiner to head the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). We offer him our warmest wishes for every success in his work. The Permanent Representative of Spain will give a full account of the position of the European Union later in our debate. France fully associates itself with that statement. I shall therefore confine myself at this point to a few brief, additional comments.”
2002-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4454 (2002) · source