YouSaid · the spoken record

Lopes Cabral

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26

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1996-08-15

most recent

1996-08-30

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4

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un-security-council

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1. “We must also demand that the Liberian faction leaders respect and protect the children whom they use as cannon fodder, an odious and abhorrent practice that we shall always condemn. In conclusion, we subscribe to the Secretary- General's recommendation to extend the mandate of UNOMIL for a period of three months. My delegation will vote in favour of the draft resolution before the Security Council today.”

   1996-08-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3694 (1996) · source

2. “We thank them warmly, and we encourage other States to make their own contributions to the United Nations Trust Fund for Liberia. Nevertheless, it is clear that the international community will not be in a position to continue to support the peace process in Liberia if the Liberian factions do not show beyond doubt that they are determined to settle all their differences through peaceful means and to achieve national reconciliation, in accordance with the Abuja Agreement of 17 August 1996. In this context, we demand once again that the Liberian factions strictly respect all their commitments under the Abuja Agreement and the personnel statutes of ECOMOG, UNOMIL and other international organizations and agencies. Looting, thievery and other acts of banditry must cease immediately and all stolen objects must be returned.”

   1996-08-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3694 (1996) · source

3. “Guinea-Bissau, as a country of the subregion and a member of ECOWAS, has always expressed its frustration over the limited means available to ECOMOG. We therefore once again call on the international community to provide it with the necessary assistance to fully carry out its responsibilities. In this connection, I wish to highlight the contribution of the United States, whose delegation deserves the credit for proposing to the other members of the Security Council a draft resolution that has been able to take into account and bring together all views. This has ultimately enabled us to reach the consensus that we welcome today. I also wish to welcome the contributions of other countries, which, in our View, are of crucial importance.”

   1996-08-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3694 (1996) · source

4. “Ruth Perry as Chairperson of the Council of State and wish her every success in carrying out her mission, which is no doubt a difficult one, but one that enjoys the support of the international community. It has every chance for success, provided that the commitments entered into by the factions and the schedule and modalities for the holding of free elections are respected. In View of this progress and the improvement in the security situation in Liberia, we support the Secretary- General's proposal in paragraph 23 of his report (S/1996/684) to deploy immediately an additional 24 military observers to the country, with a view to consolidating the presence of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL). That presence would facilitate more frequent patrolling and future disarmament operations.”

   1996-08-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3694 (1996) · source

5. “Guinea-Bissau welcomes the decision extending the Abuja Agreement until 15 June 1997 and establishing a specific plan for its implementation, providing the means to verify the faction leaders' compliance with the Agreement, and stipulating measures that could be taken against factions for non-compliance with the provisions of the Agreement. These unprecedented coercive measures adopted by ECOWAS are proof of the determination and the cohesion of the West African Community. They have been decisive in the decision by the Liberian factions to end hostilities, disengage their forces and to surrender their weapons. We welcome the designation of Ms.”

   1996-08-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3694 (1996) · source

6. “Mr. Lopes Cabral (Guinea-Bissau) (interpretation from French): After a period of serious troubles resulting from the resumed fighting among the warring parties in Liberia, we can see - or at least we hope we can see - a period of relative, but important, peace and stability that has brought a partial return of normalcy to Monrovia. We welcome this turn of events. It represents the fruits of the tireless efforts of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), which has deployed the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in the city of Monrovia and surrounding areas, where they have carried out a seal and search operation to recover the weapons abandoned by the factions during their retreat.”

   1996-08-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3694 (1996) · source

7. “Likewise, it is essential to study, starting now, all the necessary modalities for resuming development aid once peace, national reconciliation, democracy and strict respect for human rights have become established and have finally triumphed, both in the thinking and in the conduct of all the citizens of Burundi, who will finally be brought together and will coalesce into a single, unified nation.”

   1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source

8. “This will happen provided that these sanctions are supported in principle by the rest of the international community, and provided that they are accompanied by measures that are capable of limiting their cost to society. Any individual or collective action on the part of our States must follow that logic and should be conducive to restoring genuine legality and peace in Burundi. In the opinion of my delegation, humanitarian action should continue.”

   1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source

9. “What means do we have available to us to induce, by which I mean oblige, the current military junta to respect the rules of the democratic game? What, finally, is the purpose and the scope of the sanctions that have been imposed on Burundi by its neighbours? The resumption of dialogue and negotiations, in the framework of the Mwanza talks held under the auspices of former President Julius Nyerere, should be encouraged. It also seems to us that the sanctions imposed by Burundi's neighbours in a selective, targeted and time-limited way against those responsible for the coup d'etat and their supporters may speed up this process.”

   1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source

10. “Indeed, we believe that national reconciliation is the only way of establishing and consolidating a lasting peace in Burundi. Guinea-Bissau appeals urgently to our brothers and sisters in Burundi to finally set aside their political affiliations, their ethnicity and their ideological leanings and honestly, courageously and promptly enter into an open and constructive dialogue in order to create a climate of trust, recognition and mutual respect conducive to peace and security for all throughout the national territory. What do the people of Burundi expect of us? What can we undertake together, here and now, which might help return Burundian troops to their barracks and usher in pluralistic democracy in Burundi? How can we promote the restoration of constitutional legality in the wake of the coup d 'etat of 25 July last?”

    1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source

11. “We have to find the sort of political machinery that can promote a sharing of power between the two ethnic groups, the Hutu and the Tutsi. We have to appease the anxieties of one and promote the trust of the other. The abrupt breach of the Convention on Governance of 1994, which was the only legal framework that most of the actors on the Burundian political scene could trust enough to associate themselves with, could once again trigger a resurgence of violence and could increase and prolong the suffering of the people of Burundi. The Security Council cannot condone the use of force in resolving the situation in Burundi. The Burundian Army and its leaders must respect constitutional legality and the institutions that derive from it. The guns must fall silent and give way to dialogue.”

    1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source

12. “There can be no doubt that this is an illegal act that tends to confirm the primacy of arms over ballots. It must be rejected and, above all, unambiguously condemned. The people of Burundi, at the same time incredulous witnesses and innocent victims of the extremism practised by both camps, find themselves trapped in a hellish cycle of violence. The balance that was so difficult to establish has been disturbed, and violence fuelled by a hatred repressed for generations, is now breaking out, unrestrained and unappeased. The conflict in Burundi is exacerbated by the deeply held conviction of both communities that their survival is compromised if they do not hold the reins of power. Quite clearly, this conflict does not lend itself to a ready- made solution or, even less so, to one that is imposed from outside.”

    1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source

13. “Today, according to the prevailing moods and preferences of the time, Burundi may either claim our attention, baffle our wits, question our conscience or quite simply be shunted aside along with other matters, because some find it banal. The people of Burundi deserve to have the Security Council turn its attention to their future, because indeed no predetermined fate should prevent them from fully and freely enjoying their future, let alone stand in the way of their progress towards national unity and peace. The military coup d 'etat of 25 July last in Burundi was a violent act that flew in the face of established constitutional order, accelerated the spiral of violence and arbitrarily usurped political power to the detriment of democracy, national reconciliation and peace in that country.”

    1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source

14. “Mr. Lopes Cabral (Guinea-Bissau) (interpretation from French): The recent history of Burundi has unfortunately accustomed us to troubles and ethnic and political upheavals of all kinds. The domination and pre-eminence of an ethnic group that is a one numerical minority, the rebellion of the majority, the fierce struggle for political power, conflicts, confrontations, massacres, vendettas and what have you, have, unfortunately, for more than 30 years, set the stage for one of the most lethal tragedies ever known by Africa. The most recent report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Burundi attests to this disastrous state of affairs and, unfortunately, supports this overall view.”

    1996-08-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3692 (1996) · source

15. “In our View, it is important that the Khartoum Government comply with the draft resolution within 90 days so that we are not forced once again to cite it for lack of respect for or non- compliance with decisions of the Security Council, which would oblige us to take measures that could be injurious to the people of Sudan. We hope that in the coming 90 days the Government of Sudan and the Security Council will be able to affirm that the provisions of the draft resolution have been observed and that we are in a position to bring to justice the individuals implicated in the attack.”

    1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

16. “This does not mean that we are about to make a general statement on this matter, as we had an opportunity, when resolutions 1044 (1996) and 1054 (1996) were adopted, to discuss the question at length and clearly to state our position. However, as we are about to vote on this very important draft resolution, I wish to take advantage of this opportunity on behalf of my Government to reaffirm our firm determination to contribute to the struggle against international terrorism in all its forms. Today's draft resolution is not aimed at the people of Sudan. As its provisions indicate, it is intended to inform the Government of Sudan that it must take the decision to bring to justice the individuals implicated in this act of terrorism.”

    1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

17. “Mr. Lopes Cabral (Guinea-Bissau) (interpretation from French): Very soon - only hours - after the attempt to assassinate President Mubarak, Guinea-Bissau condemned that act of terrorism. We consider that any State offering passage, logistics or shelter to terrorists has explicitly established its own complicity and thus bears international responsibility. As noted, my country has sponsored the draft resolution before the Council. It did so not out of automatic African solidarity but because of a position based on clear principles. The Government of Guinea-Bissau is opposed to terrorism and will spare no effort in attacking terrorism in all its forms.”

    1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

18. “Furthermore, we encourage the international community to undertake immediately to seek solutions to problems caused by anti-personnel land-mines, with a view to eliminating them for ever and putting an end to this global calamity that kills or permanently mutilates hundreds of victims each week in many countries of the world. We hope that the International Meeting on Mine Clearance, convened by the General Assembly - and held in Geneva from 5-7 July last year - will stir a greater awareness of the various aspects of this problem and will move the international community to greater cooperation and stronger political and financial support for United Nations activities in this area.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source

19. “Success will be incomplete if the effort for national reconstruction in the countries concerned does not enjoy the continued support of the international community, which must endow the United Nations, and in particular the soldiers of peace who are acting on behalf of all of us, with the essential tools to carry out their noble mission. We must do everything in our power to put an end to this tragedy, for it constitutes a permanent threat to the lives and physical integrity of individuals. Objectives such as a total ban on anti-personnel mines, a complete ban on exports of these wretched devices and effective demining must be essential elements of the new joint action of the United Nations.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source

20. “The innocent victims are innumerable and, unfortunately, include many children: there are too many amputated, blinded children, pointlessly martyred, nameless and unsung victims of futile and unending wars. This shows how useful, important and timely our debate today is. The international community must be able to provide the legal instruments for a total ban on mines and the destruction of mines. Important steps have already been taken in this direction, and negotiation to this end must be pursued. The success of the peace mission of the United Nations is at stake.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source

21. “Mines remain active for decades and pose a lasting danger to the populations of the regions where they have been laid. There can be no more normal life for villagers once a mine has exploded nearby. Fear takes root in the cornfields and rice paddies. Parents are reluctant to send their children to school. The future is thus taken hostage. The Republic of Guinea-Bissau considers that the use of all types of mines should be prohibited, banned. Their production and export should be forbidden. In addition, existing stocks should be destroyed. Moreover, even military experts consider the strategic military usefulness of mines to be more dubious than ever. We are dealing with a weapon that kills or leaves its victims mutilated for life, with no possibility of continuing to live normally.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source

22. “And this concept, backed by our unanimous adherence, is taking the most diverse forms, manifesting itself everywhere in concrete and admirable ways, even in the most remote comers of the globe. Demining operations today represent a formidable challenge for the United Nations soldiers of peace, true heroes deserving of the solemn tribute we pay them here for their courage and their spirit of sacrifice and selflessness. Yes, alas, there are also victims among the Blue Helmets: more than 200 wounded and 60 dead - too many victims, in truth, for mines are everywhere along roads, in villages, on bridges, on riverbanks, even in schools and hospitals. What a tragedy, what a mad will of man to wish to destroy everything to ensure his supremacy.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source

23. “President, to your initiative - is today focusing, as it should, on a serious problem, a genuine threat, by debating urgent and effective measures to take against a formidable enemy: the 118 million active mines scattered throughout more than 60 countries. What a tragedy! The role of the United Nations, whose mission of peace today requires its full meaning through consensus on this priority issue, can only be effective and bear fruit if it is accompanied by the commitment to actively participate in the effort of national reconstruction. Peace, to blossom and become firmly rooted, must emerge from an improvement in the living conditions of the populations concerned. This, fortunately, is something we have understood, as Members of the United Nations.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source

24. “Yes, somewhere in Afghanistan, in Angola, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, or in Cambodia, Croatia, El Salvador, Mozambique and Yemen - the list is unfortunately too long to mention all the countries - a child on the way to school has just, unfortunately, placed his small foot on a mine which, upon exploding, has transformed him into a human wreck. Another explosion has brutally taken the life of a mother seeking water or wood at a nearby river. Mines are exploding every day in many countries of the world, causing irreparable damage to the flesh of their hapless victims and stirring in our hearts a sadness, indeed, a boundless remorse. In view of the seriousness of this scourge, the Security Council - thanks, Mr.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source

25. “Continuing disturbances throughout the world and the outbreak of new conflicts have contributed to the proliferation of mines, with all the attendant long-term socio-economic consequences for civilian populations. At this very moment, as I am speaking to the Council, a mine has perhaps just exploded in one of the more than 60 countries afflicted by this thing man has invented to achieve power and supremacy. It is a bitter heritage and painful memory of the recent past whose consequences continue to haunt the daily lives of millions of human beings.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source

26. “Mr. Lopes Cabral (Guinea-Bissau) (interpretation from French): Allow me first of all to thank you, Mr. President, for the words of welcome which you kindly addressed to me and to my delegation. The consolidation of peace as envisaged and conceptualized by the Secretary-General in his Agenda for Peace requires national reconciliation, among other things, for the socio-economic reconstruction of a country within the framework of peace-keeping operations. However, an indisputable prerequisite for any national reconciliation that is to be genuine and lasting, is the freedom of movement for individuals. The existence of anti-personnel mines in a country forms an obstacle to such movement of populations. The problem of land-mines throughout the world has been further exacerbated during the past year.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source