YouSaid · the spoken record

Mark Lyall Grant

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1,799

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2009-11-13

most recent

2015-04-24

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275

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un-security-council

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1. “Finally, the international community must disrupt the travel of an unprecedented number of individuals to conflict zones, such as Syria, to fight in terrorist groups. In the face of that threat, resolution 2178 (2014) is particularly important, as it obliges States to disrupt travel by foreign terrorist fighters and to both prosecute and rehabilitate them on return. The United Kingdom, like Australia and many other countries, has taken legislative action domestically to implement those obligations. I conclude by noting that the United Nations system continues to have a vital role to play in the face of these, and indeed all, terrorist threats. In particular, the United Nations as a whole has a responsibility to defend and promote United Nations values in response to the extremist narratives promoted by terrorists.”

   2014-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7316 (2014) · source

2. “ISIL is sitting on extensive assets, yet it also relies heavily on the income it generates. Resolution 2170 (2014) made clear that direct and indirect trade with ISIL, the Al-Nusra Front or other Al-Qaida groups constitutes financial support in breach of United Nations sanctions. The international community must work in concert, deepening cooperation to disrupt that income, suppressing the market for their oil, tackling illicit trade in their commodities, breaking the vicious cycle of ransom payments that incentivize future kidnappings, and sanctioning those Who trade with Al-Qaida groups and raise funds for them. The United Kingdom therefore welcomes the Monitoring Team's recent report (S/2014/770) and its recommendations for future action.”

   2014-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7316 (2014) · source

3. “My Prime Minister noted in his general debate speech in September (see A/69/PV.8) that we must take a long-term approach and address the root cause of terrorist threats, in particular the poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism, which distorts the Islamic faith. In the case of ISIL, it is a terrorist group that seeks to misrepresent a religion with a warped, extremist ideology. ISIL uses that political ideology to justify and fuel its terrorism, to challenge and contradict United Nations values and to undermine peace in the Middle East. We should all continue to denounce ISIL and other terrorist groups' hijacking of religion for violent ends and work together to defeat the ideology of extremists. Secondly, we must disrupt the financing of terrorist groups.”

   2014-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7316 (2014) · source

4. “We have learned of plots involving terrorists who have fought in Syria and Iraq to murder innocent people in their home countries. Some of those individuals have come from the United Kingdom after being radicalized through the increasingly sophisticated use by ISIL of digital propaganda. Now more than ever, the international community must improve its collective response, working together with the United Nations to combat an increasingly sophisticated and dangerous terrorist threat. There are three areas where additional effort is specifically needed. First, we need to counter the extremism and extremist ideology that underpin terrorism. As the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in the Council yesterday (see S/PV.7314), little attention has been paid to the underlying struggle for minds.”

   2014-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7316 (2014) · source

5. “I thank you, Madam President, for convening and presiding over this important debate today, thereby maintaining the momentum built up by resolutions 2170 (2014) and 2178 (2014). I want to thank Ambassadors Quinlan and Murmokaite' for their briefings, and I welcome the adoption of today's strong presidential statement underlining once again the Council's unity on the issue of combating terrorism and violent extremism (S/PRST/2014/23). The international terrorist threat continues to evolve, posing an increasingly acute and widespread danger to Member States. We have witnessed the terrible suffering of those living in territories controlled by terrorist groups. We have been appalled by a calculated series of brutal murders of journalists and aid workers by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other Al-Qaida-related groups.”

   2014-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7316 (2014) · source

6. “Instead, Russia is taking a cynical and selective approach towards the agreements while it continues its destabilization of Ukraine. That must change. We therefore call again on Russia to withdraw its equipment, weapons and troops from Ukrainian territory, as it undertook to do in September, and to use its influence to secure a lasting ceasefire. Its continued support for the armed separatists serves only to escalate an already perilous situation and will only lead to a further deterioration in Russia's relations with the international community.”

   2014-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7311 (2014) · source

7. “Crimean Tatars are being targeted by security forces; 18 prominent Tatars remain missing and 1 body has been found. That is an issue that we will need to come back to discuss when the mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights produces its next report. We have said in the past that Russia must be judged by actions, not words. What we see is that Russia's actions continue to escalate tensions rather than contribute to a peaceful resolution of the crisis. The Minsk agreements offer a framework that can move the situation away from the current crisis and towards stability based upon de-escalation and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. However, that requires genuine commitment of a kind we have not yet seen from Russia.”

   2014-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7311 (2014) · source

8. “Although the focus of today's discussion is the increase in fighting and the illegal elections held in eastern Ukraine, the Council must not lose sight of the deteriorating human rights situation in areas under separatist control in eastern Ukraine and in particular in the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula, which the mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is still unable to visit. We continue to receive disturbing reports of intimidation and harassment of Crimean Tatars, ethnic Ukrainians and all those who have refused Russian citizenship. The de facto Crimean authorities have undertaken a campaign to rid the Crimean peninsula of its Ukrainian and Tatar identity. Citizenship provisions, the educational syllabus and the media are all being ruthlessly engineered to that end.”

   2014-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7311 (2014) · source

9. “When the leadership of international organizations to which Russia belongs issue such statements, one would expect Russia to listen. Instead, Russia has offered support to the elections. Russia has said that it will respect the will of the citizens of the Donbas despite the fact that, as President Poroshenko has made clear, the so-called elections were "a farce at gunpoint that had nothing in common with the real expression of the people's will". Russia's refusal to disavow the elections is a continuation of a pattern of Russian behaviour that flouts the Minsk agreements and is designed to destabilize the situation in Ukraine.”

   2014-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7311 (2014) · source

10. “OSCE reports that UAVs are being jammed electronically by military- grade equipment call into question the credibility of the commitment towards the Minsk agreements of those who control that territory and their Russian supporters. The United Kingdom deeply regrets that illegal elections took place in separatist-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk on 2 November. The Secretary- General could not have been clearer in his public message that the elections were illegal under Ukrainian law and seriously undermined the Minsk protocol. The Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE was equally clear that the elections ran counter to the letter and spirit of the Minsk protocol and would further complicate its implementation.”

    2014-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7311 (2014) · source

11. “Yet Russia continues to deny that fact, despite the fact that its attempts at deception turned to farce only yesterday when Russian television station NTV broadcast footage of an armoured personnel carrier at the head of a column in Donetsk bearing markings from the Russian city of Ryazan. If Russia is not supplying separatists across the border, then why does it continue to block any expansion of OSCE border monitoring? Russia must implement the commitment it made at Minsk to allow the monitoring of its border with Ukraine, of which only 2 kilometres are currently observed by the OSCE. Flights of OSCE unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) above Donetsk must also be allowed to proceed unhindered.”

    2014-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7311 (2014) · source

12. “On 8 November, the Mission observed a convoy of more than 40 unmarked military vehicles moving west on the outskirts of Donetsk. It included 19 unmarked Kamaz trucks, each towing a howitzer artillery piece and carrying personnel in green uniforms without insignia; 15 Kraz troop carriers; 6 fuel tankers; and an unmarked Bronetransporter armoured personnel carrier. We have seen this pattern before - unmarked columns of military vehicles entering Ukraine to support continued fighting by separatists. Efforts to remove markings and insignia from those vehicles cannot disguise the fact that they come from Russia. What other credible explanation is there?”

    2014-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7311 (2014) · source

13. “Russian leaders have told us one thing and then ordered their military, their special forces and their separatist rebel proxies to do another. The ceasefire has been breached. Attempts to monitor and verify the ceasefire and the border have been blocked. Russia continues to supply its soldiers in Ukraine and the separatists they fight alongside with heavy weaponry, artillery, tanks and armoured vehicles in flagrant breach of the Minsk protocols. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reporting in recent days lays bare the extent of that Russian support. On several separate occasions, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission has witnessed significant numbers of troops and military equipment moving in convoy in separatist-held areas. I will mention just one such report.”

    2014-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7311 (2014) · source

14. “I thank the three briefers for their briefings this afternoon. As others have pointed out, the Council has met many times on Ukraine over the past six months. There is a reason for that. The situation in Ukraine continues to be a severe threat and indeed an escalating threat to international peace and security. There is a reason why that is so. Since the start of the crisis, Russian actions have been consistently designed to undermine, interfere with and transgress Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in a way that flouts international norms, including the Charter of the United Nations. Since the Council last met on 24 October to discuss Ukraine (see S/PV.7287), Russia and the separatists it supports have repeatedly undermined and ignored the Minsk agreements.”

    2014-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7311 (2014) · source

15. “Unless we can improve those basic aspects of our working methods, an enlarged Security Council will simply not be able to function. Lastly, although it may be too soon to congratulate Ambassador Quinlan on Australia's assumption of the presidency, I can offer the United Kingdom's full support to Australia in its presidency next month.”

    2014-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7294 (2014) · source

16. “But in order to create the space and time needed to take a genuinely preventive approach, we must find ways to avoid having repetitive discussions of entrenched issues. We must move some items off the Council's agenda faster than new items are coming onto it. Some items on the Council's formal agenda have not been discussed for 60 years, and we should stop pretending that we are trying to resolve them. That is connected directly to our methods of work. We require timely briefings from early-warning actors across the United Nations. We should develop more interactivity in informal consultations. And despite recent efforts, including yours, Madam President, in the month of October, those too often resemble a formulaic exchange of positions. We should also ensure that we are as efficient as possible in the conduct of our business.”

    2014-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7294 (2014) · source

17. “The Council has discussed the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo innumerable times since 1960, when the first United Nations mission, the United Nations Operation in the Congo, was established. We have been considering questions about Israel and Palestine since the 19505. Even the relatively recent issue of Western Sahara has been on the Council's agenda for nearly 25 years. But ifwe fail to resolve those old issues, we will not have the time to deal with the new crises and challenges that the world faces. That is why a renewed focus on conflict prevention must remain a central part of the Council's efforts to maintain international peace and security. If we can take early action to prevent situations deteriorating, we may be able to avoid their becoming entrenched fixtures on the Council's programme of work.”

    2014-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7294 (2014) · source

18. “The agenda on women and peace and security is now an integral part of the Council's work and of its understanding of the nature of conflict today and how to resolve it. The open debate on working methods (S/PV.7285), the fifth consecutive debate on the topic, showed how the Council has been prepared more recently to open up its self-reflection to the wider membership. That trajectory of openness, transparency and reflection should be welcomed. It demonstrates a willingness in the Council to adapt the ways in which it considers matters of international peace and security and to remain open to hearing from a wider range of actors on all aspects of its work. While we can see that trajectory in the way the Council has dealt with the issues before it in October, we can also see areas where it has been unable to make progress.”

    2014-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7294 (2014) · source

19. “Throughout the month, Madam President, you have stuck to the principle of openness and transparency, supporting the move of the Cote d'Ivoire sanctions briefing into the Chamber, and even allowing Malian television to broadcast live the statement of its Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Council at the beginning of the month (see S/PV.7274). You have also convened three very different open debates that have given a representative flavour of the nature and breadth of the issues before the Council. The open debate on the Middle East (S/PV.7281) represented the more traditional, geographically defined prism through which the Council engages on the maintenance of international peace and security. The open debate on women and peace and security (S/PV.7289) reflected how the Council has embedded a cross-cutting thematic approach in its work.”

    2014-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7294 (2014) · source

20. “The Council also spent time on a number of issues in the Middle East, including Yemen, Syria and yesterday's emergency meeting in response to the escalating tensions and risks surrounding the situation in Jerusalem. We discussed the Ebola crisis, which is now recognized to be a threat to international peace and security. We discussed Ukraine, where the separatists planned to hold so-called local elections this weekend, in clear violation of the Ukrainian Constitution and the Minsk agreements. All Member States should vow not to recognize them. And we had meetings with the President of the International Court of Justice and peacekeeping Force Commanders.”

    2014-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7294 (2014) · source

21. “I would like to thank you and your team, Madam President, for your leadership and hard work during this month's presidency. I could wax lyrical about that, like my Korean colleague, but that would not be very British. I would also like to thank you for convening today's wrap-up session. It is once again commendable that the meeting is being held in public, and I hope that subsequent presidencies will repeat the open and transparent format. The Council covered an extraordinarily wide range of issues in October. They included a number of continuing conflicts in Africa - Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Abyei and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

    2014-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7294 (2014) · source

22. “All of those developments undermine prospects for a two-State solution and make it much more difficult for Israel's friends to defend it against accusations that it is not serious about peace. We strongly urge the Government of Israel to reverse its policy on illegal settlements. We urge all parties to urgently take steps to reduce tensions and to create a climate conducive to peace. We urge the parties to focus efforts on resuming serious and comprehensive negotiations towards resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as making swift progress in the Cairo talks on Gaza. Bold political steps and leadership are necessary to end the conflict, and they are needed now.”

    2014-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7291 (2014) · source

23. “Our long-standing national position on Israeli settlements is clear. They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace and take us further away from a two-State solution. We therefore deplore Israel's recent decisions to advance plans for settlement units in Givat Hamatos, expropriate land near Bethlehem and make a further announcement this week to advance plans for 1,060 new housing units in East Jerusalem. We are also deeply concerned about plans to relocate the Bedouin population from around the sensitive E-l area, and by recent demolitions of Palestinian structures in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank. The movement by Israeli settlers into the Silwan neighbourhood of East Jerusalem in the last two months has further fuelled tensions in Jerusalem.”

    2014-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7291 (2014) · source

24. “We value Jordan's important role as custodian of the holy sites in Jerusalem, and urge the Israelis to work with the Jordanian Waqf in order to reduce tensions and avoid potential flashpoints, including by using a heavy police presence to prevent a worsening of the situation following the high-profile visits by extremists. The United Kingdom has long made it clear that we condemn any actions that make it more difficult to reach a peace agreement. In that regard, we strongly condemn the recent increase in violence in Jerusalem this year, which has resulted in the deaths of five Palestinians and a terrorist incident in the Ammunition Hill area that led to the deaths of two Israelis. The United Kingdom is also profoundly concerned about recent settlement announcements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.”

    2014-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7291 (2014) · source

25. “I would like to thank Under-Secretary-General Jeffrey Feltman for his briefing, and the representatives of Israel and Palestine for their statements. The United Kingdom deplores the recent escalation in violence and Israel's recent settlement announcements. We remain concerned about tensions and continued restrictions on Palestinian worshippers at the Haram Al-Sharif Temple Mount compound in recent months. Attempts to alter the long-standing status quo have serious political and security implications. We strongly urge the Israeli authorities to live up to their commitment to upholding the status quo by complying with their obligations under international law as an occupying Power in East Jerusalem, including with regard to the protection of holy sites.”

    2014-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7291 (2014) · source

26. “We urge the Russians not to renege on the commitments they have made, but rather to use their influence to prevent the organization of any separate elections by separatists in Donetsk or Luhansk in November. Such elections would be illegal, would contravene the Minsk agreements, and would present a significant obstacle to a lasting peace in Ukraine.”

    2014-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7287 (2014) · source

27. “This Sunday's parliamentary elections mark Ukraine's commitment to democracy. They must be allowed to go ahead without external influence. The Ukrainian authorities are taking steps to ensure that as many Ukrainian citizens as possible can exercise their right to vote, including by putting in place arrangements for people displaced from their homes by the instability in the east and those from the illegally annexed territory of Crimea. Our expectation is that Russia, as a permanent member of the Security Council and as a party to the Minsk agreements, will work to restore peace and security in Ukraine by respecting the outcome of the elections and by supporting the forthcoming local elections held under Ukrainian law.”

    2014-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7287 (2014) · source

28. “As the Minsk agreements make clear, in order for the situation in eastern Ukraine to stabilize, it is vital that all illegally armed groups, military equipment, fighters and mercenaries be withdrawn and the Ukrainian- Russian border secured with increased monitoring under OSCE verification. If Russia is committed to those agreements, then why on Wednesday of this week, in Vienna, did it block the expansion of the OSCE border-monitoring mission? That violates article 4 of the Minsk protocol and demonstrates that Russia is seeking to prevent effective monitoring of its border so that it may continue to supply weapons and equipment to militant groups. Stability will not be restored if Russia continues to support separatist groups Whose leaders have expressed their intentions to expand the territory under their control.”

    2014-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7287 (2014) · source

29. “The Government of Ukraine has taken important steps, including the approval of a special status for districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and an amnesty law which, the OHCHR report notes, meets international human rights standards. And the Government is now preparing for local elections to be held under Ukrainian law in separatist-controlled areas of Luhansk and Donetsk. Russia, by contrast, continues to supply separatists with weapons and material, including multiple rocket launchers and artillery, continues to maintain several hundred of its forces in Ukrainian territory and, in yet another ominous reminder of the tactics it used to shape the frozen conflicts in Moldova and Georgia, is handing out passports to individuals in separatist-held areas.”

    2014-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7287 (2014) · source

30. “If Russia wants to help improve the lives of civilians living in east Ukraine, it should immediately withdraw its remaining military forces from Ukraine, stop its flow of weapons to the separatists and instead help to restore Ukrainian sovereignty and to secure a political solution to the crisis. Assistant Secretary-General Fernandez-Taranco's briefing described the fragility of the situation in eastern Ukraine where fighting continues and violations of the ceasefire continue on a daily basis. The Minsk agreements offer a real prospect of de-escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine. All parties must match words with actions and implement the commitments they have made.”

    2014-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7287 (2014) · source

31. “Russia has often claimed to have concerns about the rights of minority populations in Ukraine, but we see no evidence of that concern for the rights of the Tatars in Crimea. The humanitarian situation in the areas controlled by the armed separatist groups remain precarious and will become even more serious as winter approaches. But the sending of convoys into Ukraine by Russia without the agreement of the Government of Ukraine and in breach of Ukraine's sovereignty is a provocative act and must not be repeated. Humanitarian assistance is necessary, but it must be provided in an international effort coordinated by the appropriate agencies and with the agreement of the Government of Ukraine.”

    2014-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7287 (2014) · source

32. “We are aware that Ukraine refutes those allegations and denies that the Ukrainian army uses such munitions. We also note that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has said today that its monitors have seen no evidence of cluster bombs, and we welcome Ukraine's commitment to cooperating with Human Rights Watch and to a further investigation into those claims. We are deeply perturbed by the OHCHR report's account of a deteriorating human rights situation in the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula. The introduction of Russian Federation legislation, in contravention of General Assembly resolution 68/262, has curtailed the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association, religion and belief. The treatment of the Crimean Tatar population is particularly troubling.”

    2014-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7287 (2014) · source

33. “Its sixth report lays bare the grim reality of life in separatist-controlled areas in Donetsk and Luhansk, where "armed groups continued to terrorize the population" and "there is a complete breakdown of law and order". In those areas, killings, abductions, torture and other serious human rights abuses carry on unchecked, and neither protection nor justice is available to victims. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is rightly concerned about a lack of accountability. It is essential that independent investigations take place into all serious allegations of violations, whoever the perpetrators are. We are troubled by the Human Rights Watch report this week, which alleges the use of cluster munitions by the Ukrainian army.”

    2014-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7287 (2014) · source

34. “The United Kingdom requested this morning's briefing because we remain deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine. The illegal annexation of Crimea, the dire human rights situation there and in the east of Ukraine and Russia's failure to implement its commitments under the Minsk agreements leave us in no doubt that the situation continues to present a clear threat to international peace and security. I am grateful for Assistant Secretary-General Simonovie's briefing. The United Kingdom welcomes theworkoftheUnitedNationsHumanRightsMonitoring Mission in Ukraine, whose objective and impartial reporting cuts through Russia's misinformation and propaganda.”

    2014-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7287 (2014) · source

35. “In particular, I would highlight the need for the Federal Government of Somalia to notify the Secretary- General of any Member State taking part in the naval interdiction of Somali charcoal and weapons, with a subsequent obligation for the Secretary-General to inform the wider United Nations membership. The United Kingdom has every confidence that the Federal Government of Somalia and its international partners, including in the region, will work together constructively to ensure that the resolution delivers another blow to Al-Shabaab and its murderous ambitions. The adoption of the resolution demonstrates that the Council is determined to take practical steps in response to tackling the threat from terrorism that each and every one of us faces.”

    2014-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7286 (2014) · source

36. “This year, the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group has estimated that Al-Shabaab has kept up to one-third of the revenues of the $250-million annual trade. Charcoal is giving Al-Shabaab a lifeline. The Monitoring Group subsequently recommended maritime interdiction on the high seas. On 8 October, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud wrote to the Council specifically requesting it to take that step. Today, we have responded to that call for help. The United Kingdom is confident that the provisions set out in the resolution will ensure that it is not abused.”

    2014-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7286 (2014) · source

37. “The United Kingdom welcomes the adoption of resolution 2182 (2014). We welcome the renewal of the mandate of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The Security Council is united in its praise for the achievements of AMISOM. The bravery and sacrifices of its personnel in the fight against Al-Shabaab will never be forgotten. And it is the fight against Al-Shabaab terrorists that is at the heart of the naval authorization in the resolution. In February 2012, the Security Council banned the export of Somali charcoal. We took that step because of the clear links between the illegal charcoal trade and Al-Shabaab. But since that ban was imposed, the trade in charcoal from Somalia has actually increased.”

    2014-10-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7286 (2014) · source

38. “Apart from anything else, an expanded Council will certainly require more efficient working methods if it is to get through the business it will need to do.”

    2014-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7285 (2014) · source

39. “We will continue to be staunch advocates of efficient and transparent working methods of the Security Council, and of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency agenda more broadly. As you, Madam President, and Council colleagues will recall, we practiced those principles during the United Kingdom's presidency of the Security Council in August. Simply by observing the guidelines set out in note S/2010/507, starting meetings on time and encouraging speakers to limit their remarks, allowed us to get through a lot of important Council business more effectively. We are also strong supporters of Security Council reform, and as such we are active proponents of improving the working methods of this Council.”

    2014-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7285 (2014) · source

40. “The creation of the Ombudsperson role for the 1267 regime shows that the Security Council can create innovative and effective solutions to specific problems. However, each regime has its own set of challenges that may require specific solutions tailored for those circumstances, rather than replicating an identical approach for all. We stand ready to consider practical recommendations for improving due process, including in the context of the high-level review of United Nations sanctions. For instance, we see scope for developing the role of the focal point and for improving the provision of reasons both for retaining individuals on sanctions list and for decisions to delist.”

    2014-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7285 (2014) · source

41. “In particular, we have supported the strengthening of due-process provisions under the sanctions regime of the Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) concerning Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities, which include the creation of the Ombudsperson position and the important subsequent steps to develop her role. The Ombudsperson has strengthened the regime by keeping listings relevant to the current threat posed by Al-Qaida. She has conducted her role independently and fairly, and I salute her obsession with fair process. We note that the Ombudsperson's most recent report (S/2014/553) shows both delistings and retentions, thereby demonstrating the impartial nature of that process.”

    2014-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7285 (2014) · source

42. “The United Kingdom regrets that the Council has so far failed to agree on responses to letters from the President of the ICC relating to the Court's findings of non-cooperation because those responses are being blocked by a small number of Council members who are not themselves States parties to the ICC. We call once again on all Council members to live up to their responsibilities to agree on timely and effective follow- up action, starting with responses to the letters that the Council has received. Let me turn to the second topic in the concept paper. I want to thank the Ombudsperson for her forceful and compelling briefing this morning. The United Kingdom continues to be a strong supporter of fair and clear procedures for United Nations sanctions regimes.”

    2014-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7285 (2014) · source

43. “The United Kingdom is a strong supporter of the ICC's work to hold perpetrators of atrocities to account and to achieve justice for victims. But the Court cannot act alone. All United Nations Member States and the Security Council have to play their part in full. The Council must follow up substantively on its referrals, especially where the ICC is not receiving the cooperation from States that it needs to operate effectively. We must all remember that the decision by the Council to refer a situation to the ICC does not in itself bring justice to victims or accountability for perpetrators. It is an important step in that process, but international justice requires sustained and concerted international efforts, including through this Council.”

    2014-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7285 (2014) · source

44. “Despite recent efforts, those too often resemble a formulaic exchange of positions. There is scope to cut back the Council's formal agenda to create space to address new challenges and to ensure that we remain up to date. Some items on the formal agenda of the Security Council have not been discussed for 60 years. However, such improvements are only part of helping the Security Council to take timely and effective decisions. Effective follow-up action is just as important as timely decisions. That brings me to the first of the topics covered in the concept paper, and I want to thank the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor of her brief and clear recommendations today. I strongly agree with her that the Council needs to do much more to follow up its referrals to the International Criminal Court.”

    2014-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7285 (2014) · source

45. “It has become more transparent with more open debates, public briefings, wrap-up sessions and more honest briefings and reports to the General Assembly. It has increasingly used technology to facilitate its discussions - for example, the large increase in the use ofvideo teleconferencing for briefers overseas. It has developed a pattern of overseas visits to help inform its work, and it has made more flexible use of the range of Council products, particularly press and presidential statements, to react to unfolding events. But the Council needs to adopt a continuous- improvement approach to working methods. In particular, we need to get better at taking early preventive action. That requires timely briefings from early-warning actors across the United Nations. We can develop more interactivity in informal consultations.”

    2014-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7285 (2014) · source

46. “I thank you, Madam President, for convening this debate, for chairing the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions so effectively and for providing the useful concept paper (S/2014/725, annex) to help frame our discussions today. This annual debate generates great interest among Council members and the wider membership. We can see this again today from the 40 non-Council members that have asked to speak in the debate. The Council has proved itselfthe most adaptable of United Nations bodies. In recent years it has interacted with a greater number of outside actors - civil society, non-governmental organizations, academics and others - through different types of innovative meetings, including Arria Formula and other informal interactive dialogues.”

    2014-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7285 (2014) · source

47. “It is vital now that all parties in Iraq have the courage to build bridges to each other, in particular to appeal to the Sunni populations who are living under, and in some cases acquiescing in, ISIL'S brutal regime and who must be brought back into the political fold if ISIL is to be comprehensively defeated.”

    2014-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7281 (2014) · source

48. “In Iraq, the security situation remains very serious, with ISIL maintaining control of significant swathes of territory. It has made advances in Anbar province in recent days, including taking control of the city of Hit and attacking the provincial capital, Ramadi. Liberating that territory from ISIL will take months and years, not days and weeks, and the horrific effects of ISIL on governance, security and Iraqi society will be felt for even longer. We welcome Prime Minister Al Abadi's steps towards the formation of a Government of national reconciliation. To preserve the integrity ofthe Iraqi State, its Government must commit to a more inclusive approach to the decentralization of power to Iraq's communities and to a more equitable sharing of Iraq's natural-resource wealth.”

    2014-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7281 (2014) · source

49. “While an international coalition has been trying to save Kobani from falling into the hands of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Al-Assad regime has continued it murderous policy of indiscriminate attacks and aerial bombardments on Syria's civilian population, including around Aleppo and Damascus. There should be no doubt that Al-Assad cannot be part of the solution to the crisis in Syria. There needs to be a Government in Damascus that enjoys legitimacy in the eyes of the Syrian people and credibility with the international community and that can take effective action against extremism. For as long as Al-Assad remains in power, there will be no peace in Syria. We strongly support the efforts of the United Nations Special Representative and urge all parties to work towards a Syrian-led political transition.”

    2014-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7281 (2014) · source

50. “We urge the Government of Israel to change course now and to reverse those plans. We are also concerned about tensions at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem in recent weeks and urge the Israeli and Jordanian authorities to work together in order to stabilize the situation. We are clear that the best way for both Israeli and Palestinian families to live without fear of further violence is agreement on a comprehensive negotiated solution without delay. The United Kingdom will continue to work closely with international partners to support efforts towards a negotiated solution that will deliver an independent Palestinian State alongside a safe and secure Israel. We urge all parties to make the difficult choices required for meaningful progress. We continue to witness appalling violence in Syria.”

    2014-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7281 (2014) · source