YouSaid · the spoken record

Mclay

lines on the record: 508
first: 2009-06-30
most recent: 2015-04-23
sittings or episodes: 72
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“New Zealand chairs the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1988 (2011), and recognizes that it can play a positive role in achieving results for Afghanistan. New Zealand is pleased that today's resolution 2210 (2015) provides for the Secretary-General to begin examining the activities, structure and role of the United Nations system in Afghanistan in close consultation with the Afghan Government. In this transformation decade such constitutionalism and consultation is essential. We commend the Council's willingness to engage directly with Afghanistan in drafting the resolution so that the country's views were reflected in the mandate we have just renewed. As Ambassador Tanin emphasized, that process has produced a very good outcome, in line with the principle of national ownership.”
2015-03-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7403 (2015) · source
“New Zealand has often said, both before and since joining the Council, that we must do better at conflict prevention, and we say it again in the context of Afghanistan. Afghanistan stands at a crucial juncture. The risk of relapse into conflict can be avoided, but we must all support it in remaining on the path of peace. Economic development will be central to that pathway. New Zealand supports and encourages the Government of Afghanistan's pursuit of reconciliation with moderate Taliban, but that can happen only at a pace and in a manner acceptable to Afghanistan itself, and if there is the alignment of circumstance of which the Special Representative has already spoken. It is important that the Council's implementation of the Taliban sanctions regime also support efforts aimed at peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.”
2015-03-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7403 (2015) · source
“For the foreseeable future, that will require the ongoing support of international partners. Longer-term, peace will only come about if we meet the development aspirations of the Afghan people. As we say so often, in so many different situations, economic development is key to stability and self-reliance. In the short term, we will have to help mitigate the severe economic impacts of ISAF's withdrawal. In that UNAMA will again play a very critical role. It must provide assistance, particularly through engagement on human right. It must promote coherence and coordination of international support. And, of course, it must work with the Afghan Government to align all of that with national needs and priorities.”
2015-03-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7403 (2015) · source
“We also look forward to an increased role for women. However, the Council must not lose sight of the ongoing security challenges facing Afghanistan. Indeed, we should be concerned at the deterioration of the security situation. Last year saw the second highest number of reported security incidents since 2002. For the first time, ground engagements were the leading cause of civilian casualties, as the Special Representative said and others have detailed. We therefore echo the Secretary-General's call for all parties "to respect the laws ofwar, including the distinction between civilians and combatants, and to avoid using heavy weapons in civilian-populated areas". The Resolute Support Mission is a non-combat operation. It is therefore crucial that the Afghan National Security Forces maintain stability.”
2015-03-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7403 (2015) · source
“New Zealand's commitment to Afghanistan since 2001, referred to by the representative of Malaysia earlier, and our continued support through a training and development assistance programme reflects the importance we attach to the country's long-term success. New Zealand commends President Ghani and Mr. Abdullah on their formation of a Government of national unity and on making all the compromises necessary for that process. Unified and responsible leadership is essential if Afghanistan is to move successfully from transition to transformation, and UNAMA and the international community will play an important role in supporting all of that. We look forward to progress on electoral reform, as the Special Representative mentioned, and the strengthening of Afghanistan's governance institutions.”
2015-03-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7403 (2015) · source
“Against that background, and the significant security, development and governance challenges that the country still faces, the role of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) assumes even greater significance. Over the past decade, the support of the international community, coupled with the sacrifice and effort of the Afghan people, has delivered real progress in security, health, education and infrastructure. Indeed, we have all invested heavily in Afghanistan's success. It is therefore important that the Security Council send a strong signal and message of unity and of our ongoing commitment and support as Afghanistan enters its decade of transformation.”
2015-03-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7403 (2015) · source
“I would like to thank Mr. Nicholas Haysom, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, for his briefing and for his ongoing work in Afghanistan. I would also like to thank Ambassador Tanin for so eloquently reminding us where Afghanistan has come from over the past 13 years. We salute that progress, while remaining ever mindful of the challenges that lie ahead. Today's briefing and mandate renewal come at a critical time for Afghanistan, as the national unity Government seeks to establish itself and the country adjusts to what might be described as post-International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) realities.”
2015-03-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7403 (2015) · source
“We also call once again on Russia, as a party to the Minsk agreements on the ceasefire and with indisputable influence in this matter, to ensure that the separatists honour that which has been agreed. Those are the essential steps on the path to a long-term political solution and to the restoration ofpeace in Ukraine, and, as such, they must be delivered.”
2015-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7400 (2015) · source
“International norms on the protection of humanitarian actors must also be respected. As we have just heard that the situation for ordinary people in Ukraine remains very dangerous indeed. The observation of the ceasefire remains imperfect. Significant civilian populations remain at very high risk. Much is needed to ensure their safety and to protect them from human-rights violations. New Zealand reiterates the Security Council's recent unanimous call for the full implementation of the Minsk package, including a comprehensive ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons. All of this must be monitored and verified by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.”
2015-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7400 (2015) · source
“New Zealand urges those involved in this conflict to deliver on their Minsk commitments, not least with a genuine and comprehensive ceasefire. Until that has been achieved, the humanitarian crisis and the violations that have been described to us today will persist, more people will suffer, more blood will be shed, and more lives will be lost. Under international human rights law, all parties have an obligation to ensure that civilians are protected. Where civilians seek to escape conflict areas so as to get to safety, they must be allowed to do so, not be trapped as Assistant Secretary-General Simonovie described to us, and certainly not threatened by separatist artillery. Humanitarian aid must reach the affected populations. All involved must do everything within their power to ensure its delivery without let or hindrance.”
2015-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7400 (2015) · source
“We can only hope that the events of late 2014 and the early part of this year represent the lowest point of the humanitarian and human rights situation in Ukraine. In the February open debate on the topic (see S/PV.7389), my Minister of Foreign Affairs raised New Zealand's concerns about the veto. We were not alone in that, with some Member States also mentioning paragraph 3 of Article 27 of the Charter of the United Nations. Without repeating those comments, New Zealand emphasizes that, where parties to a conflict know that the Security Council is unable to act, there is much less incentive for compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law. We see the sad reality of that every day in Ukraine.”
2015-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7400 (2015) · source
“We think, in particular, of the plight of the disabled, who are often overlooked in these situations. Moreover, today there are 1 million displaced persons in Ukraine; 12 months ago, there were none. There are 5 million in need ofhumanitarian relief; 12 months ago, there were none. A sharp increase in casualties coincided with the dramatic escalation of hostilities of recent months, the only mitigating factor being that the worst reports generally predate the ceasefire recently agreed in Minsk. While there are indications that the situation has started to improve since that ceasefire, we as the Security Council must do everything possible to maintain that momentum. We must in particular address the gaps in information referred to by Under- Secretary-General Feltman, and we must, to use his words, make the process irreversible.”
2015-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7400 (2015) · source
“I thank Mr. Feltman, Mr. Ging and Mr. Simonovie for their excellent briefings, which only serve to emphasize that, if the Security Council is to perform its role of scrutinizing the situation in Ukraine, it must continue to receive regular and reliable information, such as that which we have just heard. We also compliment Lithuania for its initiative in requesting those briefings. What we now know about the human rights situation in Ukraine is truly distressing, in particular the reports of severe violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including the indiscriminate shelling of civilians, which New Zealand has previously condemned, and does so again today. Vulnerable populations are subject to grave abuses; they strive just to maintain a precarious existence, all the while seeking safety.”
2015-03-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7400 (2015) · source
“New Zealand welcomes initiatives to give momentum to a political solution based on the Geneva communique (S/2012/522, annex), including the recent meetings in Cairo and Moscow, and we commend those who initiated those processes. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura's freeze proposal is also important. Modest in scope, it still offers the best short-term chance to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people. We now look for action, not words, from the Syrian Government and the other parties to the conflict, in working with the Special Envoy to implement that proposal. The Council should stand ready to show the leadership urged on us by Assistant Secretary-General Kang, and to act if that action is not forthcoming.”
2015-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7394 (2015) · source
“The High Commissioner described them as the "lost generation". Let me come back to Security Council resolution 2139 (2013). One year after its adoption, the Council must now take a leadership role and address the very serious gaps in the implementation of that resolution. New Zealand commits to working with other Council members, stakeholder countries and those on the ground to determine what we can do to ensure that the Council's own resolution - our express wishes - are fully implemented with no "ifs", "buts", "maybes", prevarication or bureaucratic blockages. We commit to finding ways to maintain pressure on the parties concerned to abide by international law. In parallel, we will continue to support the Council's renewed focus on the political track, without which there can be no resolution of this humanitarian crisis.”
2015-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7394 (2015) · source
“About 670,000 children are being deprived of education following the closing of schools by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or Daesh. We know that disaffected, ill-educated youth are more likely to join radical groups and to take up arms, with obvious destabilizing consequences for the whole region. There are also worrying reports from recent evacuees from Ghouta of minors being forcibly recruited by non-State armed groups. In neighbouring countries, almost 2 million Syrian children are living as refugees, placing a heavy burden on local education systems. Almost half of all Syrian children living as refugees remained out of school through the 2013-2014 school year. Having lost their schools, having lost their homes, these children are now also losing their chance to build a future.”
2015-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7394 (2015) · source
“Government services and local community services are under immense strain in all of those countries. Last month, New Zealand's Foreign Minister visited Jordan, where he saw first-hand the impact on host communities and the plight of those who have had to flee, particularly children. Following his visit, New Zealand announced a NZ$1 million contribution to deliver basic education and skills training to more than 1,800 vulnerable young people in Jordan. Overall, New Zealand is extremely concerned both about the more than 2.1 million children inside Syria itself who are currently either out of school or attending classes irregularly, and about the long-term impact of the collapse of the school system. From previously having a school attendance rate of almost 100 per cent, Syria now has the second lowest in the world.”
2015-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7394 (2015) · source
“We also support having briefings from other relevant speakers, in addition to the Office of Humanitarian Affairs, such as this month's report from High Commissioner Guterres. We would welcome continuing that initiative in future months by inviting other speakers. As both Assistant Secretary-General Kang and High Commissioner Guterres emphasized, funding for the humanitarian response inside Syria has not kept pace with the scale of the needs. New Zealand therefore welcomes next month's international humanitarian pledging conference for Syria in Kuwait, to be hosted by the Amir of Kuwait. We commend the generosity and commitment of neighbouring countries, notably Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt, in assisting the more than 3.8 million people who have had to flee Syria.”
2015-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7394 (2015) · source
“Monthly briefings on the humanitarian situation in Syria help to keep the crisis on the Security Council's radar. But New Zealand believes we need to reinvigorate those proceedings by making them more thematic in scope. As a specific step, we propose that going forward, the monthly briefers should focus on certain specific humanitarian challenges. As a starting point, they could be the five challenges identified by the Secretary-General in his report - ensuring access for medical and surgical supplies; lifting the siege on 212,000 people; ending the practice of using denial of key services as a weapon of war; rebuilding Syria's education system and addressing the indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including through the use of barrel bombs.”
2015-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7394 (2015) · source
“Serious violations and abuses of international humanitarian and human- rights law continue, with direct impact on humanitarian assistance and access. All that is unacceptable, and the Security Council must do more to ensure that its own resolution is implemented. We cannot stand by as if we were spectators to this unfolding tragedy. The first step must be to retain the attention of the international community, through the Council, on the full range of humanitarian issues that arise under resolution 2139 (2014); to break the silence, as Jordan urged us. With the Syrian crisis now in its fifth year, it has become business as usual, to quote the Secretary- General's report (S/2015/124). While complacency and fatigue are risks, they are simply unacceptable when facing a humanitarian crisis on this scale.”
2015-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7394 (2015) · source
“I would particularly like to thank Assistant Secretary-General Kang and High Commissioner Guterres for their very helpful briefings to the Council. Last Sunday, 22 February, marked the first anniversary of resolution 2139 (2014), whereby the Council took action to reduce the suffering of the Syrian people. And yet, as our briefers just confirmed so graphically, one year later, much of resolution 2139 (2014) is being ignored by the parties to the conflict, particularly the Syrian Government. Indiscriminate attacks, including with barrel bombs, have continued with devastating impact on civilians on the ground. Around 212,000 people remain besieged, administrative hurdles impede humanitarian access and Government security personnel remove surgical and medical supplies from humanitarian convoys, as Assistant Secretary-General Kang told us.”
2015-02-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7394 (2015) · source
“It is in that capacity that we call upon Russia to use its undoubted and considerable influence on the separatists to require them to honour that which has been agreed. If that happens, more lives will be saved as a result.”
2015-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7384 (2015) · source
“The Council is keenly aware of the fragility of the present ceasefire, of instances where it is only partly observed and of places like Debaltseve where right now it is being outright ignored so that one side can secure a territorial advantage on the ground, after which they might presumably then make as though they are observing what has previously been agreed. That can only be deplored, but it does not alter the fact that the parties have solemnly agreed and committed to a ceasefire and that it is holding in most places, and that is saving lives. All ofus must therefore continue to urge compliance with the agreement and with resolution 2202 (2015), particularly Russia, as a party to the Minsk agreements, which agreed the ceasefire.”
2015-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7384 (2015) · source
“We thank the primary sponsors of the resolution for taking up and incorporating the language proposed by Malaysia and New Zealand during the negotiations, thus ensuring that the victims are not forgotten and that those responsible may be ultimately held to account. New Zealand agrees with the United Kingdom that the amnesty agreed in Minsk does not and cannot apply to those responsible for that crime. The adoption of resolution 2202 (2015) does not take place in a vacuum, which is a point that is implicit in the press statement issued by the Council only an hour or so ago (SC/11784).”
2015-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7384 (2015) · source
“Along with fellow Council member Malaysia, New Zealand has a direct interest in respect of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17 - a victim of the Ukrainian conflict i an interest we share with non-Council members Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, the Netherlands and the Philippines, with whom both countries have actively consulted over the past few days. The Council's previous decisions on Flight MH-17 are absolutely clear, so we welcome the reaffirmation of resolution 2166 (2014), which is the primary statement ofthe Council regarding the accountability of those who illegally launched a surface-to-air missile at a civilian passenger aircraft, murdering 298 people on board.”
2015-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7384 (2015) · source
“We have therefore supported the outcome they agreed. We might not like the compromises. We might identify shortcomings. We know that ceasefires do not always hold and, certainly, as events right now in Debaltseve clearly demonstrate, they do not always hold with consistency at all times and in all places. But it has been agreed by those most directly affected. We have now sent a signal of the Council's support for a ceasefire, which is another step towards the long-needed political settlement. We have done so unanimously as the Security Council.”
2015-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7384 (2015) · source
“However, those problems should not obscure the very simple truth: that above all our combined objective must be to see an end to the fighting in eastern Ukraine and a genuine and holding ceasefire with lives saved as a result, to see respect for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and to see an end to external support for the separatists. That is the standard by which we have judged this resolution and voted accordingly. New Zealand really does appreciate the fact that Europeans have at last been able to come together and act together to address this crisis, and, as a result ofthis resolution, can now be seen to do so with the unequivocal support of the Council. That is what we understand in what negotiating parties sought to achieve in Minsk last week, and indeed in that same city in September 2014.”
2015-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7384 (2015) · source
“New Zealand associates itself with the statement just made by the representative of Malaysia, and we compliment his country on that particular initiative. It is no secret that over the past four days the Security Council has struggled to negotiate a mutually acceptable text for resolution 2202 (2015). Given the history of the matter, given the bitterness of the conflict and given the active support of troops and materiel that continues to be provided to the separatists, that struggle was hardly surprising.”
2015-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7384 (2015) · source
“While today we have focused on the immediate crisis, there are many important issues that the resolution can only touch on, in particular the humanitarian consequences of the crisis, the continued threat of terrorist groups and the serious social and economic issues that four years ago led the people of Yemen to an agreed process of political transition, one that appeared to be a model for the rest of the region - a political transition that, until the Houthis' ill-judged intervention, appeared to be on a fragile but positive path. Those issues are central to Yemen's longer-term stability. They must also be addressed. Therefore, we agree with Spain and others that they deserve our continued attention and that we must remain seized of the matter.”
2015-02-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7382 (2015) · source
“New Zealand is convinced that all parties must now fully engage in the United Nations-brokered talks, and do so in the spirit of compromise directed towards achieving a political settlement that allows for a resumption of the political transition that was previously agreed, which also tackles some of the other serious issues faced by Yemen.”
2015-02-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7382 (2015) · source
“That action was described in the Chamber last week as a coup against the legitimate Government of Yemen. It was also, of course, a coup d'etat against the transition process that had been formally endorsed by the Council. The situation in Yemen is still at very real risk of further deterioration, and will certainly remain so while the President and Prime Minister remain under house arrest. We call for their early release. We know from Special Adviser Jamal Benomar that the Council's response to the crisis has been very closely watched in Yemen, and that in the past the parties have responded to our messaging. Against that background, given the close attention in Yemen to our response, the final agreement and achievement unity in the Council are even more welcome.”
2015-02-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7382 (2015) · source
“New Zealand welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2201 (2015). We applaud the role played by Jordan and the United Kingdom in the Council, and the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in facilitating that outcome. For New Zealand the two main purposes of the resolution are, first, that it emphasizes the centrality of the agreed transition framework - the GCC Initiative, the National Dialogue Conference outcomes and the Peace and National Partnership Agreement - to the political transition in Yemen. Secondly, it condemns recent unilateral action by the Houthis, which undermines that agreed framework. This resolution is overdue. We regret that, despite several opportunities, this has been the first product the Council has been able to adopt since an armed group captured the presidential palace on 20 January.”
2015-02-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7382 (2015) · source
“Secondly, peacekeeper training should focus on the specific needs and challenges of persons with disabilities and on older persons. Thirdly, we should specifically address the situation of persons with disabilities and older persons in protection-of-civilian strategies and humanitarian responses. Finally, we should address the inclusion in peacebuilding efforts of older persons and persons with disabilities. We need their knowledge, and we need their experience. It is only with such measures that an often neglected and highly vulnerable group can be protected from conflict. If we address the protection challenges and needs of women and girls and if we protect older persons and those with disabilities, we will have gone a long way to more effective protection-of-civilian mandates overall.”
2015-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7374 (2015) · source
“As the representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross pointed out to us, recognition of the special respect and protection due to the elderly and persons with disabilities is found in the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions, relating to the evacuation and treatment of persons deprived of their liberty. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities obliges States to take measures to protect people. States must honour those obligations. When implementing mandates, particular attention must be given to the protection challenges and the needs of older persons with disabilities. Measures that might better protect these groups should be considered, including improved monitoring data collection and reporting on the impact of conflict on these groups, including improved civilian harm and casualty support.”
2015-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7374 (2015) · source
“The blind may not know the way to safety. Those with intellectual or social disabilities may not understand what is happening. All of them are especially vulnerable. In many conflict situations, older persons and persons with disabilities are often the first to be forgotten or neglected. Too often, they are quite simply left behind. They also face difficulties escaping conflict. With the disintegration of families and communities, they can become isolated, destitute and without support systems. They are at greater risk of exploitation and sexual violence. That is especially true ofwomen and girls, as was so eloquently related to us by Ms. Elman. When conflict ends, their experience and potential for peacebuilding and social reconstruction - the role they can play - can often be overlooked and, quite simply, dismissed.”
2015-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7374 (2015) · source
“But there are others whose vulnerability is often even less acknowledged. Persons with disabilities and older persons often suffer most in conflict situations, and yet older women and women and girls with disabilities are given very little consideration in terms of their protection needs; nor is there sufficient recognition of their ability to contribute to protection efforts, to contribute to conflict settlement, and to contribute to peacebuilding. Armed conflict can both lead to disability and can disproportionately affect persons with existing disabilities. Persons with disabilities are particularly vulnerable in conflict. They face compounded challenges because of physical, communication and attitudinal barriers. Sudden attacks pose particular problems and challenges. The deaf cannot always hear when attackers approach.”
2015-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7374 (2015) · source
“Today's debate is rightly focused on the protection challenges and needs of women and girls. But while women and girls must be protected, they cannot be viewed solely as in need ofprotection. Women and girls are also important agents for achieving the protection of civilians. It is widely acknowledged that women have an important role to play as leaders and decision-makers in the prevention and resolution of conflict, but while that is recognized, it is not consistently applied in practice. For example, women should also be visible in roles within post-conflict accountability and transitional justice structures - something that, as well as making a significant post-conflict contribution, also helps to encourage women and girls, particularly victims of sexual violence, to report offences and to follow through on that complaint.”
2015-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7374 (2015) · source
“However, that same effectiveness and success have also exposed some significant shortcomings, some of which have already been related, and New Zealand believes that the Council must frankly address those shortcomings. Indeed, we must have, I think, first a very frank conversation about our understanding and expectations with respect to the protection of civilians. Having done that, then we can bring in troop-contributing countries, police-contributing countries, hosts, donors, the Secretariat and other stakeholders - all part of a very open and free conversation. What we have got to do is to probe beneath what might appear to be a successful surface, and ask about the impediments to the implementation of protection mandates, which will then enable us to explore constructive solutions.”
2015-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7374 (2015) · source
“I thank you, Mr. President, for convening this important debate, which is all the more timely given the approaching fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000). I also thank the three briefers who have informed us so eloquently this morning: the Assistant Secretary- General, the observer of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Ms. Elman. I particularly join the United Kingdom in welcoming a briefing from a non-governmental organization. The protection of civilians has become an increasingly important feature of effective peacekeeping mandates, and an equally important feature of the successful execution of those mandates.”
2015-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7374 (2015) · source
“We specifically suggest that future presidencies consider recommending to the Council that these sessions be opened up to allow representatives of regional groups to participate under rule 39 and to give us their assessment of the way in which the Council is going about its work on their behalf.”
2015-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7373 (2015) · source
“Moreover, a measure of public and therefore transparent self- reflection can also provide the broader United Nations community with some insight into the workings of the Council, particularly given that so much of our business is inevitably transacted in the consultations room, through email exchanges or in small informal groupings of Council members. While New Zealand feels that there is real utility in this wrap-up format, not least from a transparency perspective, we believe we should make even more efforts to ensure that these meetings are dynamic and relevant.”
2015-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7373 (2015) · source
“We do, however, regard it as essential that all members be given adequate time to consider both formal and informal texts, particularly when the relevant timelines are well-known, well-established and known in advance, such as with dates for the renewal of mandates, and that, where necessary, there be adequate time for face-to-face negotiations on the texts in question. Wrap-up sessions can be valuable opportunities for us to reflect on the way we have gone about our business during the month under review, and to assess how those methods might be improved.”
2015-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7373 (2015) · source
“In the absence of regular conflict-prevention briefings, it is very important that the Council take every other possible opportunity to be briefed by the Secretariat on emerging issues, including, if necessary, by doing it under "Any other business". We welcome such developments during January, in particular in respect of Yemen, on which we had two such briefings at short notice. Obviously, the Council, with its very full agenda, must find a balance between responding in a timely manner to events through its products and statements and ensuring that such messaging is representative of all 15 members. In that regard, New Zealand thanks its fellow Council members, both permanent and elected, for their ongoing work as penholders on particular issues and situations. That is important work on behalf of the Council.”
2015-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7373 (2015) · source
“Making that comment, I find myself very much aligned with the similar comments made by my colleague, the representative of Angola. Reflecting on the Council's work in January, New Zealand has Viewed a number of issues with very deep concern, not least the continued perpetration of atrocities by Boko Haram. We welcome the efforts of Nigeria and the region to combat that threat, including the establishment of the multinational task force. Boko Haram is, without a doubt, a significant threat to international peace and security, and New Zealand hopes that the Council will support regional efforts to combat that threat, and extends its hand of support to Nigeria in its efforts to combat Boko Haram.”
2015-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7373 (2015) · source
“In discharging its day-to-day duties, it is very important that the Council not lose sight of its responsibility on behalf of the broader United Nations membership to respond quickly to emerging threats to peace and security. When urgent matters do require our attention, New Zealand encourages all members to work constructively together to reach swift agreement on the Council's public positioning. If, for example, in just the past week, we had remained silent on the most clear-cut issues - and I think in particular of events in Nigeria, Yemen and Lebanon - and if we had been unable to agree on even the simplest language of condemnation or concern, then the Council's relevance could have and would have been called into question. Acting swiftly and speaking with unanimity will help ensure that ongoing relevance.”
2015-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7373 (2015) · source
“As a newly elected member of the Security Council completing our first month of service, New Zealand thanks Chile for its very able stewardship during January, not least in the thematic debates your promoted, Sir, and the important visit to Haiti, which you proposed and which give us a great deal of valuable information. We also commend your scheduling of meetings at short notice when the need arose, and your use of the full range of available tools for members to engage informally in discussions on critical emerging issues. I would highlight, in that regard, the informal interactive dialogue on the Central African Republic Commission of Inquiry and the Arria formula meeting on human rights and peacekeeping operations.”
2015-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7373 (2015) · source
“We must put politics aside, difficult although that may be, and use our collective influence to stop the killing of civilians in eastern Ukraine. That must be the priority. Although this is perhaps not for today's meeting, in future we would like to see the Council seriously consider how it can put pressure on all the belligerents to implement the ceasefire. Words may no longer be enough; more action may still be required.”
2015-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7368 (2015) · source
“Russia's provision of troops and materiel to '6 the separatists is irresponsible. The threat of a major Ukrainian war" is both chilling and wholly inappropriate, and it may now be close to a reality. Against the mounting body of evidence, Russia is unapologetic for the role it is playing in supporting the separatists. Russia speaks about the facts. What we know for a fact is that Russia is playing a role in this conflict. We support the promotion of a fully inclusive political dialogue. We call on Russia, instead of blaming others, to use the diplomatic and other tools it has available to ensure that the separatists respect a ceasefire. That ceasefire, as already agreed on in the Minsk accords, must be implemented immediately. The Council must also live up to its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations.”
2015-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7368 (2015) · source
“The Mariupol incident confirms that the situation in eastern Ukraine is now on a disastrous downward spiral. We do not take this incident in isolation. Its occurrence, magnitude and the claims made about it by the separatist leadership speak for themselves. It was a major assault on a civilian population with the sole purpose of taking and controlling the area as a result. The most recent civilian casualties from the conflict in eastern Ukraine are completely unacceptable. We call on all sides to respect international humanitarian law and to refrain from any indiscriminate attacks. In that regard, we note that rockets have been launched indiscriminately into civilian areas - a violation of international humanitarian law. There can be no impunity for such reckless acts. Those responsible must be held accountable for their actions.”
2015-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7368 (2015) · source
“We thank you, Mr. President, for convening this debate, and all the more so because of the failure of the Security Council over the weekend to agree to a simple and clear press statement that would have condemned the events in Mariupol. I also thank the Under-Secretary-General for his briefing, which has been very helpful to the Council. New Zealand condemns the killing of approximately 30 people and the injuring of more than 90 civilians on 24 January in Mariupol. The reports of indiscriminate shelling of civilian populations and residential areas are deeply concerning, as indeed are the other incidents that were outlined by Under-Secretary-General Feltman. We voiced our concerns last week that the violence was escalating at an alarming rate.”
2015-01-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7368 (2015) · source