YouSaid · the spoken record

Melendez-Barahona

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18
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1999-07-08
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1999-07-08
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1
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un-security-council

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  1. “the Organization is truly able to contribute to resolving a conflict, as took place in the case of El Salvador. We think that the experience gained by the United Nations in various conflicts gives the Organization sufficient capability to draw up guidelines in this area.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  2. “They complemented the political efforts aimed at achieving peace. We believe that there was close coordination between the Government and the United Nations specialized agencies, which on principle had to include the international financial institutions, which are in a position to provide the necessary financial support for carrying out the reconstruction and national-development programmes that contribute conflict situations. to peace-building in post- Finally, it is important to note that despite the complexity and the multidisciplinary nature of the operation in El Salvador. it is clear that once there is political will, and once there is agreement on a clear, precise framework of commitments, as well as a defined mandate that sets out the Functions and scope of the Organization's role.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  3. “Verification of compliance with the human rights agreement involved an unprecedented role for the United Nations as, for the first time, such verification was being carried out in a sovereign State. It is also very important to note that the United Nations mandate was carried out impartially and objectively, as a result of which the parties had faith in the initiatives that the Organization, in its role as an intermediary, put forward. International support was fundamental, particularly when the interested parties from outside the region undertook to support the peace process and to avoid taking any steps that might exacerbate the conflict. Cooperation and international financial assistance provided essential support for social development programmes to attack the root causes of the conflict.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  4. “The process of reintegration of ex-combatants was slower, as it was directly related to a long-standing problem related to land tenure and the concentration of land ownership in El Salvador, and to the limited financial resources available to support the land-transfer programme and to provide financial and technical support. It was not possible to complete this programme during the mandate of United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador; it was completed during the period when the United Nations had a final, limited presence in El Salvador to verify compliance with outstanding sensitive elements of the peace accords. This was at the end of the former presidential Administration's mandate.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  5. “It is also important to emphasize that the political agrement reached between the parties on a firm and reliable basis was fundamental to guaranteeing the role of ONUSAL. There was a delay in the time-frame for disarmament and demobilization because the parties did not mass their troops in the designated places; the Peace Agreement's provisions relating to the dissolution of the public security forces were not complied with; the reintegration of the ex-combatants was delayed; and there was incomplete information about the arms possessed by irregular forces. Both parties made mutual accusations which led to mistrust and delayed the implementation of the commitments. However, the determination to achieve peace made gradual progress possible in these areas, and the commitments were finally observed.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  6. “It is possible to establish cooperation between the world Organization and a small country to resolve complex and sensitive issues that, under certain circumstances, can go beyond national borders. The involvement of the United Nations came about through the sovereign decision of the Government of El Salvador and its acceptance by the FMLN. In other words, it was in keeping with the wishes of the parties to the conflict. The parties to the conflict expressed the necessary good faith and ensured that there was the political will to conduct negotiations until peace was achieved. The parties to the conflict accepted the active participation of the United Nations and undertook to cooperate and to comply with the commitments undertaken so as to consolidate peace.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  7. “This was as much the result of the resistance of the armed forces to accepting change as it was to the violations of agreed obligations, and it was overcome through the intervention of ONUSAL and the political will and conviction of the parties, and their determination to achieve peace. In this context, it is important to emphasize that the role of the United Nations was successful and effective because of the efficiency and professionalism with which the mandate of the Secretary-General and his staff was carried out. They acted impartially, respecting the positions and interests of the parties, and sought only to contribute to the achievement of a peaceful solution to the conflict in El Salvador. On the basis of those considerations, we can learn certain lessons from El Salvador's experience.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  8. “A regional development programme for displaced persons, refugees and returnees (PRODERE) was also established, and this was active mainly in areas that were formerly involved in conflict. The programme was developed with the financial cooperation of the Government of Italy and with the coordinated participation of four specialized agencies: the United Nations Development Programme, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Labour Organization and the Pan American Health Organization of the World Health Organization. I should also mention that, like the negotiating phase, the implementation of the commitments was not without its difficulties - difficulties that might even have jeopardized the fulfilment of the commitments.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  9. “Mechanisms were also to foster national reconciliation, such as the Truth Commission, whose mandate was to shed light on the most relevant cases of human rights violations, the ad hoc committee responsible for purging the armed forces and the Peace Commission (COPAZ), which was responsible for safeguarding and ensuring compliance with commitments undertaken to promote assistance and community development, mainly in the agricultural sector. In the economic and social sphere, it is important to mention that our national efforts were complemented by international cooperation through the establishment of a special economic cooperation plan for Central America adopted by the General Assembly and implemented and coordinated by the United Nations Development Programme with the cooperation of other specialized agencies of the system.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  10. “In its expanded form, ONUSAL undertook a more complex, multidisciplinary operation, assuming responsibility for providing assistance and verifying the implementation of the Peace Agreement, which included, among other fundamental elements, a ceasefire, which was agreed upon even before the signing of the peace agreements; the separation of forces and the demobilization and destruction of FMLN weapons; the reduction and reform of the armed forces; constitutional reforms; the subordination of the armed forces to civilian authority; the elimination of the repressive forces and the creation of a new national civil police force; the legalization of the FMLN as a political party; the integration of ex- combatants into the political, economic and social life of the country; the reform of the judicial and electoral systems; and economic and social reform, including land- transfer programmes and programmes for the reintegration of and financial support for ex-combatants.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  11. “With the authorization of the Security Council by resolution 693 (1991), the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador was expanded. Initially, it had been established with a limited mandate aimed at ensuring active verification of compliance with the agreements on respect for and guarantees of human rights.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  12. “Significant examples of this support were the joint letter from the Secretary of State of the United States and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the joint declaration issued by those two countries, both dated 1 August 1991, relating to the peace process and to cooperation by those countries in Central America. In addition to expressing firm support for the Secretary- General and for the active participation of the Friends of the Secretary-General aimed at achieving progress in that process, they urged countries outside the region, including Cuba, to step up their efforts to resolve the conflict in El Salvador through peaceful means. The signing of the peace agreements marked a new and different stage in the process.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  13. “It is important to note that before the final agreements were reached, and at the request of the Central American Presidents, in response to calls from the General Assembly and the Security Council, and at the request of the Secretary-General, interested parties outside the region undertook to support the peace process and to seek actively and constructively to attain a final solution to the armed conflict in El Salvador, including through supporting and assisting the implementation of the agreements entered into by the parties to the conflict.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  14. “United Nations participation was not limited to contributing to the success of the negotiations, which gradually produced positive results and which led ultimately to partial agreements and to comprehensive agreements: the 1990 San Jose Agreement on Human Rights; the 1990 Caracas Agreement on the timetable and agenda for the negotiating process; the 1991 Mexico Agreement on substantive issues relating to the agenda; and the New York agreements of September and December 1991 and January 1992, when final agreements were entered into that subsequently shaped the peace agreement signed in Mexico in 1992. The United Nations also had to carry out the delicate task of international verification on the ground to ensure compliance with the agreed commitments.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  15. “From the signing in 1990 of the Geneva Agreement, which set out general objectives, until the signing in 1992 of the Chapultepec Agreement, the United Nations played a key role in the entire negotiating process, doing its utmost to facilitate rapprochement and understanding between the parties, especially at times when disagreements developed that might otherwise have jeopardized the continuation of the process.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  16. “The rejection of a continuation of the war by the majority of the political forces in El Salvador; the conviction of the parties to the conflict that none of them could defeat the other militarily and that an armed struggle would not resolve the serious and profound national problems; and the lack of confidence and of a belief that the parties to the conflict could reach agreement directly: these opened up the way for the Government of El Salvador and the FMLN separately to seek the assistance of the Secretary-General to help them carry out uninterrupted negotiations to resolve the conflict. From that time, the Organization began to play a proactive, dynamic and catalytic role in the peace process in El Salvador.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  17. “Commitments were entered into to bring about peace and national reconciliation, to foster democratization and observance of human rights, and to start a programme of reconstruction and economic and social development so as to eliminate the root causes that gave rise to internal conflict and avoid its repetition. In order for us to draw lessons from my country's experience, allow me first of all to make a few comments about the peace process in El Salvador. The end of the cold war, the disintegration of the Soviet Union and progress in subregional detente were external factors that bolstered the peace process in El Salvador, which had long remained stagnant and without major progress.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source

  18. “Mr. Melendez-Barahona (El Salvador) (spoke in Spanish): On behalf of the delegation of El Salvador, may I first of all convey to you, Sir, our congratulations on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of July, and on joining your Minister for Foreign Affairs in presiding over this meeting. We welcome this good initiative to consider the question of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex- combatants in a peacekeeping environment. On 16 January 1992, a new phase began in the political history of El Salvador: the Government of El Salvador and the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN), under the auspices of the United Nations, signed the Peace Agreement in Chapultepec, Mexico, putting an end to armed conflict.”

    1999-07-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4020Resumption1 (1999) · source