YouSaid · the spoken record

Miller

lines on the record: 52
first: 2007-01-31
most recent: 2023-12-22
sittings or episodes: 11
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

“Hamas is a direct threat to the security of Israel, to Gazans and to regional stability. In order to promote security, the Council should first recognize Hamas’s terror regime and then focus on the elimination of its threats. It should be focused on freeing the hostages. It should be focused on preventing Hamas from exploiting aid. It should be focused on ensuring that Hamas can no longer expand their terror infrastructure. Any resolution adopted by the Council should be focused primarily on those points. That is the Council’s responsibility, and that is key to security.”
2023-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9520 (2023) · source
“If the Council seeks to end hostilities, it should start by supporting Israel’s mission of returning the hostages and eliminating the Hamas threat, and at the very least, it must prevent Hamas’s empowerment. Just as the Council is committed to increasing aid, it should also be committed to blocking the smuggling of arms and the transfer of weapons to the Hamas terrorists. And just as the Council is committed to ensuring that aid reaches Gazan civilians, it should also be committed to ensuring that the aid is not diverted to Hamas terrorists, who do not care about the civilian population. The focus of any resolution should also hold Hamas accountable, while taking every step to prevent them from entrenching themselves and regaining power. Hamas is a genocidal terror organization.”
2023-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9520 (2023) · source
“Israel recently exposed another huge Hamas terror tunnel that stretches four kilometres and was constructed 50 metres underground. That terror tunnel is wide enough for vehicles to drive through. It can house hundreds of terrorists. The amount of cement and equipment needed to build that tunnel alone was immense. That is just one part of Hamas’s subterranean city of terror, including missile- and rocket-manufacturing facilities and terrorist-training complexes across Gaza. It cannot be claimed that Israel did not give any warning. For years, we have sent letters outlining Hamas’s terror threat and growing capabilities. We have held countless meetings with officials. We have done everything possible to make it clear that action must be taken. But our words fell on deaf ears.”
2023-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9520 (2023) · source
“Israel has already opened the Kerem Shalom crossing in order to ensure the entry of more trucks and has also facilitated the entry of dozens of trucks that arrived from Jordan. The only roadblock for aid entry is the United Nations ability to accept it. Enhancing United Nations monitoring or coordination of aid is not a cure-all, and any enhancement of United Nations aid monitoring cannot be done at the expense of Israel’s security inspections. Israel has not only a right but an obligation to guarantee its security. That is why our mission to eliminate Hamas’s capabilities has not changed. And that is why security inspections of aid will not change. Israel will not permit the regrouping and rearming of Hamas, as the atrocities of 7 October can never be allowed to repeat themselves.”
2023-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9520 (2023) · source
“In addition to the Council’s inability to condemn Hamas’s attack, 130 hostages — women, children and the elderly — are still being held in Gaza, and they must not be allowed to become a footnote. Humanitarian aid is pouring into Gaza every single day, yet the hostages being held by Hamas are not even allowed visits by the Red Cross. That is the most heinous war crime imaginable. The hostages must be at the top of the Council’s agenda. There is no doubt that humanitarian aid is crucially important, and Israel is already facilitating hundreds of truckloads of aid into Gaza every day. Israel is also willing and able to exponentially increase the entry of aid trucks into Gaza.”
2023-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9520 (2023) · source
“Just a week ago, Jaish Al-Adl carried out a terror attack in Iran in which 11 Iranian police officers were killed. Within one day, the Security Council released a press statement (SC/15534) condemning the act of terror. It took the Security Council one day to express its condolences and sympathy with the families of the victims. It is true — terrorism must be condemned, even if the attacks are perpetrated against police officers of a rogue regime and the world’s leading sponsor of global terror. Seventy-seven days ago, Hamas intentionally murdered, raped and mutilated 1,300 Israelis and took 250 hostages, and the Council still has yet to issue a single statement condemning Hamas and their atrocities.”
2023-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9520 (2023) · source
“The international community must find a comprehensive strategy to combat this dangerous trend and hold the regimes responsible to account. If we do not act together now, the results will be nothing short of disastrous for us all.”
2023-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9509 (2023) · source
“The damage and loss of life due to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons by Iran to its network of terrorists and terror proxies throughout the Middle East — Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hizbullah, the Houthis and other militias — is evident and tragic, especially for civilians. The threat to international maritime security posed by the Houthis nowadays is another evident and strategic consequence. The truth must be clearly stated. The diversion of small arms and light weapons to these terrorist groups is not only a problem for Israel or just a growing challenge in the Middle East, but rather a global threat. Preventing the diversion of small arms and light weapons to terrorist organizations must remain a part of any future strategy or initiative of the Security Council.”
2023-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9509 (2023) · source
“The magnitude of the 7 October attack must be remembered forever for the immense damage and loss of life that the proliferation and illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons to terrorists of such rogue regimes can cause. Among other things, the basic rationale that stands at the core of United Nations disarmament processes and frameworks and in so many United Nations decisions and resolutions is the need to eradicate the diversion of small arms and light weapons to terrorists, which stands in stark contradiction to the root causes that enabled the 7 October attack. In the case of Hamas, not only has the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons not been curbed or stopped, but it has been sponsored or promoted by at least one United Nations Member State.”
2023-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9509 (2023) · source
“When the thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on 7 October, they carried with them massive amounts of weaponry, which Hamas had stocked and prepared well in advance of its killing spree. AK-47s, anti-personnel fragmentation grenades, rocket-propelled grenades of various kinds, rocket launchers, SA-7 anti-air missiles and many more types of lethal weapons were used to carry out the unprovoked massacre. The arsenal included both improvised self- made weaponry and more advanced arms, likely to have been supplied by Iran. Some of the weapons that were found to have been used by Hamas were manufactured in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”
2023-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9509 (2023) · source
“Through various resolutions, the Security Council has continually stressed the importance of addressing the illicit trade in and supply of small arms and light weapons to terrorists. Furthermore, in its resolution 77/298, on the eighth review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the General Assembly reaffirmed that Member States should eliminate the supply of weapons and their ammunition to terrorists, as well as preventing, combating and eradicating their illicit trade to terrorists. The 7 October massacre was not a random attack but rather a calculated and meticulously planned act of war by Hamas — a jihadist terrorist group that has been armed, financed and backed for years by an Islamic regime.”
2023-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9509 (2023) · source
“As the current investigations show, on 7 October Hamas resorted to gender-based violence and the perpetration of systematic sexual violence as a weapon of war. The nature of the incidents, which were widespread within a very limited time frame, as well as dozens of testimonies, point to the premeditated nature of the attack and to the planning of heinous crimes in advance. They produced an almost unimaginable result — all due to Hamas’s acquisition of arms in quantities that exceed those of many national armies around the world. That, together with its murderous jihadist ideology, was behind Hamas’s aim to annihilate Israel. And let us not forget that this terrorist group embeds itself in civilian infrastructure and uses schools, hospitals and United Nations facilities as hideouts and launch pads.”
2023-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9509 (2023) · source
“I would like to commend you, Mr. President, and your delegation for this important and timely debate, and to thank the briefers for their briefings. Regrettably, small arms and light weapons have been illicitly traded and proliferated throughout the Middle East in colossal quantities for decades. These weapons find their way into the hands of oppressive regimes, terrorist organizations and terrorist- sponsoring States. Today’s timely meeting is being held against a backdrop of the 7 October attack in which Hamas stormed into Israel and savagely murdered more than 1,200 people, among them babies, children, women and the elderly. Two hundred and fifty people were brutally taken hostage and 132 of them are still being held in inhumane conditions.”
2023-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9509 (2023) · source
“We have all been here before. Israel has made its stance very clear and therefore I will be brief. The Council has just adopted a resolution that is, regrettably, detached from the reality on the ground”
2023-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9479 (2023) · source
“Ultimately, the ripple effects of pandemics, terrorism and global conflict have created a devastating cycle of scarcity, hunger and vulnerability. We must remain vigilant to the broader implications of food insecurity and work collectively to ensure that food remains a source of sustenance, not a tool of manipulation. In that regard, Israel is concerned by the potential implications on food security and global food prices if the Black Sea Grain Initiative is not extended and encourages Russia to agree to its renewal for the benefit of the peoples in the Middle East, Africa and beyond. Israel remains committed to sharing its experience, collaborating and building capacity globally. We align ourselves with your vision and decision, Mr. President, to put this urgent issue high on our global agenda.”
2023-08-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9392Resumption1 (2023) · source
“In regions affected by conflict, armed groups leverage food insecurity to further their destructive agendas, using it as both a recruitment tool and a weapon to sow discord. In May, we witnessed a clear example of that, when the Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired mortars at the Erez and Kerem Shalom border crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The deliberate targeting of humanitarian corridors put the transport of people and crucial supplies in immediate danger. Nevertheless, even in those cases, Israel worked to have the crossings open again within hours. Recent global challenges and geopolitical tensions remind us that such far-reaching threats have global repercussions, affecting food supply chains and prices, especially among vulnerable communities.”
2023-08-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9392Resumption1 (2023) · source
“The resolution promotes the use of technology and research and development to increase agricultural productivity and food security. We are firm believers in regional cooperation as a means of combating the root causes of food insecurity. Our commitment is evident from our collaboration with Morocco on water security, our joint water desalination and solar energy deal with Jordan, facilitated by the United Arab Emirates, and many more projects with our neighbours. The recent conference of the N7 Initiative on agriculture, water and food security in Abu Dhabi displayed the universality of the challenges we face. However, we must acknowledge that food insecurity is not solely a result of natural disasters and climate change — it is also exacerbated by conflict and terrorism.”
2023-08-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9392Resumption1 (2023) · source
“We wish to thank Secretary Blinken and the United States delegation for initiating this high-level debate, reinforcing the critical importance of combating food insecurity. As a nation in the Middle East, Israel experienced food insecurity throughout the first decades of its existence but managed to transform challenges into opportunities. Harnessing resilience and innovation led us to great advancements in agricultural and water management technologies. Our goal is not only to make a difference on a national level — we also seek to make a global impact, and we do so through cooperation both bilaterally and multilaterally. Just last year, the General Assembly once again adopted the biannual Israeli- initiated resolution on agricultural technology (General Assembly resolution 76/200).”
2023-08-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9392Resumption1 (2023) · source
“When it comes to protecting children, the time has come to stop falsely vilifying Israel and start condemning those who cynically and deliberately put children in harm’s way.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Children should be in schools to further their education, not incited to hatred. Children should be encouraged to throw balls, not rocks. Children should be given toys to play with, not weapons. It is tragic that Palestinian children are not given the childhood they deserve, but is also tragic that the United Nations chooses to turn a blind eye to their horrifying upbringing. There is no mission more crucial than protecting children, so it is heartbreaking to see that the United Nations permits hateful political agendas to seep into this topic as well. The deaths and injuries of children must be prevented at all costs, and they must never serve as pawns for the Palestinians’ twisted anti-Israel agenda here at the United Nations or elsewhere.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Palestinian teens set out to murder Israelis because they see the so-called honour such attacks would bring them and the payments through the Palestinian Authority’s “pay-for-slay” programme that the families receive for their crimes. That is not discussed in the report. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad sponsor annual summer camps for Gazan youths to become indoctrinated to murder Israelis. That is something that those terror organizations take great pride in and publicize on a wide scale, yet they are similarly not mentioned once in the report. In fact, Hamas — the designated terror organization that holds the civilians of Gaza hostage, recruits children, hides behind them and uses them as human shields — is only mentioned once in the report, and in a positive light. Again, this is truly incomprehensible.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Palestinian children deserve to grow up in safety, but sadly the modus operandi of their leadership is to use them as human shields. They do that because they know that targeting innocence is a red line that Israel does not and will not cross. The fact that terrorists understand and exploit that, but United Nations entities refuse to condemn or, at the very least, address it is truly incomprehensible. One reaps what one sows. When Palestine leaders invest extensive resources and funding into furthering incitement and hatred, it is no surprise that they are raising a generation of youth driven by violence. The number of minors carrying out terror attacks is growing exponentially.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Those that seek Israel’s destruction know that Israel will never target children or deliberately put innocent’s in harm’s way — not now, not ever — while they weaponize this ethical integrity in their jihad war against us. They turn mosques into arms caches, as we saw just two days ago in Jenin. They utilize hospitals as rocket launchpads. They use schools and even United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) schools as cover for terror tunnels. We know that the United Nations knows that, yet it was hardly even mentioned in the report. Imagine what would have happened if a terror tunnel that was discovered underneath an UNRWA school in Gaza last November had collapsed, or if explosives stored in it had detonated while Palestinian children were playing in the yard above.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366Resumption1 (2023) · source
“The report demonizes Israel despite the fact that when it comes to protecting the lives of the innocent, especially children, Israel goes above and beyond the letter of the law in order to do so. Video footage of Israel aborting strikes on terrorists due to the proximity of children and other civilians are widely circulated. Several such videos were publicized throughout Operation Shield and Arrow in Gaza, in May, and such extensive measures are taken during every Israeli defensive operation. The Israel Defense Forces are one of the most moral militaries in the world, and no one-sided politicized report will prove otherwise. Yet sadly, Israel’s iron-clad moral compass is interpreted as weakness by our enemies — a weakness that they constantly aim to exploit.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366Resumption1 (2023) · source
“I thank you, Mr. President, for convening this important meeting, and I thank the briefers for their statements earlier today. The safety and well-being of children, as well as their safety and protection, is a matter of the utmost importance for Israel. That is why we commend the United Nations for also putting the protection of children at the forefront. Any measure taken to protect children in armed conflict is a measure that Israel stands by. Nevertheless, after reading the Secretary-General’s report (S/2023/363), it seems that, when it comes to Israel, the United Nations has once again opted to advance a politicized agenda, rather than focus on those truly responsible for the danger, maiming and deaths of children.”
2023-07-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9366Resumption1 (2023) · source
“We must adopt the following approaches and tools, including mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, with the goal of remaining below the 1.5°C threshold of global warming; adaptation to the impacts of climate change in the areas of food and water insecurity, such as providing accessible renewable energy; strengthening community resilience through peacekeeping and special political missions; and finally, providing international aid, promoting local development and creating livelihood sources for the population. In conclusion, Israel is committed to playing its role within a shared vision of a future global climate framework, and we stand ready to share our knowledge, experience and solutions. Together, we can work towards a more secure, stable and sustainable future for all.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345Resumption1 (2023) · source
“We are also a committed party to the Paris Agreement on climate change and to the UNFCCC goals and have pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, at the twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and again at the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties. However, the challenges posed by climate change require a global, concerted effort. It is our collective responsibility to maintain international peace and security We must therefore work together with the wider global community to overcome that challenge.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Through Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, MASHAV, Israel is committed to sharing knowledge with its partners in the field of climate change, including on sustainable water management, waste-water reclamation, food security and grain storage, agriculture in arid environments and combating desertification and drought in order to build capacities and jointly combat those challenges. Israel has also undertaken comprehensive measures at the national level to mitigate climate change effects, such as completing a holistic process for formulating a strategy and national targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, preparing sectoral indicators and formulating a strategic and adaptable implementation plan.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345Resumption1 (2023) · source
“One such example is the Prosperity Blue and Prosperity Green projects, where, together with Jordan and the United Arab Emirates and with the support of the United States, we plan to build solar plants and export desalinated water for the greater good of the people of the region. Israel has been overcoming the challenges of climate change for decades. The Israeli experience has given us a unique perspective, as well as technological breakthroughs and a wealth of knowledge on how to navigate these issues.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345Resumption1 (2023) · source
“As an integral part of the Middle East, Israel has a direct interest in addressing that issue to prevent further destabilizing consequences in an already volatile region. The Abraham Accords paved the way for cooperation in a variety of fields in our region. Along with economic, security and peer-to-peer cooperation, it created an opportunity for regional cooperation on the challenges of climate change, with severe implications that cross borders and do not distinguish between one country and another. Accordingly, Israel gives great importance to regional partnerships in the areas of renewable energy, water, nature-based solutions and food security and works to champion regional initiatives tackling those challenges.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345Resumption1 (2023) · source
“On a daily basis, just mere meters from Israel’s northern border and from within the area of operations of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, Hizbullah uses this organization as a front for its malign activities. As has been flagged by several United Nations reports and noted in relevant United Nations resolutions, that perverse tactic of terror organizations hiding behind non-profit organizations and non-governmental organizations is a growing phenomenon that is not carried out not only by Hizbullah, but by many other terror groups across the globe as well. Those trends require us to come together in order to combat issues that affect us all and work towards vital frameworks for cooperation for a prosperous region.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Climate change is not just an environmental issue, but a significant risk multiplier that directly impacts national, regional and global stability, intensifying existing security threats and creating new ones. In the Middle East and the Sahel region, the combination of climate change, the shortage of resources and, at times, uncoordinated development policies, leaves those areas particularly vulnerable to security challenges and provides a fertile ground for terrorist organizations to grow. Not only do terrorist organizations flourish in climate crisis areas, but they also abuse the cause of climate change to spread violence and harm. One such example is Hizbullah’s expansion of its terror domination in south Lebanon, under the guise of the so-called “Green without Borders” environmental organization.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345Resumption1 (2023) · source
“I would like to take this opportunity to extend Israel’s appreciation to the United Arab Emirates for initiating this timely debate and for the Emirati leadership in hosting the upcoming twenty- eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The decision to hold this event once again in the Middle East, a region profoundly affected by climate change and security issues, carries great significance. The State of Israel attaches great importance to the subject of climate change. The growing connection between climate change and security is increasingly evident. Now more than ever, it demands our immediate, collective attention.”
2023-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9345Resumption1 (2023) · source
“We recognize the importance of regional and civil society organizations in addressing those challenges. This morning's mandate renewal is reminder of the constructive role the United Nations can play around the world, especially in the Middle East. We look forward to Iraq continuing to lead the way forward and playing a positive role. We extend our thanks to Special Representative Kubis and the entire UNAMI team for their continued excellent work.”
2018-06-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8285 (2018) · source
“We also encourage UNAMI to coordinate closely with other United Nations agencies in Iraq, including the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, to ensure continuity of effort and progress on humanitarian, reconstruction and development efforts at the community, Government and national levels. Iraq faces diverse challenges, some of which are unrelated to the scourge of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham and the path of destruction it left in its wake. The World Bank is already doing great work to help Iraq stabilize its financial footing. As the mandate notes, work also remains to be done on sustainable development and regional cooperation, to include addressing broader water-management issues and mitigating the dust storms that persistently plague Iraq's people.”
2018-06-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8285 (2018) · source
“We expect UNAMI to work more closely with the Government of Iraq to address the unique needs of those groups and individuals, as part and parcel of the broader national- and community- level reconciliation effort needed to be undertaken. In March, Special Representative Jan Kubis issued a press release that echoed that call: "Iraq draws its strength from its cultural and religious diversity and its rich history. This treasure should be protected and nurtured by the Government and the people of Iraq." We strongly support that call.”
2018-06-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8285 (2018) · source
“It is a seemingly small change but one that will promote better accountability of United Nations funds and a more efficient budget process. The mandate was also streamlined: the document itself was trimmed down for from nearly seven pages of text to just two, while preserving the core responsibilities and functions of UNAMI at this critical juncture in Iraq's history. However, it is important to know the complexity of the challenges UNAMI and Iraq will face moving forward. The mandate underscores the importance of supporting Iraq in meeting the needs of all Iraqis, including women, youth and members of religious and ethnic minority groups. That is an area of particular interest to the United States.”
2018-06-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8285 (2018) · source
“We are pleased to join members today to welcome the adoption of resolution 2421 (2018), on the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). The United States has greatly appreciated the support of the Iraqi Mission and of our fellow Security Council members, as well as the collegial and collaborative manner in which this renewal was negotiated. This renewal marks the first overhaul of the UNAMI mandate since resolution 1770 (2007) was adopted, 11 years ago. It differs from its predecessors in several important ways. To begin with, Council members decided, on a one-time basis, to extend this year's mandate for a period of 10 months so as to better align mandate renewals with the budget cycle, in keeping with the findings of the UNAMI independent external assessment.”
2018-06-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8285 (2018) · source
“The international community, including the United States, is focused on taking concrete near-term steps that will improve the humanitarian and economic conditions in Gaza and the lives of the Palestinians living there. We are also hard at work on a plan for peace that will provide a future for both Israel and the Palestinians. Violence furthers neither of those goals.”
2018-03-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8219 (2018) · source
“We note that the representative of Israel is unable to attend today's meeting, owing to the fact that it is taking place during the celebration of Passover. It is extremely unfortunate that Israel is not able to participate in the discussion of this very important matter. It is also vital that the Council take a balanced approach to all matters that come before it, and we should have found an arrangement enabling all the parties to participate this evening. Turning to the issue of Gaza, we are deeply saddened by the loss of life there today. We urge those involved to take steps to lower tensions and reduce the risk of new clashes. Bad actors who use protests as a cover for inciting violence endanger innocent lives.”
2018-03-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8219 (2018) · source
“We also support the right of our Saudi partners to defend their borders against these threats. We continue to call on all parties, including the Houthis, to return to political negotiations and move towards ending the war in the Yemen.”
2018-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8214 (2018) · source
“I will also deliver the bulk of my remarks in consultations, but I want to take the floor here to make a couple of points that it is important to raise in the open Chamber. First, and above all, I want to extend warm welcome to the new Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom, Ambassador Pierce. We really look forward to working with her. Secondly, due to the attack in Saudi Arabia from Yemen last night, I thought it was important to raise that matter now as well. We strongly condemn the Houthi missile attack that was aimed at several cities in Saudi Arabia. This is the kind of action that is deeply destabilizing for the region and one that we have warned about previously. Our condolences go out to the families of any who are killed or injured.”
2018-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8214 (2018) · source
“We should bear that, and what the Syrian regime is capable of doing, in mind as we discuss yet again what is taking place in easter Ghouta and elsewhere in Syria.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“That population now has food and relief items for one month. However, we continue to wait for the Syrian regime's formal approval for the United Nations to begin cross-line aid deliveries to that vulnerable population from Damascus. The United Nations submitted its proposal in mid-November and has still receievd no response. All arrangements have been made for the deliveries to begin as soon as possible. The Syrian regime has only to grant its approval and to stand out of the way for life-saving assistance to reach those in need. As we heard earlier today, members of the Security Council visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, yesterday and saw the exhibition about the Syrian regime's arbitrary detention and torture of more than 100,000 civilians. The name of the exhibition is "Please Don't Forget Us".”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“We need not remind the members of the Council that a siege directed against civilians is a violation of international humanitarian law. We also appreciate the fact that Sweden and Kuwait worked on a draft presidential statement to address such dire humanitarian challenges. The overwhelming majority of Council members agree that we must be clear in demanding that the Syrian authorities allow immediate medical evacuations and cross-line assistance. When there are hundreds of thousands of Syrians besieged by the regime and starving due to the regime's actions, such demands are the very least that the Council can make. We would also like to take a moment to thank the Government of Jordan for facilitating an extraordinary delivery of humanitarian assistance in mid-January to the internally displaced populations stranded at Rukban.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“We reiterate the need to evacuate hundreds of critically ill people trapped in eastern Ghouta. We have seen no movement on that issue since late December, and the list continues to grow. Only a few weeks ago, we heard that the medical evacuation list contained 600 names, including hundreds of children. That list has now grown to at least 750 people, according to the United Nations staff on the ground. Over the weekend, the United Nations reported that another critically ill person on Ghouta's medical evacuation list died due to the lack of medical treatment. Such deaths are senseless and reflect the Syrian regime's depraved disregard for human life. Such gratuitous cruelty suggests that the regime's siege of eastern Ghouta is directed not at the armed opposition but against the civilian population.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“We deplore what are, frankly, starve-and-siege tactics, preventing the distribution of aid, which must be needs-based. As a result, many families are going without the most basic food, medicine and other supplies required for survival. Hospitals reuse syringes and other medical items meant for single use and, during the coldest months of winter, families who have run out of fuel and cooking oil burn household items to stay warm. That is happening in Ghouta and elsewhere throughout Syria. We need an immediate, unconditional humanitarian pause in eastern Ghouta, where the impact of air strikes and artillery shelling on the civilian infrastruture has forced the closure of more schools and medical clinics. Those bombings continued over the weekend, further proving that any supposed ceasefire in the area was merely aspirational.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“The Security Council met only last week (see S/PV.8164) and heard the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs describe his visit to Syria and reiterate a series of requests that, in his estimation, would be a positive step towards improving the humanitarian situation in Syria. Sadly, not only has none of those requests been approved by the Syrian regime, but also the situation in places such as eastern Ghouta continues to deteriorate beyond our worst imagaination. To the surprise of no one, cross-line deliveries in Syria, particularly to besieged and hard-to-reach areas, remain stalled. In fact, there have been no United Nations inter-agency convoys anywhere for more than six weeks and no convoys to a besieged area for more than eight weeks.”
2018-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8171 (2018) · source
“Rather, the problems have rather to do with how to ensure that the activities of the national Government and outside partners are well coordinated, that the significant funds available through existing donor mechanisms are best utilized and that the international community's attention to these countries' needs does not fade. We will take this same practical spirit into the discussions that take place in the General Assembly, in the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission itself and, most importantly, in the Commission's country-specific meetings. We hope others do too. We appreciate the opportunity today to hear the views of others, both inside this Council and out, on how we can help the Commission better serve our common goal.”
2007-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5627 (2007) · source
“The Commission should provide a forum for the various agencies, Governments and organizations involved in a particular post-conflict situation to come together and share their assessments and work plans and to better coordinate and target their respective efforts, and for the Council to benefit from their common advice and best recommendations. The strength of the Peacebuilding Commission will be found through pragmatic, action-oriented and country-specific recommendations to address the problems of post-conflict peacebuilding. The problems encountered by countries emerging from conflict are not solely - and for some, not even mainly - a lack of resources. In any event, this is something for which the Commission will not be able to compensate.”
2007-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5627 (2007) · source