YouSaid · the spoken record

Minah

lines on the record: 98
first: 2008-10-21
most recent: 2016-07-28
sittings or episodes: 8
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

“We will also make sure that we hear the message that comes loud and clear from the lowest and simplest communities within our nations - that anything done in their name must include them in the planning, the design and the execution, and must fully reflect their local cultures and values. We are mindful to ensure that the Ebola virus disease, if it does comes back, is successfully combatted. We are mindful of the fact that the mosaic of various responses must be complete. That is what we also refer to as a jigsaw puzzle. In other words, quite simply put, the logistical, scientific, diplomatic and national efforts must all be in harmony. There can be no disjointed efforts; there can be no duplication.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“However, we continue to look to the international community to ensure that we discharge our burden in the manner in which we wish to discharge it. Our health systems - health-care delivery and management - were found wanting. We are grateful for the teams and the material, financial and other support that we received, but we realize that these systems must be rebuilt, and they must be rebuilt better than they were before. To that end, we look to all nations that have fully developed health-care systems to see what we can learn and what we can adapt to our local conditions.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“As we sit here today, we sit in remembrance of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice: the health workers, the doctors, the burial teams, and the innocents who have been struck down by this disease. We can do our best to commemorate them by making sure that our collective actions from this point on fully justify the faith they had in us and the loss that their families now endure. As we move forward from emergency to recovery and resilience, we as States - Sierra Leone and, I am sure, my colleagues in Liberia and Guinea - do so in the firm conviction that we fully recognize that the primary responsibility for the care, safety and health of the citizens of our countries lies with our political leadership. Therefore, we know that the heaviest burden falls on us.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“At the outset, I wish to join others in commending you, Madam President, for this initiative in keeping the issue of Ebola in front of the international community. I wish you all the best for your month as President of the Council. We can all agree that we have turned a corner. From the beginning of the outbreak of Ebola, a sense of pervasive fear invaded all our collective thoughts and the three nations directly affected. We now have a sense of collective hope and optimism for the future. This has come at a very high cost. In Sierra Leone, we are determined not to look back in anger or frustration, or to find fault, but to learn the hard lessons that we are supposed to learn and develop the best practices that we are supposed to develop.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“It is therefore imperative for all of us that we do all that we can to support those on the front line and make sure their actions and words are matched by our deeds.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“We see the work of the United Nations Ebola Multi-Partner Trust Fund. As advisory members of that body, we are dedicated to making sure that the funds are applied to the most viable projects - those projects that will fulfil the strategic objectives of the Trust Fund. For we know that money in a bank account or money held as petty cash is of no good to anyone. There are times at which we can despair; this is not one of those times. There were times at which we can think that perhaps the task we face is too much for us. But when we do that, let us think of those day in and day out on the front line who have to wear the personal protective equipment suits all day and change three times a day, and risk paying the ultimate sacrifice. We diplomats are away from the front line, and we are not in immediate danger.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“For the ambassadors of the most affected States, this valid battle is personal, for we have families in harms' way and colleagues, members of our communities, who call us and tell us of the situation on the ground. The cities of our collective countries have become places of silence in some regions. We believe that the sense of hope that we call on the international community to provide will be sustained and collective and will not relent. As the three or four most affected States, we are suffering the worst of it, but this is a collective fight in which we know that we have to play our role, no matter how limited. There are bright sparks of hope. The rates of infection have decreased in Guinea and Liberia. We see survivors who appear to be immune. We see the roll-out of the United Nations Mission.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“As the three or four most affected countries, we remain available for briefings and clarifications and to make our presence felt in all chambers of the United Nations. We are grateful to the General Assembly for its focus, to the Security Council and to the peacekeeping architecture, but we also know that other institutions and agencies of the United Nations have joined the fight. The Secretary-General and our Presidents have said that this extraordinary disease requires extraordinary measures. We call on all within the Organization and the Council to help the Secretariat bypass the normal bureaucratic entanglements and the information silos to deliver the results we want.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“From what we hear, some of the testing and some of the clinical trials might yield fruits by the end of the year. We are also concerned about the survivors. For as we commiserate with the victims' families, we should also celebrate the survivors. But it would be a bleak future indeed if the survivors should beat the disease yet face a life of orphanhood and without a significant or satisfactory livelihood to sustain them. The response that we are all engaged in must be multifaceted, and we must be fully engaged in the fight. Why is it that West Africa became the epicentre this year or last? No one knows, but what we do know is that the United Nations, with its special skills and unique talents, can make a difference.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“We as a country and as a region are perplexed by the origins of this disease, but we are not defeated yet and we do not intend to be defeated, because with the level of support of our partners, our friends and members of the Council, we have no doubt that Ebola can be beaten and beaten successfully. There are no words that could properly and appropriately express our sense of satisfaction or praise those who have gone to the front line. We are grateful to the survivors who, through their blood, may perhaps offer a cure. We are grateful to those who continue to experiment and conduct clinical trials in Mali, and recently in Sierra Leone and other countries, to give us a sense of hope and that a solution in terms of better testing and a possible cure can come about.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“We are grateful for the early leadership provided by the peacebuilding architecture, the chairs ofthe country-specific configurations and the Ambassador of Brazil to help us focus on the long-term economic dangers that we face. We are also grateful to the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank, the African Union, the Mano River Union and the Economic Community of West African States for providing the right political weight to the fight. We ask that the United Nations system, as it moves forward, remain fully engaged with African institutions and other international actors, such as the European Union, which have also mobilized and will remain engaged.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“We look forward not only to the interventions of international actors to help us beat Ebola, but also to rebuilding our public health systems. It would be a true tragedy if we beat back Ebola and yet down the road another epidemic should come and invade our countries. Ebola, it has often been said, knows no ideology. It knows no religion. It is no respecter of age. It is no respecter of creed. Therefore, our response must be suitably multifaceted and nimble. We are grateful that members of the Council and all those who have provided support have set aside ideology, political affiliations and the normal diplomatic engagements that concern us to focus on what needs to be done. We as a nation State realize that our primary responsibility is to look after the health of our citizens.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“As I have said before, we are being decimated in terms of our economies and our livelihoods, but if the international community looks forward not only to the short and medium terms but also to the long term, we believe that the interventions of international financial institutions, working together, will ensure that our economies recover and remain resilient. We are grateful to Cuba, which has shown through its fearless medical diplomacy that it remains committed to the fight. As I have said before, our investment in this fight in West Africa is an investment in our collective public health. We know that the health situation in our countries prior to the onset of Ebola was precarious. The public health systems were precarious. With the advent of Ebola, those public health systems are tottering on the edge of ruin.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury to indulge in philosophical or intellectual debates or exercises, because we are all geared to the fight in the emergency phase of this response. But as other Member States and colleagues have pointed out, we also have to keep one eye to the future. For that, we are grateful for Mr. Nabarro's paper, which concerns recovery, revival and resilience for the situations in all countries, looking forward. While we have lost citizens to the disease, it would be a greater tragedy if we lose our economies to it as well.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“Our prayers go to his family and all those who continue to be under quarantine and in isolation. We are grateful not only for the lead that the United Kingdom has provided in Sierra Leone in terms of support, both human and material, but also for all the high-level visits that have been paid to Sierra Leone, including by representatives of the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea and other high-level delegations that have gone to show by their presence Sierra Leone that will not be isolated. We have thought long and hard about the enigma of Ebola and its origins in West Africa. There are various theories, but none of us - neither doctors nor laymen - can be sure as to where it originated.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“We call on UNMEER to ensure that it has a nimble bureaucratic footprint and that the materials at its disposal at this time are well deployed and well used. We also acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice of those who have fallen. We have lost seven doctors in the fight, and across the region various communities, towns and cities have lost valuable health workers. We wish to record and note the sacrifice of Dr. Sheik Umar Khan, Dr. Modupe Cole, Dr. Olivet Buck, Dr. Godfrey George, Dr. Sahr Rogers and Dr. Michael Moses Kargbo, among those who have fallen, including Dr. Martin Salia, who recently passed away in the United States. We also offer our prayers for Dr. Felix Baez Sarria of Cuba, who was recently diagnosed with Ebola virus disease and is currently undergoing treatment in Geneva.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“There is no time for complacency, and while we can be cautiously optimistic that things are moving in the right direction, we know that the fight is going to be long and hard. Everything that you can think of is needed in greater quantity. Personal protective equipment, human technical support, logistics experts, food drops, sustainable support for livelihoods, incentive payments for burial teams, all of this is required in greater quantities. We acknowledge the efforts of those Council members that have provided supplies and put their citizens in harm's way in West Africa. We are grateful to those who contemplate further support as they make an assessment of the situation. We call on the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) to ensure the rapid deployment of staff and personnel to the affected States.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“The majority of our populations, who are women, have been disproportionately affected by this disease by virtue of their role as caregivers, nurses and mothers. We remain resolute, and the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Mr. Ernest Bai Koroma, when required to act, has acted. Our Ebola operations centre has evolved into the national Ebola response centre, and the Chief Executive Officer is a former defence minister who is well respected by His Excellency. He has called for a sustained and committed change in the attitude of our populations, in that only change from our traditional practices will ensure that rates of proper burial remain at a promising level, as Ambassador Power has indicated.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“The rate of infection remains critical and depressing, and we look forward to a grim Christmas period. We are grateful for the setting up and the establishment of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response; however, we hope that it will soon evolve into an institution of sustainable competence and of excellence in the fight against Ebola. The effects on our economy and the economy of Africa and West Africa have been well documented and noted. Gross domestic product rates, economy, employment levels, the transportation of food, crops and agricultural cycles have all been affected. The most productive members of our community, those aged from 25 to 55, have been affected.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“What we can take away today, if nothing else, is that we are nowhere near the end of this challenge that we all collectively face. What we can also take away today is that the international community has fully woken up to the threat that we all face. It is also quite clear that an investment in the fight in the epicentre, West Africa, is an investment in our collective health and security. We are gratified by the briefers today, but in particular I would like to single out Mr. Banbury and Mr. Nabarro, who have remained available to the three most affected States, giving us information, clarifications and briefings whenever we seek them. We are fully aware of the demands on their time; there can be no two finer public servants of the United Nations. Sierra Leone continues to suffer from a spike in the rate of reported cases.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“Promises of action, pledges and contributions, financial or otherwise, must translate into effective and much- needed supplies on the ground as soon as possible.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“The depth of fear and emotion that has been expended to date concerning Ebola must be matched by the resolute will of all of us to beat the scourge and meet the challenge. We, as representatives of the three most-affected countries, are available to answer all questions, respond to all queries and make any clarifications necessary regarding the actions of our Governments. We simply ask that, in the reporting of what is being done on the ground and on the front line, we be consulted and asked to state our views so as to avoid unnecessary panic, misinformation or misrepresentation of the true facts. Above all, what we do here and what we say here must make a difference for those who are on the front line.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“There must be a dedicated air bridge in and out of the region to ensure that relevant supplies go in. We therefore urge our neighbours, both near and far, to facilitate those efforts. We also are grateful to the private sector and non-governmental organizations, the finest of which is Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). What MSF has shown us is that we, as nations and Members of the United Nations, must do more because if one non-governmental organization can do all that MSF has done, it puts us to shame if we cannot match its efforts and increase our participation. As the representatives of the three most affected nations, it is our task to maintain the momentum and focus on this deadly scourge. But as I said before, the fight - the challenge - is not for us alone. It is truly a global challenge. Let me just end with this thought.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“It is with a measure of sadness that we appear in the Chamber again for the second time to talk not of continued progress, but of a deepening crisis. Above all, what we require is a sense of hope, a sense that the United Nations and the community of nations that it represents will not abandon the fight, will not fail us and will not relent until the scourge of Ebola has been removed. What emanated from West Africa has now become a cause for concern and worry in the United States, Spain and other countries of Europe, and other countries far beyond. We ask that all possible actions that are being considered be taken on the basis of medical facts. Quarantines at airports and the isolation of countries simply do not work. That is not what I believe or what the three most affected nations believe; it is what the best medical minds tell us.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“The task plan devised in conjunction with WHO - with Margaret Chan and her team, the Mano River Union and the AU - is available and can be shared with all. However, what we have learned is that there is a deepening crisis. All that has been prepared over the past three to six months is fast becoming irrelevant in terms of supplies, resources and the deployment of personnel. The World Bank has indicated quite clearly the economic repercussions of Ebola and the impact it will have on the associated economic development of those nations. Not long ago we gathered in this Chamber to celebrate the transition of Sierra Leone from a State in conflict to a post-conflict State, and to celebrate its fragile but substantive achievements.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“But we do ask most sincerely and most humbly for a deepening of action and support. We are grateful for the leadership shown to date, but leadership alone cannot win the fight. All ofus individually, collectively, regionally and continentally must do all we can to join the fight. What threatens a subregion today, what threatens a continent tomorrow, has the possiblity of engulfing the whole world. To the ambassadors of the three most affected States, Ebola is no longer an abstract issue, as all of us have relatives, family and fellow citizens who face varying degrees of hardship, varying degrees of fear from this scourge. The President, in a recent televised statement to the World Bank, indicated the critical needs that are required in Sierra Leone to fight this fight. We are in a position to provide details on those needs.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“We, together, as the three most affected countries, act in unison because we fully realize that eradicating Ebola in Liberia will nto solve it in Guinea or solve it in Sierra Leone. Similarly, eradicating it in Sierra Leone or taking action in Sierra Leone, will not help Guinea or Liberia. We are grateful for the leadership shown by the Mano River Union, under the chairmanship of President Alpha Conde and Secretary-General Daraba. We are grateful for the leadership shown by the African Union (AU) and other regional and continental organizations that have all stepped into the fight. We are truly grateful for international organizations, such as the European Union, the World Health Organization (WHO) and all the members of the United Nations family that have joined the fight.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“Ebola!" Young children ran away from them and they were treated in a manner that would test the resilience of the strongest of us all. We ask that we move and act not out of discrimination or ignorance, but out of facts and the fact that we face a common threat. Extraordinary measures are called for, and Sierra Leone, through the leadership of Mr. Ernest Bai Koroma, recently instituted what has been called a lockdown and a temporary shutdown in order to educate and seek to establish the number of cases in the capital and beyond. That act, while criticized and misunderstood by some, has proven to be a success and has been praised as such by qualified medical minds.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“It seeks to strip us of our basic humanity - the ability to care for one another, the ability of a mother to hug and comfort an ailing child, the ability of a father to hug and comfort a grandfather or a grandmother. As affected countries, we not only face the grim reality of day-to-day survival; the grim reality of corpses not being able to be burried in time, of patients not being able to be received in time in treatment and isolation centres. We also face daily indignities or growing indignities, which I think this Chamber should be aware of. The national football team of Sierra Leone recently went to meet another team to play a scheduled match. They were isolated in the area of the hotel where they were staying. The bus that took them to and from the field was the subject of insults f people crying "Ebola! Ebola!”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“We, as an Organization and a community of nations, have to act in concert because quite simply what six months ago was considered a West African problem is now truly a global problem. The trust fund that is being set up is woefully underfunded. MS. Chan has also spoken about a twenty-fold increase in support and resources that are needed. We ask that those members of the Chamber who have joined the fight and shown leadership continue to be resolute and continue to show leadership. What is perhaps most striking about this disease is that it strips the caregiver of the most basic power that he or she has - the power of touch. It turns that very gift into a potential transmitter of the disease.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“We are grateful to those on the front lines, who, day in and day out, hour after hour, risk making the ultimate sacrifice to act in the finest tradition of the medical profession to help others. The Mission that has been deployed - the first of its kind - is indeed best described as a public- health Mission. It is not a special political mission. It is not a transitional administration. It is not a classic peacekeeping mission. It is quite simply a mission designed to save lives. It is a mission of health keepers. As we express sympathy for the families of the deceased, let us also celebrate those who have survived. Let us also provide them with the relevant support so they can be reintegrated into their respective communities, and let us also explore the promise that the plasma in their blood holds for others.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“A Sudanese United Nations official recently passed away in Leipzig despite all the efforts made to airlift him, medevac him and give him the best treatment available. We have seen that countries with the strongest, or perhaps stronger, public-health systems are also being challenged. There is a nurse in Dallas, Texas, who is in isolation. A Liberian gentleman, Thomas Eric Duncan, has passed away. A Spanish priest has fallen victim to this scourge, and a Spanish nurse is in quarantine. We must not fear Ebola, because Ebola can be defeated. The best medical protocols and the best medical minds tell us so. What simply needs to be done is to identify, contain, control and eradicate. To that end, supplies, logistics and human resources must go to the places where they are most needed.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“Now more than ever, this is the time for us to make and accelerate the transition from resolution to action. On the ground, the numbers are truly horrifying. The number of infections, the number of deaths, the level of misery - all tax our collective imagination and all tax our collective efforts. Now, however, is not the time to retreat into a fear born of ignorance but to move to actions born of knowledge. The greater the media presence around this scourge, the more it appears that medical fiction seems to be taking over from medical fact. Let us be guided by the best medical minds and the best medical advice that we can rely on. Let us not give in to ignorance, fear or emotion, which would paralyse us into inaction.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia find themselves at the epicentre ofthis scourge, and, despite the best efforts of their public-health systems, public administrations and Governments, they have been overwhelmed. We look to the outside world, to this community of nations, to help. Some may say that the call or the response was delayed, but now is not the time for us to look back; now is not the time for an audit of what has been done individually, regionally or nationally. Now is the time for increased and deepening action. To all those who have contributed and have done what they could, we are grateful, but we ask those who can do more to do more. We ask all of those who have pledged contributions to turn those pledges swiftly into contributions.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“What started offas a medical emergency has now metastasized into a truly frightening economic and security scourge that we all must address. We are grateful for the efforts that have been made to date to set up the Mission. We urge that the Mission and all those involved in its planning ensure that its vital work of coordination and collaboration be carried out as swiftly as possible. The deployment of staff, essential supplies and logistical chains must take place as rapidly as possible. Our gratitude goes to all the members of the Council, who, in their various ways, have contributed logistics, personnel, ideas and other support so as to meet this scourge. Now more than ever we must live up to the promise of the Organization and act truly as one - act truly united.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“Let me thank the Council for giving us this opportunity to once again reiterate the need for urgent action in our response to the Ebola virus disease. Sierra Leone welcomes the efforts of the Council and of the General Assembly and their swift action - the move from formal and informal deliberations to unprecedented resolutions - in the context of the response of this House. Our gratitude also goes to Assistant Secretary- General Banbury, Under-Secretary-General Herve Ladsous, Mr. Nabarro, Mr. Fukuda, Ms. Margaret Chan and all those United Nations officials who continue, day in and day out, to battle at the forefront of this disease. It is evident to all of us now that what we face is a global situation - a global calamity, if you will.”
2014-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7279 (2014) · source
“Wrestling with this vicious cycle of instability and underdevelopment in our present global reality is, therefore, clearly not an act of charity." (S/PV.5895, p. 5)”
2008-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5997 (2008) · source
“I would be remiss in my duty if I failed to conclude my statement by reiterating the statement of Sierra Leone's Minister for Foreign Affairs during her address to the Security Council on 20 May, in which she stated: "Delivering sustainable peace is not only an act of enlightened self-interest, but also a public good for all of mankind and humanity. Experience has proven that conflict and social instability breed poverty, flagrant Violations of human rights and human dignity, socio-economic disparity and social and political disintegration. The causes of conflict are like their effects: poverty, low economic growth, ethnic and cultural intolerance, and the mugging of democracy, social justice and human dignity.”
2008-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5997 (2008) · source
“We count on the continued support of the Peacebuilding Commission to provide critical assistance to my Government to develop and prepare a national aid policy and ensure greater coherence and coordination among our international partners in achieving our peacebuilding and national recovery efforts. To this end, I would like to express the sincere gratitude of my delegation to all our bilateral and multilateral partners for their targeted interventions in the implementation of programmes and institutional capacity-building. On behalf of my Government, I wish in particular to extend our profound appreciation to the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for their unwavering commitment to fostering peace, stability and development in Sierra Leone.”
2008-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5997 (2008) · source
“On 25 September, he asserted that Africa must increase food productivity and achieve food self-sufficiency, that massive investment in agriculture was the key to a long-term solution and that Sierra Leone was suitably positioned to benefit from such investment. For the Peacebuilding Commission's engagement with post-conflict societies to be meaningful, the principles of national ownership, coherence and coordination, particularly in the setting of priorities, should be the guide posts for cooperation between those countries, the United Nations and the international community. My Government is doing everything within its power to expedite the finalization of the second generation Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper.”
2008-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5997 (2008) · source
“We fully concur with the Secretary-General's appeal for support for the Peacebuilding Commission in order to establish and operationalize a capacity- building fund and a youth basket fund, to establish a national youth commission and to elaborate a comprehensive national youth policy. Concerned about the security implications of the scarcity and the rising price of food, His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, President of Sierra Leone, in his address to the sixty-third session of the General Assembly, reiterated his Government's appeal for agriculture to be urgently considered as a priority for collaboration with Sierra Leone.”
2008-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5997 (2008) · source
“The dilemma, however, is that, in comparative terms, while hundreds of millions of dollars are dedicated to peacekeeping efforts, the crucial beneficial measure of conflict prevention remains woefully underfunded. That phenomenon clearly begs for a serious rethinking of the international community's and the United Nations approach to the maintenance of international peace and security. Additional financial resources and technical assistance are key to the effective and meaningful implementation of the Cooperation Framework. Indeed, if we are to accelerate the process of helping countries emerging from conflict get on track for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, it is logical to provide them with much-needed support in their post-conflict reconstruction efforts.”
2008-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5997 (2008) · source
“In our experience, when the weapons of war go silent, post-conflict societies are more often than not left with the scars of massive devastation and the flight of their limited skilled work force. It is therefore necessary to continue to emphasize the enormous demand for human, technical and financial resources for post-conflict State building. In this regard, Sierra Leone is encouraged by the recent catalytic support provided by the Secretary- General from the Peace Building Fund to the Central African Republic, cote d'Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau to kick-start critical peacebuilding interventions in those countries. That effort clearly underscores the preventive approach Sierra Leone has since been advocating.”
2008-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5997 (2008) · source
“For instance, the Secretary-General's initial allocation in March 2007 of $35 million from the Peacebuilding Fund to Sierra Leone has been completely exhausted. I wish to reiterate our recent appeal to our partners, launched at High-Level Stakeholders Consultation in May, to scale up their assistance. That would be useful to expedite the implementation of the Sierra Leone Peacebuilding Cooperation Framework. The challenge for all of us is to sustain the fragile peace. Peacebuilding work cannot be successfully implemented without the much-needed resources to advance the process. These human and financial resources are key to building a lasting peace, establishing national reconciliation and combating poverty.”
2008-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5997 (2008) · source
“Similarly, the Peacebuilding Commission's engagement in Sierra Leone has had a positive impact on the Government's peacebuilding efforts. As a Government, we recognize the contribution of the quick-impact projects implemented within the key priority areas for cooperation. The range of bilateral and multilateral interventions targeted at supporting projects aimed at promoting democracy, good governance, justice and security reform, together with youth employment and energy sector initiatives, continues to show promising signs of consolidating peace in Sierra Leone. Despite these advances in the peacebuilding process in Sierra Leone, the problem of resource unpredictability remains a critical issue.”
2008-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5997 (2008) · source
“In this respect, we are constantly confronted with the need to ascertain the extent to which the Commission has been successful in garnering sustained international attention and the necessary strategic commitment to mobilize resources to implement the compacts with countries on the agenda of the Commission. As one of the pioneer beneficiaries, Sierra Leone has witnessed a significant evolution in United Nations peacebuilding in the very short time the Peacebuilding Commission has been at work. The evolution of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) into the United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) and now into the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) is evidence of the country's contribution to this endeavour.”
2008-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5997 (2008) · source
“By the same token, let me also congratulate and welcome the current Assistant Secretary-General, Ms. Jane Holl Lute, whose background and exceptional track record make her a worthy successor to take the Peacebuilding Support Office and United Nations peacebuilding endeavours to the next level. We deeply appreciate this debate because it provides yet another opportunity to take stock of the progress made by the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund in delivering on their mandate to consolidate peace in countries emerging from conflict by addressing critical gaps in their recovery efforts.”
2008-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5997 (2008) · source
“Let me warmly congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of October and to convey my delegation's sincere appreciation to you for organizing this debate on post-conflict peacebuilding. May I also assure you of my delegation's support for your successful conduct of the work of the Council throughout your tenure. My delegation also wishes to convey its gratitude for the work of Ambassador Takasu and for his comprehensive report. I would like to pay a special tribute to the former Assistant Secretary-General, Ms. Carolyn McAskie, for her significant contribution to making the Peacebuilding Commission a force for good. Indeed, the Peacebuilding Commission and the Fund undoubtedly required the experience and sterling organizational qualities of Ms. McAskie to survive its formative years.”
2008-10-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5997 (2008) · source