YouSaid · the spoken record

Ogata

lines on the record: 219
first: 1992-11-13
most recent: 2002-07-19
sittings or episodes: 7
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

“I think most of the solutions for refugee problems on a large scale take the form of repatriation, but there are many important local integration programmes too, and some resettlement programmes. So funding is a very important aspect of members' attention because, as several have said, consolidation of peace depends a lot on funding. Linking poverty issues in Africa with conflict resolution also requires some financial backing, and the linkage of humanitarian assistance to development procedure also has very important funding implications. So I think this is a very important area, especially since all the operational activities of the United Nations do depend on voluntary contribution. I would also like the Security Council to promote the funding aspect as a way to implement its peace initiatives.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“For the special programmes which cover the specific programmes for the Great Lakes region, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, the Horn of Africa and Angola, the response has barely reached 25 per cent. For the general programme we have received a 62 per cent response as of 13 July. We would really appreciate greater awareness of the importance of funding for African refugees. In Sierra Leone, Liberia and north-west Somalia, operations are on the brink of being paralysed because of the very, very limited funding that we have received. Funding is crucial to consolidating peace as well as to the care and maintenance of refugees in countries, whether of asylum or of origin, which have not come to a point that allows them to return.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“There was a question about how to get safe corridors and how to get assistance to refugees. This really depends on how much assurance we can get from the parties in conflict that this access will be respected. This is a point about which I appealed very strongly to President Kabila just two weeks ago. There were several specific questions that I think I should address. Regarding funding, I am very pleased that members have shown their great concern for this matter. Our total budget for Africa for 1999 is $302 million. This comprises $137 million for the general annual programme, for which we get funds and allocate them from our side, and $165 million for special programmes, that is, country-specific appeals.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“This has not necessarily always been easy; however, we have good working relations, especially last year, when the OAU and UNHCR hosted the Kampala meeting in May. We felt that progress was made, at least on the question of which way to go - that is, protection of refugees, refugee and humanitarian principles to be observed, and how to ensure that national security is not jeopardized by the presence of refugees. This is a question that still lingers. However, the immediate follow-up to the Kampala meeting was made difficult especially by the resumption of conflict in the Congo since August. This is why the ceasefire is a very important step from my point of View. It may be a way to get greater support for enforcing a ceasefire in such a way that the basic objectives of the Kampala meeting can be really attained.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“What I am trying to say today in the African context is that, yes, there is some possibility for there to be a ceasefire and peace. I think it is up to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and also to the United Nations to come up with back-up systems. How can you really force the peace that is looming? This is where I would follow and expect the Council's input. With the OAU we have had very close working relations, especially as this is the thirtieth anniversary of the OAU Refugee Convention. And it is in this spirit that we have worked closely with the OAU, trying to make sure that international protection is given to refugees in Africa and that adequate assistance is given to them.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“When it comes to the question of the "hard" option - that is, how much we rely on international peacekeeping forces and to what extent can we quickly bring in international police contingents, be it in Kosovo or in many other areas that are coming up in Africa - I would really like to seek the Council's very positive and imaginative ideas and action. As regards regional peacekeeping forces, we have entered into much greater consultation with the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), trying to bring some kind of a humanitarian component to their operations. I do not know how the ECOMOG forces are going to fare in the future, but I think that it is extremely important for there to be regional peacekeeping forces with which we can link up and for us to have more input into humanitarian aspects.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“We have done that in Kenya, and also in Tanzania, giving equipment, radios, vehicles and also some support - incentives - to the police so that at least the refugee camps themselves will be free of armed activities and military training. That is one concrete thing that we have done. I think we have also placed some liaison officers. We did this during the crisis in Zaire. We had liaison officers in Zaire to supervise the training of some of the law-and- order maintenance forces. Also we have put a liaison officer in Tanzania. And I think here we would like to get more support from donors. I think there is room for improvement, because there is a common understanding that we should maintain the civilian character of all refugee camps.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“We have been following up very closely with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. We have done the study. There are certain options that we ourselves, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees can do; we call them the soft options. They range from trying to set up camps away from the borders, to having assistance and distribution systems that are as fair and as transparent as possible, to trying to keep the camps civilian in character. This is the most difficult challenge, but I think that in the case of situations such as those in Guinea or in Albania we tried our very best to maintain the civilian character of camps, preventing arms or armed elements from coming in. As to the "medium" options, what exactly have we done? We have taken steps to help train local police.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“Let me start by thanking the members of the Security Council for their interest in and support of the kind of work my Office and my colleagues, especially in the field, are doing. I think that if I relay the Council's interest, questions and observations, these people will be very much encouraged. I think it is an enormously encouraging thing to know how much the Security Council itself looks at humanitarian issues as an extension of its own responsibilities and interests. Refugees are mostly victims of conflicts of the kind that I very much expect the Security Council to be in a position to solve. Given the limited time, I shall just say a few things on the general question of security, on follow-up to Security Council resolution 1208 (1998) and on the ladder of options.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“And while I can only appeal to the Council, and to Governments, to be as balanced as possible in supporting peace endeavours, I can certainly affirm that my Office will continue to fulfil its own responsibilities towards all those compelled to flee their homes, and especially those who do so away from the limelight of international attention.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“Just as undeniably, this has not been true - and continues not to be true - in other situations, including some of those of which I have spoken today. But let me go back to the point I made at the beginning. The positive indications of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit in Algiers may signal - will signal, I hope - a renewed commitment by African Governments to take their future, and the future of their people, more resolutely into their own hands and to address and resolve their problems, including refugee problems, through negotiations rather than force. This is a fundamental precondition for international support. On the other hand, we who shoulder global and not just regional responsibilities should do all that is in our power to back efforts to resolve conflicts, in Africa and in other parts of the world.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“I know that many here have also been concerned by this complex and difficult problem. Emergencies, of course, attract more attention than other programmes, and the Kosovo crisis has been a very serious and very large refugee emergency. Crises in Africa at certain times have also received heightened attention and financial support. Think of the Horn in the 1980s, or the Great Lakes region a few years ago. It is true, however, that Kosovo has been the focus of unprecedented political attention and material support by the international community, and by Western countries in particular. Undeniably, proximity, strategic interest and extraordinary media focus have played a key role in determining the quality and level of response.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“The limited resources of humanitarian agencies will allow people to rebuild part of their houses, but this will not be sufficient in the harsh Balkan winter. Let me add also that reconstruction in Kosovo cannot be delinked from efforts to support and revitalize the economy in South-Eastern Europe as a whole, and especially in countries that have been affected by large movements of refugees. I hope that the upcoming meetings in Brussels and Sarajevo will translate the commitment of Governments into concrete action. I would like to conclude by referring to a problem that has received much attention in the last few months. I am aware that there is a perception of disparity in the assistance given, for example, to displaced persons from Kosovo, as opposed to that given to African refugees.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“There is a need to promote reconciliation programmes, systematically and professionally, through media, education and social work. But there is an even more pressing need to rebuild the law enforcement capacity by completing the deployment of KFOR, deploying international police forces in sufficient numbers, training local police forces, restoring the judicial system, and so on. Another area of concern is reconstruction. People are rebuilding their homes, and humanitarian agencies, under UNHCR's lead responsibility, are giving them help. I am concerned, however, that if a more systematic reconstruction programme does not begin in the next few weeks, the larger rehabilitation work - electricity, water, roads, commercial areas - will not make any significant progress before winter.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“The return of ethnic Albanians has, most unfortunately, coincided with the expulsion, harassment and, in some cases, the killing of people of non-Albanian ethnicity, particularly Serbs and Romas. The massacre of 14 Serbs last week was the latest, and most worrying, such episode. A large part of the Serbian population has already fled Kosovo, and about 170,000 Serbs from the province are displaced in other parts of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, both in Serbia and Montenegro. The international community, which has rightly provided support to the cause of persecuted and expelled Albanians, cannot and must not tolerate that the end of one refugee crisis overlaps with the beginning of another. Much as feelings can be understood, retaliation and revenge must not be allowed to prevail.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“Since the end of hostilities and the deployment of international forces in Kosovo, about 730,000 people have returned home, including some from countries as far as Western Europe and the United States, in one of the most spectacular reverse population movements in contemporary history. Let me add that I consider this repatriation - which, in the overwhelming majority of cases, was organized by refugees themselves - a very, very welcome development and a success achieved by the international community. To be reconstructed, Kosovo needs its own people. The faster they return, the easier it will be to rebuild the province. There are, however, elements of serious concern.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“While I fully understand that humanitarian assistance is much freer from political constraints than development cooperation - and it should be so - I would nevertheless urge Governments not to forget people when planning and implementing longer-term aid programmes. Often, by giving people a chance, whatever the political and economic context, we can start processes leading to the democratization of institutions and ultimately to the peace and stability of countries and regions. I do not want to conclude this briefing without at least a few words on the situation in Kosovo, which continues to be a major challenge for my Office and for the international community. When I last briefed the Council, ethnic Albanian refugees were still pouring out of the province.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“This is a remarkable result, I believe, but a humanitarian agency cannot go beyond this type of work on such a scale. Who will sustain these accomplishments? Who will provide support to the people and the Government? I agree with those who say that much remains to be done in terms of democratization, power-sharing and reconciliation in Rwanda. Efforts, however, are being made. I was encouraged by a much greater emphasis on reconciliation, for example, in addition to the focus on justice. Attempts to bring people together are now systematic, widespread and very professional. Such efforts must be supported. I am concerned that in these and other situations so - for example, Liberia, which I mentioned earlier - the fragility of Governments and their weak implementation capacity discourage the provision of development resources.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“Most refugees have returned: returnees make up about 25 per cent of the entire population. The phase of humanitarian assistance - relatively well supported by donors - has been followed by much more timid inputs by development agencies and bilateral actors. Resources are simply not forthcoming substantially enough for peace to be consolidated. This is dangerous and, in my opinion, potentially very destabilizing. In the Great Lakes region, as in most parts of Africa, there is a close link between poverty, conflict and the forced displacement of people. I was proud to visit areas in which UNHCR has done substantial work to support the reintegration of 2 million returnees, including the construction or rehabilitation of 100,000 houses and of communal facilities.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“We at UNHCR deal every day in the field with millions of men, women and children who flee from war. We understand very well the importance of stopping conflicts, which is what the Lome and Lusaka peace negotiations aim to do. But we also help refugees return home after conflicts have ended, often to situations of very fragile peace, often to communities that war has left divided and torn. We therefore constantly insist on the importance of consolidating peace after peace has been signed, and of avoiding a dangerous gap between the provision of humanitarian assistance and that of longer- term development cooperation. I have repeated this point so many times that I risk sounding like a broken record. However - and again, I wish to refer to my recent trips to Africa - such situations of gap continue to exist. Take the example of Rwanda.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“I would like to draw the Council's attention in particular to the importance of the actual implementation of the security provisions of these agreements, as rapidly as possible and in the most appropriate form, be it through the direct deployment of peacekeepers or observers, or through the provision of logistical support to forces deployed by other countries. African leaders have taken political initiatives to address these conflicts. Throughout my recent travels In Africa, I sensed that there is now a strong expectation for the United Nations to provide more support and to be more actively involved in keeping and building peace. Lusaka and Lome are windows of opportunity. They may not remain open for long. Let us seize these opportunities HOW.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“Furthermore, the presence of armed elements, some of them closely related to refugee groups, and the uncontrolled flow of heavy and light weapons are both causes and effects of the intertwined wars affecting Central Africa. Once more, I would like to urge the Security Council to examine these issues and to take concrete action to address them. In both Central and West Africa, UNHCR continues its work. Let me, however, repeat once more my key message of today. If refugee problems in these two subregions are to be resolved in a durable fashion, it is essential that support be provided to the political agreements.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“UNHCR has already dispatched an emergency team to Libreville and stands ready to provide support to the authorities to protect and assist refugees. I fully realize the burden that these refugees place on the country's resources, but wish to appeal here to the Government of Gabon to provide asylum to those fleeing the war. It is very urgent, however, that the international community take a much stronger stance with respect to the Congolese conflict and do all that is in its power to put an end to the senseless Violence of which thousands of civilians are the Victims. One striking feature of all these conflicts is that they are closely interlinked. The Lusaka peace process addresses only one of them, but the central position of the Democratic Republic of the Congo makes the process crucial to peace in the entire subregion.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“And finally, I would particularly like to draw the attention of the Security Council to the Violent, and almost forgotten, civil war in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville). Thousands of inhabitants of Brazzaville and of neighbouring areas, caught in the fighting between government and rebel forces, have been compelled to flee in the past few months, and have been able to return home only by transiting through the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Among them there are thousands of victims of frightening acts of violence, including torture and rape. In the last few days, 30,000 new refugees have arrived in Gabon. This is a new, worrying development that indicates how destabilizing this war may become for the entire region, especially given its proximity to other conflicts.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“I am thinking of the situation in Western Sahara, where UNHCR continues to make preparations for repatriation in March next year, but where the likelihood of the return of refugees depends entirely on the progress of political negotiations. I am referring as well to the Angolan conflict, which is pushing thousands of people to flee their homes. I visited an Angolan refugee camp in the Bas-Congo province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and observed that no return can be possible under the present circumstances. I am referring also to the war in southern Sudan, one of the oldest and most violent conflicts in the world, the effects of which, in terms both of refugee movements and of general insecurity, are widely felt in the region.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“In asking the Council to encourage an early and positive conclusion of the Arusha peace process, I would also like to request that refugee issues be addressed from a humanitarian point of View, in respect of international norms. On our side, we shall continue to support Tanzania in ensuring that refugee camps maintain their civilian character. And we stand ready to resume voluntary repatriation and to support the reintegration of Burundian refugees in their country. Before concluding on Central Africa, I would like to draw the Council's attention to several other situations of conflict and displacement which currently offer little or no hope for early solutions and where UNHCR must therefore continue to provide care and maintenance support, and emergency assistance in the case of new refugee outflows.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“This scheme is now under discussion with the authorities in Brazzaville. Prospects for a solution to the plight of Burundian refugees in Tanzania, on the other hand, appear less promising. Peace talks in Arusha between the Government of Burundi and its opponents continue. Meanwhile, however, refugee repatriation movements are now limited to a few individuals per day. I am very concerned by this situation, which exposes refugees, and the local population, to a situation of serious tension and insecurity at the border between Burundi and Tanzania; it is a situation that can be resolved only when refugees return home voluntarily.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“First, from offices in Bukavu and Goma, UNHCR will resume support for the repatriation of Rwandans still in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We have received assurances from rebel authorities controlling these areas that we shall be granted access to those requesting repatriation, and that the voluntary character of return will be respected. I informed President Bizimungu of Rwanda, who encourages and supports our role in this operation. I also informed President Kabila, who did not object to UNHCR's involvement. Secondly, we shall offer Rwandans in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) the possibility either of repatriating or of settling in areas in the north of their host country, where they can receive a one-time assistance package to facilitate local integration.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“While the Lusaka peace process continues, UNHCR will therefore concentrate on trying to address, if not resolve, individual situations of displacement. The most pressing issue is to tackle the problem of Rwandans who have not yet returned after fleeing the country in the aftermath of genocide, and particularly of the largest groups, which are in the two Congos. A solution to this problem has been made easier by improvements in the security and internal stability of Rwanda. On the other hand, the presence of armed elements among bona fide refugees continues to be a serious problem in several countries, with security implications affecting and slowing down the peace process. In this respect I am pleased to report that during my recent trip to the subregion I took two key decisions.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“I therefore wish to renew my appeal to all parties to the conflict to allow the delivery of aid to refugees, displaced people and all civilians in need. The situation in the entire Central African subregion has shifted from one of massive refugee movements to one of multiple, interrelated conflicts and smaller human displacement crises. However, the potential for larger and more dramatic displacement exists. Refugees are often manipulated by States and rebel groups alike. At the present juncture, it is very difficult to pursue a comprehensive effort to enforce refugee protection principles with due consideration for the security concerns of States, as we had promoted at the Kampala regional meeting on refugee issues in May 1998.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“Visiting the country last month, I was shocked by the deteriorating living conditions of the Congolese population at large. The informal economy, once the backbone of this resilient country, has all but collapsed. Poverty is rampant, almost 150,000 refugees have fled, and there are countless internally displaced people. In Algiers, I met President Kabila and asked him to take the initiative in granting humanitarian agencies access to all those in need. I was encouraged by his positive reply. Humanitarian assistance is needed to bring relief to hundreds of thousands of suffering people, but it can also contribute to the peace process and be a first step towards a much needed stabilization of the country and of the subregion.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“It is not only immediately important as a positive step towards resolving conflict in Central Africa, it is also an encouraging indication that peace in Africa can be attained when African leaders are committed to work together towards this goal, in spite of all differences and difficulties. As with the Lome agreement, however, it is now imperative that the Lusaka agreement receive strong, clear, international support, so that all parties to the conflict adhere to it and so that its rapid implementation can become a reality. In spite of the progress made, war has not ended: witness the recent influx into the Central African Republic of thousands of Congolese fleeing fresh fighting in the Equateur province, a very destabilizing situation in this fragile area. The Democratic Republic of the Congo desperately needs peace.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“I would also like to take this opportunity to make a special appeal to help those - thousands, unfortunately - who have suffered physical amputations. My visit to a centre for the rehabilitation of amputees from Sierra Leone, last February in Guinea, was one of the most shocking experiences of my eight years as High Commissioner. Their courageous efforts to learn again to walk, eat and write deserve special attention and sustained support. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Lusaka agreement, although not yet signed by all parties, is a welcome development for which Governments in the region should be commended.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“Peace is at hand, but, especially seen from the vantage point of hundreds of villages, it is still exposed to Violence, pillaging and retaliation and is very fragile. From the humanitarian perspective, resources will soon be needed to support the return and reintegration of refugees and internally displaced people in their communities of origin. This is of paramount importance because the violence of the Sierra Leonean conflict has created deep divisions and mistrust. As we see in other situations, the longer people stay away from their communities, the more difficult and complex reconciliation becomes. Repatriation will take time, but we must, of course, get prepared for it as quickly as possible, while continuing to assist refugees and local communities hosting them in countries of asylum.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“Most of them have taken refuge in Guinea and Liberia, which, in spite of their very limited resources, have generously provided asylum to this large refugee population, a true example to the international community. Sierra Leonean refugees, as has been frequently reported to the Council, have suffered unspeakable Violence during the conflict. I have rarely seen consequences of physical and psychological violence as horrifying as those affecting civilians who survived killings and were lefttraumatized by beatings, amputations and rape. My first key message here today is therefore a plea for all necessary resources to be provided to Sierra Leone and Governments in the subregion so that the Lome agreement can be implemented, and implemented very rapidly.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“In Liberia, where 280,000 refugees have returned home and where we hope to finish the repatriation of the remaining quarter of a million by mid-year 2000, recent episodes of insecurity betray internal tensions and the fragility of peace. In February, when I Visited Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d'lvoire, hopes for a settlement in Sierra Leone were still very fragile. I therefore welcome the recent Lorne agreement, although the road to peace is undoubtedly going to be long and difficult. The end of the civil war in Sierra Leone may bring about a positive solution to the worst current refugee problem in Africa, the plight of over half a million people - about 10 per cent of the entire Sierra Leonean population - who have fled violence and fighting in various waves in the last few years.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“As we speak, people are fleeing the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to Gabon. There are older, unresolved conflict situations which produced refugees many years ago: more than 370,000 Sudanese are still refugees in Uganda and Ethiopia; 120,000 Saharan refugees are still in camps in Algeria and other countries; and there are 150,000 Angolan refugees, mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tens of thousands of these are actually newly arrived people fleeing fresh fighting in their country. In both Sudan and Angola, as well as in war-torn areas on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, there are also tens of thousands of internally displaced people.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“From UNHCR's perspective, both agreements may be rare coincidences of opportunities which, if properly and quickly seized by the international community, may lead to the resolution of some of the worst refugee problems in Africa. There are about 6 million people "of concern" to my Office on the continent. If you analyse a "map of human displacement", you will clearly see that people in flight are invariably an indicator of situations of poverty or conflict or a combination of both. The main refugee groups caused by recent crises continue to be the over half a million Sierra Leoneans in West Africa, the 260,000 Burundians in Tanzania and the 150,000 people who have fled conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to various countries.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“We should be realistic: there will be delays and setbacks in the advancement towards peace and prosperity, but for the first time in years I felt that the election of some remarkable leaders, their presence at the summit and developments on the ground marked a hope for progress. From the perspective of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), these positive steps towards peace raise hopes that many refugees will eventually return home. The challenge before us is to act rapidly to support the implementation of political agreements. Since the signature of the initial ceasefire agreement on 24 May, for example, hostilities have not resumed in Sierra Leone.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“It was a powerful symbol that these two key African countries are ready to provide an essential contribution to peace, democratization and economic development throughout the continent. This year's host country for the summit, Algeria, may also be auspiciously emerging from nine years of internal instability under the direction of a new president. Another remarkable feature of the summit was that it took place at the same time as a ceasefire agreement on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a peace agreement between the Government and rebel forces in Sierra Leone were being signed.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“As the head of an office which spends over 40 per cent of its resources in Africa, and having personally Visited West Africa in February and Central Africa last month, I shall provide the Council with a first-hand perspective on problems of human displacement on the continent. My impressions of the last summit of the Organization of African Unity, which I attended in Algiers two weeks ago, are a good starting point. I found this year's summit, the seventh such gathering to which I have been invited as observer, particularly encouraging. Like Secretary-General Kofi Annan, I sensed a real spirit of openness and noted positive signs that existing problems could be solved. In attendance were the newly, democratically elected Presidents of South Africa and Nigeria.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“I, too, would like to start by expressing my profound sorrow and condolences on the passing of the late King of Morocco, King Hassan II. We had many direct and indirect contacts with His Majesty over the Western Sahara issue. I wanted to start my statement by expressing my sorrow. I am grateful, as always, Mr. President, for your interest and support. On 5 May, when at the peak of the crisis in the Balkans I last briefed the Council, I spoke of the plight of refugees from Kosovo. At that time, I was requested also to provide a briefing on other humanitarian situations, particularly in Africa. Today, therefore, I will focus on that continent, and especially on Central and West Africa, where there have been political and security developments with important humanitarian implications.”
1999-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4025 (1999) · source
“Short of that, however, humanitarian workers are the ones there and they are the ones who are suffering more casualties today than, I am afraid to say, some of the military people. I think it is my duty, on behalf of all my humanitarian colleagues, to raise this issue. Perhaps the Security Council or the General Assembly could put it on their own agendas. It should come out at the forefront of the United Nations concerns. Preparedness, yes. We have preparedness everywhere in the world. We upgrade our preparedness if there is an imminent possibility of refugee outflow and we try to make sure our preparedness is up to date. I do not know if I have satisfied the questions that were raised, but I will be happy to respond on an individual basis.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“However, I think the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, which is still awaiting ratification, should be ratified quickly. At least, it does show that the Government considers this an important issue. Beyond that, I hope there will be other resolutions, strong resolutions, with implementing clauses to protect humanitarian workers. Humanitarian workers are of great concern to me, but they are the ones who are protecting the victims, too, and it should be looked at in that connection. Humanitarian workers are the ones who are at the forefront of helping the victims. Perhaps the Council would like to go back to the original question about what kind of interventions at the military front it would provide.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“I believe that the one issue I should really address before ending is that of staff security. I am very grateful to the Permanent Representative of Bahrain for having raised this issue, for it is a very real one. Humanitarian workers have to be protected by conventions and by resolutions, but on the ground they have to protect themselves. I think the backing of the international community is important. They can refer to the resolutions and to the conventions, but in reality what happens is that they try to work with the local forces or authorities who are there to negotiate. These are checkpoints you go through by negotiation. This is the reality of all operations. We did it through Bosnia and through what was Zaire. We have done it in Kosovo, and we will have to continue doing it.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“If international will can be mobilized to make this possible, we will be the first ones to be pleased. At the same time, the reasons for the slow return have been set out very clearly in our strategy paper that we presented to the Peace Implementation Council in the spring. Many political and administrative measures are required on the part of the Governments and the local people. Suspicion and the public attitude are very real issues that can be overcome with time and with sustained efforts. But this cannot be enforced. You cannot say, "You, return!" and think that people will return. We find ourselves between this reality and a very strong desire to see a more active return. I am very hopeful that this target of 120,000 will become a reality next year.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Some 20,000 houses need to be rebuilt or repaired, but we are now carrying out a Village-by- village survey in every municipality of Kosovo, so that we will know exactly how many houses can be repaired, how many have to be reconstructed, how many people are back and so forth. I hope we can share these results later this week. I hope that the United Nations will be able to provide a helping hand on the landmine issue. There is the larger issue of whether Kosovo is not distracting attention from other parts of Bosnia, from Serbia - and I have a feeling it may be. We are trying very hard to maintain the importance of Bosnia, where minority return this year was below what we had expected. We welcome a high target for minority return next year: 120,000.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“If you ask me whether I am satisfied with the conditions of internally displaced persons - refugee conditions - I think they could be better; but if you ask me whether I am happier now than I was three weeks ago, I would say "yes". People are beginning to come back. They will stay home if they feel that there is a chance of having portions of their houses winterized, or that at least they have shelter. If they feel that the police are not there to harass them and so on, they will come back. Many of them have come back. We estimate that most of the people are now back either in their Villages or in their friends' or relatives' homes.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“As for Tanzania, the things we were doing in trying to help the Tanzanians we have done to some extent in Kenya, too, in terms of enhancing local security. This is an attempt to ensure the civilian character of the refugee camps, and in Tanzania UNHCR, in close cooperation with the authorities, has put in place some security arrangements. That covers 278 policemen who patrol the refugee camps in the Kagera and Kigoma regions. We provide them with communications equipment, vehicles and accommodation facilities in the camp area. We are going to do some more training of these people. We are now assessing how far we have come and seeing whether this kind of thing is useful or not. There were a series of questions on Kosovo.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“We do coordinate with human rights observers and monitors, especially when they are in the field. We have to coordinate, and we very much hope that they will be actively on the ground in many places. There were a few questions on the tripartite mechanism in Tanzania. The mechanism is there, and I think it provided a useful beginning in trying to promote the return of Burundi refugees from Tanzania back to Burundi. We had several meetings on this, but whether it could really turn into a mechanism that can arrange for repatriation would depend a great deal on the state of suspicion and conflict in the region. So, I would say it is a useful mechanism, and I want to keep it there. But it is not really solving the situation right now.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source