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 hope very much that the actual conflict will be contained and lead to some kind of a peaceful arrangement, because the people there need it very much. There were a few specific questions about amnesty versus justice. I think many times we do advocate amnesty for those who are not war criminals. Justice, I believe, has to be put in order; but, at the same time we must take into consideration those who, because of their situations - draft evasion, for instance - perhaps were placed in an incriminating position. There are a lot of situations where we think amnesty would help solve the problem of lack of confidence. For example, in Kosovo, we believe that those who fled should be given amnesty if they go back. Just because they fled they should not be considered to be criminals. This is the kind of thing that we are advocating.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“I think there is something here - and I do not know whether it is a primary responsibility of the Security Council, but it does have security implications - regarding how post-conflict situations are dealt with. Going back to the question of how we can arouse public support for Africa, I believe conferences are very useful. I thought the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) was a very good first step. Right now I do not know if I can repeat a Kampala II. We have maintained close working relations with all the countries in the Great Lakes region, but I doubt very much that in the current situation they would be willing to sit together for any kind of post-conflict peace conference.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“But for the humanitarian agencies and the development agencies to be really working together, and for one being able to hand over to the other, the need for flows of development assistance resources should be re-examined, too, because it is usually of an "either/or" nature. The resource flow goes through Governments. We cannot hand over our operations until, theoretically speaking, Governments are strong enough to benefit from development assistance. It does not really work that way today. Therefore, I think this "in-between period" of fragile peace does not really move in the direction of better development efforts and better peace in that sense.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Here I think the issue of post- conflict activities became very real, because in today's world, in many places where conflicts are internal, peace is no longer a certainty. I think that traditionally in inter- State conflict you either had peace or war, but today between war and peace is a very blurred situation. Naturally, then, you have to deal with a situation in which more direction towards peace can be assured. There, the questions of education, community-building efforts and working with development agencies become very important. I believe the question of coordination was raised. I think multifaceted coordination is what is required here - first and foremost, between the humanitarian agencies and the development agencies.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“With regard to the countries in Africa, and especially in the Great Lakes region, we were able to have a conference in Kampala in May this year. The representatives of eight countries, for the most part Ministers of the Interior, came. There were three areas that we agreed upon. The first was that it is important to reinforce respect for refugee protection and humanitarian principles. The second point was that the refugees should not be a menace, undermining national security. Here again the issues of refugees and security are very much intertwined. The third point was to really help the countries. All the conference participants recognized that the peace they had attained was a very fragile peace. Fragile peace can be made less fragile given appropriate investment, attention and assistance to countries going through this process.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“The thing we can do is bring the reality of the fragility of peace and also the suffering of the people to the Council's attention so that it can make realistic decisions, taking into consideration the fate of the people. The representative of Gabon asked what we are doing about conferences. I think the Central American lesson - CIREFCA - was an important one. I think the 1996 effort of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries was also a realistic attempt to stabilize population movement. Streamlining and strengthening the legal provisions with regard to protecting refugees, managing population control and providing emergency capacity to the CIS countries have been very positive undertakings.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“That is a very tall order that we have: to try to help human beings survive, and the bottom line is that we have to help people survive. I think this is the bitter lesson we learned: we cannot return people to ideal conditions. But even if the conditions are less than ideal, we can help people survive, and they may be able to make a second choice later, when conditions improve. This is the reality that we must deal with. I personally would not be able to play a political role, but I think that from the point of View of helping people survive, I can raise issues and bring them to the Council's attention. This is what I am very much hoping to be able to do. There are other humanitarian organizations, non-governmental organizations, that are dealing with these problems.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“I think questions of ethnicity and nationality are relevant. And in Kivu the role of the flow of arms in contributing to displacement should not be overlooked. The Ambassador of France has asked me a very difficult question: was it good or bad that the multinational force was not deployed in 1996? All I can say is that it was an enormous disappointment for us, and that if there had been an active intervention at that time, maybe a lot of lives could have been saved. But these are the lessons that I think that the Security Council is in a position to learn, because there are all sorts of other pros and cons relating to these kinds of decisions. What can the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees do today in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Great Lakes region besides trying to help human beings survive?”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“It would certainly link our refugee-protection and refugee-return efforts with the developmental process. I would very much welcome an examination along those lines as well. Regarding the question of what is happening in Kivu today: recently there was a mission headed by the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in New York, in which we also participated, at the request of the people concerned in Kivu. We were asked to go and look into the humanitarian conditions. There is no doubt that there are tens of thousands of displaced people who could turn into refugees if they were allowed to cross borders. But currently the access is very difficult. I think that whether vigorous humanitarian assistance can be provided to this region will depend a lot on how the conflicts there are resolved.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“I think he was very much influenced by the experience of the Second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD II), which I would say was a development conference regarding Africa - a conference that, in its agenda, for the first time gave formal attention to the importance of governance and conflict prevention and resolution as a precondition to really launching development. I think this may be a very realistic approach that may exert some pressure for considering development in a different manner, not as if everything were certain and development could proceed along a peaceful path. Not only in Africa but in many places the lack of development is caused by a substantial lack of governance and by the need for conflict prevention and resolution. In this sense TICAD II is a very important starting point.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“What I wanted to raise in connection with the Sudan and Afghanistan is that these are situations that have continued intermittently for more than 20 years - 25 years in the case of the Sudan. I think there must be more room for efforts to make people suffer less and for a shorter period. This is what I am trying to encourage. I do not have any ingredients for a comprehensive approach, but I think some of the directions that the United Nations and the concerned countries are taking may be moving in the right direction. But these are the points that I wanted very much to raise in connection with the importance of intervention, standby mechanisms and comprehensive approaches. There was a question about how to arouse more political interest in Africa. That is a very big question. I think Ambassador Satoh asked this question.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“There is an ad hoc arrangement based on political and strategic possibilities, but I think there may be some things that can be put in place so that at least we know where to turn when the chips are down. I think in connection with these issues questions were also raised about why more innovative, comprehensive approaches are not employed. There have been many. I would say the approach of the International Conference on Central American Refugees (CIREFCA) was very innovative. It took longer, maybe, than we had wanted. But it was an attempt to promote refugee return, peacemaking and then development. This comprehensive approach could still serve as a good lesson if we try to look into the mechanisms that supported it. Maybe it will prove a quicker way of approaching some of the complex refugee problems.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Also, I think that the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in its consultations is looking into this, and the Southern African Development Community countries are also examining it. I think this is an area that might help prevent further complications of the kind that we saw in the Great Lakes region of Africa. If the separation had taken place earlier, I think some of the conflicts that followed in the region might have been, if not contained, considerably ameliorated. I think this is one thing that we have been working on as a preventive measure. The delegate of Costa Rica asked if the existing mechanisms were not sufficient. There are none.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“We learned this bitterly in many parts of the world, but especially recently in the Great Lakes region of Africa, where there was a mix of people in the refugee camps - innocent refugees with armed elements. We did our very best to try to separate them, but we could not manage to do so. I think this is a point that has been widely recognized by the Governments in the region as well. The separation of mixed people in refugee camps is a very important starting point, because we must maintain the neutrality and the civilian character of refugee camps if the refugees are to be protected. This is a starting point for our very serious enquiry. I think this has been given a lot of attention. I have support from the Governments in the region for the idea that this kind of mechanism has to be addressed and to be put into practice.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“I think that I am also in a position to say that, whether an intervention is being carried out unilaterally, multilaterally or through the Security Council, there are always consequences on human movement or displacement. In this area, I should like to make a strong plea for that aspect to be kept in mind in choosing the various modalities of intervention. Sometimes interventions are necessary in order to push the political negotiations, and that I accept. At the same time, the cost also has to be considered. Why do I now try to work with the Secretary-General and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations on the ladder of options? Because I think there has to be a better preventive measure that would simplify or prevent unnecessarily complicated and prolonged processes of human displacement.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“I appreciate very much the varied and very in-depth comments that were made by the members of the Security Council, and I should just like to respond to the questions that were directed to me. However, the questions too are very varied, and I do not know whether I can do justice to the very important issues that were raised, but I shall do my very best. First, there was a series of questions about the modalities of military intervention. I think the particular modalities of military intervention that are chosen are really up to the Security Council and to the political leaders of the various countries. I am not in a position to say, "I like this intervention better than the others". At the same time, what I could ask is to please think of the humanitarian consequences of particular modes of intervention.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Humanitarian challenges, more than ever, are closely linked to the Council's efforts in bringing unresolved conflicts to an end and in maintaining peace in countries and regions emerging from war. My Office is ready to play its role in dealing with the humanitarian aspects of these situations: helping refugees and other people displaced by war and assisting those who are no longer displaced, but who must rebuild their lives. In doing so, we can be successful only if Governments understand our problems and cooperate with us. I count on the Security Council to promote their vital support.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“A significant number of minority returns must therefore occur in 1999, and I welcome the commitment of the international community, expressed by the High Representative, to achieve a substantial breakthrough in this respect. The willingness of national and local authorities to restore intercommunal dialogue is indispensable, but so is a positive attitude by the people concerned. This is perhaps the greatest challenge of the return of refugees to situations of fragile peace, in Bosnia and elsewhere - and, I would add, of post-conflict situations in general: that peaceful coexistence be accepted by divided communities living together again, rather than simply be enforced upon them.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“When peace is negotiated, more attention must therefore be paid to creating conditions for the peaceful coexistence of divided communities. Rehabilitation and reconciliation activities are fundamental elements of peace-building and must be planned and implemented much sooner, while humanitarian agencies, such as my Office, concentrate on their areas of expertise - helping people return and be reintegrated in their communities. The example of Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, clearly shows that reconciliation is also a political process. The resolve of the international community to promote minority returns as an essential component of the Dayton Peace Accords should not be weakened by its parallel efforts in Kosovo. I had declared 1998 the year of minority returns, but this has been less successful than we hoped.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“We see this in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, where 1.8 million people remain uprooted and where minority returns continue to face serious political, administrative and security obstacles. We see it in Rwanda, where 25 per cent of the population are recent returnees and where - while humanitarian assistance dries up for lack of funds - development activities do not start, given the precarious political and security situation and the limited capacity of the Government. This may further weaken a very fragile peace. I am, of course, aware that the transition from war to peace is a very complex problem, much broader than issues of human displacement. The large-scale return of refugees and displaced people, however, is very often a key element of post-conflict situations.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“I do not want this to happen again - hence the importance of establishing concrete mechanisms soon, with well-defined procedures to activate them. As a user of such mechanisms - on behalf of refugees - I would like to be aware of which type of security support I can count upon in case of need. Predictability is crucial to the effectiveness of any security mechanism. Thirdly, I believe we must pay much more attention to post-conflict situations. If war has changed, so has peace. In our work in support of refugee repatriation, we often deal with people who have fled a conflict and have now returned to live with others who may have been on the opposite side of the same conflict. In current post-conflict situations, the return of refugees, necessary as it may be to the peace-building process, often complicates it.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“While we can continue to work on the "soft" options - and we are indeed already applying them in certain refugee situations, for example, in Kenya or Tanzania - and while multinational peacekeeping solutions require Security Council approval, I would like to focus the Council's attention on the "medium" options involving, for example, deployment of police or other supervisory forces in support of local law enforcement mechanisms. "Medium" options and subregional peacekeeping may be the most viable solutions in many situations, but they require the support and active involvement of Governments, so that standby arrangements can be put in place. In the past, UNHCR and its partners often faced intractable situations alone.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“In commenting on the report before the Council then, I said in July that our preferred approach was to develop a "ladder" of options: from the "soft" option of providing training and support for the building of national law enforcement capacity, to "medium" alternatives of deploying international civilian or police monitors, to the "hard" international peacekeeping solution - with a preference, however, for subregional arrangements. Together with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, we have developed a set of proposals. Let me express my strong hope that the continued interest of the Security Council in this issue will help turn proposals into concrete mechanisms.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Secondly, we must focus more concretely on the relationship between security problems and humanitarian situations. I am talking of insecurity affecting humanitarian operations as a whole - of refugees or returnees, of communities hosting or receiving them, as well as of international and national staff working with them. The Secretary-General's report to the Security Council on Africa clearly identified this problem as a real threat to peace and security. It recommended that my Office cooperate with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in drawing up proposals for the establishment of international mechanisms to assist Governments in maintaining the security and humanitarian nature of refugee camps and settlements.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Earlier this year, for example, we were asked to make contingency plans for a possible outflow from Iraq. In May, unrest in Indonesia prompted us to dispatch emergency-preparedness teams to neighbouring countries. Although in these cases a crisis was, fortunately, averted, we remain prepared in both regions. We also stand ready to provide training and advice to Governments and non-governmental agencies in countries prone to refugee influxes, as we did in South-East Asia. Building our emergency capacity has been one of my foremost priorities. I continue to attach the greatest importance to this aspect of our work, and, with the Council's help, I intend to maintain and improve our ability to prepare and respond to refugee emergencies.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“I am extremely concerned, for example, by the possibility of renewed conflict in the Horn of Africa, a region traditionally prone to large-scale population displacement, or in Central Asia, where efforts to build the local capacity to deal with refugee and migrant movements have not eliminated the risk of forced displacement. My request to the Council is that when it discusses ongoing or potential conflicts it not overlook the human displacement factor, which - as events have abundantly proved - is often an effect, but can also be a cause, of conflict. On our part, we shall continue to address refugee and returnee emergencies as promptly and effectively as possible, not only by deploying human and material resources to respond to actual crises, but also by improving preparedness measures and adapting them to new situations.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“I prefer to look ahead, and suggest a few issues on which we can move forward. I stress "we" because, although resolving conflicts is an eminently political task, and although my responsibilities are clearly limited to the humanitarian sphere, they can be carried out only with political support. Let me add that conflict-resolution efforts can in turn benefit from well- planned, timely and effective humanitarian action. I would like to indicate three areas on which we can focus together. First, the complexity of war and the fragility of peace in many parts of the world mean that new outflows of refugees, or movements of internally displaced people, can happen at any time.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“These efforts require more international support. On our side, we have established closer ties with ECOWAS. On the broader level, more substantive logistical and other material support must be provided to ECOMOG, whose presence continues to be necessary in Liberia and Sierra Leone. A well supported and truly multinational ECOMOG is indispensable to the peace and security of a region that has already had its share of Violence and refugees, and may provide a useful model for similar arrangements in other regions of Africa. I could speak of several other situations in which the absence or collapse of a stable peace makes it very difficult for UNHCR to seek solutions to refugee problems - which, I wish to remind the Council, is a fundamental component of my mandate. But I do not wish to limit this presentation to a list of problems.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“The return of refugees and internally displaced people must be an essential component of peace-building in all these countries; it must be well-planned and well-supported, and must include a reintegration component. The Sierra Leonean Government, in particular, must be encouraged to establish a dialogue between the affected communities. Without reconciliation, peace efforts will be fruitless. UNHCR stands ready to play its role in the repatriation of Sierra Leoneans and to complete the repatriation of Liberians. In order to promote return and repatriation, and indeed a durable peace in West Africa, countries in the region must also begin to closely consult among themselves. West African countries, through the harsh experiences of many conflicts, have been striving to build a regional capacity for conflict resolution.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Half a million Sierra Leonean refugees have put an enormous additional burden on countries that have generously given asylum to refugees for years, in spite of their limited resources. There are 350,000 refugees in Guinea alone. Liberia, a country emerging from years of war, hosts almost 90,000 Sierra Leonean refugees. Both in Sierra Leone and in Guinea-Bissau conflicts have ended thanks mostly to regional efforts. Peace must now be consolidated in both countries. This will be a particularly difficult exercise in Sierra Leone, where unprecedented levels of violence were reached during the conflict and where fighting continues in some border areas not yet under the full control of the Government and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monitoring Group (ECOMOG).”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“We should not forget that the conflict in the Congo has among its causes the catastrophic effects of the Rwandan refugee crisis. At the regional ministerial meeting on refugees that the Organization of African Unity and UNHCR jointly convened in Kampala in May, Central African States agreed to respect refugee protection and humanitarian principles, but insisted on the need to address the impact of large-scale population movements on the economy and the environment, but especially on national security. We must act before we reach a situation in which not only humanitarian principles, but also peace and security, are threatened again by population movements of a mixed nature. In West Africa this year the crises in Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“The efforts of the Southern African Development Community to stop the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo must be given stronger support and encouragement, with the aim of setting up a comprehensive and effective framework for peace in Central Africa. Forced population movements have plagued this region for decades and have been one of the main causes of insecurity in the last few years. From my perspective, therefore, a peace framework for Central Africa should ensure that ethnic and nationality problems are addressed as a matter of priority; otherwise, if ethnic tensions are allowed or even encouraged to simmer, people may flee again in massive numbers. In a region affected by several conflicts in the last few years, another issue that needs to be urgently addressed is the disarmament and demobilization of ex- combatants.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Two refugees were killed, and humanitarian workers were threatened. With the support of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic, 30 Government troops were flown to the site yesterday. This episode follows similar attacks on Sudanese refugee Villages in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sixty thousand refugees fled from this area. I am extremely concerned that we have no information about the majority of those who have disappeared. Given the complex, interrelated nature of these problems, the search for solutions must have a strong regional approach and address the issue of forced population movements.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“In the Central African Republic last week, after some Rwandans hosted in a refugee camp threatened to use Violence against the local police, the Government ordered the deportation of all Rwandans to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We are discussing with the authorities how to deal with this complex issue in a manner that is respectful of humanitarian principles but which takes into account the Government's security concerns. UNHCR, however, cannot assist in transporting people, and particularly those among them who are refugees, to a situation of conflict, where some of them may be recruited to fight. On the other hand, in a simultaneous but separate development, a camp hosting Sudanese refugees, also in the Central African Republic, has come under attack by armed groups from southern Sudan.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Because of the traditional link between war and displacement in this area, I am extremely worried by the regionalization of the war in Congo and by its proximity to other conflicts - Angola, for example, where another peace process is collapsing, and where hundreds of thousands of people have been recently displaced. Peace processes Within Burundi and Rwanda, themselves very difficult and painful exercises, are undoubtedly made more fragile by the Congolese conflict. In Rwanda, the Government has recently appealed for assistance to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people - many of whom are recent returnees - in the northwest, an area where insecurity is closely linked to events across the border with Congo.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Between 1993 and 1996, displacement problems were essentially refugee situations. In 1996 and 1997, the focus was on repatriation, particularly of Rwandan refugees. Today, refugee situations persist - the largest group being the 260,000 Burundi refugees still in Tanzania - but there is a growing mixture of refugee flows, internal displacement and repatriation movements. The lack of an immediate solution to the unresolved conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most worrying element in the Central African context. Although this war has produced relatively limited refugee outflows so far - a new group of about 20,000 Congolese has fled to Rwanda and Tanzania - further displacement on a large scale, and notably internal displacement, is a very real risk, already affecting North and South Kivu.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Let me turn to Africa, which offers the most dramatic examples of this difficulty. Some factors have directly contributed to the blocking of solutions to refugee problems in the continent: first, a trend towards increased violence against civilians, of which mutilations and killings by rebel forces in Sierra Leone have been the most horrifying example; secondly, a strong ethnic component in some conflicts, particularly in the Great Lakes region; and thirdly, the regionalization of military action. Because these trends are very evident, in different ways, in Central and West Africa, I will focus my presentation on those two regions. In Central Africa, war and human displacement have become so complex, and their ramifications and interrelations so wide, that I hesitate to refer simply to a "Great Lakes" crisis.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“If it is successful, I hope that the international involvement in Kosovo can become a useful precedent to be replicated in other situations. But let me be realistic. Decisive international involvement is not the norm today. Indeed, in most other situations where we have to deal with the humanitarian consequences of conflicts, we cannot count on the same level of organized political support as in Kosovo. Where peace efforts are insufficient or ineffective, the ability of humanitarian agencies to help refugees, returnees and other Victims of conflict is greatly diminished. I am thinking of Afghanistan, for example, or of southern Sudan. In these situations, it is very difficult to address the immediate humanitarian problems caused by actual population displacement, let alone contribute to the prevention of fresh population movements.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“From a humanitarian perspective, such a mechanism may also constitute a model framework within which to address problems of human displacement. In the past, I briefed the Security Council on the excruciating dilemmas we had to confront in Bosnia and the former eastern Zaire. The situation in Kosovo could have presented us with similar dilemmas. Working within the framework of a larger international involvement - with political support, in simple words - may avert this risk. In Kosovo, there is now an opportunity for humanitarian action not to unwittingly contribute to prolonging a conflict, but, as a component of a larger peace-building effort, to achieve its primary objective of protecting and assisting civilian Victims.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“UNHCR's role as lead humanitarian agency must remain clearly distinct from that of the verifiers. Theirs is a political mission. Our tasks, however, are closely related, and we are fully committed to ensuring our cooperation with the verifiers. We have established a close liaison with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and its verifiers as well as with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Air Verification Mission. We are also taking part in the training of the verifiers. If fully implemented, the mechanism of the international involvement in Kosovo will facilitate the return of refugees and displaced people and may help create favourable conditions for a lasting political settlement and the establishment of a durable peace.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“It is very important that monitoring the security and treatment of civilians not be limited to returnees, but apply to all those affected by the conflict. In addition to physical protection, there is also a need for legal guarantees; we are promoting the adoption of an amnesty to provide a critical further element of confidence. UNHCR has considerably strengthened its presence in Pristina and in three satellite offices. We have been able to deploy about 70 staff in Kosovo alone. Time is of the essence, considering that winter will make logistics very difficult in some areas. We are therefore concentrating on the main humanitarian priority, which is to help those without winter-proof shelter find it as soon as possible, preferably in their own homes. We estimate at 20,000 the number of houses to be rebuilt or repaired.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Given the fragility of the situation, we are not promoting repatriation for the time being, but will of course provide support, if necessary, to those voluntarily choosing repatriation. Security considerations remain overriding in the minds of all those affected by the conflict. There has been considerable withdrawal of police and military forces, but it is essential that further progress be made and that any presence of forces that can be an obstacle to return, or a potential threat thereafter, be withdrawn as a matter of priority. Because the situation is likely to remain fragile in the next few, crucial weeks, it is literally vital - I repeat, vital - that staff of the Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission and then of the Kosovo Verification Mission be deployed to the most critical locations as soon as possible.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“While international efforts could not prevent a major refugee crisis, which observers had predicted for years, in the last few weeks they have at least been able to contain the conflict, define minimum conditions to restore the security of civilians and establish a framework aimed at verifying compliance with such conditions. This has indeed encouraged almost all people displaced within Kosovo to return, often to find their homes destroyed and their property looted. Few people remain in the open. It is not likely, however, that any significant return will occur before spring 1999 from other countries, including Montenegro, Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which together host approximately 65,000 refugees from Kosovo. Of course, further returns are also based on the assumption that the ceasefire will hold.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“From our perspective, the increasingly blurred lines between war and peace and the necessity to reach out to Victims of forced displacement across those lines make the protection of refugees and returnees a more complex exercise than ever before. Nowhere in the last few months has my Office dealt with the direct relationship between conflict and displacement more than in Kosovo. When I briefed the Council in April, I expressed my concern about the risk of large-scale displacement of civilians within the province and across its borders.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“I therefore welcome the Council's recent discussions on the need to better ensure the protection of humanitarian operations. As I have said very often, the safety and security of humanitarian workers and of the people whom they protect and assist can be guaranteed only by broader political efforts. To have it recognized and discussed by the Security Council is therefore an important step in the right direction. Unfortunately, conflicts forcing civilians to flee are increasing, both in number and in intensity. This slows down and sometimes completely blocks solutions to refugee problems. Even when political settlements are reached and problems of displacement are resolved through voluntary return, the peace thus established can at best be described as fragile.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“Thank you for inviting me to address the Security Council. Since I last briefed the Council, in April, it has frequently dealt with crises causing humanitarian and refugee problems. While the intensification of such crises is worrying, I welcome the Council's attention and interest. In our work on behalf of refugees and other victims of forced displacement, we are increasingly involved in conflict situations or in situations immediately following the end of conflicts. We are also exposed to a great variety of security threats - Vincent Cochetel, the head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) sub-office in Vladikavkaz, in the Russian Federation, was kidnapped in January and has now spent more than nine months as a hostage.”
1998-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3942 (1998) · source
“There are of course other issues of interest to my Office in the report, to which I would briefly like to draw attention: the negative effect of sanctions on vulnerable groups, including returnees and internally displaced persons; the social and environmental effects of the presence of refugees and the importance of rehabilitation work in areas affected by massive human displacement; the need to address the continued gap between humanitarian assistance and the long-term reconstruction and development of war- torn societies; and, last but not least, the essential focus on civil society in African countries. The challenge more specifically is to develop grass-roots activities to promote community reconciliation in post-conflict situations, and ultimately to contribute to the prevention of further conflicts.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source
“Given the delicate and specific nature of any separation of refugees from criminals in a camp situation, my Office stands ready to help develop procedures and techniques for police and military forces to carry out this type of activity. It is essential also to define principles and decide on a division of work for dealing with those who will be separated and excluded from international protection.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source
“There are situations, however, in which building or supporting local capacity is inadequate to maintain the civilian character of camps. Separation of refugees from criminals can then become an important security requirement, and there may be no other option but to deploy international police or military forces. For such cases, I would like to express my strong support for the Secretary-General's call for the creation of an international mechanism to assist host Governments in maintaining the civilian character of camps. I hope that the Security Council will give concrete follow-up to this recommendation and will examine the possibility, for example, of creating a stand-by international force in support of humanitarian operations.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source
“My Office has been involved in this type of support in African countries, for example Kenya, for some years. At yet another level, capacity-building may involve training and even financial support for police forces. This is what my Office is currently doing in Tanzania, in refugee camps at the Burundian border. Let me remind the Council that in the former eastern Zaire this support went further, and included supervision by international officers and a very close operational relationship between UNHCR and military forces responsible for the maintenance of law and order in camps. While this arrangement did not ensure the separation of refugees from criminals, it did contribute to improving security, and should be considered when examining different options to maintain the civilian character of camps.”
1998-04-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3875Resumption1 (1998) · source