YouSaid · the spoken record

Polyanskiy

lines on the record: 2,335
first: 2018-01-31
most recent: 2023-12-22
sittings or episodes: 300
sources: un-security-council

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“Russia will continue its efforts in bilateral and other formats aimed at reviving direct dialogue between the Palestinians and Israelis. As with most of our colleagues, it is clear to us that the only way out of all of this spiralling collection of problems is through concerted international and regional efforts, with the United Nations and its Security Council playing a central role. We believe that the Quartet, whose functions have been endorsed by numerous Security Council resolutions, is still relevant and needed more than ever. Last week's vote on the Middle East bloc draft resolutions in the Fourth Committee clearly demonstrated the international community's growing support for the principles that constitute the basis for a settlement.”
2019-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8669 (2019) · source
“As far as we are concerned, the internationally recognized foundations for a settlement in the Middle East, including the relevant Security Council resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Madrid principles, remain unshakeable. Besides that, like our colleagues, we are concerned about the escalation around the Gaza Strip that has been accompanied by the launch of rockets into Israel and retaliatory shelling. We also need active efforts at the international level to improve the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. We are more than ever convinced that today it has become absolutely vital to take practical steps to extract the peace process from its dangerous impasse. First and foremost, the policies promoting Israeli settlement activity and the demolition of Palestinian property must cease.”
2019-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8669 (2019) · source
“In that context, we want to once again affirm that the Golan is unquestionably Syrian territory, occupied and then illegally annexed by Israel. Israel's rocket fire on Syria has intensified in the past few days and runs directly counter to the efforts to normalize the situation in the region. This kind of action is seriously worrying and abhorrent. We affirm the principled position reflected in resolution 2334 (2016), according to which Israel's establishment of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal force and is a violation of international law, as well as one of the main obstacles to achieving a two-State solution and ajust, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.”
2019-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8669 (2019) · source
“Two days ago, the United States took yet another step undermining the entire complex of agreements on the issue. It was announced that the United States authorities no longer consider Israel's construction of settlements in the West Bank a violation of international law. Furthermore, it was underscored that this was a recognition of the so-called realities on the ground. As far as we are concerned, such realities are unacceptable and unlawful. It is clear that this move will worsen an already tense situation in the efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Of a piece with that statement are the decisions of the United States Administration on Jerusalem and the illegitimate recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan, which are gross violations of international law and resolution 497 (1981) in particular.”
2019-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8669 (2019) · source
“Mr. Polyanskiy (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We thank Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, for his report on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. We would also like to thank Tania Hary for her briefing. We are regrettably compelled to note that over and over again when we discuss the situation in the Middle East in this Chamber, we have to talk about the deteriorating overall situation in the region. But instead of heeding the calls to consolidate international efforts to resolve long-standing and new crises, we see unilateral actions that are completely out of step with a logic of compromise and collective action. First and foremost, I mean the problem that is central to the whole region, the issue of the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”
2019-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8669 (2019) · source
“At the same time we can go into detail about the project for the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office sponsored by the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, which for a ninth year has been unable to begin investigating the facts of the large-scale removal of vital organs and other crimes committed by Kosovo militants. As for the International Criminal Court, one shameful decision about the refusal to investigate the coalition's crimes in Afghanistan, ostensibly in the interests of justice, is sufficient to show that it has forever parted company with its reputation. I am sure that our German colleagues are perfectly familiar with all of these facts. Frankly, therefore, their almost masochistic desire to hear them again and again is astounding.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668Resumption1 (2019) · source
“However, if we are talking about the present day, then everything that has happened in the past few years post-Nuremberg seems more by way of reprisals against various regimes or political opponents that someone does not care for. For example, the conclusion of the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was an attempt to alter reality based on previously established verdicts. Suffice it to point out how the ICTY prosecuted the Kosovo-Albanians' case. We promise to explain the whole thing to the Permanent Representative of Germany, Mr. Heusgen, at December's upcoming briefing on the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668Resumption1 (2019) · source
“I have definitely been put in a somewhat uncomfortable position, considering that on the eve of the seventy-fifth anniversary of our Organization it now falls to the representative of Russia to explain to the representative of Germany what the Nuremberg trials were and why they were a good thing. However, I will try to do it as briefly as possible. I want to affirm that we consider the Nuremberg trials to be a model ofinternationaljustice in punishing war criminals who had unleashed an aggressive, predatory war, especially on the territory of the Soviet Union. To be honest, it is true that I did not think that the purpose of our meeting was making an excursion into recent history.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668Resumption1 (2019) · source
“Mr. Polyanskiy (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): My colleagues informed me that in my absence Mr. Heusgen, our colleague from Germany, asked me some questions. I do not see him in the Chamber, but I hope that my responses will be conveyed to him. I will be very brief. By the way, Mr. President, this may be the result of the interaction that you have promoted here in the Chamber, but in my understanding, interactivity still implies making it clear that I should be asked questions when I am in the Chamber, not when I am at another event with the Secretary-General. That is, unless it is just from a desire to put one's interlocutor in an uncomfortable position.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668Resumption1 (2019) · source
“In conclusion, in connection with what I have said, I want to note that we believe that the work of international criminal justice institutions in the context of post-conflict reconciliation should not be considered the last word. The harm that might be done could be far more significant than the value it might add.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668 (2019) · source
“In practice, the job of the Gacaca courts was not just to see justice done but also to promote reconciliation within society by ensuring the widest possible participation of the population in the courts' activities, enabling ordinary people to publicly consider cases and hand down fair decisions. The concept of cooperation and active participation in court hearings has become part of the public consciousness. Proof of the Gacaca courts' effectiveness is the fact that in 10 years they considered some 2 million cases, at a cost 45 times less than what the ICTR spent in handling fewer than 100 cases during the 20 years of its existence. The results of the work of the Gacaca courts are a testament to the effectiveness of seeking African solutions to African problems.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668 (2019) · source
“If we look at the activities of the international tribunals generally, we can see that their relation to reconciliation processes in post-conflict societies is an exceedingly indirect one. Rwanda's experience is salutary in that regard. The establishment there at the national level of a system of local justice, in the form of semi-traditional Gacaca courts, played a significant role in post-conflict reconciliation efforts that emerged owing to the low level of effectiveness of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which considered only the cases of the main organizers of the 1994 genocide.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668 (2019) · source
“It is clear that attempts to blame one crime or another on peoples, Governments and States generally are fomenting tension and mutual mistrust in the lands of the former Yugoslavia, reviving long-standing problems and inter-ethnic strife in the region. Promoting reconciliation is therefore out of the question. We feel compelled to point out that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has followed a similar path. The cases referred to it by the Security Council are being considered in a way that is at variance with the goal of reconciliation, which worsens disagreements between the warring parties, something that is particularly evident in the ICC's Libyan dossier.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668 (2019) · source
“Regrettably, international judicial mechanisms often manifest patent double standards. For example, the work of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals can hardly be called a success story from the point of View of their contribution to the reconciliation process in the Balkans. The unjustified prevailing prosecutorial bias in the consideration of cases involving accused persons of Serbian origin was compounded by the lack of a real commitment to uncovering the myriad evils perpetrated by Kosovo- Albanian field commanders.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668 (2019) · source
“We are witnessing the settling of political scores with former opponents with the help of the organs of international justice here at the United Nations. We firmly believe that in each individual case it is essential to work to find the right balance between the interests of restoring peace and justice, however difficult that may be. In every case efforts should be made to strengthen national justice institutions. However, we believe that establishing the facts during trials and prosecuting those responsible, as well as acquitting the innocent, can make a real contribution to normalizing the situation and appeasing feelings of enmity and hostility among the parties to a conflict. But that is possible only when those processes are impartial and unpoliticized.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668 (2019) · source
“Furthermore, assistance from the international community in ensuring national reconciliation should be depoliticized and cannot become a way to impose ready-made solutions from outside. Attempts to support a given party to a conflict based on one's own interests only deepens divides and prevents healing and genuine reconciliation. With regard to this topic, we would like to go into more detail on the role of international justice and holding perpetrators to account in the context of reconciliation. Justice and reconciliation certainly do not always go hand in hand. Often the operations of international justice bodies lead to even greater escalation of differences within societies. That is currently a pressing issue in a number of States in various regions around the world.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668 (2019) · source
“The actions of the international community, including individual States, their alliances and the United Nations itself, should be aimed at assisting the peace efforts of actors within the States concerned. The United Nations in particular has all the necessary tools to help States achieve national reconciliation, through the good offices of the Secretary-General and his special envoys and special representatives, and the work of peacekeeping and special political missions and country teams. However, in our View, United Nations efforts should focus on cooperation with official Governments. Interaction with the various actors on the ground should take place only with the national authorities playing a coordinating role.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668 (2019) · source
“As the concept note (S/20l9/87l, annex) submitted for our consideration rightly points out, during post-conflict peacebuilding, including with regard to national reconciliation, it is important that both Government and society recognize their national ownership of lasting peace. That approach is enshrined in the 2016 twin resolutions on the review of the peacebuilding architecture (resolution 2282 (2016) and General Assembly resolution 70/262). And in particular, that means that the State bears the primary responsibility for maintaining the security of its people, while all sectors of society have to acknowledge their responsibility for supporting peace processes.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668 (2019) · source
“Mr. Polyanskiy (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We thank the Secretary-General and the other briefers for their assessments ofthe role ofreconciliation in maintaining international peace and security. Lasting national reconciliation is indeed a determining factor in the successful resolution of conflicts and the prevention of relapses into conflict. The achievement of peace agreements and lasting post- conflict reconstruction and development are possible only when long-term, mutually acceptable solutions are reached among the parties to a conflict. And the universal key to resolving domestic conflict is always, and only, comprehensive nationwide dialogue. As practice has shown, that is the only way to ensure a robust, lasting and viable solution, regardless of the State concerned.”
2019-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8668 (2019) · source
“In conclusion, I would like to express our significant concerns about the artificially created time pressure in the process of drafting the resolution. The result was that Council members were put in the difficult position of having to agree on an important text in a big hurry, while racing against the clock, despite the fact that it had undergone serious, substantive changes compared with last year's. My delegation made every effort to save the situation and preserve the consensus in support of the document, which is so essential for our Somali friends. We deeply regret that our suggestions were not heeded, and we hope that our British colleagues will draw the necessary conclusions so that the situation is not repeated.”
2019-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8665 (2019) · source
“We would like to point out that last year we in the Council lifted restrictions on Eritrea. The situation of the relations between Asmara and Djibouti does not pose a threat to international peace and security, and the settlement of outstanding issues between those two countries is a matter of bilateral diplomacy. We also regret the fact that the sponsor sought to overburden the document with human rights requirements. We want to emphasize once again that these issues do not come under the direct purview of either the Security Council or the Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia. There is a specific body for discussing them, and that is the Human Rights Council. We once again call for respecting the division of labour in the United Nations.”
2019-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8665 (2019) · source
“Mr. Polyanskiy (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): The Russian Federation was compelled to abstain in the voting on resolution 2498 (2019), extending the sanctions against Somalia. We agree that the situation in that country in the Horn of Africa remains tumultuous. We took an active part in the efforts to identify and clarify the provisions of the Somali arms embargo. We hope that this and other measures provided for in the resolution will help to normalize the situation and eradicate the terrorist threat posed principally by Al-Shabaab. However, we remain concerned about some of the resolution's wording. Specifically, we believe that including language on Djibouti and Eritrea in the text ofa Security Council document on the Somali sanctions regime is not justified.”
2019-11-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8665 (2019) · source
“Mr. Polyanskiy (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): I see that the representative of Germany still reads the New York Times. We long ago turned to more reliable sources of information and advise him to do the same. As we understand it, the board of inquiry is an internal mechanism of the United Nations. Its report will be presented to the Secretary-General and it is for him to decide what to do with it. There are corresponding procedures that the Secretary-General has to follow. For the rest of it, the representative of Germany can listen to our regular reports to the media, press conferences and so forth. He can rest assured that they are far more reliable than his sources.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“Its establishment and launch of its work, with the decisive assistance of the Astana format, are undeniable achievements for the Syrian people. We welcome the first round of inter-Syrian dialogue, which is aimed at defining the country's future. As the guarantor countries of the Astana process, Russia, Turkey and Iran are ready to continue to help the Syrian parties and Special Envoy Pedersen in the quest for a political solution to the Syrian conflict. We believe that the situation on the ground should not be allowed to influence the work of the Committee.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“In that regard, we urge all countries that are genuinely concerned about Syria's humanitarian welfare to join these and other humanitarian efforts and to deliver humanitarian assistance to all Syrians, without discrimination, politicization or preconditions. That includes not only post-conflict reconstruction projects but also lifting unilateral sanctions in the interest of normalizing Syrians' lives. In conclusion, I want to emphasize that despite various factors and spikes in tensions, the situation in Syria continues to return to normal, primarily as a result of the gradual restoration of increasing areas of territory to the control of the legitimate Government. One positive factor was the launch of Syria's Constitutional Committee in Geneva on 30 October.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“Mr. Polyanskiy (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): I am about to conclude, Madam President. Everything has got worse since a significant number of refugees from other camps in the north- east moved there. Half of the residents are women and children. It is high time to think about handing over the illegally occupied territory to the Syrian authorities in the interests of resolving the IDP problem. Mine clearance continues to be a pressing issue. We welcome the start of work on United Nations Mine Action Service projects in Syria. Russia is involved in demining in Syria both in a national capacity and through its contribution to the Mine Action Service.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“Unfortunately, we have seen that such activity is often artificially held up. With the assistance ofthe Government of Syria and Russia's Centre for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in the Syrian Arab Republic, together with the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, efforts are continuing to resettle people from the Rukban camp. However, owing to the efforts of the armed groups in the area to maintain their control there, that work has stalled. We hope that the problem of refugees and IDPs there will be resolved as soon as possible. As for the Al-Hol camp, the situation there continues to be disastrous owing to humanitarian agencies' limited access and to funding shortages.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“Russia, together with the Government of Syria, is taking steps to create the necessary conditions for the return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Almost 2 million Syrian citizens have now returned to their homes, of whom more than 1.3 million were internally displaced. A total of 914 educational and 212 medical institutions have been restored, and electricity, water supply and industrial facilities are also being built or restored, numbers that are irrefutable proof of the effectiveness of the measures taken by the Syrian authorities to create the necessary conditions for the voluntary, dignified and safe return of refugees. We call on international organizations, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other relevant humanitarian bodies, to step up their efforts to that end.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“We welcomethefactthatmistakeswereacknowledged-and we hope that they were unintentional - in relaying the coordinates and descriptions of alleged civilian facilities that when verified turned out to be bases and shelters for militants. Against that backdrop, we are pleased that OCHA intends to review the methodology for collecting the de-confliction mechanism data, which is a step in the right direction. We share the concerns expressed today about the danger of an increase in the terrorist threat in various parts of Syria that are not yet under Government control. We call on those who maintained or established prisons in north-eastern Syria not to shift the responsibility of preventing jihadists of every stripe from spreading throughout the region onto others.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“On 16 September we held a detailed press conference in which, based on irrefutable evidence, we pointed out that some of the most serious-sounding cases of alleged attacks on civilian targets in Idlib by the Russian and Syrian armed forces had actually turned out to be fake. However, as a number of our colleagues' statements today showed, that information was ignored. It is of course far more convenient to talk about the humanitarian problems in Syria without doing anything to save civilians from terrorists. For our part, we continue to work together with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) with the aim of resolving the humanitarian situation, including in the interests of making the de-confliction mechanism more accurate. We have frequently spoken about its existing problems.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“Whatever names these groups go by - ISIL, Jabhat Al-Nusra, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham - we want to once again warn against flirting with jihadists for short-term interests, whether by providing them with political cover or financial or material support, and especially by portraying them as so-called moderate radicals. Today, unfortunately, we once again heard accusations that the Syrian army and its allies conducted air strikes on civilian facilities in Idlib. As we learned from other media outlets, the source of that information was once again the infamous White Helmets. We have spoken in detail about the problem of the reliability of the information shovelled out by media outlets and regurgitated in our Security Council colleagues' statements.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“One of the heaviest attacks took place on 11 and 12 November, targeting Tal Turki, Madaya, Khwein Al-Kabir and other villages in southern Idlib. There was shelling of residential areas of Aleppo on 10 November in which a child was killed and dozens of other people injured. There are reports of executions, detentions and violent dispersals of demonstrations by ordinary people protesting the terrorists' control in Idlib, as Mr. Lowcock mentioned. In the silence about those crimes we see yet another attempt to divide terrorists into good ones and bad ones.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“Turning to the Idlib de-escalation zone, we once again heard nothing, or nothing clear, in members' statements about the main thing, which is that the area continues to be a hotbed of international terrorism, and that is precisely why Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), was hiding in Idlib province, while the so- called international coalition was even obliged to launch strikes in the area earlier. We can see that our colleagues are becoming increasingly convinced that it is controlled by terrorists who are utilizing the civilian population as human shields. At the same time, militants continue to engage in provocations and shell Government troops. Approximately 600 such attacks were recorded in October alone.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“Incidentally, the restoration to Syria of its oilfields would constitute a genuine contribution by the United States to the humanitarian assistance efforts for the people of Syria. Russia has been trying to rectify the situation to the best of its ability in order to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe and civilian deaths. The situation in north- eastern Syria has been brought under control thanks to the signing of a Russian-Turkish memorandum on 22 October in Sochi. Russian military police have begun joint patrols of the zone along the border, while Syrian Government troops have been sent to the agreed border posts and Kurdish self-defence units have withdrawn.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“To a significant degree, the root cause of the destabilization in the area beyond the Euphrates is its illegal occupation and the dangerous experiment in demographic engineering introduced there to spite the Syrian Government. Achieving strong, lasting stabilization in Syria as a whole is possible only if the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country is respected. Syria must be liberated from the illegitimate foreign military presence there as soon as possible, even if its oil resources, so important to our American colleagues, are at stake. They belong not to the United States but to the Syrian people, for whom the actions of the United States are simply plundering and pillaging.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“Mr. Polyanskiy (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): 1 would like to begin by thanking Under-Secretary-General Mark Lowcock for his comprehensive and informative briefing. We agree that we continue to see the most difficult humanitarian and military situation in the territories outside the control of the Syrian Government on the eastern bank of the Euphrates and in the Idlib de-escalation zone and the United States-occupied zone around Al-Tanf. Our colleagues have given a number of fair and critical assessments of the situation in north-eastern Syria. We want to point out that the issues in this area are not new and were not created by the Governments of Syria, Russia or Turkey.”
2019-11-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8664 (2019) · source
“Since 2000, the Centre has trained more than 1,600 Russian officers and 500 foreign police peacekeepers, including commanders, from more than 50 countries around the world. The group of women officers specially trained to participate in the police components of United Nations missions deserve particular attention. Approximately 40 women from Russia and a number of African countries have taken the course. We are also willing to send experts to participate in the work of specialized police groups in United Nations missions. We are interested in considering the participation of Russian police in such groups' projects, including working jointly with other countries.”
2019-11-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8661 (2019) · source
“We continue to comply strictly with our commitments undertaken at the United Nations Chiefs of Police summits, in accordance with which Russia has doubled the numbers of the police peacekeepers it contributes. Russian police are currently deployed in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Colombia, Kosovo and Cyprus. Almost 30 per cent of them are women. The number of women involved in police activity in Russia itselfis also steadily increasing. The United Nations-certified Peacekeeping Training Centre of Russia's Ministry of the Interior regularly graduates police peacekeepers, including foreigners, many of whom are women, to professional standards. It is pertinent to point out that more than 30 of the specialists among them are French speakers.”
2019-11-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8661 (2019) · source
“We believe it is important to broaden support for United Nations activities aimed at building the capacities of police peacekeepers among regional actors, including the African Union, and assisting them in maintaining regional peace and stability. As a police-contributing country, the Russian Federation has continued to increase its contribution to United Nations peacekeeping efforts by sending staff with the relevant skills to missions. Since 1992, more than 500 employees of Russia's internal affairs bodies have worked as police peacekeepers, and it is gratifying that United Nations representatives have frequently remarked on their high level of professionalism.”
2019-11-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8661 (2019) · source
“In that regard, we believe it is essential to maintain a constant dialogue between the Security Council, police-contributing countries and host Governments on every aspect of peacekeeping activities, including at the planning and mandate development stages. However, we do not believe it makes sense to allocate functions to the police that are not inherently theirs, such as those related to political or human rights issues, which could distract them from the tasks they specialize in and make their activities less effective generally. We believe firmly in the importance of strengthening cooperation with regional organizations, including for United Nations policing.”
2019-11-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8661 (2019) · source
“Attempts to apply a universal approach to reforms in the areas of law enforcement or the rule of law are unlikely to produce results or enjoy the support of populations, whatever their country. The effective fulfilment of police tasks requires appropriate logistical, technical and personnel support. Missions should improve their planning and management and avoid unnecessary costs and duplication of efforts. In the framework of these processes, is important to ensure that the Secretariat pays close attention to the opinions and recommendations of police-contributing countries. Attempts to promote different types of third- party initiatives or concepts that do not have the support of all States members of the General Assembly's Special Committee for Peacekeeping Operations are counterproductive.”
2019-11-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8661 (2019) · source
“It is important to ensure that their efforts help to build citizens' confidence in the institutions of power and create the preconditions for achieving national reconciliation and lasting peace. In providing that assistance, like all United Nations peacekeepers, police should adhere strictly to the Security Council's mandates and comply with the Charter of the United Nations and the basic principles of peacekeeping. The key to effectively implementing these tasks is establishing constructive relations with the host country. This process must be guided by the principle of national responsibility, full respect for the sovereignty of host countries and consideration of their individual requirements. It is extremely important to take a country's concrete national specifics into account.”
2019-11-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8661 (2019) · source
“They do this not only through traditional formats such as patrolling, surveillance and dealing those who violate public order, but also by building the capacity of national law-enforcement bodies in the countries where they are deployed and assisting with security-sector reform, thereby improving host countries' ability to tackle the challenges they encounter. More and more often, United Nations Police have to provide assistance in solving problems related to the fight against organized crime, the illegal drug trade, human trafficking and other security threats. They also serve as a liaison both between populations and the peacekeeping presence and between populations and host country Governments.”
2019-11-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8661 (2019) · source
“Mr. Polyanskiy (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We thank all of today's briefers for their assessments. We would also like to ask the Heads of the peacekeeping missions' police contingents to convey our thanks to all Blue Berets for their conscientious service and for carrying out the difficult task of maintaining peace and security. We pay tribute to their bravery. The importance of police peacekeepers in modern United Nations peacekeeping activities is beyond doubt. As one of the channels of peacekeeping efforts, police play a significant role in helping national authorities to protect civilians.”
2019-11-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8661 (2019) · source
“As an international development assistance donor, Russia provides support to African partners through bilateral and multilateral channels. Part of that work is carried out through earmarked contributions to international aid programmes for Africa. Just recently, my Government decided to increase the amount of its annual voluntary contributions to the WFP by an additional $10 million. Those funds will be directed to the WFP's funds for African assistance every year, and we are working on other measures as well.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“However, the prospects for complying with the provisions in the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan aimed at the formation of a transitional Government by the 12 November deadline are still uncertain. We hope that the parties to the conflict will make additional efforts to deal with the issue within the agreed time frame. We agree that the resolution of peace and security issues in the region should be supported by efforts to promote the socioeconomic development of its countries, and we value the coordinated work of United Nations bodies in that area. Economic development issues are an integral and high-priority component of our country's relations with the States of Africa, as was reaffirmed by the first Russia-Africa summit, held in Sochi in October.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“Given the difficult humanitarian situation, we intend to continue providing aid to Somalia and Somali refugees in neighbouring countries through earmarked contributions to the relevant World Food Programme (WFP) funds. We will also continue training Somali civilian personnel with funds from our federal budget. We welcome the normalization of the situation in the Sudan. A constitutional declaration has been signed, a Prime Minister elected and a transitional Government formed. The task now facing the international community is helping the country with its economic recovery. We support the Deputy Secretary-General's call for lifting the remaining unilateral restrictive measures on the Sudan. We note the positive developments in the situation in South Sudan.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“While we are aware that progress on their bilateral cooperation has stalled somewhat, the fact is that the resolution of that issue lies in sustained dialogue with the potential mediation of regional actors, foremost among them Ethiopia. On the whole, this issue no longer poses a threat to international peace and security, and we see no need for keeping it on the Security Council's agenda. The situation in Somalia continues to be troubled. The increased activity of the Al- Shabaab terrorist group in the centre and south of the country is particularly worrying. In our View, the principal mechanism for combating Al-Shabaab is still the African Union Mission in Somalia.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“The Horn of Africa is currently going through a critical period in its history in which differences between Governments are being dismantled and direct contacts between countries revived. The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize on 11 October to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia for his efforts in the peace settlement between Ethiopia and Eritrea and in the normalization of the situation in the region in general is a striking confirmation of the epoch-making nature of the developments in those countries. We also see the process of normalization in relations between Eritrea and Djibouti continuing. The situation in the border areas remains stable.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source
“Mr. Polyanskiy (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): I would like to begin by welcoming you to the presidency of the Security Council, Madam, and wishing you and your team every success this month. We are also grateful to our South African colleagues for their leadership of the work of the Council in October. We would like to thank today's briefers, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and Ms. Fatima Mohammed, Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations, for their information on the outcomes of the joint solidarity visit by representatives of the two organizations to the Horn of Africa. We consider such visits useful, as they fully reflect the firm commitment of the United Nations and African Union secretariats to forging united approaches to Africa's toughest problems.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8657 (2019) · source