YouSaid · the spoken record

Power/Ms. Sison

lines on the record
29
first
2015-12-21
most recent
2015-12-22
sittings or episodes
2
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “He was buried by his relatives, as his father could not bear to do it himself. In its profound tragedy, Fareed's story is the story of this war. It is a story that should have had a different ending very long ago. The parties have a chance to end the conflict now, and the United States joins the other members of the Security Council in urging them to do so. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. I give the floor to the representative of Yemen.”

    2015-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7596 (2015) · source

  2. “We stand behind the Special Envoy's efforts and we urge all sides to continue moving towards a political transition. In the interim, we call on them to improve access, de-escalate hostilities and commit to a lasting ceasefire. Our unity on this issue stems from our shared conviction that too many Yemenis have already suffered from this war. Let me conclude with the story of just one of them. In October, a 6-year-old boy named Fareed Shawki was playing hide-and-seek in Taiz when a missile struck nearby. He was hit by shrapnel and rushed to a hospital along with at least six other boys who had been injured. Having lived too long amid conflict, he knew what could happen. "Don't bury me," he cried , as doctors worked and his father watched. "Don't bury me." Fareed later succumbed to his injuries.”

    2015-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7596 (2015) · source

  3. “While urging all sides to respect the ceasefire, I also want to reiterate that all parties must fully abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law, which, as High Commissioner Al Hussein reported, has been violated repeatedly during this conflict, with horrific consequences. Militias loyal to the Houthis and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh must stop any and all indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, including in Taiz, and they must halt their cross-border attacks. We will also urge the Saudi-led coalition to ensure lawful and discriminate targeting and to thoroughly investigate all credible allegations of civilian casualties, and make adjustments as needed to avoid such incidents. Today's Council meeting has sent a single, unified message about what must be done in Yemen.”

    2015-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7596 (2015) · source

  4. “Such representatives must have the freedom to leave Yemen to take part in peace talks, and we hope that they are also able to leave Yemen to provide the Security Council with first-hand perspectives on conditions on the ground. Thirdly, and finally, the Council made clear today that all sides must commit to a de-escalation of the hostilities and a lasting ceasefire. The ceasefire that began last week was imperfect, but it was a step. The United States joins others in welcoming President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi Mansour's commitment to extending it, and we urge forces on the ground to respect this halt in attacks. To bolster the ceasefire, we hope that all parties will send empowered representatives to the United Nations-proposed coordination and de-escalation committee without delay.”

    2015-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7596 (2015) · source

  5. “But for the sake of the Yemeni people, the warring parties must now come together to engage in good faith. They must be prepared to show flexibility and adhere to compromises once the talks conclude. Even when there may be provocations on the ground, everyone must be resolute in the commitment to return to a political transition based on the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative, the outcomes of the National Dialogue and the relevant Security Council resolutions. As the transition takes shape - and I realize that we are not there yet - it will be critical that it incorporate not only armed groups but also Yemeni women and members of Yemeni civil society. We commend the Special Envoy for his dedicated effort to that end.”

    2015-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7596 (2015) · source

  6. “Secondly, the Council today reaffirmed its conviction that the crisis will be solved not through military action but, as we have all heard again and again, through political dialogue like the one that the Special Envoy managed to restart in Switzerland. That progress reinforces the message that the Council previously sent through resolution 2216 (2015), which called unequivocally for a consensus-based political solution to the crisis based on dialogue. Such dialogue will lead to peace only if all parties fully commit to its success and are willing to make hard compromises. The lack of trust among the parties after everything is understandable, particularly after the Houthis violated one agreement after another in their military push southward - the event that precipitated the current phase of the conflict.”

    2015-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7596 (2015) · source

  7. “Fuel imports are still only half of what they were before the crisis, and fuel drives so much of what goes on in the country, including even the ability to access clean water. Meanwhile, more than 100 trucks were finally allowed passage into Taiz last week to deliver drinking water, food, medicine and other basic supplies. But those supplies now need to actually reach the more than 200,000 besieged civilians. With enormous needs still unmet, progress like this is just the beginning. The Houthis must allow access into Taiz. Similar efforts should be made elsewhere to facilitate the transport of staple goods.”

    2015-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7596 (2015) · source

  8. “That has to stop. Recent events have shown that access can be improved even in the absence of a lasting political agreement. After the lifting of restrictions on commercial vessels entering the country in October, food imports finally returned to pre-crisis levels, as we heard from Ms. Kang today. More ships are now reaching many of Yemen's ports to deliver their cargo. Now we have to find ways to increase the through-put of those ports by shortening the time needed to unload critical supplies. And - this is critical - the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism must become operational at long last to help restore the confidence of the shipping industry and further accelerate shipments of goods, especially fuel.”

    2015-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7596 (2015) · source

  9. “As the negotiators are returning home from Switzerland, let me highlight three of the most important messages we as the Council have sent today. First, all sides must do more to facilitate access for life-saving humanitarian assistance and shipments of the most basic commercial goods. We heard to day about Yemen's already devastating humanitarian crisis, including the fact that more than 80 per cent of the population needs humanitarian assistance. In some governorates, including Aden and Sa'ada, but especially Taiz, it is even worse. There, nearly every resident requires aid. The suffering is being significantly and unnecessarily compounded by restrictions and impediments to access that are preventing assistance from getting through, from reaching those who need it most and thereby causing dramatic price increases in the markets.”

    2015-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7596 (2015) · source

  10. “We are united, to begin with, in our support for the work undertaken by the Special Envoy and his team over the past week in Switzerland and well beyond. He negotiated critical confidence-building measures, a mechanism seeking to de-escalate military tensions and improved humanitarian access to all governorates. Those are important steps forward, and we commend him for his work. As others have noted, after nearly nine months of fighting and more than 2,700 civilian deaths, such steps are long overdue. The United States stands ready to work with the rest of the Council to hold all sides to their commitments in advance of the resumption of talks next month. Today has also shown that the Council has a common vision of what must happen next.”

    2015-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7596 (2015) · source

  11. “I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of the United States. I thank Special Envoy Ould Cheikh Ahmed, High Commissioner Al Hussain and Assistant Secretary- General Kang for their briefings on Yemen's dire political, humanitarian and human rights challenges. I want to particularly commend the Special Envoy for traveling here straight from a week of political talks in Switzerland. We are grateful to him. I also want to thank all the Council members who have spoken before me. This is a very opinionated group, as it should be, and we do not always agree on everything. But listening to the remarks here this morning, one thing is clear: the Security Council is united on Yemen.”

    2015-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7596 (2015) · source

  12. “I thank Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed not only for his briefing but for the tireless work that he and his team are putting in, as well as for the risks he is taking in travelling to Yemen and investing all his efforts in trying to bring about a political solution. I now give the floor to Mr. Al Hussein.”

    2015-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7596 (2015) · source

  13. “In accordance with rule 37 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of Yemen to participate in this meeting. In accordance with rule 39 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I invite the following briefers to participate in this meeting: Mr. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Special Envoy of the Secretary- General for Yemen; Mr. Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; and Ms. Kyung-wha Kang, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I now give the floor to Mr. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.”

    2015-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7596 (2015) · source

  14. “Like so many of the women's rights advocates and professional who fled Kunduz and received death threats, Hassina is too afraid to return. Yet the head of Hassina's organization, a woman named Manizha Naderi, said that they would find a way to open a new women's shelter in Kunduz. She said it would be hard to find women willing to go, but that "people need us, so we will have to come up with a plan. If we stop working, it is a big victory for the Taliban". Groups like Women for Women are not willing to give the Taliban the victory that would come with abandoning Afghans in need. We cannot either. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. I give the floor to the representative of Germany.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  15. “The Taliban looted or burned down three radio stations run by women, a girls' high school and numerous women's NGOs. One of its targets was a women's shelter run by the NGO Women for Afghan Women, whose residents the Taliban called runaway sluts and immoral girls. The office, a news report said, appeared to have been attacked with sledgehammers, the windows shattered, the walls and door frames smashed. Of the shelter's director, Hassina Sarwari, who managed to escape Kunduz before the Taliban could capture her, the local Taliban commander said: "If we had captured her, she would be hanged in the main circle of Kunduz city". Even the city's only woman civil engineer, whose job it was to help restore roads, was persecuted and run out of town.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  16. “As everyone here knows, on 28 September the Taliban seized the city of Kunduz, which it held parts of until it was fully expelled on 13 October by pro-Government forces. The group's treatment of the local population during that time provides a window into how it would rule were it able to retake control of more of Afghanistan. According to a United Nations report (S/2015/942), shortly after taking control of the city the Taliban carried out house-to-house searches using prepared lists containing the names and addresses of human- rights defenders, particularly women - women active in public life, non-governmental organization (NGO) workers, United Nations staff, journalists and Government officials, including lawyers, judges and prosecutors. The persecution of women was particularly harrowing.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  17. “To give just a few examples, the recent agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan allowing construction to begin on the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project will bring much-needed Central Asian energy to both countries. And the Self-Reliance through Mutual Accountability Framework, which the Afghan Government adopted in September, outlining 39 reforms and a road map for cooperation between it and international donors, could boost crucial support for the country's development. If implemented, those and other efforts will help foster greater opportunities for the Afghan people, and thereby lock in broader support for the country's democratic future. I would like to close by reminding everyone why it is so important that these efforts succeed.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  18. “Since then, the Government has made meaningful progress towards building more transparent and accountable institutions that can deliver basic services to the Afghan people. It has also committed to making progress on electoral reform, which is critical to strengthening public trust in democratic processes. The recent recommendations announced by the Special Electoral Reform Commission are a welcome step. It is now up to the Afghan Government to implement those pledges. We have also seen the Unity Government undertake significant efforts to lay a foundation for sustainable and inclusive economic growth.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  19. “The Taliban's attacks harm the Afghan people, destabilize the country and betray the group's disregard for the people's lives. They must stop. As we all know, the efforts of the Afghan Government to build greater security and stability cannot be founded on military efforts alone. Good governance and economic development are critical to shoring up Afghan citizens' support for the Government. In 2014, more than 7 million Afghans, including millions ofwomen, cast their vote in elections, marking the country's first democratic transfer of power in its history. The National Unity Government formed by President Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah reflects the genuine wish of the people for a peaceful transition.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  20. “President Obama has insisted on a transparent, thorough and objective accounting of the facts and circumstances of the incident as a critical step towards ensuring full accountability. The United States is committed to helping MSF rebuild the hospital and to making payments to those affected. Immeasurable as is the pain inflicted by that air strike, it is important to distinguish a mistake of that nature from the deliberate and deplorable targeting of civilians by the Taliban and other violent extremist groups. Our message to those forces is clear. There is only one path to peace, security and stability in Afghanistan, and that path is not through military action but through an Afghan-led reconciliation that builds on the democratic and human-rights gains that the country has made since 2001.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  21. “To that end, I would like to repeat President Obama's heartfelt apology and condolences for the incident in which staff and patients were killed and injured when a United States military air strike mistakenly hit a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital in Kunduz. When others flee conflict and disaster areas, MSF charges in, and the work its staff does is quite literally lifesaving. We in the Council have been repeatedly briefed by MSF on crises around the world in which the organization's staff and volunteers serve with professionalism and courage. No nation does more than the United States to avoid civilian casualties, but in this case we failed to live up to our standards.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  22. “We urge all members of the Council to come together in sending that clear message. Beyond the region, the international community should continue to provide robust political, financial and security support to Afghanistan. The progress the country has made is real, but it is also fragile, and the Afghan Government and people continue to warrant our firm support. Two major conferences in 2016 - the NATO Summit to be held in Warsaw in July and the Afghanistan development conference to be held in Brussels in October - provide important opportunities for Member States to renew and extend such support. As we continue to work to degrade and destroy Afghanistan's violent extremist groups, all parties, including the United States, must ensure that they are doing everything they can to minimize harm to civilians.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  23. “We also continue to support and invest in Afghanistan's relations with its neighbours. In that regard, the recent Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process ministerial meeting on 8 December in Islamabad was a step in the right direction. We welcome the renewed commitments made there to support Afghan-led efforts to enter into negotiations with the Afghan Taliban, and we will continue to work with all countries in the region, including China and Pakistan, to create the conditions necessary for a peace and reconciliation process between the Afghan Government and the Afghan Taliban, including elements such as the Haqqani network. The choice facing the Taliban is clear - to engage in good-faith negotiations for peace, or to continue to fight a war they cannot win and face the consequences.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  24. “Scores of innocent Afghan civilians have been killed or wounded in those and other attacks, as well as two Spanish police officers who were killed in the 12 December attack and for whose deaths I would like to extend our deep condolences to the Permanent Representative of Spain. The United States is committed to continuing to help the Afghan people confront this security threat. In October, President Obama announced plans to maintain the current level of 9,800 United States troops in Afghanistan through most of 2016. They will remain engaged, together with those of our allies and partners, in the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission, in training, advising and assisting Afghan security forces. We will continue to support counter-terrorism operations to destroy the remnants of Al-Qaida.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  25. “Today I wish to speak to some of those enduring challenges and what the international community can do to help the Afghan Government succeed in its efforts to overcome them. As we all know, the Taliban and other anti-Government groups continue to pose a serious security threat. In recent weeks we have all been horrified to witness the Taliban's attacks, including the one earlier today on a patrol near the Wagram air base. That follows the raid of 9 December on Kandahar airport and the attack of 12 December in Kabul that targeted a guesthouse attached to the Spanish Embassy.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  26. “I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of the United States. Let me begin by again welcoming Ambassador Saikal to the Security Council and to New York. We look forward to working with him and with partners from the various branches of the Afghan Government. I thank the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Afghanistan, Mr. Haysom, for his informative briefing and for the critically important efforts of the entire United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan team to support the Afghan people. As we meet today, the Government of Afghanistan continues to face significant challenges in delivering the security, good governance and economic opportunity for which its citizens yearn.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  27. “On behalf of the Council, I wish to welcome Ambassador Saikal to New York. He plays an incredibly important role in bringing what is happening in Afghanistan here to the Council. We count on his wisdom and counsel. I shall now give the floor to members of the Security Council.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  28. “The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2015/942, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security. I now give the floor to Mr. Haysom.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source

  29. “In accordance with rule 37 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representatives of Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Sweden and Turkey to participate in this meeting. In accordance with rule 39 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I invite Mr. Nicholas Haysom, Special Representative of the Secretary- General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, to participate in this meeting. In accordance with rule 39 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I invite His Excellency Mr. Ioannis Vrailas, Charge d'Affaires of the delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, to participate in this meeting.”

    2015-12-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7591 (2015) · source