YouSaid · the spoken record

Power

lines on the record: 1,841
first: 2013-08-06
most recent: 2019-07-09
sittings or episodes: 165
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

“As has always been the case, the crisis manufactured by Russia can and must be ended by Russia, by stopping its arming, training and fighting alongside separatists in eastern Ukraine and by ending its illegal occupation of Crimea. The Minks agreements offer the only pathway - one agreed upon by all sides * to de-escalate this conflict, to restore peace to Ukraine and to reaffirm the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that undergird all of our collective security. But to implement them, Russia and the separatists whom it supports must fulfil the very first step of abiding by an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire and grant full access to OSCE monitors.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“The following day, the homes of at least seven journalists in Crimea were raided by authorities. One of those journalists is now facing up to five years in prison on charges of allegedly "calling for undermining Russian territorial integrity via mass media". In another words, for reporting that Crimea is part of Ukraine, as all United Nations maps show that it is, one is locked up. How is that possible? In Crimea and eastern Ukraine, as in so much of Russia, telling the truth is now an extremist activity. Go figure. Let me conclude. I began my remarks today by encouraging us all not to lose sight of the root cause of this crisis: Russia's occupation of Crimea and ongoing arming, training and fighting alongside separatists in eastern Ukraine. Just as the root cause of this crisis has not changed, neither has the solution.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“No more convening meetings - a crime. No more holding elections - a crime. Of course, the Mejlis will be allowed to keep its bank accounts, although now they may be used only to pay taxes and penalties to occupying authorities. On the day of the ruling, Crimea's so-called Chief Prosecutor declared, "Today, we build a world in which every Crimean will be safe andjoyful". That is unless one is a Crimean Tartar or another resident who happens to oppose the occupation. Meanwhile, the crackdown on dissent in Crimea continues to deepen, as the few remaining independent journalists and other critical voices are methodically targeted. On 18 April, a high-ranking Russian justice official argued publicly for passing legislation that would treat questioning the legitimacy of sham Crimea referendum as an "extremist activity", punishable by law.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“It has been two years since then, as well, that 100 Member States, including the United States, adopted General Assembly resolution 68/262, which underscores that the referendum has no validity and affirms our shared commitment, as stated in paragraph 1, to "the sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders". If you want a picture of the way Russian authorities govern on sovereign Ukrainian territory, just look at Crimea today. On Tuesday of this week, the Russian- controlled Supreme Court in Crimea declared the Mejlis, the self-governing body of the Crimean Tartars, an extremist organization. As a result, virtually all forms of Tartar political expression and organization have effectively been criminalized. No more speaking to the press - that is a crime.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“It should keep checkpoints into separatist-controlled territories open, unless closing them is essential to ensuring the security of civilians. And it should find ways consistent with security and administrative requirements to ensure that social, economic and educational benefits are provided to internally displaced persons and other populations, such as older persons and persons with disabilities. Let me turn to another part of Ukraine, Crimea. It has been more than two years since Russia held its sham referendum, one, we must recall, where the question posed to voters - those who turned out - was to join or leave Ukraine. Some choice.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“In aperverse cycle, Russia uses the dire humanitarian situation that it has helped fuel to send its so-called humanitarian convoys across the international border with Ukraine, all the while preventing Ukrainian and international authorities from inspecting those convoys. Once again, if your convoys are filled with food and medicine, why prevent international inspectors from looking inside of them. To that end, we again urge Moscow to honour its commitments in Minsk to ensure that separatists allow the immediate resumption of full humanitarian access. As the Government of Ukraine seeks to address this Russian-manufactured crisis, it should facilitate the safe movement of civilians and commercial cargo across the contact line.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“Pulling back forces and abiding by the ceasefire is also crucial to improving the dire humanitarian situation faced by civilians, who are disproportionately bearing the costs of Russia's aggression in Ukraine. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, an estimated 3.1 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the ongoing conflict. Approximately 1 million of those people live along the line of contact or in separatist-controlled territory. Yet they are receiving only a fraction of the aid they need, in large part because Russian- backed separatists expelled most United Nations and international humanitarian organizations in July 2015, and have not allowed them consistent access since.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“In addition to de-escalating the fighting and allowing full access for international monitors throughout eastern Ukraine, Russia must engage constructively and support serious efforts to propose an election law for areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblast, as well as support the steps necessary for an adequate security environment for elections in the Donbas region that meet OSCE standards. Actions such as those, as well as the release of all hostages and detained persons, will help pave the way for further implementation of the Minsk agreements, which should ultimately lead to Russia's withdrawal of all forces and equipment from Ukrainian territory and the restoration of Ukrainian control over its side of the international border.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“Working to ensure that a comprehensive and sustained ceasefire takes hold along the line of contact, and that OSCE monitors have the full and unfettered access they need to help monitor that ceasefire, is the sina qua non for the political steps set out in the Minsk agreements. Consider the steps of passing an electoral law and holding free and fair local elections under Ukrainian law and in accordance with OSCE standards. That is of critical importance. We all recognize that. Yet, to hold a democratic election, citizens and election monitors need basic security and basic freedom of movement. Candidates must be able to express their opinions and assemble publicly without fear of violence or reprisals. Yet the climate created by the separatists in the parts of eastern Ukraine that they occupy is not a climate that looks anything like that.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“According to OSCE reports, separatists have been responsible for more than 90 per cent of incidents in which access has been restricted or denied during this month. That brings us back to a question we have asked many times before in the Council. When Russia and the separatists it backs have denied impartial monitors and investigators access - from the time of the invasion of Crimea to the inspection of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17 crash site - the question is: what do they have to hide? Why are OSCE monitors so scary that one needs to shoot up their car, cock guns at them and impede their movement? What is Russia hiding?”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“As the fighting has increased, the unarmed international monitors, whose job it is to document ceasefire violations and to try to de-escalate the violence, have found themselves denied access, threatened and, in some instances, even targeted themselves. The climate, as has been noted by OSCE colleagues, is a climate of impunity. On 7 April, a Monitoring Mission vehicle that was driving deep into Russian-backed separatist-controlled territory some 60 kilometres from the line of contact came under small arms fire. The same day, in separatist-controlled Luhansk, another such vehicle was blocked by Russian- backed separatist forces. When a monitor stepped out of the vehicle to negotiate their passage, a Russian-backed separatist cocked his rifle and pointed it directly at the monitor. Those are not isolated incidents.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“According to the most recent report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, from 25 January to 10 April, "the [Mission] recorded 11 consecutive weeks in which the number of recorded ceasefire violations was higher than in any other single week since early September 2015." On 14 April alone - and this is shocking even by Ukraine standards - the Monitoring Mission recorded more than 4,000 ceasefire violations, some 500 of them on a single day, using heavy weapons that are prohibited under the Minsk agreements. Just yesterday, as others have noted, we were again reminded of the dreadful human toll of this violence, when an explosion killed four civilians and wounded at least eight more along the line of contact. This cycle of escalation must stop.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“What is happening today is the result of Russia's violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, which began with its occupation of Crimea more than two years ago. That occupation expanded with substantial military on the ground and weapons support for armed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Every negative consequence of the conflict that we see today - every one - can be traced back to that original sin. We must not lose sight of that incontrovertible fact, even as we focus on the issues and the human consequences in the present. Let me begin with the situation in eastern Ukraine, where Violence along the line of contact has reached its highest levels since the 1 September 2015 ceasefire was declared.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“That staff member should be released immediately and unconditionally. The Security Council has not met to discuss the situation in Ukraine since December 2015 (see S/PV.7576) - a long stretch by recent standards. It would not be unreasonable to interpret the absence of meetings as a sign, perhaps, that the implementation of the Minsk agreements is advancing. Yet, as we all know, and as we have heard starkly today, that is, sadly, not the case. Over the past several months, the conflict has worsened. Violence has increased, and the challenges to implementation of the Minsk agreements have only increased. Before delving into those discouraging developments, it is important to remind ourselves of the root cause of this crisis.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“I thank the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Mr. Taye-Broook Zerihoun, Ambassador Apakan and the Special Representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine, Mr. Martin Sajdick, for their informative briefings. I would also like to thank the Ukrainian delegation for calling this essential meeting. We recognize, as I think all members of the Council do, the critically important work that OSCE teams are carrying out in the field, often at significant personal risk - as illustrated by the recent attacks on OSCE monitors. We also note the great work done by United Nations staff - again at significant personnel risk, as evinced by the detention of a United Nations staff member by Russian-backed separatists since 8 April.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“The terrorists in the Lahore park I described earlier were targeting Christians, and they hoped to drive a wedge between them and their Muslim neighbours. However, in the days that followed, that did not happen. Instead of being driven apart, Pakistanis of all faiths came together to queue up in long lines to donate blood at hospitals and to voice outrage and solidarity. A canteen owner who had been serving food near the bombings said, "It is wrong this is happening. Christians are like our brothers and sisters." Their reaction mirrored the shows of solidarity witnessed after other recent attacks and points to the final reason why these terrorists will never win. However despicable and barbaric, their attacks do not leave us scattered in fear.”
2016-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7670 (2016) · source
“It will increase division among different countries and different people and between citizens and their Government. The threat that terrorists like Da'esh pose to all of our citizens is clear, and the urgency with which we must counter them could not be greater. But in today's debate we must recognize not only the danger they pose to our safety and security, but the danger that we might overreact, to the detriment of our societies and to our security. We must not deprive our citizens of core freedoms like expression, peaceful assembly, association or religionjust because terrorists have taken advantage of them. Doing so would fall precisely into their trap. The international community's victory over terrorism will come through its determined efforts to counter violent extremism and to defeat terrorist groups.”
2016-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7670 (2016) · source
“Here in the United States, incitement to eminent violence is not protected speech, but most content on even the most vitriolic websites and social media accounts is protected from Government suppression by our Constitution, and that is by design. As Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson put it, "Freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom." Justice Louis Brandeis argued, "Freedom to think as you will and to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth." It is the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and Al-Qaida that are most afraid of the truth. Depriving people of opportunities to discuss, debate and express themselves online is not going to increase our security.”
2016-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7670 (2016) · source
“Such measures would not advance our security. Recruitment and radicalization to violence continue to occur through person-to-person interaction. Such restrictions would cut off the free flow of information and alternative ideas and would therefore restrict one of the best antidotes available to the hate and lies propagated by terrorist groups. As President Obama has said, "Ideologies are not defeated with guns. They are defeated by better ideas - a more attractive and compelling vision." The challenge before us is real. We must use the Internet as effectively as our adversaries do in order to highlight that vision and to reveal the fallacies of their ideologies. Imposing wide-ranging limits on the Internet, though, would mean abandoning our foundational commitments to freedom of expression and opinion.”
2016-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7670 (2016) · source
“There is no doubt that terrorist groups have become dangerously adept at using the Internet and communications technologies to propagate their hateful messages, recruit adherence and urge followers to violence. That is why all Governments must work together to target the online criminal activities that facilitate terrorism, such as illicit money transfers, attack planning and coordination, criminal solicitation and the provision of material support to terrorist groups. It is also why Governments must work closely with private companies, which define the terms under which they will allow customers to use their services. Such targeted efforts must not be conflated with calls to restrict access or censor the Internet or even, as some have suggested, to effectively shut down whole corners of the web.”
2016-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7670 (2016) · source
“Such cooperation is also essential to preventing terrorist access to chemical weapons through collaborative efforts such as resolution 1540 (2004), whose tools we must strengthen through the comprehensive review process. Let us be clear, though, that this shared commitment to preventing terrorist access to chemical weapons in no way lessens our determination to identify the State actors responsible for their use. There is no mistaking the severity of the terrorist threat, the barbarism of its perpetrators or the need to employ every tool in our respective arsenals. However, let us be clear: doing so need not and cannot require the abandoning of the core convictions enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Let us consider one of the issues that have been raised today.”
2016-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7670 (2016) · source
“At the same time, the international community must also take every measure to degrade and destroy the terrorist groups that threaten our collective security. That goal has been at the heart ofthe Council measures I described earlier. On the battlefield, coalition air strikes have targeted Da'esh forces, its cash-storage sites, its energy infrastructure and other revenue-generating facilities. Recent military advances, such as those in Iraq and Nigeria against Da'esh and Boko Haram, respectively, have dealt further blows to terrorist groups. As we remain on the offensive, we must continue to strengthen our defence, including through increased information-sharing and international cooperation, so as to further disrupt those groups' access to foreign terrorist fighters and revenue.”
2016-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7670 (2016) · source
“In the General Assembly, we will begin negotiations in June on how to better implement the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, informed by the Secretary-General's important Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism. Those are key steps, but this is a long-term battle and more must be done. We have to double down on efforts to prevent terrorism groups from recruiting, radicalizing and inspiring others to their cause by better addressing key drivers of violent extremism. Violent extremist groups purport to offer an alternative to corrupt or authoritarian regimes, an antidote to cultural marginalization, and a path of greater purity. We must counter their propaganda and expose the hollowness and hypocrisy of those claims, while engaging those communities most susceptible to their advances.”
2016-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7670 (2016) · source
“That is why the Security Council has met so frequently to address different elements of the threat and to build a more comprehensive approach to effectively counter terrorism. In the past two years, we have adopted resolutions to counter Da'esh in Syria, Iraq and Libya to cut off the flow of foreign terrorist fighters to and from conflict zones and to target key funding sources for terrorist groups, such as oil, antiquities and kidnapping. We have also importantly expanded the conversation beyond diplomats by convening the first-ever Security Council meeting of Interior Ministers to strengthen border security (see S/PV.7453) and the first ever session of Finance Ministers (see S/PV.7587) to restrict Da'esh access to funds.”
2016-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7670 (2016) · source
“What kind of people target little children in a park?" That horrific attack occurred less than a week after three bombs exploded in Brussels, killing 32 innocent people. A day before, that a bomb in Istanbul killed four tourists. This past Saturday, a suicide bomber targeted a restaurant in Mogadishu, killing at least three Somalis at lunchtime. Those attacks remind us that the threat posed by terrorists is not limited to one country or one region; it is not limited to members of just one faith. The thousands of Muslim victims attest to that. Even in the Lahore attack the vast majority of victims were Muslims. And the threat contained to any one battlefield; rather the enemy seeks to attack all of us wherever it can. Our response to that threat must be just as comprehensive and far-reaching as their ambition.”
2016-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7670 (2016) · source
“I thank you personally, Mr. President, and China for organizing this important debate. I also thank the Secretary-General for his briefing and for his continued leadership on that critical issue. On a warm spring evening just over two weeks ago, families packed into one of the largest parks in Lahore, Gulshan- i-Iqbal. It was Easter Sunday and the crowd included Christians celebrating the holiday. At around 6.30 p.m., a suicide bomber walked through the gates and blew himself up near a children's swing set. Seventy-five people were killed, including 29 kids. At least 300 were wounded. At a hospital later, a woman named Nasreen Bibi was waiting for an update on her wounded two-year-old daughter and she told a reporter, "We werejust here to have a nice evening and enjoy the weather.”
2016-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7670 (2016) · source
“If that's true, then that leader has failed to truly build their nation." Those nations are ready. If they are given opportunities to fully participate in democratic processes, to hold their leaders accountable, to be subjected to and benefit from the rule of law, they will not merely survive, they will prosper.”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“This has been evident in our long-standing aid programmes, our efforts to encourage stability and our commitment to institution-building. It is evident, too, in our strong support for the Public- Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade, which we hope will enable supply-chain solutions that encourage the legitimate trade in natural resources. All four of the leaders I have mentioned today have led their countries through extraordinarily difficult times, but the choices they make now will determine whether their countries' gains are sustained and how they themselves will be remembered decades from now. President Obama told an audience in Ethiopia last year, "Sometimes you'll hear leaders say, well, I'm the only person who can hold this nation together.”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“What remains to be seen is whether President Nkurunziza will take decisive action to correct course. Some of his Government's recent commitments are encouraging, but none have yet been matched by meaningful action. Ofthe 2,000 prisoners he pledged to free, just 158 have been released to date, and only 47 ofthose were political prisoners. Two of the five radio stations shuttered have been allowed to re-open. But that is just two of the five, and one of those allowed to re-open is pro-Government. We will welcome and support constructive steps when we see them. But rhetoric is not enough. Let me conclude. The United States has historically been a strong partner of all four of those countries, as it has been for others in the region. Those partnerships are not tied to any particular individual leader, but to the people of those countries.”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“When Blue Helmets are deployed, they must be allowed to fulfil their mandate, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or any place else. We need look no further than Burundi to see the dangers of pursuing personal power over the interests of the people. Burundi's economy grew steadily for a decade, but contracted by an estimated 7 per cent last year. President Nkurunziza's decision to stay in office, in defiance of the Arusha Accords, and his crackdown on political opposition have swiftly undone the country's progress of recent years. That is evident in the widespread reports of sexual violence, the more than 400 people who have been killed, the over 250,000 that have fled the country and the even more challenging economic times that, unfortunately, lie ahead.”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“Their offence was peacefully protesting the Supreme Court's refusal to release two activists, Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala, who were arrested a year ago and still have yet to receive a trial. It should go without saying that this is not the path to lasting stability. Fred, Yves, the Goma six and all the other young people who have done nothing more than seek a better future for their country should be released. The Government's attempt to limit its cooperation with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to force a reduction of troops is also concerning. Let us be clear: the Council should not allow peacekeeping missions to become pawns in political games.”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“As the representative of a country that continues to debate its own electoral processes, I recognize that elections are not always perfect, and certainly not always easy, but fidelity to the Constitution - not to mention long- term stability f means that elections must occur on time. Not only must ballots be cast, but individuals must be allowed to campaign for their preferred candidates and express their opinions freely. There is no excuse for the harassment and detention of peaceful activists and opposition leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, like the six activists I mentioned earlier or the 18 other members of the pro-democracy youth movement known as LUCHA, who were detained last Tuesday and held for four days.”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“Yet as President Kabila's term nears its end, that fragile progress hangs in the balance. Continued development depends upon further advances against armed groups and the extension of State authority. And, of course, it depends on free and fair presidential elections in November. There is no credible reason that the Democratic Republic of the Congo's elections would not occur on schedule. The Independent National Electoral Commission said in January that it would need 18 months to update voter rolls. But election experts assure us that it can be done in six months.”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“However, when it comes to democratic accountability, the run-up and aftermath to last month's elections show real issues. The Government and its security forces detained opposition figures without legal justification, harassed their supporters and intimidated the media. It passed legislation restricting the operations of non-governmental organizations, banning them from acting against the "interests of Uganda". President Museveni's actions contravene the rule of law, jeopardize Uganda's democratic progress and threaten Uganda's future stability and prosperity. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, President Kabila appears to be considering a similar path. His country remains one of the poorest in the world, but it has begun to see gains in democracy, stability and economic growth. In 2014, its economy grew by 9.5 per cent.”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“The United States remains deeply committed to its partnership with Rwanda, but the continued absence of political space and the inability of individuals andjournalists to discuss political affairs or report on issues of public concern pose a serious risk to Rwanda's future stability. Rwanda can achieve lasting peace and prosperity through a Government centred on the principle of democratic accountability, not one centred on any single individual. The same applies in Uganda. Uganda is a critical contributor to peace and security, especially through its long-time contribution to the African Union force in Somalia. It is also a generous host to more than 500,000 refugees, providing the right to work and access to social services to refugees and Ugandan citizens alike.”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“It has become a leader in international peacekeeping, in numbers as well as in performance, with its forces admired for their bravery and their commitment to civilian protection. When one reflects on the horrors of the genocide that killed approximately 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu 22 years ago next month, one sees the epic scale of the achievements by President Kagami and by the Rwandan people. The results on the ground for Rwandans are remarkable. Unfortunately, despite Rwanda's progress on economic rights, women's right, and on so many development axes, its record in the protection and promotion of civil and political rights is less impressive.”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“It defies the ability of citizens to freely choose their leaders and hold them accountable. It drives them into the streets or out of the country. It threatens to plunge communities back into the cycle of poverty and violence, from which many are only now beginning to emerge. Let me speak briefly to the situation in four countries where this trend is most pronounced and where there is still time to change course. The economic achievements of President Kagami's Rwanda are well known and rightly celebrated. Per capita income has doubled since the year 2000. Rwanda's advances on the Human Development Index are greater than any other country in the world over the past 25 years.”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“They were convicted and sentenced to two years in jail, a term reduced, on appeal, to six months. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is not the only country in the region where civil society is threatened or where democratic processes are being deliberately undermined. This unfortunately has been the accelerating trend in recent months, evident at the top, where leaders make increasingly blatant power grabs to remain in office, and on the streets, where their Governments close media outlets, arrest opposition members, intimidate civil society groups and otherwise squeeze the political space available for competing views. This widening disregard for democratic processes threatens to undermine the political security and development progress achieved over the past two decades, and it imperils the progress still to come.”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“I would like to use my remarks to underscore the inextricable connection linking democratic accountability, human rights and the rule of law, on the one hand, and economic progress and lasting stability and peace, on the other. On the very same day that the Great Lakes Private Sector Investment Conference began, a court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ruled on the case of six young activists - five men and one woman - who had been charged with attempting to incite civil disobedience. They had been arrested eight days earlier at a private home in Goma at 4.30 in the morning as they prepared banners for a general strike to protest potential election delays. One of the banners read "in 2016 we won the Cup" - in reference to the African nation's soccer championship - "we can also win democracy".”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“I thank Foreign Minister Chikoti for being here today and for hosting this timely debate on an incredibly important set of issues. Let me also thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Commissioner Chergui, Special Envoy Djinnit and Mr. Pillai of the World Bank for their remarks and determined work throughout the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes Private Sector Investment Conference, co-hosted by Special Envoy Djinnit's Office in Kinshasa last month, spoke to the economic and security gains made acress the region over the last decade. That progress is tenuous and fragile, and there is still a long way to go. The trajectory over the past several years, however, has clearly been positive.”
2016-03-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7653 (2016) · source
“As I did yesterday (see S/PV.7642), I would single out those members of the Council that have contributed so many peacekeepers, including Egypt, Senegal, China, Uruguay and, of course, the United Kingdom, which is becoming involved again. As a country that does not contribute a lot of troops, we are in awe of their service. To the victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeepers, we pledge that we will do better. We will do better to ensure that the Blue Helmets we send as their protectors will not become perpetrators. That is what we are striving for. But if they do, this resolution demands that we, the Council, ensure that the people who commit such violations, who violate the good name of the United Nations and the good names of their countries, be held accountable.”
2016-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7643 (2016) · source
“So I think that it is very, very strange to hear Member States call on the one hand for more aggressive action or more accountability and then try to punt the issue to a body that for years has been unable to come to a consensus; and with several countries, again including countries on the Council, trying to water down what happens in the General Assembly, no reasonable person could expect a different result. Let me conclude with two messages. To the tens of thousands of troops and police who serve honourably in United Nations peacekeeping operations, we salute them unequivocally for putting their lives on the line, with little fanfare or recognition, for people who live in countries far from their own. We and the civilians that they protect with their bravery are completely indebted to them for their service.”
2016-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7643 (2016) · source
“One cannot simultaneously try to water something down in the General Assembly and then complain when the body that sends peacekeepers out to try to protect people actually takes responsibility for the fact that some of those who were supposed to do the protecting are committing sexual abuse. We cannot have it both ways. If the General Assembly had been able to actually put in place methods for accountability, if the system were working for girls like the ones Matthew just quoted, who are now left with the children of the people who have come and raped them and then gone back to their countries never having been held accountable - if the system had prevented these kinds of acts, or least had some kind of accountability, we would not be having this conversation. We are here only because it just keeps happening.”
2016-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7643 (2016) · source
“I also take note of the very important comment that Egypt made, of the admission that the measures contained in the resolution - measures requiring accountability - would not have been passed by the General Assembly. We agree; the General Assembly has been totally paralysed. There are countries within the negotiations that are going on as we speak that have tried to water down the recommendations that the Secretary-General has made. It would be one thing if we were succeeding, if the system was working. We come in here every day; we lament, we condemn. We condemn the abuse and we condemn the lack of accountability, and then we go to the General Assembly and some of us try to water down provisions to try to strengthen the system. What is up with that?”
2016-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7643 (2016) · source
“My ulterior motive is actually, finally, to do something about a cancer: the cancer of sexual exploitation and abuse against people who trust the United Nations flag. They see a peacekeeper coming their way and they think, this is someone who is going to help me; they do not think, I have to run, this is someone who is going to rape me. That is not what they think. That is not what they should ever think; but that is what they are going to think, and that is with some of them do think, because there is not accountability for the crimes committed that is in any way commensurate with what appears to be the scale of this problem. So that is my ulterior motive, I confess. Sue me.”
2016-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7643 (2016) · source
“The resolution adopted today endorses the decision of the Secretary-General to repatriate United Nations peacekeeping units that demonstrate widespread or systemic sexual abuse and exploitation, and it requests that the Secretary-General repatriate all uniformed personnel from a contributing country in a given mission if that country fails to take appropriate steps to address credible allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, fails to hold the perpetrators accountable or fails to inform the Secretary-General of the status of such efforts. I should like, if I could, to respond to Egypt's intervention. We were accused, implicitly, politely, of having an ulterior motive. I confess that I do have an ulterior motive.”
2016-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7643 (2016) · source
“All of us, wherever we serve, whether we wear a blue or a green or some other colour helmet, have a responsibility to live up to the standards that this resolution tries to enshrine. All of us have a responsibility with respect to individuals who serve us overseas, in the same way that we have a responsibility within our own borders to ensure that these kinds of crimes are never carried out and that when they are carried out the perpetrators are held accountable.”
2016-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7643 (2016) · source
“The resolution underscores the fact that peacekeepers found guilty - not those accused, those found guilty - of committing sexual exploitation and abuse do not deserve to serve in United Nations peacekeeping missions, and sends a clear message to troop- and police-contributing countries that fail to take action to prevent or punish credible allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation, as well as to all States Members of the United Nations and to United Nations bodies, to ensure that these investigations are carried out thoroughly, promptly and impartially. I should also like to echo my French colleague's comment that the colour of the helmet means little to the victim.”
2016-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7643 (2016) · source
“The resolution signals the Security Council's strong support for the zero-tolerance policy of the United Nations and for the ongoing efforts by the Secretary- General to strengthen this institution's response, reporting and remedial measures to prevent and combat sexual exploitation and abuse among United Nations peacekeepers.”
2016-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7643 (2016) · source
“On behalf of the United States, I should like sincerely to thank those countries that voted in favour of resolution 2272 (2016), which was adopted today. The resolution underscores the Security Council's responsibility - our responsibility - to address the scourge of sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping, which has been allowed to persist for far too long. Impunity for such abuses clearly undermines our efforts to promote international peace and security. The resolution makes clear that it is our job to ensure that there is accountability when men, women and children are abused by the Blue Helmets whom the Council has sent to protect them.”
2016-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7643 (2016) · source