YouSaid · the spoken record

Prince Zeid Raad Zeid Al-Hussein

lines on the record: 209
first: 2001-06-26
most recent: 2013-10-22
sittings or episodes: 26
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

“We submitted a request to the Council to visit Jordan in order for members to have first-hand experience of the real situation and its disastrous impact on our national security and economy. We were most hopeful that the international positive consequences of such a visit might have helped to alleviate the suffering andeconomic misery caused by the crisis. Unfortunately, after the passage of 176 days, Jordan has still not received any response to that official request, nor has it received any compensation for the grave material losses it has sustained. I would like to emphasize that the Jordanian people are not in a position to bear this grave burden without sufficient international assistance.”
2013-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7047 (2013) · source
“In order to confront such issues, we have to move quickly to initiate the process of political transition in Syria, to put a stop to violence and bloodshed, to end the refugee crisis and its disastrous effects on the neighbouring or host States, to eliminate chemical weapons, to try the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity and to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria. There is no need to re-emphasize the grave economic crisis experienced by Jordan, which has worsened as a result of acting as host to huge numbers of Syrian refugees. My delegation gave a detailed account of the Jordanian crisis, providing statistics and numbers, in a closed meeting of the Council to discuss the situation on 30 April (see S/PV.6957).”
2013-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7047 (2013) · source
“(spoke in Arabic) Having just referred to the fundamental question in the region, I must now turn to the bloodier and more grave tragedy in the world, that is, the Syrian crisis. I would like to reiterate what was stated by His Majesty King Abdullah II in his statement before the General Assembly recently (see A/68/PV.5), that the escalation of violence in Syria and the use of religious and ethnic divisions may undermine a regional renaissance and endanger international security.”
2013-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7047 (2013) · source
“As we have noted previously in the Council, the position of the International Court of Justice on that last point is unambiguous, as explained in paragraph 78 of its 2004 advisory opinion (see A/ES-lO/273). Indeed, in earlier paragraphs of the opinion, in relation to East Jerusalem the Court also recalled specifically the position of the Security Council. The Court noted that resolution 298 (1971) states in paragraph 75 that "all legislative and administrative actions taken by Israel to change the status of the City of Jerusalem, including expropriation of land and properties, transfer of populations and legislation aimed at the incorporation of the occupied section, are totally invalid and cannot change that status".”
2013-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7047 (2013) · source
“We know the Israeli Government has the power to do so - it cannot say it does not - and the stakes are so high. Should it fail to take preventive measures, not only could those groups torpedo the talks, but they could also unleash a colossal, overwhelming global crisis on a scale hitherto not witnessed this century. Similarly, we demand that the Israeli Government desist from demarcating, expropriating, confiscating, approving, announcing and undertaking any sort of settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly in East Jerusalem. Not only could those actions ultimately undermine the talks but, obviously, they remain illegal under international law.”
2013-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7047 (2013) · source
“The Palestinian-Israeli negotiations currently under way sharpen our collective hope that in a few months' time a comprehensive peace will finally settle on a land most holy to the three monotheistic faiths - a peace founded on the basis of two States, Palestine and Israel, existing side-by-side in peace and security. As the two sides work their way towards that noble objective, with the extraordinary support provided by the United States Secretary of State, traditional spoilers will attempt, with increasing fever and intensity, to bring ruin upon us, in other words, to spoil that. We urge the Israeli Government in particular to do everything in its power to prevent the extreme parts of the right-wing settler movement from provoking a crisis on Al-Haram Al-Sharif.”
2013-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7047 (2013) · source
“Finally, while my delegation believes that it is of course necessary to focus on women, girls and boys as the obvious victims of sexual violence in the context of war, there is an unfortunate aspect to that view, which is that we give the impression that only the young count. In all conflicts, in our experience, it is the elderly, women and men, who are often the most vulnerable to the horrors of war, simply because their immobility in many cases means they cannot flee. Elderly women can therefore be, and often are, more easily assaulted sexually and then murdered, than younger women. Without, of course, taking our eyes off the young, we should all also pay more attention to the elderly and disabled in war than we have done thus far.”
2013-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6984 (2013) · source
“Teams of experts are a good start where the action of the Security Council is concerned but fall woefully short of what is required, and I myself have seen this in United Nations field operations. Secondly, we must support all and every effort aimed at the creation of an international repository for evidence - a complicated business, we know, owing to concerns relating to contamination and admissibility. Nevertheless, we must try to set it up. We would then be in a position to better assist national jurisdictions that are incapable of or unwilling to prosecute during conflict, but would in some cases be better able to do so post-conflict. Such a facility could also be of service to the International Criminal Court.”
2013-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6984 (2013) · source
“It would be like having a major modern hospital containing wings dedicated to every known medical specialty and sub-specialty, but with no division dedicated to cardiology or cardiovascular surgery - only a few cardiologists scattered throughout the hospital - because somehow we thought the heart did not merit it. What we have is simply insufficient. The United Nations needs a service, a full-fledged department that, on request, can advise Member States that seek to upgrade or reform their judiciary or prosecution services or wish to improve their penal codes. United Nations missions of every variety would also require its services. If we are to be serious about ending impunity for sexual crimes in the context of war, that is what we need.”
2013-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6984 (2013) · source
“Beyond United Nations peacekeeping, what else should the United Nations do to assist societies or countries in war, or emerging from war, to address sexual Violence and end impunity? The United Nations, in our opinion, requires a single vehicle for the delivery of judicial and legal advice. My delegation has been saying this for many years now. So crucial is a functioning, credible judiciary to every State's existence, it is remarkable that, 68 years after the founding of the United Nations, while we have single-purpose departments and agencies for almost everything, we do not have one for this: only a hodge-podge of rule-of-law offices, representatives, units and experts scattered throughout the Secretariat and specialized agencies.”
2013-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6984 (2013) · source
“We must do better on matters relating to paternity. In situ court- martials for military offenders must be the rule and not the exception for sexual offences, and we must consider again the proposal that all United Nations personnel destined for field service submit a sample of their DNA to the United Nations before they embark, both to serve as a deterrent to the commission of crimes and also for the sake of possible subsequent investigations, including establishing paternity. And, lastly, we, the Member States, need to report to the UN clearly and at the earliest possible time, what judicial steps were undertaken by our authorities with respect to the alleged crimes.”
2013-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6984 (2013) · source
“As a former peacekeeper myself, I would never do that; I would never disgrace their efforts. I know only too well and first-hand what they do and can endure. But I also know that we have long treated those individuals who dare commit sexual abuses too lightly. Indeed, while it is they who in the end disgrace United Nations peacekeeping, we on occasion also contribute to it by our clear indifference. I hope that this debate will restart this discussion. So what must we do regarding United Nations peacekeeping? We must adopt the convention on criminal accountability as soon as possible; we must make the United Nations a co-examiner of the facts, even when the allegations involve United Nations military personnel. We must be more transparent regarding the severity and nature of the crimes being committed by United Nations peacekeepers.”
2013-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6984 (2013) · source
“I do not wish to be misunderstood: if we had done everything we should have done over the past seven years to ensure the total elimination of this abominable practice by our own peacekeepers, and they still occurred, then we could accept that there is little more we can do. But we, as Member States, have not done everything, and so we cannot make that claim. The United Nations is required to set an example before our publics as an Organization that will without question pay special attention to the most vulnerable and defenceless protected persons in war, with, first, a guaranteed protection provided by ourselves, from ourselves and then from others. My intention here is not to cast doubt on or belittle the outstanding service and contributions of United Nations peacekeepers.”
2013-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6984 (2013) · source
“Do we have any credibility when we insist that the United Nations has no business in relation to the conduct of investigations into alleged crimes committed by our own United Nations uniformed peacekeepers, knowing that in the past we, the Member States, were not reliable enough in guaranteeing that justice was done in respect of the victims? Are we credible when in 2012, the last Office of Internal Oversight Services reporting period, we still had 42 cases of sexual exploitation and abuse involving United Nations peacekeepers being investigated by that Office? By now, some seven years after we identified both the challenge and the plan needed to eliminate this odious phenomenon, there should be practically no cases at all.”
2013-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6984 (2013) · source
“Can we not be accused by others of brazen hypocrisy when we condemn in this Chamber all expressions of conflict-related sexual Violence committed against women, girls and boys, and speak of them as unjust and intolerable - and we have done this for 13 years now - and then down the hall, only a few metres from here, in the Sixth Committee, we do next to nothing, year in and year out, on the draft convention on criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission, a draft which has been on the agenda of the Sixth Committee since 2007.”
2013-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6984 (2013) · source
“I begin by asking this: do we, as a collective membership, bound together in this Organization and by its Charter, have the credibility to offer strong opinions on this subject matter? Do we have the credibility when together we have all refused to undertake the complete range of actions necessary to ensure that sexual abuse and exploitation by our own peacekeepers, United Nations peacekeepers, be reduced to zero?”
2013-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6984 (2013) · source
“We join other delegations in commending the United Kingdom for its outstanding, persistent and welcomed championing of this critical issue. We welcome the Foreign Secretary to New York, and we are also grateful to the Secretary-General and to Special Representative of the Secretary-General Zainab Bangura for their comments and insights this morning. I will not delve into the scope of the mandate of Special Representative of the Secretary-General Bangura, a United Nations official whom we admire greatly and support, nor even speak of the very necessary role of the International Criminal Court, which, for us, is a logical given. What I hope to do in the next few minutes is pose a most basic question and make three broad suggestions.”
2013-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6984 (2013) · source
“In this vein, it is also worth recalling how, in negotiating the draft for what became resolution 242 (1967), the understanding reached between the principal interlocutors was for a withdrawal from all non-Israeli territory, with only minor reciprocal border rectifications. Ultimately, our hope is to see the occupation of all Arab lands ended fully, for the Palestinians to live free in their new State and, 68 years after the Holocaust, for the Israelis to feel secure, with all of us in the region working together in the shade of a permanent comprehensive peace.”
2013-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6906Resumption1 (2013) · source
“Moreover, our deep opposition to the policy of settlement building and our repeated condemnation of it, which we reiterate today, are not founded on some form of bigotry toward the Jewish people. What they are built on is a continuing, three-decade-long violation of international humanitarian law, confirmed by the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion of 2004 and understood as such by the vast majority of States existing in the world today. Finally, we hope that the international community will be seized by the urgency of these delicate moments to create the necessary conditions for the resumption of the final status talks, within which the final shape ofthe borders will no doubt be dealt with early.”
2013-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6906Resumption1 (2013) · source
“For those on the more extreme Israeli right who seem to be largely unaware of this last point, or are aware and do not much care, it is worth repeating again that in respect of the Rome Statute, and pending the Court's application of its jurisdiction over Palestine, which is something that may now become possible, we may move beyond simply State responsibility and cross into the domain of individual criminal liability. The actions of the Israeli settler movement in the occupied Palestinian territories must, for obvious reasons, now stop, and the deep suffering of the Palestinian people must be brought to an end. The actions of States must be guided by customary international law, which this Council itself must uphold and not undermine.”
2013-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6906Resumption1 (2013) · source
“Thus the Green Line is the starting line from which is measured the extent of Israel's occupation of non-Israeli territory; originating in 1949 as an armistice line, it became in 1967 the line to the Israeli side of which Israel had to withdraw its forces, and on the non-Israeli side of which territory was 'occupied' by Israel." The transfer by the occupying Power of parts of its own population into the territory it occupies represents a clear and continuing serious violation of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict, as codified by article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and which is also defined as a criminal act in article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute.”
2013-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6906Resumption1 (2013) · source
“All these territories (including East Jerusalem) remain occupied territories and Israel has continued to have the status of occupying Power." (see A/ES-10/273) It is also worth noting that there are no territorial exceptions to this finding. All the territory of the West Bank, as described by the International Court ofJustice, is considered occupied. A closer reading of resolution 242 (1967) also bears this point out, as we explained before the International Court of Justice on 24 February 2004. In his oral submission, the late Sir Arthur Watts, Q.C., Counsel for Jordan, noted how resolution 242 (1967) "affirmed, unanimously, the principle of Israel's withdrawal of its armed forces 'from territories occupied in the recent conflict' - and that meant, and could only mean, territories on the non-Israeli side of the Green Line.”
2013-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6906Resumption1 (2013) · source
“Israel's administrative and military regulations, insofar as the West Bank is concerned, can be lawful only if they are utterly consistent with the Fourth Geneva Convention and its control guided strictly by its obligations as the occupying Power. The International Court ofJustice's position on this last point is crystal clear. It maintained in paragraph 78 of its 2004 advisory opinion that: "The territories situated between the Green Line [...] and the former eastern boundary of Palestine under the Mandate were occupied by Israel in 1967 during the armed conflict between Israel and Jordan. Under customary international law, these were therefore occupied territories in which Israel had the status of occupying Power. Subsequent events in these territories [...] have done nothing to alter this situation.”
2013-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6906Resumption1 (2013) · source
“But we can hardly stitch a credible international effort together, with the fine adjustments it requires, if every week we are being buffeted by news of planned or new Israeli settlement activity, particularly were it to be in occupied East Jerusalem, or in E-l, which denies the Palestinians contiguity and will doom peace for good. What is particularly vexing is that the law on this issue remains unaltered and abundantly clear, notwithstanding whatever decisions the Supreme Court of Israel may choose to take. The applicable law in respect of the exercise by Israel of military control over the occupied State of Palestine is, once again, neither Israeli law nor whatever domestic law Israel sees fit to impose, but international humanitarian law, applicable to all high contracting parties as well as obligations that are erga omnes.”
2013-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6906Resumption1 (2013) · source
“The Arab-Israeli peace process has reached a crucial point, and the Council over the coming year will be the known to future generations as either the Council that presided over the end of one of the longest conflicts on its agenda, with the birth of a comprehensive settlement based on two States existing side by side in peace and security, or the Council that presided over more ignominious outcome: the burial of peace and the ruin of those living in the region. We must now therefore do all we can to arrest any development affecting negatively the prospects of the relaunching of the final status negotiations.”
2013-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6906Resumption1 (2013) · source
“The industrial annihilation of a people was hitherto unknown to a world that had long grown accustomed to campaigns of persecution and mass killing; we think in this regard of the suffering of indigenous nations, for example. The principal lesson from all those experiences has been clear: once we classify and subordinate others to categories not equal with ourselves, along a value chain not drawn from a universal perspective but defined narrowly by the individual communities themselves, we can easily slip into degrading the other, stigmatize them and blame them for whatever negative circumstances unfold, ultimately launching ourselves towards outcomes otherwise thought impossible and which became more possible with every curse.”
2013-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6906Resumption1 (2013) · source
“All protocol observed, I wish to concentrate my statement today solely on the critical matter of settlement- building in the occupied Palestinian territories, without prejudice to the deep importance that we attach to the other pressing emergencies in our region, which I will come back to in our next intervention before the Council under this item. In two days' time, the United Nations will begin marking the anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz and, in doing so, recall one of the grimmest episodes in human existence, when the Nazis, together with their collaborators in occupied Europe, destroyed most of eastern and central Europe's Jewish population, together with a large number of Jews drawn from western Europe, particularly from France, the Netherlands and Belgium.”
2013-01-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6906Resumption1 (2013) · source
“As a member of the United Nations and the League of Arab States and a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Jordan will not hesitate to use such mechanisms.”
2012-10-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6847Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Members are all aware of Jordan's huge burden as a result of sheltering refugees, who flee daily for their lives. That burden will be exacerbated with the onset of winter, increasing their hardship and suffering. Also, we cannot ignore the deliberate targeting of our border troops as they strive to secure the entry of refugees across our borders. That targeting must stop immediately. In that regard, we wish to underscore the fact that Jordan will never hesitate and will continue to provide assistance to our brothers in Syria despite the dangerous and serious bloodshed. At the same time, we will not allow any violation of our sovereignty because of our humanitarian role. If our sovereignty is breached, Jordan reserves the right to resort to all legal international measures and mechanisms.”
2012-10-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6847Resumption1 (2012) · source
“We hope that, following the United States election this year, there will be an exceptional opportunity to achieve our common goal. We reiterate our ongoing concern over Jerusalem and its holy Islamic and Christian sites and subsequent threats. We underscore the significance of the sacred Al-Haram al-Sharif, which is the third holiest site for Muslims, who consider Al-Haram al-Sharif as sacred as the Kaaba itself. The international community should therefore send a clear message that any attempt to destroy the Arab, Islamic or Christian character of Jerusalem is unacceptable. Despite the urgent need to reach a lasting settlement to the Palestinian issue, we should not ignore the plight of our brothers in Syria. The bloodshed there, which we strongly condemn, cannot be overlooked or condoned.”
2012-10-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6847Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Earlier this year, we worked alongside the two parties in Amman in an attempt to relaunch a dialogue. Although that dialogue has ceased, we will not lose hope and will continue to work for the resumption of direct negotiations between the two parties. In that regard, we have repeatedly demanded and will continue to demand that Israel completely cease its settlement activities and unilateral actions, since such measures pose a direct threat to a peaceful settlement. We therefore noted before the General Assembly that what is needed now more than ever is for all countries to use their collective influence, since neither the parties to the conflict nor the world can endure the ongoing acts of aggression and insecurity.”
2012-10-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6847Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Therefore, His Majesty King Abdullah II, in his statement before the General Assembly on 25 September, emphasized the crux of the matter, namely, the question of Palestine, as follows: "As the Arab Spring demanded dignity for all, so it demanded the end of exceptionalism. No single issue causes greater anger than to tell an entire people that when it comes to global justice they do not count. The Arab Spring cannot bear its full fruit until the Palestinian-Israeli conflict ends, and ends with ajust peace and a Palestinian State living side by side with a secure Israel at peace with the entire region." (A/67/PV7, p.20) Our main priority has always been and will remain the two-State solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security and able to move forwards on the basis of a fair and comprehensive settlement.”
2012-10-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6847Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein (Jordan) (spoke in Arabic): I should like at the outset to express our satisfaction at seeing you, Mr. President, guide the work of the Security Council this month. We are confident that your well-known experience and wisdom will ensure a successful outcome to the work of the Council. We have repeatedly cautioned against the exploitation of international and regional concerns with respect to the Arab Spring, the Iranian nuclear programme, the American presidential elections and other international and regional issues to impose new Israeli faits accomplis on the Palestinian occupied territories, which could undermine the establishment of a Palestinian State.”
2012-10-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6847Resumption1 (2012) · source
“The members of the Network value the recommendations of the workshop organized by the Permanent Mission of Portugal and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on this issue and call for their consideration by Member States and by the Council, including the proposal for the development of a checklist for engagement with the International Criminal Court. Finally, we consider it extremely important that the Council continue to consider this issue periodically and with the appropriate inputs, including from the Secretary-General and from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Furthermore, their findings provide a basis for remedies for the victims and grounds for possible referrals to the International Criminal Court. We support the Secretary-General's recommendation urging the Council to play a more proactive role in ensuring an appropriate international response when national authorities fail to take the steps necessary to ensure accountability, and reiterate the call for greater regularity and frequency in the use of fact-finding missions by the Council. We also stress the need for the Security Council to consider thoroughly and follow up on the recommendations of the commissions of inquiry established in the past months by the Human Rights Council. We are concerned by the difficulties in taking action to ensure the protection of civilians in those situations, in particular with regard to Syria.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“As members of the Human Security Network, we strongly agree with the warning about the dangers of the "bunkerization" of humanitarian operations and the use of armed guards and escorts, as noted in paragraphs 20 and 21 of the annex to the report. Last but not least, we welcome the follow-up on the issue of accountability, which is vital for the protection of civilians and for achieving sustainable peace. First of all, as the international community, we should do more in order to help build national capacities to ensure accountability for Violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law. As stated in the report, international commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions have also proved useful in encouraging national authorities to provide for accountability.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“It is clear that obstacles to the deployment and movement of humanitarian workers can significantly affect the humanitarian response and the possibility to reach affected people, in particular the most vulnerable groups, including women and children. We should all cooperate in order to implement humanitarian activities from the outset and for the duration of an emergency. We remain deeply concerned about violence against humanitarian workers and wish to draw attention to the fact that building acceptance for humanitarian action among the communities and the parties to conflict remains the best way to gain safe and sustained access to people in need.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“On the issue of strengthening the protection provided by United Nations peacekeeping and other missions, it is very important that the missions continue to assist in creating protective environments, including by supporting the establishment of effective rule of law and security institutions, in addition to the physical protection they provide. We also recognize the protection role of other humanitarian actors, including the ICRC and non-governmental organizations. Our countries are especially thankful for the important information shared about the constraints on humanitarian access on the ground.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Further action is needed in order to implement resolution 1738 (2006). We also call for the implementation of the Secretary-General's recommendations for a more proactive role of the Security Council on attacks against health-care facilities, including the collection of data. Furthermore, we share the Secretary-General's concern about the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas and welcome his recommendations on this issue. We would like to highlight the importance of focusing on the consequences for civilians if engagement with non-State armed groups does not take place.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“However, the members of the Network are deeply concerned by the fact that, since the adoption of the most recent statement by the President of the Security Council on the protection of civilians (S/PRST/2010/25), the difficult situation on the ground generally has shown little change. We concur with the Secretary-General on the need to strengthen our efforts to respond to the five core challenges identified in his past two reports and welcome the recommendations therein. With regard to the lack of compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law, we would like to stress the need to pay further attention to the dangers faced by journalists and other media professionals. They play a crucial role by reporting on the situation of civilians in armed conflict and on violations of humanitarian law and human rights.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. We recognize that some progress has been made not only in providing peacekeeping missions with the necessary tools to implement the protection of civilians mandates, but also in the consideration of protection issues in the situation-specific resolutions and in the use of targeted sanctions. We are also encouraged by the recent verdicts of the International Criminal Court and the Special Court for Sierra Leone and by the forthcoming United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“We thank the Secretary-General for his latest report (S/2012/376) and, in particular, for his presentation today. We also very much welcome the briefing by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the practice established in 2011 of inviting it to briefthe Council on country-specific situations. We encourage the Council to use all the information generated by the different organs of the United Nations to better implement the international norms and obligations for the protection of civilians. Our thanks are also due to the Director for International Law and Cooperation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for his insightful comments, in particular in view of the annex to the report regarding constraints on humanitarian access, as well as to Ms.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“It is my honour to speak on behalf of the Human Security Network, namely, Austria, Chile, Costa Rica, Greece, Ireland, Mali, Norway, Panama, Slovenia, Switzerland, Thailand, with South Africa as an observer, and my own country, Jordan. The Network is a cross-regional group of States that advocates a people-centred, holistic approach to security. The protection of civilians in armed conflict is one of the priorities of the Network, and we engaged constructively in the Security Council debates on the issue as early as 2002. We encourage the Security Council to continue to advance the agenda on protection and separate this important issue from other political discussions that could undermine the potential of this framework of action.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“What it is built on is a continuing, three-decade- long violation of international humanitarian law, confirmed by the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion of 2004 and understood as such by the vast majority of States existing in the world today. Finally, the exploratory talks currently under way in Jordan are not inconsistent with the law; far from it. The key, as most of us know, to the resolution of the settlements issue politically relies on the formulation of an early agreement on the border rectifications, on the basis of the interpretation just mentioned in my statement. We hope that there will be a positive outcome in this regard soon, opening the way for the much-needed final status negotiations, which will ultimately lead to freedom, security and peace.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“And perhaps, we must concede, we could have done more to better understand that point, done more to develop greater trust by, inter alia, better explaining the terms of the Arab Peace Initiative to the Israeli public. On the other hand, the actions of States must also be guided by customary international law, which the Council itself must uphold and not undermine. Moreover, our deep opposition to the policy of settlement-building and our repeated condemnation of it, which we reiterate today, is not founded on some form of genetically based enmity or bigotry towards the Jewish people, and any assertion of that is thoroughly distasteful to us, for it is simply not true.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“The actions of the Israeli settler movement in the occupied Palestinian territories must, for obvious reasons, now stop, and the deep suffering of the Palestinian people must be brought to an end through the establishment of their own State on the basis of the 4 June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with Israel in peace and security. The Israelis will on occasion say to us that resolving the conflict is less a matter of law than of psychology, and, given the rhythms and the very real, catastrophic traumas of Jewish historical experience, they are cautious about placing their trust in anybody, let alone, they say, in us, the Arabs.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Can the veto be used or threatened like this, so unrestrictedly, when the violations are so serious? And why should, in any case, Article 27, paragraph 3, eclipse in importance Article 24, paragraph 2, and Article 1, paragraph 1? All of this is lamentable, I am afraid. It is small wonder that, when I served with the United Nations in the Balkans in the early 19905, the Council and its actions seemed on many occasions to us to be so distant from the bloody events unfolding before us there.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“How can the exercise of the veto by a permanent member on the basis of Article 27, paragraph 3, of the Charter, in respect of the Israeli settlements being built in the occupied Palestinian territories, fit in with the two other Articles of the Charter I just mentioned: Article 24, paragraph 2, and Article 1, paragraph 1? Are we comfortable with the fact that some of the permanent members can, by their actions, make the Council seemingly bypass the principles of justice and international law? The argument is, of course, applicable not just to transfer and settlement-building, but also to other serious violations of international law and international criminal law, and not just restricted to the consideration of Israeli conduct, but also to the conduct of others in our immediate neighbourhood within the Middle East.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“The transfer by the occupying Power of parts of its own population into the territory it occupies represents a clear and continuing serious violation of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict as codified by article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and which is defined as a criminal act in article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute. After all, the Council is obliged, under the terms of Articles 24, paragraph 2, and Article 1, paragraph 1, of the United Nations Charter - articles which necessarily go together - to act in accordance with the purposes of the Charter, and one of those purposes is "the principles of justice and international law".”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“For decades Israel has been settling on territory which does not belong to it, against the wishes of the Palestinian people, to whom the territory does belong and for whom freedom from military occupation is long overdue. Is it right that their suffering - as highlighted again in the most recent report of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs focusing on the humanitarian impact of the settlements policy - draws from us, the international community, year after year, only the thinnest response, best encapsulated by the word "noted"? It is deeply regrettable how in recent years the Security Council has proved itself unable to adopt a position on the issue of settlements.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source