YouSaid · the spoken record

Richard Mills

lines on the record: 205
first: 2020-10-27
most recent: 2021-05-26
sittings or episodes: 28
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

“Every month, the Council meets to urge Syria to implement its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and resolution 2118 (2013) and to hold Syria accountable when it fails to do so. All of us on the Council are aware that, in the more than seven years since the Al-Assad regime’s accession to the Convention, it has failed to fulfil those obligations and has sought to make a mockery of the structures in place to realize a world free of chemical weapons. We believe the Security Council has a responsibility to ensure that there are serious consequences for those who use chemical weapons. We cannot remain silent or allow chemical weapons and their use to become normalized or acceptable.”
2021-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/22 (2021) · source
“Let me join you, Mr. President, in extending a welcome to the five new members of the Council that have joined us this month. On behalf of Ambassador Craft and everyone here at the United States Mission, we look forward to working with them closely on this and other issues. Let me also wish everyone a happy new year. I thank High Representative Nakamitsu for her briefing. I do not think there is any disagreement with her concluding words that chemical weapons are unacceptable, their use is inexcusable and there is no dispute over their barbarity and unacceptability. Yet today, at our first meeting of 2021, we find ourselves, as members of the Security Council, still fighting to uphold a century-old global norm never to use such weapons again.”
2021-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/22 (2021) · source
“All of us here at the United States Mission wish our departing colleagues continued success and look forward to working with all five delegations on other issues.”
2020-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1324 (2020) · source
“Second statement by the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, Richard Mills Since this is the last scheduled meeting of the year, I would like, on behalf of my Mission and Ambassador Craft, to take a moment to thank the five outgoing members of the Council — Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia and South Africa — for their work over the past two years. I have been here only about two months, but during that time I have seen what I was told in Washington, D.C., before I arrived here — that these five elected members brought great commitment, great willingness to speak the truth to the Council and, every now and then, a bit of feistiness to the work. It has been a great pleasure for me to be a part of that over the past 60 days.”
2020-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1324 (2020) · source
“The United States will continue to work with our partners around the world, especially those in the region that face the devastating effect of Iran’s destabilizing influence most directly, in order to jointly address Iran’s reckless disregard for its Security Council obligations. We hope that the members of the Council will join us S/2020/1324 in those efforts, and we look forward to the Secretariat’s continued reporting on this pressing issue.”
2020-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1324 (2020) · source
“We once again call on the Secretary-General and every member of the Council to fully implement all United Nations sanctions measures, including those reimposed through snapback. I also want to take a minute to note that the discussion of the waiver issued by the United States for activities related to the existing unit at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant pertains to a domestic administrative process that did not result in any sanctions designations. We believe that such matters should not be the focus of the Secretary-General’s 2231 report. Iran’s failure to abide by its Security Council obligations should be met with continued diplomatic and economic pressure and the further isolation of the Iranian regime.”
2020-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1324 (2020) · source
“If the Iranian regime seeks sanctions relief and economic opportunities, it must first demonstrate that it is serious about fundamentally changing its behaviour. Iran must cease its nuclear extortion and negotiate a comprehensive deal that includes enduring nuclear restrictions and addresses its development and proliferation of ballistic missiles, as well as deals with its continuing support for terrorism, the unjust detention of its citizens and its other destabilizing activities in the region. Finally, we recognize the report’s attention to the snapback of previous United Nations sanctions on Iran. We regret, however, the decision of the Secretary-General to encourage the continued use of the procurement channel in resolution 2231 (2015), which is inconsistent with the snapback.”
2020-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1324 (2020) · source
“Yet, as Iran continues to flout the Council’s resolutions, too many Council members, unfortunately, are eager to ignore or overlook Iran’s disregard for the restrictions that the Council has put in place, including those that the United States has reimposed through our legitimate snapback process. The Security Council has a responsibility to address Iran’s destabilizing behaviour. A failure to do so, I fear, would call into question the credibility of this organ. A reluctance to act would also send a dangerous message to other rogue actors and despots around the world. Members of the Council must condemn Iran’s behaviour, which threatens international peace and security, instead of rewarding the regime’s dangerous gamesmanship with economic appeasement.”
2020-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1324 (2020) · source
“I want to thank our briefers for their presentations this morning. I have a relatively straightforward message to deliver today: the tenth report of the Secretary- General (S/2020/1177) provides an unmistakable indication of Iran’s continued destabilizing behaviour. Take, for example, the Secretary-General’s assessment that an anti-tank guided missile discovered in Libya has characteristics consistent with Iranian-produced anti-tank guided missiles. That demonstrates that Iranian weapons continue to proliferate in Iran’s immediate region and beyond. Moreover, reports that an entity designated by the Security Council may have been involved in shipping valves, electronics and measuring equipment suitable for use in ground testing of liquid propellant ballistic missiles to Iran demand the Council’s attention.”
2020-12-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1324 (2020) · source
“We certainly agree that recent law school graduates from developing countries should also have an opportunity to participate in the Court’s Judicial Fellowship Programme. Increasing opportunities for future practitioners of international law to learn about the Court and learn from its esteemed judges will itself serve to strengthen the rule of law and help to spread awareness of the valuable role the Court can play in the promotion of international peace and security. Accordingly, we were very pleased to co-sponsor and join consensus on resolution 75/129, establishing the trust fund, which the General Assembly adopted on Monday of this week (see A/75/PV.44).”
2020-12-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1286 (2020) · source
“On this seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations and of the Court, we celebrate their contribution to the promotion of the rule of law and the preservation of international peace and security. Finally, let me also add a few words about the trust fund to support participation in the International Court of Justice’s Judicial Fellowship Programme. The programme was founded in 1999, through an initiative of a very prominent law school in our host city: the New York University School of Law. The programme has expanded over the years so that dozens of law school graduates have benefited from this worthy, valuable opportunity to work with and learn from the Judges of the Court.”
2020-12-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1286 (2020) · source
“And with the multiplicity of available dispute-settlement mechanisms, such as regional courts and international tribunals, parties to a dispute have a range of avenues to consider for the resolution of their disputes. And it is gratifying to know that for those Member States that accept its jurisdiction, the Court stands ready to adjudicate their disputes. We should not forget, on this seventy-fifth anniversary, that there once was a day when territorial disputes, and even trade matters, were resolved, almost routinely, through military means. We should not take for granted how transformative the United Nations Charter and the Statute of the International Court of Justice were when they were adopted, including in their advancement of the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law.”
2020-12-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1286 (2020) · source
“As situations develop into matters requiring the Security Council’s attention, we must, of course, remain mindful of where the Court might play a role while preserving the fundamental principle of State consent to judicial settlement of disputes enshrined in the Statute of the Court. We are also mindful that, in Article 33, the Charter of the United Nations, as we have heard, provides that parties to a dispute that is likely to endanger international security and peace shall first seek a solution through the peaceful means of their choice, which can run from negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration or judicial settlement. Many disputes are successfully resolved through other means of dispute settlement, so that they never need to reach the Security Council or the International Court of Justice.”
2020-12-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1286 (2020) · source
“We appreciate the opportunity to address the relationship between the Court and the Security Council and the complementary role these principal organs play in the maintenance of international peace and security. The International Court of Justice plays a vital role in promoting and preserving the rule of law and in advancing international peace and security through the peaceful resolution of disputes. The increasing workload of the Court demonstrates a recognition by States Members of the United Nations that accept its jurisdiction that it is preferable to resolve disputes peacefully through the Court rather than to allow them to fester and possibly lead to conflict. That these disputes may, as a result, never reach this Chamber reinforces the effectiveness of the United Nations framework.”
2020-12-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1286 (2020) · source
“We are pleased that South Africa has organized today’s debate. The Security Council receives an annual briefing from the President of the International Court of Justice and exchanges views about issues of common interest, but those meetings by custom are held in private. In this seventy-fifth anniversary year of the International Court of Justice, it is fitting that we have a second opportunity to highlight the crucial role of the Court and to do so at a public meeting. I would first like to extend our congratulations to those candidates recently elected or re-elected to the Court, as well as our deep gratitude to all of the candidates for their dedication to the field of international law.”
2020-12-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1286 (2020) · source
“We continue to support all efforts aimed at ensuring accountability, not only to provide justice to the victims and the families who have suffered as a result of those heinous chemical-weapon attacks, but to support the broader political process, as called for in resolution 2254 (2015), so as to bring peace and stability to Syria and the Syrian people. In conclusion, we continue to support the work of the OPCW as well as its leadership and experts as they work to rid the world of the risk and scourge of chemical weapons. We applaud the OPCW’s professionalism and integrity in undertaking that important and solemn task.”
2020-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1202 (2020) · source
“To that end, the United States, along with 45 other sponsors with broad geographic representation, has submitted a draft decision to the Conference of the States Parties in response to Syria’s brazen violation of its obligations under the Convention and its failure to fulfil the measures set forth in July’s Executive Council decision. We call on all countries to support that draft decision, aimed at holding Syria accountable for its actions. We urge the Al-Assad regime’s enablers, particularly Russia, to encourage Syria to come clean about its use of chemical weapons and its current chemical-weapon stockpiles.”
2020-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1202 (2020) · source
“The Council has a solemn responsibility to ensure that there are serious consequences for the perpetrators of such heinous attacks. Unfortunately, Russia and other members of the Security Council would prefer to support their friend Bashar Al-Assad and block all action rather than fulfil the Council’s central responsibility to promote international peace and security. It is incumbent upon the Security Council to take steps to hold Syria accountable for its use of chemical weapons and hold Syria to its obligations under resolution 2118 (2013). Syria must also uphold its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, and we call on the Conference of the States Parties to take appropriate action, when its session reconvenes in the spring, in order to send a strong message to the Al-Assad regime that its actions have consequences.”
2020-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1202 (2020) · source
“The United States strongly supports providing the highly professional and hard-working staff of the OPCW’s investigative and attribution mechanisms, such as the IIT, with the means and the resources they need to be able to fulfil the mission entrusted to them. We congratulate the Director-General on the overwhelming adoption of the budget at the recent Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention so that the Organization can continue its important work on upholding the norm against the use of chemical weapons. Chemical weapons pose a security threat to all States, and when they are used, the members of the Security Council must never remain silent about such inhumane and reprehensible acts or treat them with impunity.”
2020-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1202 (2020) · source
“Unfortunately, the IIT’s findings were not surprising, given the Al-Assad regime’s repeated and well-documented history of the use of chemical weapons. In response to the IIT’s findings, the OPCW Executive Council took action and adopted a decision in July requesting that Syria take measures to redress the situation. That decision received support from more than two thirds of the Executive Council, including members from across all regional groups. On 14 October, Director- General Arias shared a report with the Security Council stating that Syria had failed, unsurprisingly, to complete any of the measures set forth in July’s Executive Council decision.”
2020-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1202 (2020) · source
“The United States condemns in the strongest terms the use of chemical weapons by the Al-Assad regime. Al-Assad’s chemical-weapon attacks are, tragically, just one example of the atrocities he has committed and continues to inflict on the Syrian people. The OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) has, in our view, diligently and professionally carried out the work of its mandate, and in April the IIT’s first report concluded that the Syrian Arab Air Force was responsible for three chemical weapons attacks in Ltamenah, Syria, in March 2017, including two sarin attacks and one chlorine attack, affecting more than 100 Syrian people. The victims of sarin exposure can experience horrific symptoms, from blurred vision and breathing difficulties to convulsions and respiratory failure, and it can eventually lead to death.”
2020-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1202 (2020) · source
“We believe that it conducts its work in a professional manner and carries out its mission in accordance with the international standards that the international community expects. The coronavirus disease pandemic has raised additional hurdles for the OPCW, yet it has found ways to continue its important work, investigate when incidents of the use of chemical weapons take place and assist States parties when asked to do so. The Al-Assad regime’s violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention go far beyond its undeclared chemical-weapon stockpile; they also include the barbaric use of those weapons against the Syrian people, including women and children, throughout the protracted civil war. We must not allow those types of attacks to be normalized, nor should we become numb to the depravity of the Al-Assad regime.”
2020-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1202 (2020) · source
“We thank Director-General Arias and High Representative Nakamitsu for their briefings, which were professional as always. We welcome the opportunity for the Security Council to hear directly from Director-General Arias and to engage in a transparent and open discussion about the Syrian regime’s abhorrent use of chemical weapons against its own people, its refusal to fully declare and destroy its chemical weapons programme and its continued flouting of its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. Given the comments of our Russian colleague, I should begin by saying that the United States strongly supports the leadership and the impartial and independent work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). We applaud the OPCW Technical Secretariat.”
2020-12-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1202 (2020) · source
“But we are alarmed by the October release of approximately 200 prisoners in Mali, most of whom, I believe, were held on terrorism charges. We are therefore urging Mali’s transitional Government and other actors to swiftly implement the principles of the Algiers Agreement. This Agreement remains relevant, and its provisions will have a stabilizing effect in northern Mali and the entire Sahel. We also call on the transitional Government in Mali to hold free and fair elections within 18 months and to uphold its commitments on everything from fighting corruption to enacting electoral and governance reforms. The Malian people deserve that and nothing less.”
2020-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1126 (2020) · source
“In addition, at the national level, we are calling on the transitional Government of Mali and the Governments of the Niger and Burkina Faso to conduct thorough and transparent investigations, and to hold accountable anyone responsible for alleged crimes, including the reported 50 arbitrary executions that Burkina Faso forces allegedly carried out in May. As the region seeks to improve governance, which is so crucial to restoring stability, we also call on the Governments of Burkina Faso, the Niger and Chad to promote free and fair electoral processes in their upcoming elections. Let me end by saying that we all know that Mali is critical to fighting violent extremism in the region, which is why we are pleased to hear from its Permanent Representative.”
2020-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1126 (2020) · source
“However, I think that we all know that progress can unravel quickly when State defence and security forces commit their own acts of violence against the very people they are supposed to protect. As we all know, such violations reinforce narratives by terrorists and drive recruitment, as others have said. We therefore expect a full investigation into the five alleged cases of serious human rights violations by the G-5 battalion operating in northern Burkina Faso, after MINUSMA and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights shared a list of those possible violations with the Joint Force in June. We agree with others that accountability is essential.”
2020-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1126 (2020) · source
“This is in addition to our existing regional social services, law enforcement and security assistance programmes, and, as well, in addition to our $111 million direct contribution to the Joint Force. In the near term, we expect to see the Joint Force fully leverage the support mechanism of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), enhanced last June to better support the G-5 Joint Force. We believe that there is no time to lose. MINUSMA is only part of the solution, and in our view it is unlikely to continue indefinitely at its current level. As we heard, the G-5 Joint Force has had some successes recently, with Operations Sama 1 and 2, and the Force taking over a MINUSMA temporary command post.”
2020-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1126 (2020) · source
“The United States, like others, as we have heard, remains committed to bilaterally supporting the Joint Force with equipment, training, supplies and advisers. Of course, we encourage other partners to both honour their pledges to the Joint Force and to consider additional bilateral support to individual G-5 countries. Since it was mentioned in the remarks made by other speakers, let me reiterate that it remains the position of the United States that United Nations assessed contributions are not a viable source of funding. In September, the United States announced $152 million in humanitarian assistance to respond to the needs of the people in the G-5 Sahel countries.”
2020-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1126 (2020) · source
“Let me join others in thanking our briefers for their informative briefings this morning. Just as it is for many of my counterparts in the Council, the security situation in the Sahel is a security concern for the United States. I was also struck by the theme that ran through the briefers’ comments about the increasing efforts of the Sahelian Governments to coordinate their actions to improve security, democratic governance and development in the region. The United States certainly agrees that such coordination is crucial to improving the stability and the prosperity of the region, and we were pleased to hear that that is happening. The United States agrees that the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel (G-5) and its civilian component are key to addressing some of the root causes of the conflict.”
2020-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1126 (2020) · source
“I have heard my colleagues mention the view and position of the United States on the International Criminal Court (ICC), so let me conclude by reiterating our long-standing and principled objection to any assertion of ICC jurisdiction over nationals of States that are not party to the Rome Statute, absent a Security Council referral or the consent of such States. International justice is not built on violating the founding agreements that created the tools of international justice. Our concerns regarding the ICC and the situation in Afghanistan are well-known. Our position on the ICC in no way diminishes the commitment of the United States to supporting accountability for crimes, atrocities and violations of international humanitarian law, and we will continue to be an advocate for justice.”
2020-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1108 (2020) · source
“The United States continues to oppose all foreign military intervention in Libya and supports the Organization’s efforts to convene the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum this week in Tunis for in-person discussions aimed at determining a new executive authority to prepare for national elections. We thank Acting Special Representative Williams and her team for their ongoing efforts in that regard. The United States will continue to be a strong supporter of meaningful accountability and justice for victims of atrocities through appropriate mechanisms. Perpetrators of atrocity crimes must face justice, but we must also be careful to use the right tools for each situation.”
2020-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1108 (2020) · source
“The United States welcomes the creation of an international fact-finding mission to document atrocities and other human rights abuses in Libya, and we strongly urge that it be granted full access throughout Libya. We join our colleagues on the Council in welcoming the 23 October announcement of the nationwide Libyan ceasefire, facilitated by Acting Special Representative Stephanie Williams, and we will press to ensure that it leads to an end to those abuses, facilitates efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice and enable the Libyan people to find a lasting political solution to this conflict.”
2020-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1108 (2020) · source
“Specifically, Mohammed Al-Kani and his Al-Kaniyat militia is one of the most egregious abusers of human rights in Libya and has carried out enforced disappearances, torture and killings in Tarhouna. The United States will nominate Al-Kani and the Al-Kaniyat militia shortly to the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011), concerning Libya, for designation, which would be a strong message from the Security Council for Libyan authorities and the international community to take meaningful enforcement action against human rights violators and to end the culture of impunity in Libya that is fuelling the conflict. Libyan armed groups and security forces on all sides, as well as their international backers, stand accused of perpetrating and enabling human rights abuses. Those actions are unacceptable.”
2020-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1108 (2020) · source
“We support the call of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya for an investigation into the reports of the use of excessive force against protesters. The Libyan people must be allowed to exercise their right to peaceful assembly. We also express concern about the mines and booby traps in the outskirts of Tripoli and the reports of a massacre of migrants in Mizda. The United States shares the horror of Libyans and the international community at the discovery of mass graves and of bodies showing signs of torture near Tarhouna. We support the immediate efforts of the Libyan Government and international bodies to investigate those abuses and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
2020-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1108 (2020) · source
“For that reason, the United States supported the European Union’s recent announcement of economic sanctions against Mahmoud Al-Werfalli for the human rights abuses he has committed against Libyans. The United States Government continues to receive reports of ongoing atrocities and other human rights abuses in Libya. These accounts include arbitrary killings, forced disappearances, unlawful detentions, torture and sexual and gender- based violence. The conflict in Libya is destabilizing to the region and has displaced many. A culture of impunity has prolonged the conflict by enabling human rights abuses against Libyans. The United States is furthermore concerned about reports of violence against peaceful protesters in August in Zawiyah, Tripoli and Houn.”
2020-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1108 (2020) · source
“The United States is concerned about crimes and human rights abuses in Libya, including the atrocities and violence against civilians in Tarhouna that we have just heard described in the briefing. But there are also long-standing crimes that must be accounted for expeditiously. Accountability for the architects of Libya’s darkest days would bring justice to the victims of those atrocities and their families, and help ensure that they are not forgotten. It would also strengthen the durability of the inclusive, negotiated political agreement we hope is in the future, because it would deliver a powerful deterrent message to potential abusers and to those involved in the current conflict who may have committed abuses and atrocities — that there is no place in Libya’s future for the commission of atrocities and other human rights abuses.”
2020-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1108 (2020) · source
“We must take all available action at the upcoming OPCW Conference of the States Parties. We must document the Syrian regime’s atrocities with precision. We must give voice to those displaced and preserve their histories. And we must spotlight the conduct of the regime’s enablers wherever possible and demand that they answer for their behaviour. The victims of Al-Assad’s chemical-weapons attacks deserve nothing less from us.”
2020-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1088 (2020) · source
“As if the use of chemical weapons were not bad enough, the Syrian people are starving and their communities have been destroyed. Humanitarian relief is constrained and neighbour countries struggle to accommodate swelling refugee populations. Responsible Governments behave responsibly. They promote and protect the human rights and the well-being of their citizens. They cooperate with their neighbours to pursue peace, security and prosperity. They comply with their international obligations, such as the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Syrian regime has failed on all of those basic obligations. Responsible nations must stand united against the conduct of the Al-Assad regime and its gallery of supporters. While the Council is impeded by Russia and China, the effort elsewhere to pursue accountability must be sustained.”
2020-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1088 (2020) · source
“The Council is blocked from fulfilling its mission by permanent members who are intent upon protecting a client at all costs, including the lives of many innocent Syrian women, men and children. And, unless and until those members alter their behaviour, Al-Assad has little reason to alter his. So it is hardly surprising that the Al-Assad regime has been unresponsive, as we have heard, to the OPCW Executive Council’s demands that it declare facilities where chemical weapons were developed, produced and stockpiled; that it reveal its remaining chemical-weapons stockpile and production facilities; and that it cooperate with the OPCW to account fully for its chemical-weapons programme. This charade has gone on since 2013, when Syria joined the OPCW.”
2020-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1088 (2020) · source
“As we just heard, the barbaric use of chemical weapons is an unacceptable security threat to all States, and when weapons of this nature are used, all members of the Council must take decisive action to hold the perpetrators accountable. Al-Assad’s enablers, including the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran, share that responsibility with all of us. How can those Governments defend the grotesque reality that Syria’s air force has repeatedly dropped sarin and chlorine bombs on civilians and, in the same breath, claim that they support international norms against the use of chemical weapons? It just does not add up. Tragically, the politically divided place that we all find ourselves in today gives little reason to believe that accountability for this wretched conduct is within reach.”
2020-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1088 (2020) · source
“I would like to thank High Representative Nakamitsu for her briefing and for her inspiring concluding words. The Security Council has met now on innumerable occasions — before and after the unanimous adoption of resolution 2118 (2013) — to discuss the Al- Assad regime’s repeated use of chemical weapons, its contempt for the resulting international response and its failure to cooperate with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The regime’s conduct is not in question. Repeated investigations by the United Nations-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism and the recent report of the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team have established the facts. Al-Assad’s forces are responsible for horrific atrocities and immeasurable human suffering.”
2020-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1088 (2020) · source
“We therefore call on the Al-Assad regime and Russia to immediately allow unfettered humanitarian access to the camp, including United Nations humanitarian deliveries and a needs assessment mission into Rukban so that the United Nations can work to find solutions for those remaining in the camp. Let me end by saying that the Trump Administration and the United States Government will continue to pursue a whole-of-Government approach, including through the implementation of the United States Caesar Act, to maintain the economic and diplomatic isolation of the Al-Assad regime until that regime makes concrete and irreversible progress towards a political resolution of the conflict. That is the only way forward to protect the Syrian people and ensure that they have the future they deserve — a future that they control.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“For those reasons, the United States will not attend the conference. We strongly urge the United Nations and all others to also forgo attendance at this conference, which has been orchestrated by those responsible for the refugees fleeing in the first place. Aid deliveries to areas recently back under Al-Assad’s control in the south-west and the Damascus suburbs, as well as the north-west and north-east, are still insufficient, as we have heard, to meet humanitarian needs and respond to COVID-19. Thousands of civilian residents of the Rukban IDP camp have been denied humanitarian access to the United Nations for 13 months due to non-approvals by the regime and by Russia.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“In April, the Secretary-General’s board of inquiry report for north-west Syria (S/2020/278, annex) found it highly probable that the Syrian Government and its allies, meaning the Russian Ministry of Defence, were responsible for conducting attacks that damaged hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, wreaking further devastation on the Syrian people. The Russian Federation formally withdrew from its deconfliction arrangements with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs last year, and that placed hospitals, civilian internally displaced person (IDP) camps and medical workers in its crosshairs, with a devastating effect throughout north-western Syria. Quite frankly, the United States Government does not believe that the Russian military is a credible host for convening a meaningful discussion on the returns of refugees.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“It is the strong belief of the United States that such a conference is counterproductive and that it is totally inappropriate for any military organization to manage refugee returns in Syria — be it Russia or any other. The conference does not address in any way the root causes of the conflict that has created millions of refugees in Syria. The conference aims to discuss refugee returns, which is completely premature given the lack of conditions on the ground for any large-scale refugee returns. Prematurely encouraging refugee returns will lead only to instability and a revolving door of displacement. We also note that the conference was not coordinated with the United Nations or with the countries that are hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees, such as Germany and Turkey.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“It is also the position of the United States Government and of the other major donors that provide the overwhelming majority of funding to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people. Therefore, the United States calls on the Al-Assad regime to stop targeting Syrians who have returned to regime-held areas and signed reconciliation agreements, and we call on the Al-Assad regime to create the conditions that would allow for the safe, voluntary, dignified and timely return of refugees to the country. We believe that it is important to be clear about the United Nations assessment of conditions for returns because that must be our guiding principle, not Syria’s or Russia’s political priorities. The Russian Ministry of Defence announced plans to host a conference in Damascus next month on international refugee returns, as many members know.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“The regime’s failure to address the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), coupled with the continued politicization of United Nations aid deliveries, cannot just be ignored, and neither can it be rewarded with reconstruction projects, capacity-building or the normalization of relations with Damascus. Therefore, the United States calls on the United Nations to fully uphold its principles and its parameters and maintain its focus on humanitarian relief operations inside Syria until a political agreement is reached. Conditions inside Syria, I believe as we heard, are not yet conducive to the safe facilitation of the large-scale return of refugees. That is the position of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“I again thank Mark Lowcock for his briefing. The United States delegation salutes the brave work of the United Nations and all the humanitarians working to help the Syrian people. The attacks on humanitarians in the north-west in the three separate incidents that Mr. Lowcock described are very troubling, and we want to express our sincere condolences to those who have lost loved ones to that violence. The recent air strikes against civilians and humanitarians in north-west Syria about which we just heard are only one of many examples that demonstrates without a doubt that Syria remains a country at war.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“Those measures would include elements such as the unilateral release of arbitrary detainees who are languishing in overcrowded regime prisons. They could include the restoration of property rights and the allowance of regular United Nations aid deliveries to all parts of Syria, as well as preparations to support free and fair elections, in line with resolution 2254 (2015). The cornerstone of peace in Syria and a negotiated political solution is a permanent, verifiable, nationwide ceasefire. Once again, the United States calls for the 5 March Idlib ceasefire agreement to be fully upheld by all actors on the ground in the north-west — Russia, Turkey, Syria and Iran. The Council must continue to demand the regime’s agreement to uphold a nationwide ceasefire. Let me shift to the ongoing humanitarian crisis.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source
“That is why we need the Constitutional Committee to work and why we need the United Nations to accelerate its planning to ensure that Syria’s upcoming elections are credible. The United States urges Special Envoy Pedersen to take any measures that he thinks are appropriate to facilitate the parties’ efforts consistent with the United Nations parameters and principles and also to identify to the Council who is blocking progress. We ask the Special Envoy to press the Syrian regime to act in accordance with the agreements that it has made on the agenda so that the next session can be held as soon as possible, with continued regular meetings throughout the end of the year. We expect the United Nations and the Syrian parties to work on concrete deliverables on other confidence-building measures.”
2020-10-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1049 (2020) · source