YouSaid · the spoken record

Roscoe

lines on the record: 181
first: 2019-09-30
most recent: 2022-05-25
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

“More work is also needed on bringing the perpetrators of such attacks to justice. We are pleased to see that three territories now have working groups to follow up on threats and attacks at a local level. We hope that initiative will soon be expanded across the country. In line with the Secretary-General’s ceasefire call, as endorsed by the Security Council, and with grave concern for the humanitarian impact of armed violence, we encourage all conflict parties in Colombia to create the conditions necessary for a cessation of hostilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, progress remains slow on former combatants’ access to land, which also affects their access to housing.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“Indeed, it was striking to hear the description of this situation by both the Special Representative and Ms. Carabalí Rodallega as the greatest threat to the peace process. Urgent action needs to be taken on this issue. We urge the Colombian Government, first, to devote additional resources to responding to protection requests and carrying out those requests effectively. There must also be a prompt and cross-Government response to the Ombudsman’s Office’s early warnings. Preventing such attacks from happening in the first place is crucial. We note that the National Commission on Security Guarantees has not met fully since January. We would encourage the Government and civil society organizations to make full use of that body to develop a public policy to combat the serious threat posed by the perpetrators of those attacks.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“It is encouraging to see the mechanisms of the peace agreement being used to help prevent and respond to local COVID-19 outbreaks in and around former territorial areas for training and reintegration, including reinforcing their health-care capacity and delivering food. That is all the more important given the economic impact of the pandemic on former combatants’ entrepreneurial projects. We hope the Colombian Government will continue to work with its partners to assist those communities so that reintegration remains on track. However, it is with great concern that we note yet again the high number of killings and threats against former combatants, social leaders, human rights defenders, women leaders and those from indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“We believe that victims must be at the heart of peacebuilding. We are encouraged by the progress those bodies have made in such a short time. We hope they will continue to receive the resources they need to carry out their valuable work. We note the aspiration of the parties for the United Nations Mission to assume a role in verifying the sanctions imposed by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace. We would welcome the Mission taking that forward. The implementation of the development programmes with a territorial focus also continues to advance, with all of Colombia’s municipalities now including those programmes in their planning instruments. The involvement of local communities is vital for a sustainable and inclusive peace. We would encourage the Government to continue to ensure their active and effective participation.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“We note the potential challenge the pandemic poses to the important advances made in the implementation of the Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace in the last three and a half years. We also note the efforts of the parties to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. I would address Foreign Minister Blum de Barberi in stating that the United Kingdom welcomes the Colombian Government’s continued commitment to comprehensively delivering on the agreement, and in particular the confirmation that the Colombian Government does not intend to modify it. Although some key challenges remain, significant progress has been achieved since 2016. Colombia’s transitional justice institutions have adapted to the pandemic admirably, quickly moving their work to the virtual space.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“Before I begin my intervention, may I join you in offering our sincere thanks to the Secretariat, the interpreters and the security personnel who have made our presence here today possible. It is good to demonstrate that, when required, meetings at our Headquarters can be delivered. I would like to begin by thanking the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, for his briefing and for the continued hard work of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia despite the difficulties posed by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). I also thank Ms. Clemencia Carabalí Rodallega, our civil society briefer, for her powerful and clear testimony.”
2020-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8749 (2020) · source
“That is something I think we should focus on more, and it is good to see the report looking at giving UNOWAS the ability to help the United Nations in the region think about the development assistance that it can provide and when it can provide it. Those kinds of interventions will help build the foundations for the stability the region so desperately needs. We thank Mr. Chambas and his team. It is an incredibly important region, and they have a challenging year ahead, but they also have our full support.”
2020-01-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8698 (2020) · source
“In terms of the underlying causes, the immediate humanitarian and security efforts to support the elections and the wider region are obviously critical. But we must also do what we can to address the root causes of the conflicts and violence. One of the interesting things that we see in the report is that there is growing recognition in the countries themselves of the need to address those underlying issues. However, it is very difficult to do so in the absence of proper security. Nevertheless, States can do something. They can work to address long-term governance issues by reducing abuses by security forces. We can help Governments to build their legitimacy by providing inclusive and accountable basic services where they are able to do so.”
2020-01-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8698 (2020) · source
“Chambas is placing on helping States deliver credible elections over this next period. From our perspective, the freedoms of assembly and expression are essential to that; therefore, we hope in particular that Mr. Chambas will send that message to States in the region. In the context of the deteriorating security situation we have already touched on, we have to help States avoid the elections becoming flashpoints for violence or enabling abuses of power, as that would only further exacerbate conflicts and violence. Citizens must be able to exercise their democratic right to vote without fear of intimidation or retribution. We stand ready to do what we can, with Mr. Chambas’s advice, to support the elections.”
2020-01-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8698 (2020) · source
“Like many others in this Chamber, we heard the African Union talk in mid-December, when we last touched on this issue, about the variety of regional initiatives that we now have on the security front (see S/PV.8685). One thing the Council might want to consider is whether we can help bring some coherence to those initiatives, to look at how we map them and at whether the current initiatives are addressing our concerns and whether they are duplicative or complementary. That is something we can consider in due course in line with African Union advice. Turning now to elections, again, it is useful to hear that there has been progress in the region and that there have been some upsides over the past year on the political and election fronts. We agree with the emphasis Mr.”
2020-01-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8698 (2020) · source
“The United Kingdom has just released a further ₤20 million in additional humanitarian funding for the Sahel, on top of the ₤15 million we are already spending to help address the situation. We all need to think again about whether we are doing enough in the region to look at the humanitarian situation. As others have said, it is also worth noting that we and States in the region need to ensure humanitarian access for those who deliver the humanitarian response. We need to ensure that they are able to reach the regions they need to reach and are given the protection they need, in both legal and security terms. The main point is that security needs to be the Council’s principal focus. We cannot help those who urgently need assistance unless we can help the States that they are in to bring the security situation there under control.”
2020-01-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8698 (2020) · source
“The third is the underlying causes of conflict and what we can do to address those once the security situation has been addressed. On the security and humanitarian sides, as I have said, we remain concerned about the damaging cycles of violence we are seeing — I think Mr. Chambas called them unprecedented — and the spike between the year before last and what we saw last year was exponential. They are a real cause for concern, particularly the deterioration in central Mali, an area of which the Council is separately seized, and in northern Burkina Faso since the latest report. The increased violence is exacerbating an already perilous humanitarian situation, particularly in central Mali and Burkina Faso.”
2020-01-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8698 (2020) · source
“People do not always see the result of that work because it is, by its very nature, diplomatic and quiet. But we know it goes on and we know it makes a difference, so I thank Mr. Chambas and his team for that. We are also very grateful to the Secretariat and the Secretary-General for their report on the trends in the region (S/2019/1005). As others have said, those trends continue to be of significant concern, particularly on the security side — but also on the humanitarian side — because the security situation is so bleak and is seriously affecting the broader development opportunities in the region. We wanted to cover three areas today. The first is security, which I will talk about in a little more detail. The second is elections, which we have heard a bit about already today.”
2020-01-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8698 (2020) · source
“May I join others in welcoming you to the presidency, Mr. President, and also in welcoming Viet Nam and the other four elected members to the Security Council. We look forward to working with them. In the context of this briefing, we also welcome particularly the delegation of the Niger. We know from last month that the Niger has suffered first-hand the consequences of violence in the region. It has our condolences for the losses to its armed forces. It is also very good to see Special Representative of the Secretary-General Chambas back in the Chamber to brief us. We welcome the very productive role that the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) has played in the region. In particular, we welcome the role that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General plays through his good offices.”
2020-01-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8698 (2020) · source
“I think, in that regard, that it was very interesting to hear the African Union Commissioner talk about the concept of a reset in order to look again at all the multiple initiatives that we have across the region - there were 15 or so mentioned - and see how we can bring greater coherence to them so that the United Nations and the region can work better together to deliver them. For our part, the United Kingdom will continue to play our role in partnership with the United Nations and with all our friends across the West African region.”
2019-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8685 (2019) · source
“Progress will not be made unless States can provide security within their territory and can work together across boundaries and borders to deliver security within the region. We need to work together to help them build that capacity. Security will be sustained only if Governments work to deliver good governance and the rule of law. Many of us have spoken about that, and we set it out very clearly in Sustainable Development Goal 16. Good governance is the key precursor to investment and growth. Investment and growth, when they come, can help deliver the third ingredient, which is economic growth and development. It lifts people out of poverty and stops them from being tempted down the routes and path of violence. We have heard everyone talk about those things today; the challenge is how we deliver them.”
2019-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8685 (2019) · source
“The United Kingdom remains one of the biggest supporters of the Peacebuilding Fund, having doubled our contribution to $43 million in 2018, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Peacebuilding Support Office and the Peacebuilding Commission to leverage those resources to the benefit of communities facing the challenges of intercommunal violence and terrorism. I have had the privilege to serve in West Africa and to travel extensively around the countries of the region. This is an issue that is very close to my heart. I think we need to focus on three particular areas, and the United Nations needs to come together to focus more fundamentally on them. Essentially, the three ingredients are security, good governance and economic growth and development. We have already talked about security.”
2019-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8685 (2019) · source
“We are keen to see more coherent coordination among the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel and the United Nations development actors in the region. We should continue our work through the counterterrorism and sanctions committees to deny terrorists access to arms and funding and to bring them to justice, as well as supporting Member States in strengthening their own counter-terrorism frameworks and capacities. We should also scale up efforts to address the root causes of instability in the region through focused and coordinated peacebuilding programmes. In that regard, we are very pleased that the Secretary-General has recently reapproved Mali's eligibility for access to peacebuilding funds.”
2019-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8685 (2019) · source
“To that end, the United Kingdom is proud to be hosting the United Kingdom-Africa Investment Summit, on 20 January in London, in order to mobilize high-quality international investment for the region. We need to also deliver long-term solutions because there are no quick fixes to such complex issues. While States must, of course, take the lead in delivering for their citizens and finding political solutions to conflicts, there is more the United Nations can do to support them. A coherent whole-of-United Nations approach is required. That should include work by United Nations country teams to support national efforts to prevent violent extremism from taking hold, following a proper assessment of national capacities, capabilities and resources.”
2019-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8685 (2019) · source
“We are working closely with West African partners to support nationally and locally led conflict prevention efforts to prevent both extremism and intercommunal violence, for example, in northern Nigeria. United Kingdom development funding, worth nearly $50 million over five years, is currently supporting initiatives to increase economic opportunities for marginalized youth. In Borno state, we are providing a further $28 million in funding for projects to reduce young people's vulnerability to recruitment by violent extremist groups. However, while individual initiatives like this matter, we know that long-term solutions to instability are grounded in prosperous and inclusive economies.”
2019-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8685 (2019) · source
“We recognize the important role ofregional efforts to tackle terrorist groups, including through the task force deployed to help the Group of Five for the Sahel (G-5 Sahel) and the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), just as we commend the efforts of regional organizations, including the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States. For our part, the United Kingdom is set to deploy 250 personnel to Mali in 2020 in order to provide vital long-range reconnaissance capabilities to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali. We have contributed over $6.6 million in bilateral funding to support the operationalization of the MNJTF and $2.4 million to the G-5 Sahel Joint Force.”
2019-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8685 (2019) · source
“The impacts of climate change cause shocks and stresses that exacerbate the risks of intercommunal violence, including by contributing to competition over scarce resources, and serious organized crime networks often operating across national boundaries exacerbate instability and prey on local communities in the absence of State authority. Tackling those challenges requires a comprehensive approach across all three pillars of the United Nations system - peace and security, development and human rights - and it requires coordinated work on the part of all partners.”
2019-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8685 (2019) · source
“But that instability cannot be solved by the United Nations alone, nor can it be solved through purely military or counterterrorist initiatives. We need to address the underlying drivers of the conflict. Strengthening stability and security across West Africa requires a comprehensive approach to the interconnected drivers. In too many parts of the region, corruption, failure to provide basic services and the lack of economic prospects for young people combine to provide fertile grounds for extremist groups.”
2019-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8685 (2019) · source
“We offer our thanks first to you, Madam President, and to Cote d'Ivoire for convening today's important debate, and to our briefers for giving us their time and their insights. The deteriorating situation in West Africa is a source of major concern, as we have heard from everyone in the Council today. That was underlined again by this past week's terrorist attack in western Niger, in which many Nigerien soldiers lost their lives. Our condolences go to the families of those troops and of all those civilians, national forces and United Nations peacekeepers who have suffered at the hands of violent extremists in West Africa As we have heard, the Organization also has a vital role to play in supporting national and regional efforts to address the drivers of violence.”
2019-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8685 (2019) · source
“We will continue to do what we can to support those in need. With more than 400,000 Syrian lives lost and nearly 12 million people in continued dire need of humanitarian support, a political settlement cannot come soon enough. Therefore, the United Kingdom this morning joins others in welcoming Mr. Pedersen's briefing on the plans and prospects for the Constitutional Committee. We support his efforts and wish him every success in his continuing work. We call on all members of the Security Council gathered here, all those in Syria and all those across the region to support his work.”
2019-09-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8628 (2019) · source
“To our great disappointment, Russia and China vetoed draft resolution S/2019/756 at the most recent humanitarian meeting (see S/PV.8623). It is now morally incumbent on them and on Damascus to ensure that the ceasefire in Idlib continues and that international humanitarian law is fully respected. Perhaps when the representative of Syria speaks shortly, he might tell this Chamber what they are doing to ensure that the ceasefire continues to hold and to protect civilians on the ground. Since our Turkish colleague is present today, the United Kingdom would like to state again that we welcome Turkey's ongoing efforts to end the violence in Idlib and to work to protect the ceasefire. The United Kingdom has so far given over $3 billion in response to the crisis in Syria, which is our largest-ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.”
2019-09-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8628 (2019) · source
“Over 676,000 people have been forced to leave their homes since the beginning of May. Idlib is the Syrian conflict in microcosm. The Syrian regime has targeted civilians through indiscriminate aerial bombardment, arbitrarily detaining and torturing political opponents and deliberately bombing civilians seeking shelter in schools and hospitals. We cannot allow impunity for these crimes or any of the crimes committed in the Syrian conflict, so it is a matter of utmost importance that the people of Idlib and throughout Syria be allowed to live free of fear. In this respect, we welcome the most recent ceasefire in Idlib, which has largely held since 31 August. However, we note its fragility, particularly given the continued reports of regime shelling.”
2019-09-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8628 (2019) · source
“It is also crucial that the Constitutional Committee represent the voices and views of the Syrian people, freely expressed. Mr. Pedersen has done tremendous work to secure balance, and particularly we welcome the strong participation of civil society and women, but it is also critical that Committee members be allowed to fulfil their duties free of fear and intimidation, for themselves or their family members, if this process is to be truly free, legitimate and credible. Today's briefing is rightly focused on the political process, but it would be remiss of us, as Mr. Pedersen and others have said, not to recall the dire situation in Idlib, an issue that has quite rightly dominated the Security Council's work over the past few months. Over 1,000 civilians, including 500 women and children, have been killed.”
2019-09-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8628 (2019) · source
“This is a critical first step, but the deeper roots of this conflict still also need to be addressed. With that in mind, progress on the political process cannot be made in isolation. No one here is blind to this. We agree wholeheartedly with the Secretary- General that the Constitutional Committee's launch and work must be accompanied by concrete actions to build trust and confidence. It is therefore crucial that all elements of 2254 (2015) be taken forward in tandem. Mr. Pedersen has our support in advancing these efforts and we ask that all sides, and in particular the regime, engage fully with Mr. Pedersen's confidence-building measures, especially in terms of greater humanitarian access, the release of detainees and much-needed information on the missing.”
2019-09-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8628 (2019) · source
“But we also recognized that this is only the first step towards the inclusive political settlement that Syria so desperately needs and which must ultimately include transitional arrangements and free and fair elections. As the Secretary-General himself stated, "this can and must be the beginning of the political path out of the tragedy towards a solution in line with resolution 2254 (2015) that meets the legitimate aspirations of all Syrians". To succeed, it will require the serious engagement and commitment of all participants to succeed. We call on the regime, in particular, to demonstrate genuine commitment at the first meeting and beyond. However, the problems in Syria were not caused by flaws in the existing Constitution, but by how that Constitution was implemented and the regime's repressive policies.”
2019-09-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8628 (2019) · source
“The United Kingdom joins others in welcoming the announcement by the Secretary-General last week that agreement had finally been reached on the Constitutional Committee. As Mr. Pedersen said, it will be convened in Geneva on 30 October. We are also grateful to him for setting out the modalities and complexion of the Constitutional Committee, which we also welcome. That progress is a true testament to Mr. Pedersen's hard work over the past nine months and, of course, that of his predecessor, Staffan de Mistura. Last week, the United Kingdom hosted a ministerial meeting of the Syria small group, at which all members welcomed the agreement.”
2019-09-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8628 (2019) · source