YouSaid · the spoken record

Rosenthal

lines on the record: 930
first: 2000-03-23
most recent: 2017-08-29
sittings or episodes: 146
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

“It would, nevertheless, be naive to think that that debate has not left wounds, even deep wounds, which will require a deliberate effort by all members - I emphasize all - to safeguard the integrity of the Council and preserve this singular body established under the Charter to maintain peace.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“In this respect, we take it as a given that the sovereignty and integrity of the Iraqi nation will not be impaired. Finally, we reiterate our faith in multilateral agencies and in the unique role of the Security Council. We do not concur with the assessment of some observers who believe that the debate that has taken place within the Council these past few weeks has dealt a mortal blow to that body. This is not the first, nor will it be the last, time that the members of the Council have failed to reach agreement on complex and potentially divisive issues.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“We feel that, for now, the programme known as oil for food should continue. We also fully subscribe to the Secretary- General's appeal to the conflicting parties to respect the civilian population, in keeping with international humanitarian law. We agree that, until such time as the United Nations is in a position to act, the exigencies of the circumstances demand that the humanitarian assistance required be provided by the entities that exert control over the affected areas. Secondly, even though it may be premature to address the post-conflict situation, we think that it will be incumbent upon multilateral agencies, and particularly the United Nations, to play a fundamental role in facilitating a situation in which the Iraqi people themselves make decisions regarding their future.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“We understand that it is not realistic to expect this collegial body to look backwards or try to arrest a momentum over which those of us who are not members exert little or no influence. We are fully aware, furthermore, of the risks that would be involved in bringing additional tensions to bear on the sole multilateral body that takes collective decisions on the maintenance of peace. I shall, therefore, confine myself to expressing, with almost telegraphic conciseness, our opinion on three aspects. First, we are extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation that has arisen in Iraq and in neighboring countries. We would prefer that humanitarian assistance be administered by the United Nations and we unreservedly support the Secretary- General with regard to organizing the provision of assistance to the Iraqi population.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“Mr. Rosenthal (Guatemala) (spoke in Spanish): Guatemala has not intervened in the prior debates on this matter. We did, at the time, hail the capacity the Council revealed to bring together support for resolution 1441 (2002). We also noted with mounting concern the divisions that arose around the fundamental question of how to implement it. But we refrained from joining the growing polarization that characterized the positions taken on this burning issue, which gradually transcended the scope of the Council and spilled over to the general membership. Rather, up to the end we nourished the hope that the members of the Council, particularly the permanent members, would find some way of bridging their differences. Today we are confronting a situation that is altogether different.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“For that reason, the Government is bent on promoting the fulfilment ofthe provisions ofthe Agreement on Social and Economic Aspects and the Agrarian Situation. In other words, if we fail to consolidate peace, this will surely reflect the fact that the old economic and social inequities incubating throughout my country were not properly addressed, thus proving once more the inseparable interrelationship between peace and development. These are, in a nutshell, the experiences we can bring before the Council. In closing, Mr. President, we wish once more to express our appreciation to you for having taken the initiative of organizing this meeting.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272Resumption1 (2001) · source
“But, contrary to the practice that prior to 1994 had prevailed in the application of Chapter VIII of the Charter, it was the United Nations that took the lead among the multilateral bodies in dealing with the Guatemalan situation. Thus, an important new precedent was established in relations between the United Nations and the OAS. In the fifth and final case, it is usually said that in the case of Guatemala, the application of the Peace Agreements is irreversible. But this is not necessarily so. If the people of Guatemala do not perceive that their level of material and spiritual well-being has improved as a result of those Agreements, it is still conceptually plausible that regression might occur.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272Resumption1 (2001) · source
“As the fourth lesson to be drawn, it should be noted that regional bodies - another topic referred to in the Council's note - also played an important role in the process, this being true not only of the regional body par excellence, namely the Organization of American States (OAS). It should be recalled that a group of Latin American countries - which made up the so-called Contadora Group, and subsequently the Rio Group - sought to further the peace process throughout Central America, including, of course, the one unfolding in my country. It should also be recalled that it was the Central American Presidents, acting in unison, who adopted in Esquipulas the Framework Agreement within which the peace processes in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua were inscribed.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272Resumption1 (2001) · source
“In the first place, since 1994, the United Nations was active as a body facilitating the negotiation and conclusion ofthe Peace Agreements, as well as one that verified compliance with the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights. Thereafter, as from the entry into force of the Peace Agreements, its role encompassed the fulfilment of the totality of the undertakings laid down in those Agreements. On 19 December last, the General Assembly approved the extension ofthe mandate ofthe Verification Mission for the first year of a new phase covering the period 2001-2003.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Even though the Organization was backed by a group of countries that acted as friends, it was the United Nations, in the last analysis, that projected the image of credibility, neutrality and objectivity that enabled it to play such an important role in backing the effort made by the Guatemalan people themselves to, first, achieve peace and, secondly, to build peace. This role, had it been entrusted to any other external body, would surely have been viewed as an intrusion; yet, when fulfilled by the United Nations, it constituted the performance of a function expressly assigned to it by the parties to the conflict. And it is a function that was, and continues to be, carried out in an exemplary manner.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Moreover, those commitments have already successfully undergone an important trial by fire in that they have been accepted by all the parties as a solemn undertaking of the State. It is significant that the Government elected in December 1999, made up of the party that opposed the previous Government, made public its commitment to the Agreements. A third lesson to be drawn from the Guatemalan experience underscores the usefulness of international support, particularly that of the United Nations.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Likewise, matters relating to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) are reflected in the Agreement on the Implementation, Compliance and Verification Timetable for the Peace Agreements. Members of the Council will readily note the close correlation that exists between these peace agreements and the enumeration of various aspects of peace-building listed in part III of document S/2001/82. Taken as a whole, the commitments laid down in the Guatemalan Peace Agreements constitute a road-map showing the direction of a global effort aimed at building and consolidating peace and that sets out the various economic, social, political and cultural aspects of this process.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272Resumption1 (2001) · source
“The titles of some of those agreements suffice to outline the causes of this discontent. Those titles include the following: Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights; Agreement on Resettlement of the Population Groups Uprooted by the Armed Conflict; Agreement on the Establishment of the Commission to Clarify Past Human Rights Violations and Acts of Violence; Agreement on the Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples; Agreement on Social and Economic Aspects and the Agrarian Situation; Agreement on the Strengthening of Civilian Power and on the Role of the Armed Forces in a Democratic Society; Agreement on Constitutional Reforms and the Electoral Regime.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Therein lies the first lesson of the Guatemalan peace process. It was not imposed from outside, but rather reflected the genuine will of the parties to the conflict and of the Guatemalan population in general to put an end to war. To use a colloquial term, it was the Guatemalans who were in the driver's seat and it was the Guatemalans who showed, and continue to show, a commitment to peace. This is undoubtedly a prerequisite to the success of any peace-building effort. The second lesson that can be drawn from the Guatemalan peace process is in line with the comprehensive approach that your letter advocates, Mr. President. The series of agreements that were negotiated over six years address the principal sources of the dissatisfaction of many Guatemalans.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272Resumption1 (2001) · source
“The roots of the conflict are complex. They include age-old social demands on the part of some sectors of the nation that the many manifestations of social injustice be redressed. These include poverty, unequal distribution of income and property, the resultant inequality in access to services, the violation of human rights, exclusion and marginalization, and racial and gender discrimination. The conflict and the polarization that ensued over the way in which those demands were to be met were substantially intensified by the fact that the conflict in Guatemala was subjected to the tensions peculiar to the so-called cold war. Indeed, the fall of the Berlin Wall and its consequences restored a more manageable scope to the domestic conflict, which enabled the Guatemalans themselves to take the lead in the search for a way out.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272Resumption1 (2001) · source
“We do so in the full understanding that every process has distinct features that are not easily transferable to other situations. At the same time, however, each process has sufficient shared characteristics to contribute to the accumulated experience and knowledge of the United Nations in carrying out its various peace operations. As members of this Council know, in December 1996, with the invaluable assistance of the United Nations, we brought to an end a domestic armed conflict that had raged in Guatemala for some 36 years. This confrontation took tens of thousands of human lives, gave rise to grave human rights violations and not only inflicted physical injury and other suffering on many of its victims, a large number of whom became refugees, but inevitably did serious damage to the country's economy.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Mr. Rosenthal (Guatemala) (spoke in Spanish): My delegation has studied with the greatest interest your proposal, Sir, contained in document S/2001/82, that the Security Council address at an open meeting the item entitled "Peace-building: towards a comprehensive approach". We congratulate you for the initiative of convening this meeting, which we feel is very relevant to the work ofthe Council. As the representative of Ireland reminded us this morning, Guatemala is one of the countries in which the United Nations has been involved in a lengthy negotiation process to resolve a domestic armed conflict, which subsequently gave rise to a peace- building and peace-consolidation effort. I would like to take this opportunity to share some of the lessons we have learned from this exercise.”
2001-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4272Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Perhaps the complexity of what would follow was not adequately foreseen, especially because the original timetable of four years proved to be insufficient to deal with the accumulation of the difficulties that we faced. For this reason the oversight commission of the peace process recently rescheduled compliance with the commitments. Also for this reason, we hope that the mandate of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala will be extended to the end of 2003. In conclusion, Guatemala has important experiences to contribute to this discussion. I endorse vigorously the recommendations that Ms. Mendez presented the day before yesterday on the lessons that have been learned from these experiences - lessons that can be useful for other Member States of this Organization.”
2000-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4208Resumption2 (2000) · source
“Women have greater access to leadership positions and are taking greater part in the electoral processes, as well as in political and entrepreneurial activities, and not a few now hold prominent positions in the country. At the same time, a great deal remains to be done. As Ms. Mendez pointed out the day before yesterday, many of the commitments contained in the peace agreements have not been fulfilled in the quick and timely manner originally envisioned. It is obvious that we are still far from achieving the goal contained in the agreements - that is, to promote and effectively facilitate the involvement of women in all areas of life, at all levels, without discrimination of any kind.”
2000-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4208Resumption2 (2000) · source
“This has been the role of the women's forum and has led to the establishment of the office of the advocate for indigenous women. In more general terms, Guatemala today is a more open, more plural and more participatory society than it was five years ago. At the same time, there is much greater public awareness than before about the need to deal with injustice and inequity and to achieve deep structural reforms, in both the economic and social spheres, which are indispensable to bring about sustainable peace. In real terms, in recent years the participation of women has grown in many fields. An increase in the number of women involved in training programmes and in community affairs can be seen.”
2000-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4208Resumption2 (2000) · source
“For all of these reasons, when peace was agreed upon, many Guatemalan women found themselves in a situation of grave economic hardship and social vulnerability. A broad and negotiated process of reconciliation, resettlement and cooperation was necessary, as was the healing of the deep physical and psychological wounds of the war. During the almost five years that have passed since the signing of the Agreement on a Firm and Lasting Peace progress has been made. This includes the return and resettlement of displaced people, the downsizing of the army, progress in the reform of the judicial and educational systems and the establishment of mechanisms to facilitate access to land. Furthermore, specific measures were adopted to study and analyse the situation of women and to design strategies to improve it.”
2000-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4208Resumption2 (2000) · source
“Women, and especially those who are heads of households, are among the most vulnerable members of the population. Such women - and especially indigenous women living in rural areas - have the highest levels of illiteracy. Women have had to face particular obstacles, including marginalization, a lack of opportunities, discrimination and violence. This situation was aggravated by the consequences of the internal armed conflict, which brought with it death, disappearances, uprooting and all types of hardships. Many families were forced to leave their places of residence to seek refuge in neighbouring countries or in regions of the country far removed from the combat zones. The number of widows and women heads of household increased enormously.”
2000-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4208Resumption2 (2000) · source
“Indeed, as everyone here knows, in December 1996, under the aegis of the United Nations and a group of friendly countries, the two parties that had been battling one another during four decades of fratricidal conflict put an end to this conflict by signing a set of peace agreements. These accords endeavour to address the major problems that were at the root of the conflict. These problems include poverty, marginalization, discrimination and a lack of participation. The issue of the status of women and their participation in the economic and social development of the country appears throughout these agreements as both a goal and a commitment. By way of introduction, the tremendous restrictions under which Guatemalan women have lived since time immemorial could be mentioned. The majority of the population lives in poverty.”
2000-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4208Resumption2 (2000) · source
“Mr. Rosenthal (Guatemala) (spoke in Spanish): I thank you, Sir, for having convened this meeting, and I would like to thank the Secretary-General, Angela King and Noeleen Heyzer for the lucid statements they made yesterday. Guatemala could not help but participate in a debate on women and peace and security. In fact, an important leader of my country's non-governmental- organization community, Ms. Luz Mendez, participated in the closed session the day before yesterday at which the Security Council listened to diverse representatives of non-governmental organizations who spoke on this subject.”
2000-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4208Resumption2 (2000) · source
“The activities of the Organization in the field are providing many lessons that can facilitate our collective actions in other parts of the world, in compliance with the overarching objectives of the Charter of the United Nations. For this reason, my country is truly grateful to the United Nations.”
2000-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4118Resumption1 (2000) · source
“Indeed, the bulk of the specific commitments contained in the Peace Accords involves economic and social development. The United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala monitors development and humanitarian aspects, and it maintains very close ties with the United Nations Development Programme and the rest of the United Nations system. All parties understand that for demobilization and reintegration to be successful, the economic environment must be favourable. Finally, many of the issues raised in the Secretary- General's report have found concrete expression in Guatemala's experience, be it in the area of addressing the needs of children who are victims of conflict, in the area of disarmament or in that of promoting respect for human rights.”
2000-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4118Resumption1 (2000) · source
“When I speak of domestic actors, I am not referring only to the Government and the ex-insurgents but to civil society as a whole, since the peace process in Guatemala has been quite participatory. The fact that the international presence was not perceived to be excessively intrusive is due to a large degree to the respect that the United Nations engenders thanks to its impartiality and neutrality. In fact, it was the United Nations that coordinated, at least partially, the presence of other international actors - the so-called Group of Friends of the Guatemalan Peace Process - in the areas of the consolidation of peace and of external cooperation. That brings me to my second point. Activities to consolidate peace in Guatemala are intimately connected to the development effort.”
2000-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4118Resumption1 (2000) · source
“The first concerns the way in which domestic actors interact with the international community, and the second the link between peace-building operations and humanitarian assistance on the one hand, and development on the other. Let me turn to the first aspect. The international presence, in particular that of the United Nations, was noteworthy both during the negotiation of the Peace Accords and during their implementation. But at no time did that international presence replace the domestic actors as a determining force. Indeed, we believe that one of the lessons of the Guatemala peace process relates to the key importance of the domestic actors being in the proverbial driver's seat.”
2000-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4118Resumption1 (2000) · source
“In the case of Guatemala, the three elements that form the subject of today's debate - disarmament, demobilization and reintegration - have received distinct, but interrelated treatment, in my country's Peace Accords. I am happy to report today on considerable progress in all three areas: total compliance in disarmament and demobilization and significant progress with regard to reintegration. Since I am one of the last speakers, I can add little of a conceptual nature to what has already been said. I can, however, contribute concrete, real-life experiences. In that respect, there are two aspects to which I would draw attention.”
2000-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4118Resumption1 (2000) · source
“Mr. Rosenthal (Guatemala) (spoke in Spanish): Guatemala could not fail to take part in this debate in the Security Council on the role of the United Nations in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration. Ours is one of the countries that is fortunate enough to be a success story in this regard, a success that unfolded under the auspices of the United Nations. We are grateful for the lucid report introduced by the Secretary-General. We believe that it highlights some of the issues that have been part of our own experience since December 1996, when an internal conflict that had lasted for almost 40 year was brought to an end.”
2000-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4118Resumption1 (2000) · source