YouSaid · the spoken record

Sajdik

lines on the record: 113
first: 2012-01-19
most recent: 2023-02-17
sittings or episodes: 13
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

“In 2016, the Chair was Germany; in 2017, it was my country, Austria; in 2018, it was Italy; in 2019 it was Slovakia; and in 2020 I observed the beginning of the chairpersonship of Albania, and I can only say that I have always had the impression that the various Chairs of the OSCE were really behind the efforts to implement the Minsk agreements and to help find a solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Those have been my impressions, and I am sure that since Russia has cooperated not only with all those chairpersonships, but also all throughout the years, and especially through the Normandy format, that it may have its own perceptions or impressions of the attitude and honesty of the officials it has worked with. So we have Russia’s impression of this as well as my own.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“I also observed the then German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, when he was actually introducing the idea of the Steinmeier formula at one of the meetings of the Normandy format. I have to say that I personally felt that this was made in the genuine belief that it would help the implementation of the Minsk agreements. In her remarks today, the Permanent Representative of Switzerland referred to the efforts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since 2014 — as did the Assistant Secretary-General — and I can only underscore what she said. I believe she really put the efforts of the OSCE and its different chairpersonships into perspective.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“I was not present in Minsk in February 2015, and I imagine that the Permanent Representative of Germany will also take the floor, but the accounts of the course of the deliberations in Minsk in February 2015, from all the various sources that I have heard and whom I have talked to, referred to the intense personal involvement of Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in all the negotiations in Minsk and in the final phrasing of the Minsk agreements. If I may refer again to my personal contacts with French and German officials, among whom I had the pleasure today to recognize again the Permanent Representative of France, as I already said, I always had the impression that there was great hope and willingness to implement the Minsk agreements to the letter and that all were behind that goal.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“Mr. Sajdik: If I understood correctly the question put to me by the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, he asked whether I had realized that Germany, France and the other countries were unwilling to implement the Minsk agreements. My reaction to the question, if I understood it correctly, is that throughout the years that I worked in my position, from 2015 to the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, I witnessed the profound dedication of Germany and France to the Minsk agreements.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“In December 2019, after long and difficult negotiations, a major exchange of detainees could be agreed. The Steinmeier formula also stands for the pivotal role of the Normandy Four and the resolution of the situation in the eastern regions of Ukraine through a peaceful settlement, as enshrined in resolution 2202 (2015). The negotiations in Minsk were one pillar of those efforts. The second pillar was assigned to the Normandy Four. In the light of all the previous international efforts for a peaceful settlement in eastern Ukraine, I can, at the end of my statement, only express my profound shock and disappointment with the developments since 24 February of last year.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“We also focused on improved access to Ukrainian pension payments; more humane conditions at the crossing points, especially for the elderly; water management; and maintaining telephone services across the contact line. In the political field, Ambassador Pierre Morel, the eminent French diplomat, who just yesterday received his insignia of Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour from President Macron, tirelessly tried to lay the legal ground for local elections, as well as for amnesty. He played a key role in the final adoption of the so-called “Steinmeier formula” in October 2019, on the entry into force of the Ukrainian law on the special status for certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions after the holding of local elections.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“Apakan and Mr. Çevik — as well as my colleagues from Germany, Mr. Per Fischer and Mr. Ulrich Brandenburg, and from Switzerland, Mr. Toni Frisch, mostly focused on mitigating the effects of the deepening divide on the population on both sides of the contact line. In the spirit of resolution 1894 (2009), of 11 November 2009, we concentrated on the protection of civilians. The number of civilian victims significantly decreased over the years, with 2019 being the first year in which no children lost their lives owing to conflict- related activities, with mines and unexploded ordnance being the most ubiquitous and dangerous threat near the contact line.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“First, in March 2017, there was the brutal interruption of economic links across the line of contact: the blockade and economic ban on one side and the so- called “external administration” of companies in the Ukrainian jurisdiction on the side of the certain areas, as well the end to railway transportation services. In December of 2017, after prior warning, Russia withdrew its members from the so-called Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC), based in the city of Soledar, in the Government-controlled part of the Donetsk region. The JCCC had played a key role in what I would call daily conflict management across the line of contact. With the sides drifting further and further apart, the efforts of the coordinators of the security, economic and humanitarian working groups — my colleagues whom I already mentioned, Mr.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“And the monitoring of the implementation by the unarmed Special Monitoring Mission had its limits, first of all, because the mere size of the operation — on average, there were some 750 OSCE monitors stationed in eastern Ukraine on both sides of the line of contact for approximately 480 kilometres — not to mention the lack of access to specific territorial stretches, such as the bilateral border, and especially to some parts of the certain areas of the Donetsk region. There were major developments in 2017 that ran counter to the letter and spirit of the Minsk agreements.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“The most successful and effective ceasefire was agreed by my successor Heidi Grau in July 2020, at the height of the coronavirus disease pandemic. Thanks to the outstanding negotiating skills of then Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and the coordinator of the security working group, Ertuğrul Apakan, agreements were signed on the withdrawal of heavy weapons, demining and disengagement in 2015 and 2016. Disengagement zones were also agreed under the leadership of Apakan’s successor, Halit Çevik. Both he and Apakan were, by the way, like me, former Permanent Representatives in New York. Unfortunately, the sides lacked the political will to implement those agreements.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“Although a comprehensive ceasefire should have entered into force at midnight on 15 February 2015, heavy fighting continued, especially around Debaltseve, raising great concerns at the international level. Those concerns were also reflected in resolution 2202 (2015), paragraph 3 of which calls on “all parties to fully implement the ‘Package of measures’, including a comprehensive ceasefire as provided for therein”. As heavy fighting persisted throughout the summer of 2015, my personal efforts then were directed at reducing the human toll, especially among the civilian population, and at finally achieving a ceasefire. That came about in September 2015 with a ceasefire at the beginning of the regular school year, which lasted for some two weeks — a real breakthrough, as it demonstrated that a ceasefire was possible.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“Kuchma’s former head of administration, Viktor Medvedchuk — just to name one of the latter’s previous positions — and the Deputy Speaker of the Rada, Irina Gerashchenko. When Leonid Kuchma left the Trilateral Contact Group in 2020, he was replaced by the first President of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk, one of the signatories to the Belovezha agreement and the Almaty declaration of December 1991. In June 2015, the Russian member of the Group was Ambassador Azamat Kulmukhametov. In December 2015, Boris Gryzlov, former Speaker of the Duma and former Minister of the Interior, was appointed by President Putin to represent Russia in the Trilateral Contact Group.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“The three sides of the Trilateral Contact Group were Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the Special Representative. According to established practice, during the course of each meeting of the Group, representatives of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions were, upon the respective decisions of the three sides, invited to join their deliberations. When I replaced my predecessor — Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini — in June 2015, the Ukrainian member of the Trilateral Contact Group was the second President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma. He was supported by a range of prominent former or active politicians of his country, such as ex-Prime Minister Yevhen Marchuk, former Secretary of the National Security Council Volodymyr Horbulin, and Mr.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“Today’s meeting marks the eighth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 2202 (2015), which after, inter alia, reaffirming the full respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, not only endorses the package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements of 12 February 2015, but also welcomes the declaration of the same date by the Normandy Four leaders and their continuing commitment to the implementation of the Minsk agreements. In my previous briefing to the Security Council, I underscored that the ultimate goal of our efforts must be the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, to which there is no alternative. That was my conviction throughout all the four and a half years of my work as Chief Coordinator of the Trilateral Contact Group.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“Mr. Sajdik: Nearly four years after my previous intervention (see S/PV.8516), I now again have the honour to address this body and to share my experiences of the Minsk negotiating process, as the former Special Representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group — the position I held from 2015 to 2019.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“In this specific case, sadly, neither text was found acceptable. One text was unacceptable for the Ukrainian side, while the other was unacceptable for the Russian representatives and the representatives of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Despite all the efforts of Ambassador Apakan, we were unable to reach an agreed text.”
2019-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8516 (2019) · source
“I should like to add the answer I provided to a journalist, who I believe was from TASS, at my press briefing in Minsk concerning my assessment. I said the following to him in Russian: (spoke in Russian) "As you know, I have always been committed to following the letter and the spirit of the Minsk agreements, based on the principles of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine". (spoke in English) With regard to the question asked by the representative of Russia as to why no agreement was reached yesterday on the Easter truce, I believe that I addressed that in my briefing. I can only repeat what I said, which is that, unfortunately, the sides could not agree on the text of the statement. We proposed two texts, both of which had previously been adopted on the occasion of earlier ceasefires.”
2019-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8516 (2019) · source
“Mr. Sajdik: In the past nearly four years Ambassador Apakan and I have been able to divide our work quite well. I will therefore refer to the statement by the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) that was issued today. I do not think that I need to quote it word by word but I will say that the Slovak chairmanship believes that Russia's unilateral measure "could undermine the efforts for a peaceful resolution of the crisis in and around Ukraine, and calls for adherence to the OSCE principles and commitments by all its participating States. The chairmanship invites all sides to refrain from unilateral steps and to jointly continue searching for ways to fully implement the Minsk agreements." That is just one part of today's statement.”
2019-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8516 (2019) · source
“Narrowing the divide is also necessary in the political area, especially with regard to the special status of certain areas. The ultimate goal of our efforts has to be the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, to which, as I stated in my 12 February briefing, there is no alternative. It is in that vein that I welcome the recent remarks of the Secretary General of the OSCE, Ambassador Thomas Greminger, on the idea of a joint United Nations-OSCE mission in eastern Ukraine. I firmly believe that close international cooperation of that kind would be key to the resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.”
2019-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8516 (2019) · source
“What is really urgently needed is to stop the growing economic disconnectivity across the contact line and reverse the disruptive measures that triggered the brutal interruption of economic links in March 2017. I am referring to the blockade and economic ban on the one side and the so-called external administration, which is nothing other than the expropriation of companies under Ukrainian jurisdiction on the side of certain areas. That should also include the resumption of railway transportation services for passengers. Ways can be found to finally pay the pensions of all those eligible in non-Government controlled areas, starting, for instance, with true hardship cases. Scenarios based on pragmatic solutions also exist thanks to the creative proposals of the International Committee of the Red Cross.”
2019-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8516 (2019) · source
“The sides wanted it but could not agree on a text. It is therefore our hope that the upcoming Orthodox Easter weekend, followed by the May holidays, will still be peaceful. In the economic sphere, we have managed, for example, to more or less ensure regular water deliveries to the population, especially in certain areas of the Luhansk region, and improved mobile telephone communications across the contact line. But it is not enough to mitigate the effects of the divide; we have to undertake every effort to narrow and even eradicate it. Statements by the future leadership of Ukraine make me optimistic that there is resolve to actively work against that divide. Yesterday's ukase will most likely not be helpful in that regard.”
2019-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8516 (2019) · source
“The region is now one of the most landmine-contaminated areas in the world. Therefore, demining and an end to remining are essential for the population. I wish to welcome the decision of the Ukrainian Parliament this morning to amend the financing provisions of the law on demining, which paves the way for active donor engagement in that literally vital activity. Together with Ambassador Apakan, I have many times called on the sides to urgently carry out humanitarian demining around such areas as schools, hospitals and crossing points. Ceasefires brokered by Ambassador Apakan have tremendously helped to reduce shelling and civilian as well as military casualties. I therefore regret to state that we have not been able to broker a special ceasefire on the occasion of the Easter festivities this year.”
2019-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8516 (2019) · source
“With the sides drifting further and further apart, the efforts of the coordinators of the security, economic and humanitarian working groups - with Ambassador Apakan coordinating the security working group with extraordinary ability and patience - have mostly focused on mitigating the effects of the deepening divide on the populations on both sides of the contact line. By concentrating on the protection of civilians, the number of civilian victims decreased last year by more than half in comparison to 2017, and that is fortunately a continuing trend. The number of casualties from gunfire or shelling has dropped significantly, but mines and unexploded ordnance are ubiquitous dangers near the contact line. More and more mines, particularly anti-tank mines, continue to be laid.”
2019-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8516 (2019) · source
“The sides have been unable to agree on the technical aspects for erecting an auxiliary bridge to substantially improve the conditions of getting across. The main point of contention is the width of the auxiliary bridge. In their demands, the sides are literally 80 centimetres apart, but neither is willing to make concessions. As a result, elderly people aged 80 years or older who have to travel to the Government- controlled part of the region to collect their small pensions still have to venture down slippery wooden ramps, with injuries being a common feature.”
2019-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8516 (2019) · source
“It is a divide that is symbolized by the use of a different currency in certain areas and by the fact that there are only five entry and exit points through which a constantly growing number of people - currently some 37,000 - cross the contact line daily, taking often six hours or more to finally get to the other side. This is a real humanitarian issue. In my 12 February briefing, I urged that the conditions of the existing crossings and opening new entry-exit checkpoints be improved, but nothing has happened so far. As Assistant Secretary-General Ursula Mueller just outlined, the conditions at the crossing point of Stanytsia Luhanska, the only exit point in the Luhansk region, which is a pedestrian bridge, are as bad as ever.”
2019-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8516 (2019) · source
“Perhaps, this fact is a bigger victory for the people of Ukraine than for the winner of the electoral race, President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky. In that process, however, the voters, inter alia, clearly signalled their expectation of a lasting peace in the eastern part of the country. The past years have seen a growing and deepening divide between certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions - that is to say, the territories that are not under the control of the Ukrainian Government - and the rest of Ukraine. It is a divide that has also been fuelled by rhetoric from certain areas in the past months, advocating their further integration with Russia - rhetoric that has been void of any initiative as to how to reintegrate with the Government-controlled part of Ukraine.”
2019-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8516 (2019) · source
“Mr. Sajdik: I am truly honoured to briefthe Security Council today once again following my intervention on 12 February (S/PV.8461), in which I spoke about the functions of the Trilateral Contact Group and its working groups, the role of the Normandy Four and its oversight mechanism, enshrined in resolution 2202 (2015) of 17 February 2015. At the previous meeting on this subject, I spoke one day before our regular negotiating rounds in Minsk. Today, it is one day afterwards. Yesterday in Minsk, I had the opportunity to stress that, according to the international election observation mission led by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the presidential election in Ukraine had been conducted in a way that allowed competition and respected fundamental freedoms.”
2019-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8516 (2019) · source
“Unfortunately, there has been no exchange of conflict-related detainees since the end of 2017. We have also observed a stalemate in the political working group. I encourage the sides to allow the latter, with the help of its tireless coordinator Ambassador Pierre Morel, to widen the scope of its discussions. I have now worked more than three and a half years with the Minsk process. During that time, I have come to the conclusion that the absolutely full implementation of the Minsk agreements is essential to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. There is simply no alternative.”
2019-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8461 (2019) · source
“No disengagement has taken place so far in Stanytsia Luhanska, which is one of the disengagement zones that the sides had previously agreed on. The access to the bridge on the northern bank of the Seversky Donets River, at the crucial crossing point near Stanytsia Luhanska, remains unrepaired, which has absolutely dire consequences, in particular for the elderly. With rising numbers of people crossing the line of contact - an increase of 20 per cent in 2018 alone, reaching an average of 1.1 million crossings per months, according to figures provided by the International Organization for Migration - improving the conditions at crossings and opening new entry-exit check points has become very urgent, as has already been mentioned by previous speakers.”
2019-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8461 (2019) · source
“Also in 2018, we observed encouraging efforts with regard to maintaining mobile telecommunications across the line of contact, which are especially Vital for the elderly receiving their pensions on accounts in Government- controlled territory. Moreover, the prolongation of the special status of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine until the end of this year was an important political achievement of September last year. The special status is a cornerstone of the Minsk agreements. There have also been setbacks. The conduct of the so-called elections on 11 November 2018 in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions has not helped strengthen the underlying spirit of the Minsk agreements, namely, the unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Important obligations have not been lived up to.”
2019-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8461 (2019) · source
“Because of Ambassador Apakan's able guidance of the security working group - for which I am very grateful - the Trilateral Contact Group could adopt decisions in the security field, as required by the Minsk agreements, namely, the addendum to the package of measures on the Withdrawal of heavy weapons, of September 2015; the decisions on mine action and prohibition of live-fire exercises in the vicinity of the contact line, of March 2016; and the framework decision on the disengagement of forces and hardware, of September 2016. Positive developments could also be achieved in the economic field, especially with respect to water deliveries, respective payments in the Luhansk region and repairs of water infrastructure.”
2019-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8461 (2019) · source
“Having made, together with the Austrian OSCE chairmanship in 2017, the protection of civilians a core cause of our deliberations has - in close cooperation with the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and international humanitarian organizations - helped reduce the number of civilians casualties by more than half in 2018, with that trend continuing this year.”
2019-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8461 (2019) · source
“The Minsk platform foresees the participation of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in meetings. Resolution 2202 (2015), of 17 February 2015, in welcoming the declaration adopted by the four leaders of the Normandy format on 12 February 2015, has enshrined oversight by the Normandy four over our Minsk deliberations. The latest meeting of that kind took place in November 2018. In today's statement on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the signing of the Minsk agreements, I said that "unfortunately, despite unanimous recommitments to the Minsk agreements, a solution to the conflict has not come nearer. In the region, confrontations are still ongoing, causing suffering to the civilian population and losses ofhuman lives, although their number was considerably reduced in the course of last year".”
2019-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8461 (2019) · source
“Mr. Sajdik: Ambassador Apakan and I have today the honour to brief the Council from Minsk on the evening before another negotiation round of the Trilateral Contact Group and the four working groups established by the Minsk agreements will take place. This bears witness to the fact that the Minsk mechanisms function on a regular basis and that there are many different questions to be discussed and problems, also of a current nature, to be solved. The Trilateral Contact Group unites Russia and Ukraine and the Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a function presently held - as already mentioned by Ambassador Apakan - by His Excellency Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajeak of Slovakia, the President of the General Assembly at its seventy-second session.”
2019-02-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8461 (2019) · source
“The ceasefire should not be limited to that holiday, but endure, restoring the hope of the civilian population in the areas of eastern Ukraine that they will see a brighter future. I can only reiterate that I will do everything in my power to fully implement the 12 February 2015 Minsk agreement, and to ensure that the agreement works better than it has thus far.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“Mr. Sajdik: Like Ambassador Apakan, I would like to express my gratitude for having been invited to brief the Security Council on the situation in eastern Ukraine. I understand that there are high expectations, as well as a certain impatience with the state of affairs. There are high expectations in terms of scaling up the work of the Trilateral Contact Group and the four working groups. I will certainly pass on that message of the expectations and the feeling of impatience at the next meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group, which will take place tomorrow in Minsk. As Ambassador Apakan said, we very much hope that at tomorrow's meeting we will be able to again establish a ceasefire on the occasion of the Orthodox Easter holiday, which falls on this weekend.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“But there is still a long way to go, especially as to unhindered humanitarian access, including in particular for United Nations entities and the International Committee of the Red Cross. One aspect of the Minsk agreements is still waiting for an appropriate answer - the full restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the re-establishment of sovereign control over the Ukrainian side of the State border with the Russian Federation in the Donbas region. Many issues of Minsk are intertwined. What we therefore need is a package for a sustainable solution to the conflict. I believe the examples I mentioned here ShOW that Minsk works and that further progress is possible, and will be possible with the firm political backing of the Normandy Four and other important actors.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“The elections will have to be held in a secure environment - a secure environment before and during, but also after the elections. Repeated severe cases of intimidation against the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) with no apparent consequences for the perpetrators have cast a shadow on the impartiality of local security forces in the certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblast, which is a precondition for the holding of elections that correspond to OSCE standards. In the humanitarian and economic spheres, we have achieved some progress in the release and transfer of detainees as well as in the rehabilitation of railway and water-supply systems.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“Ceasefire Violations have lately reached alarming numbers, as we also have just heard from Ambassador Apakan. That needs to stop now. Ahead of the upcoming Orthodox Easter holidays, the sides really need to fully respect the ceasefire. Secure conditions must be created for the people living in proximity to the hostilities as well as for all those who will cross the line of contact during the upcoming holidays. In the political field, work is being concentrated on the modalities for local elections in the certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblast and on amnesty. The corresponding laws, which have to be adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament, will directly impact all actors involved. That will of course demand further efforts, but most of all it will demand a willingness by all participants to compromise.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“We did not succeed in living up to that ambitious target, but we have made considerable progress in the four areas covered by the agreements, namely involving, security, political, humanitarian and economic issues. The main achievement of our efforts is that we have succeeded in substantially reducing the number ofvictims, both military and civilian, especially last autumn with the ceasefire starting on 1 September, the beginning of the school year. Under the outstanding leadership of Ambassador Apakan, important decisions in the security field were reached, such as on the withdrawal of heavy weapons and on demining. The implementation ofthose decisions by the sides of the conflict, as we have just heard, unfortunately leaves ample room for improvement.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“Mr. Sajdik: First of all, I would like to thank China, in its capacity as President, for having invited Ambassador Apakan and me to brief the members of the Security Council about our common efforts for a peaceful solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. On 27 February 2015, my predecessor, Heidi Tagliavini, briefed this body (see S/PV.7395) on the results of the 15 February Minsk summit of the Normandy Four, namely, the Presidents of France, Russia and Ukraine and the German Chancellor. Ms. Tagliavini also briefed the Council on the Minsk agreements. Since then, the Minsk process continued on track with the aim of implementing the agreements by the end of 2015.”
2016-04-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7683 (2016) · source
“This year, young people focused on ways to participate more in shaping their countries' development strategies and become active participants in bringing justice and peace to their communities. We need to listen to them and take their Views into account when developing strategies to counter violent extremism. The Economic and Social Council will continue providing this platform for youth from around the world to advance solutions to the challenges they and their societies face. In that context, I commend all the tireless efforts undertaken by the Secretary- General's Envoy on Youth, Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi.”
2015-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7432 (2015) · source
“We are very concerned about the use of foreign fighters by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, the Al-Nusra Front and other terrorist organizations and the risks that these foreign fighters may pose upon their return. We are committed to ensuring the swift and full implementation of Security Council resolutions on all measures against extremism and terrorism, especially resolution 2170 (2014), calling on Member States to suppress the flow of foreign fighters, as well as financing and support to Islamist extremist groups in Iraq and Syria. As President of the Economic and Social Council, I have been fortunate to preside over the 2014 and 2015 Youth Forums. The Youth Forum attracts more than 5 00 young people to engage in dialogue among themselves and with Member States on their priorities and their vision for the future.”
2015-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7432 (2015) · source
“In that regard, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly for organizing the important high-level thematic debate on promoting tolerance and reconciliation that took place earlier this week. Austria is taking action to intensify the international cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts, especially in the West Balkans. In mid-March, we adopted an action plan to confront jihadism together with all West Balkans countries. It includes, for example, closer cooperation among law enforcement authorities, enhanced border security and joint efforts to remove terrorist content from the Internet. Our ultimate goal must be to prevent a new generation of terrorists from emerging.”
2015-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7432 (2015) · source
“Religious leaders play an important role in promoting respect and tolerance and should therefore be involved in the preparation of effective prevention campaigns. Equally, we must strengthen partnerships with the private sector. In order to thrive, companies need an educated work force. Public-private partnerships, such as the apprenticeship programmes we have been employing in Austria, yield good results both for companies and young people themselves. Intercultural dialogue contributes to global trust- building, supports mutual understanding and promotes pluralism in our society. Austria actively participates in the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and supports its further development.”
2015-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7432 (2015) · source
“However, we need to convey the message to young people that the freedom they are enjoying today is the result of a long and often arduous process and that they also have a responsibility to promote freedom as a core value of our society. When lacking prospects, young people may risk turning to extremism. We therefore have to show them that they are an integral part of society by offering them ways of participation, such as voluntary work. We need to use innovative mechanisms to reach young people, using the Internet and social media to counter messages of hatred with messages of hope. We need to support civil society organizations in creating the space for learning opportunities for youth. Civic engagement, such as volunteering, yields life-long benefits and strengthens self-worth and resilience tow extremist ideologies.”
2015-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7432 (2015) · source
“We have to continue to support efforts to address the underlying factors leading to the radicalization of youth. We need to ensure that all young people have access to quality education and job opportunities. From early on, young people need to understand the intrinsic value of diversity as a factor for the enrichment of society. Young people need to learn about their human rights and the human rights of others. Young people need to know that they have the right to participate in decision-making processes within society, and they need to be encouraged to do so. Many of the freedoms that young people are enjoying today are being taken for granted.”
2015-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7432 (2015) · source
“At a time when the youth population worldwide has reached an all-time record, extremist groups are globally recruiting ever- younger foreign fighters, often by using social media. Young people are attracted to extremist ideologies because of their marginalization in society. Poverty and limited educational and employment opportunities create discontent. Often, young people are also not heard by decision-makers, and their self-organization in community-based associations and groups is met with suspicion. Wherever young people are marginalized, this is also the result of failed politics. Today's debate highlights the need for the international community to redouble its efforts to counter the recruitment of young people by extremists. Allow me to make some suggestions on what needs to be done.”
2015-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7432 (2015) · source
“At the outset, let me thank the Jordanian presidency for convening today's open debate. We are currently witnessing a dramatic rise of radicalization and extremism in the name of religion, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. However, violent extremism is not the challenge of one region alone; it exists everywhere. As Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz stated in the Security Council on 27 March (see S/PV.7419), it is a dangerous development that young women and men seem to be the targets of radicalization by terrorist groups. The phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters who travel to conflict areas such as Iraq and Syria constitutes a new security threat.”
2015-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7432 (2015) · source
“We emphasize that our collective response to threats to international peace and security must be guided by the rule of law at both the national and international levels. Both are inherently linked and intertwined, for every nation that proclaims the rule oflaw at home must respect it abroad and every nation that insists on it abroad must enforce it at home. As participants in the Group of Friends of the Rule of Law, we reaffirm that the rule of law is the foundation of the international system and the basis on which just and fair societies are built, and we will continue to advocate for strengthening the rule of law, inter alia, throughout the elaboration and, later, the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda.”
2015-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7389 (2015) · source