YouSaid · the spoken record

Secretary-General

lines on the record: 2,998
first: 1995-09-26
most recent: 2021-05-16
sittings or episodes: 363
sources: un-security-council

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“I am confident that the Security Council, which carries out its responsibilities on behalf of all Member States, is also guided by this principle. I appreciate that the members of the Council are committed to interacting with the wider United Nations membership through greater transparency, openness in decision-making and inclusiveness. I consider this to be pivotal to the way the Council works and is perceived by the international community. Since 1994, when the Security Council held its first debate on this issue, it has come a long way. I trust that the Council will consolidate the gains that have been made and keep moving forward. I look forward to working with the Council in strengthening even further the cooperation between it and the Secretariat.”
2008-08-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5968 (2008) · source
“The Secretariat has also taken steps to make the recommendations in the note a reality, including those related to the timeliness and content of my reports to the Council, those on the familiarization of duly elected Council members, and the main technical points regarding wider and more user-friendly dissemination of information on the Council's programme and activities to non-Council members. Since taking office, I have stressed the importance of full accountability as a fundamental organizing principle and operational guideline for the 08-49188 work of the Organization. As a Secretariat, we must ensure that we work and deliver as one to meet the mandates that the Security Council gives us and, at the same time, hold ourselves accountable for our behaviour and for outcomes.”
2008-08-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5968 (2008) · source
“This makes it essential for the Council to keep addressing issues related to its working methods, including by implementing the measures set out in the note of the President of the Council two years ago. These measures are a key step in making the United Nations more efficient, effective and accountable in the face of a growing array of new challenges. I commend the Council for its efforts so far. Consider what progress has been made in implementing the measures since the adoption of the note by the President of the Security Council (S/2006/507) in July 2006.”
2008-08-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5968 (2008) · source
“Thank you, Mr. President, for this opportunity to address the Council on such an important subject. I welcome this open debate on implementation of measures intended to make the Council more efficient and transparent, and I am grateful to you, Mr. President, for bringing us together. Let me also express my appreciation for the tireless efforts of the delegations of Japan, Slovakia and Panama, as successive Chairs of the Council's revitalized Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions. Over the past years, the Security Council has faced increasingly complex responsibilities in the maintenance of international peace and security. At the same time, we have experienced a surge in the demand for United Nations conflict prevention and management, peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities.”
2008-08-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5968 (2008) · source
“I look forward to working with the Council so that children can be safe and, above all, so that they may dream of a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.”
2008-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5936 (2008) · source
“I call on the international community to strengthen its support for Governments, development partners and others involved in such efforts, including through the mobilization of the necessary resources. Let us not forget that poverty and underdevelopment can make children more vulnerable to exploitation and violence. I commend the Council for its work on this issue, which is beginning to yield results. Yet we have only begun to scratch the surface. I hope that the Council will consolidate the gains that have been made and move forward to cover all grave violations and all situations of concern. Political will is crucial. Only concerted international efforts involving all United Nations partners will be capable of meeting the needs of children living in situations of armed conflict.”
2008-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5936 (2008) · source
“Its resolutions have focused in particular on six grave violations drawn from international humanitarian law: abduction, sexual violence, child soldiers, killing and maiming, attacks on schools and hospitals and the denial of humanitarian access. The Council has established a Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, and the monitoring and reporting mechanism is now operational in 15 situations of concern. I am also encouraged to note that action plans from several parties to conflict have been secured, in which those parties agree to the release of children from their ranks. Of course, once children are released, we must be ready to support their full and sustainable reintegration into society, in line with the good practices set out in the Paris Principles.”
2008-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5936 (2008) · source
“The International Labour Organization's 3 Convention No. 182 defines child soldiering as one of the worst forms of child labour. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child outlaws child soldiering, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child established 18 as the minimum age for children's participation in hostilities. With that foundation in place, the international community is now shifting its focus from standards- setting to an era of application and the provision of real protection. Indeed, we have seen encouraging signs that impunity for crimes against children will no longer be tolerated. For its part, the Security Council held its first open debate on the subject in 1998 and has returned to the matter again and again.”
2008-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5936 (2008) · source
“I thank the presidency of the Council for organizing a discussion on this important topic. The protection of children in armed conflict is a litmus test for the United Nations and the Organization's Member States. It is a moral call and deserves to be placed above politics. It requires the innovative and fearless engagement of all stakeholders. Over the past 12 years, that issue has been placed firmly on the international agenda, beginning with the groundbreaking report of Graca Machel and the establishment of the mandate of my Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. Since then, a solid body of international legal standards has been elaborated. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court classifies the recruitment of children into fighting forces as a war crime and a crime against humanity.”
2008-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5936 (2008) · source
“It is, therefore, the view of the United Nations that this package constitutes the best possible way forward to manage the situation in Kosovo. Today's meeting has provided the Security Council with an important opportunity to consider the package. Finally, the Secretariat and I myself as Secretary- General, are ready to brief the Council on operational developments in Kosovo and to share with it the challenges on which our mission has been focusing, including the one related to Mitrovica, referred to by the representative of Russia.”
2008-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5917 (2008) · source
“It takes into account the profoundly changed reality in Kosovo, while also addressing areas of concern for Serbia and for Kosovo's minority communities. The package is strictly status neutral and is fully within the framework of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), which remains the legal framework for UNMIK until and unless the Security Council decides otherwise. It recognizes the importance of an enhanced role for the European Union in Kosovo as part of the European Union's efforts to promote progress and stability in the Western Balkans. While no solution is ideal, this package is, I am convinced, the result of an effort at compromise and has benefited from extensive consultations. It is supported by all my senior advisers, who have worked tirelessly and intensively with me in its development.”
2008-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5917 (2008) · source
“I have shared with the Security Council my assessment of the situation in Kosovo and have described my intensive efforts, with the sides and key stakeholders, to reach a compromise solution. These efforts have resulted in an idea for the international civil presence, which is before the Council today. This package is a practical and workable solution, a concrete and sustainable response to a complex and difficult situation. It is founded on the imperative, overriding need, as I have said, to maintain international peace and security and stability in Kosovo and the region, while responding and adapting to changing circumstances on the ground. The package furthers the objectives of the United Nations in Kosovo. Its aim is to consolidate the significant achievements of nine years of interim administration.”
2008-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5917 (2008) · source
“This has been a serious challenge for all of us. I am quite sure that everyone must have experienced pain. In that regard, I appreciate the pain felt by Their Excellencies Presidents Tadie and Sejdiu. Now, turning to our mission, my overriding priority and concern is how to bring peace and security and maintain this peace and security in the region. That is what I am going to do as Secretary-General, and I need the support, cooperation and sympathetic understanding of participants in order to do it. This is part of a broad mandate which is given to me by the Charter of the United Nations and by resolution 1244 (1999), which Security Council members adopted in 1999.”
2008-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5917 (2008) · source
“These will include, significantly, functions related to the dialogue on the implementation of provisions in six areas contained in my letter to”
2008-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5917 (2008) · source
“It is my assessment that, taken together, these developments have created a profoundly new reality in which UNMIK is no longer able to perform as effectively as in the past the vast majority of its tasks as an interim administration. That needs to be acknowledged as a fact of life. In the light of recent developments, the report notes that I intend to adjust operational aspects of the international civil presence in Kosovo and to reconfigure the profile and structure of UNMIK. I will not repeat the details of the package here; it is more important for me to hear the reactions of participants. I will just note that a reconfigured and restructured UNMIK will continue to carry out a number of functions.”
2008-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5917 (2008) · source
“The constitution promulgated by the Kosovo authorities came into effect on 15 June. That constitution envisages no real role for UNMIK. The powers residing with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General are sought to be assumed by the new authorities. On the other side of the ledger, the Kosovo Serb community has overwhelmingly rejected the new constitution and the new laws that are emerging from Pristina. They have expanded their boycott of Pristina institutions and, 08-39202 while they have agreed to continue to apply UNMIK laws, they have opposed -sometimes violently - any effort to bring them under the aegis of the new arrangements in Pristina. All of that is contributing to a substantially changed situation in Kosovo.”
2008-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5917 (2008) · source
“I have taken note of the position of the Republic of Serbia as conveyed to me by President Tadie. Mindful of the divisions in the international community, the United Nations has taken a position of strict neutrality on the question of Kosovo's status. UNMIK operates within the framework of Security Council resolution l244 (l999), which is the legal framework for its mandate and which remains in force until the Security Council decides otherwise. As I have indicated to the Council on prior occasions, UNMIK has continued to operate and to implement its mandate in the light of the evolving circumstances, however difficult that might be. That is the foundation of my package. Following the declaration of independence by Kosovo, UNMIK's ability to operate as before has come into serious question.”
2008-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5917 (2008) · source
“I appreciated their flexibility and admired their leadership. I have drawn richly on their ideas. My Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations has also benefited from consultations in both Pristina and Belgrade. This has been further enriched by the daily contacts of my representatives on the ground and by the work of the men and women of UNMIK. The report (8/2008/354) before the Council sets out the key recent developments in relation to Kosovo. As the Council is aware, following the declaration of independence by Kosovo's representatives, on 17 February of this year, some Member States have recognized Kosovo as a sovereign and independent State, while others have not. The differences within the international community have added to the complexity of this issue.”
2008-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5917 (2008) · source
“Indeed, it is not a winner-take-all solution. Nevertheless, personally, after open and transparent consultations with all concerned over the past months, I have come to the View that the package represents the least objectionable way forward. I have presented it to the Council mindful of the need to preserve and safeguard the credibility and effectiveness of the United Nations, in the interest of all of its Members. 08-39202 If there is any wisdom in this package, I should also thank Council members: I have greatly benefited from my wide-ranging consultations with you and with your ministers in the development of the package. Indeed, I held consultations with every member of the Council, as well as with the parties and other stakeholders, including the leaders present here today.”
2008-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5917 (2008) · source
“The declaration of independence in February, the violence at the customs posts and in Mitrovica, the elections organized by the Serbs, the promulgation in Pristina of a new constitution - all of those recent developments, and many before them, have been fiercely contested by the communities and by their supporters abroad, and have profoundly changed the environment in which we are operating. In coming before the Council today to listen and to seek its guidance, I am very aware that the package I have developed is a humble effort in the light of those new developments to try to find an operational modus vivendi to help move Kosovo a few steps back from the brink of further conflict. To many, it may not be fully satisfying, because it does not completely meet the aspirations of any of the key stakeholders.”
2008-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5917 (2008) · source
“Let me start by thanking the Security Council for this opportunity to present the Council with my assessment of the situation in Kosovo and my idea for the way forward for the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) as the international civil presence in Kosovo. Before doing so, I would like to welcome the presence here today of His Excellency Mr. Boris Tadie of Serbia and of His Excellency Mr. Fatmir Sejdiu of Kosovo. The challenge facing us is an enormous one. In almost 40 years of my diplomatic life, I have never encountered an issue as divisive, as delicate and as intractable as the Kosovo issue. Legally, politically and morally, it is a landscape of enormous complexity and sensitivity that requires the exercise of extraordinary objectivity and balance.”
2008-06-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5917 (2008) · source
“By creating a culture that punishes violence and elevates women to their rightful role, we can lay the foundation for lasting stability, where women are not victims of violence but agents of peace.”
2008-06-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5916 (2008) · source
“At the same time, we must View this problem in the broader context of women's empowerment. That means revising not only laws that deal with violence, but also laws that affect women's rights with respect to other issues, such as poverty, inheritance or divorce. It means creating conditions where justice can flourish, because the best laws in the world will mean little if they are not enforced through strong judicial and penal systems. Above all, we must do far more to involve women in conflict prevention, peace negotiations and recovery after the guns fall silent. We must have more women participating in the process of seeking justice, fostering reconciliation, supporting disarmament and demobilization, shaping development policies and rebuilding institutions.”
2008-06-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5916 (2008) · source
“Responding to calls from women's groups, rape survivors and non-governmental organizations, we are bringing together a dozen United Nations entities in a concerted effort called the United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict. The initiative brings together experts on issues such as peacekeeping, development, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, human rights, humanitarian relief and gender concerns to help stop rape and other sexual crimes in conflict-torn countries. We know what it takes for a strategy to succeed. It takes awareness-raising. It takes effective security measures, including training for national military and police forces. It takes close monitoring of human rights, and it requires prosecuting all perpetrators to the full extent of the law.”
2008-06-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5916 (2008) · source
“When allegations are found to have merit, all personnel, whether military, police or civilian, are held accountable on the basis of the applicable national jurisdiction. I will strengthen the current code of conduct by upholding the strictest discipline, whereby not only the individual concerned but also supervisors up the chain of command are held accountable in a system of collective responsibility. Violence against women has reached unspeakable and pandemic proportions in some societies attempting to recover from conflict. Responding to the silent war against women and girls requires leadership at the national level. National authorities need to take the initiative to build comprehensive strategies, while the United Nations needs to help build capacity and support national authorities and civil society.”
2008-06-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5916 (2008) · source
“The troop-contributing countries are already moving in that direction, and I appreciate all of their contributions to United Nations peacekeeping. But at the same time, I urge them to do more to provide predeployment training for preventing and responding to sexual violence. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations is revising its standardized materials on that project, and we look to the troop-contributing countries to help ensure that United Nations personnel are part of the solution and not the problem. Let me be clear. The United Nations and I personally are profoundly committed to a zero- tolerance policy against sexual exploitation or abuse by our own personnel. That means zero complacency. When we receive credible allegations, we ensure that they are looked into fully. That means zero impunity.”
2008-06-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5916 (2008) · source
“Through their sheer presence, the members of that Indian contingent are showing Liberian women that they, too, can play a role in law enforcement. We have the numbers to prove it. Since the female Blue Berets were first deployed, there has been a marked increase in the number of women applying for jobs with the Liberian police. I am eager to deploy more women worldwide, not just as police, military and civilian personnel, but also at the highest levels of mission leadership. Therefore, I need Member States to come forward with more women candidates. Send me your female troops, your police, your civilian personnel and your senior diplomats, and I will ensure that they all are 08-39069 considered, that qualified candidates are placed on rosters and that the maximum number are deployed to the field as quickly as humanly possible.”
2008-06-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5916 (2008) · source
“When the Council adopts resolutions with strong language on sexual and gender- based violence, the United Nations can respond more forcefully. Let us ensure that all future mandates have clear provisions on protecting women and children in conflict situations. When the Council authorizes multidisciplinary missions, we can produce results. When Member States send us qualified female personnel, we can demonstrate the central role of women in restoring stability to war-ravaged countries. The concept paper before the Council cites the all-female Indian civil police unit in Liberia as a possible model. I believe that successful initiative serves as an excellent example of the unique contribution that female personnel can make.”
2008-06-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5916 (2008) · source
“I will soon appoint a Messenger of Peace tasked entirely with advocacy for ending violence against women. Around the world, United Nations peace missions are making a difference by monitoring the programme, helping the victims and advocating an end to impunity. The United Nations Mission in Liberia has built a safe house for survivors and victims of sexual and gender- based violence. In Haiti, our peacekeepers are organizing meetings on women's rights for members of the judiciary and police. Our Rule of Law Unit in Afghanistan is helping the country draft legislation to eliminate violence against women. The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo has created a special unit to ensure that victims receive help when they seekjustice. All of those initiatives are based on Security Council mandates.”
2008-06-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5916 (2008) · source
“The breakdown of law and order makes women all the more vulnerable to attacks and leaves them with virtually no recourse to justice. Survivors are often so badly stigmatized that they can hardly even hope for a normal life. Cast out by their societies, they rarely seek redress. Even when they do have the courage to come forward despite the humiliation that that can bring, the justice system too often fails, and perpetrators go free. That fuels a culture of impunity that does nothing to discourage more attacks. So, the vicious circle rolls forward. But we can and must push back. This March, I launched a global campaign to end violence against women. The aim is to tackle all of its manifestations, including the abominable practice of sexual violence in armed conflict.”
2008-06-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5916 (2008) · source
“I thank the United States for having taken the initiative to convene this important debate. I congratulate Secretary of State Rice for her leadership. It is critical that the Council devote its full attention to this issue. I look forward to hearing its Views on the way forward. Almost eight years after the Council adopted its landmark resolution 1325 (2000), an increasing and alarming number of women and girls are falling victim to sexual violence in conflict. Sexual violence poses a grave threat to women's security in fragile post- conflict countries and undermines efforts to cement peace. It strikes women who are already struggling to survive and to keep their families together in a generalized climate of fear.”
2008-06-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5916 (2008) · source
“But the cost of failure and the potential for rewards are much higher. Bold and innovative steps are required to meet critical priority needs. To facilitate rapid delivery in the earliest phase, let us explore approaches such as a common start-up fund. The immediate aftermath of conflict is the crossroads at which peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding meet. We need to ensure that the road taken is the one that leads us most rapidly and effectively to our goal of a nationally owned, sustainable peace, with strengthened national capacities. Many of these issues have been identified by the Peacebuilding Commission, which has a key role to play in supporting national actors in achieving their long-term objectives for sustainable peace and development. Today's debate is, I hope, the start of a collective effort to reach that objective.”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895 (2008) · source
“Many Member States and regional partners, including the European Union, are exploring ways of building deployable capacities in this critical area. We need to broaden and pool our efforts to deliver global resources for peace. This need for civilian expertise also extends to recovery and development. We need to do much better in delivering early peace dividends. That means scaling up relief and development capacities to enable national authorities to pay their civil servants, restore agricultural life and initiate employment programmes. It may be time to draw on the experience of the humanitarian community in launching urgent recovery in a rapid and predictable way, including through greater use oflocal resources and capacities. Ultimately, all of this requires early and flexible funding. Early investment does indeed entail risk.”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895 (2008) · source
“The small but agile United Nations standing police capacity is an important step in the right direction, as is the recent launch of the standby team of mediation experts. The creation of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations reflects my commitment to a team approach to upholding the rule of law, security sector reform and respect for human rights. But we remain desperately short of judges, prison wardens, state administrators and managers, particularly those with knowledge and experience of the countries and systems in which we operate. Not only should they be well equipped when they are deployed; they need start-up funding at their disposal.”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895 (2008) · source
“If the United Nations is to lead on the ground, my Special Representatives need to be empowered to do so. They need the means to identify strategic priorities, elaborate plans and mobilize funds with others, in particular development partners. By aligning, if not integrating, our respective instruments, such as reports to the Security Council, donor pledging conferences and relief frameworks, we can ensure that priorities are pursued consistently. We should also consider joint assessments and strengthened reporting to the Security Council on critical recovery needs, drawing on expertise from the whole United Nations family as well as from international financial institutions. Thirdly, we need to build up civilian expertise.”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895 (2008) · source
“My Special Representatives are responsible for coordinating the response of all United Nations actors in the field. We have put in place structures, planning and monitoring processes to support this effort in the immediate term and throughout the transition to longer-term peacebuilding. But the United Nations is only one of several actors in the field. Regional organizations, Member States and international financial institutions contribute critical elements of a collective international response. Where we work together, as in Liberia or in Sierra Leone, we deliver a vastly more effective response. Coordination and clarity of leadership are critical to ensuring that each partner brings its distinctive strength to the broad collective effort. Secondly, we need sufficient capacity.”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895 (2008) · source
“The first is to establish viable political processes to buttress peace agreements and to put in place legitimate national authorities. The second is to restore security and the rule of law, including early development of professional and accountable security services and justice systems. The third is to deliver immediate and tangible benefits to the affected population and create enabling conditions for longer- term development. How, then, can we strengthen our collective response in the immediate aftermath of conflict and deliver on these critical priorities? First, we must be coherent. While the primary responsibility for rebuilding after conflict undoubtedly belongs to national authorities, the United Nations has a major obligation.”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895 (2008) · source
“It is an honour to join the Security Council this morning. I am grateful to the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom for bringing us together to discuss the critical question of how the international community can respond effectively in the immediate aftermath of conflict. Over the past two decades, the United Nations has deepened its understanding of what it takes to prevent a relapse into conflict. We have learned how to better create space for national authorities to establish processes for sustainable peace, security and development. Lessons from many countries - the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Timor Leste, Haiti, Burundi and Liberia - all demonstrate that, while each context is different, there are three common and immediate priorities.”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895 (2008) · source
“It is an obligation intricately linked to our capacity to respond rapidly and decisively in times of crisis and to address long-term perspectives. It is central to our ability to create an interrelated system of rapidly deployable capabilities, operating under the United Nations Charter. That is why I warmly welcome the Council's intention to debate this strategic issue later this month, with the participation of the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom. I am grateful for the Security Council's commitment to our collective endeavour to strengthen the United Nations role in security sector reform.”
2008-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5889 (2008) · source
“My report proposes a number of straightforward and pragmatic measures: developing United Nations 3 technical guideline and training in the area of security sector reform; strengthening field capacity as well as capabilities and expertise for central backstopping; enhancing coordination and delivery of security sector reform support; and establishing a compact security sector reform support unit at Headquarters, to serve the whole United Nations, in particular peace operations. These priorities represent the minimum we must do to enhance our performance. But, beyond these, developing effective and accountable security institutions - including those responsible for the provision ofjustice - is more thanjust a goal. It is our shared obligation, especially in countries recovering from conflict.”
2008-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5889 (2008) · source
“There can be no rigid one-size-fits- all approach. Finally, our approach must be gender sensitive and consistent with international law, with particular attention to sexual and gender-based violence. We must help ensure that the security sector assumes its responsibility in eradicating the unspeakable epidemic of violence against women that has become the common aftermath of conflict. Member States have recognized the need for a coherent system-wide approach to security sector reform and to the need to avoid duplication by creating new frameworks. Let us therefore focus, as a first priority, on professionalizing our approach.”
2008-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5889 (2008) · source
“As the Security Council noted last year, "It is the sovereign right and the primary responsibility of the country concerned to determine the national approach and priorities of security sector reform" (S/PRST/2007/3). Thirdly, the United Nations should work in collaboration with key international partners. Such partnerships are Vital in ensuring expertise and resources. This is imperative already at the outset of any peace negotiation and mediation, as successful security sector reform is a necessary precursor of any peacekeeping exit strategy and, ultimately, of economic and social development. Fourthly, the United Nations approach must be flexible and tailored to the individual country, region or environment. States and societies define and pursue security according to their particular context, history, culture and needs.”
2008-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5889 (2008) · source
“The goal is to 08-33544 strengthen the effective and accountable security of a State and its people, underpinned by respect for human rights and the rule of law. Allow me to underscore a few key principles that will guide our approach. These reflect the discussions of Member States in the Security Council and the General Assembly. First and foremost, the United Nations should engage in security sector reform at the request of national Governments, or in response to Security Council mandates and General Assembly resolutions. Secondly, Member States are the primary providers of security, and national ownership is the cornerstone of our approach.”
2008-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5889 (2008) · source
“The starting point for the report is a broad discussion of the concept, underscoring its linkages to many important processes. It makes clear that, in any context, security reform must be approached both strategically and holistically. On one level, it is a highly specialized field. On another level, it is obviously linked to budgetary questions, economic development, good governance and sound public management. On yet another level, it requires prudent, measured and consistent steps, as well as a well- functioning understanding with the full range of national stakeholders and partners. The report before the Council, therefore, defines security sector reform as a process of assessment, review and implementation, as well as monitoring and evaluation, led by national authorities.”
2008-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5889 (2008) · source
“We need to strengthen our ability to provide consistent, well-coordinated and high-quality technical advice during peace processes and in peacekeeping, peacebuilding and development. We need to make our approach less piecemeal and more holistic. That is why, at the request of the Security Council and the General Assembly, I issued a report (S/2008/39) in February entitled "Securing peace and development: the role of the United Nations in supporting security sector reform". As many here know, it was the product of broad consultations with Member States, regional groupings and organizations, as well as research centres, academic institutions and non-governmental organizations. It was also subject to wide-ranging consultations within the United Nations system, both at Headquarters and in the field.”
2008-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5889 (2008) · source
“From Guatemala to Afghanistan and from Burundi to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our experience in mediating and implementing peace agreements shows that if these agreements are to succeed and endure, the work to reform security institutions needs to be addressed from the outset. In other words, the United Nations has rich and varied experience in what has come to be known as security sector reform. And yet, too often, we have remained an ad hoc partner for national and international stakeholders. What has been lacking is a common framework and a coherent system-wide approach. Despite our hands-on record, we have only limited institutional structures to guide engagement on the ground.”
2008-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5889 (2008) · source
“As early as 1989, the United Nations was tasked with supporting a newly independent Namibia in developing preliminary structures for its armed forces. Since the early 1990s, our peace operations have assisted national authorities in establishing new policing institutions and in strengthening the capacity and integrity of defence structures. In Angola and Mozambique our mandates included support for the integration, reform and training of armed forces, and partnerships with bilateral donors in the areas of coordination and delivery. From El Salvador and Cambodia in the past to Liberia and Sierra Leone today, the United Nations has 08-33544 assisted parties in security reform in the context of good offices, mediation and peacekeeping operations.”
2008-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5889 (2008) · source
“Despite our efforts over these six decades, conflict and Violence continue to pose a threat to nations and peoples. Unquestionably, Member States remain central providers of security for States and their populations. That is their sovereign right and responsibility, as is the work to reform their security sectors. It is, however, the responsibility of the United Nations to determine how we can best support Member States in delivering enduring security through effective institutions. In February 2007, I addressed the Council for the first time on the issue of security sector reform (see S/PV.5632). The term is a relatively new one, but in practice the experience of the United Nations in this area goes back decades, spanning a range of activities and United Nations departments, offices, funds and programmes.”
2008-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5889 (2008) · source
“It is an honour to join the Security Council for this discussion on the United Nations role in security sector reform. This issue is of special importance with respect to the responsibility of the United Nations, and of the Council in particular, for maintaining international peace and security. I am grateful to you, Mr. President, and to the Government of the United Kingdom for bringing us together for this important and timely debate. I also very much appreciate the tireless efforts of the Governments of Slovakia and South Africa in promoting this discussion. This month we mark the sixtieth anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping. Maintaining international peace and security remains a daunting challenge for our Organization.”
2008-05-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5889 (2008) · source
“I am resolved to enhance cooperation with all regional organizations, so as to create in the future effective mechanisms for conflict prevention and resolution, as well as a predictable, interlinked and reliable system for global peacekeeping under the Charter. I am confident that the Council's meeting today will contribute to that goal.”
2008-04-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5868 (2008) · source