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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“Our mediation and other efforts include partnerships with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Somalia and Sudan, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cambodia, Myanmar and Timor-Leste, the International Organization of La Francophonie in the Central African Republic, and the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries in Guinea-Bissau. That is just a sample of the wide-ranging policy and operational activities that are taking place. Those diverse experiences span conflict-prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace building. They are delivering results on the ground, as well as lessons for the future. We have a better sense today of our respective strengths and advantages. The political engagement of regional actors is improving our knowledge of specific situations.”
2006-09-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5529 (2006) · source
“This year alone, our political and operational collaboration has included: cooperation with the African Union's peacekeeping operation in the Sudan; cooperation with the European Union in support of the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and ongoing partnerships with the Economic Community Of West African States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Afghanistan and Kosovo, and the Organization of American States in support of Haiti's electoral process. We are also engaged in regular consultations with the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the League of Arab States on conflict resolution in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.”
2006-09-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5529 (2006) · source
“It is now 14 years since the Council invited my predecessor to submit recommendations for strengthening the United Nations in the field of international peace and security, including our collaboration with regional organizations under Chapter VIII of the Charter. Since then, my predecessor and I have convened six high-level meetings with the heads of partner organizations. A seventh, as the Council has heard from the President, is to be held shortly. Those meetings are helping to build a common forum and an agenda of cooperation. The partnership is stronger today than in the early 1990s; many of the regional and subregional partners themselves are stronger; our interaction is more intense, substantial and meaningful.”
2006-09-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5529 (2006) · source
“I pay tribute to the delegation of Greece and to you in particular, Madam Foreign Minister, for convening this meeting on cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations. The fact that the Security Council has met twice on this issue in as many years shows the importance it rightly attaches to it. 3 Last October, in its first resolution on the subject, resolution 1631 (2005), the Council expressed its determination to further this cooperation, and asked me to report on the challenges and opportunities in this area. My report is now before the Council in document S/2006/590, and I am pleased to have this chance to supplement it with some further thoughts.”
2006-09-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5529 (2006) · source
“This is a perilous moment for the people of Darfur, but it is also a decisive moment for the Council itself. For more than two years, the Council has been working to stem the fighting and improve the situation in Darfur. Yet, once again, we find ourselves on the brink of a new calamity. The current situation cannot be sustained. It is time to act. This is seen - not only in Darfur but by people around the world - as a crucial test of the Council's authority and effectiveness, its solidarity with people in need and its seriousness in the quest for peace. I urge the Council, in the strongest possible terms, to rise to the occasion.”
2006-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5520 (2006) · source
“It will suffer opprobrium and disgrace in the eyes of all Africa and the whole international community. Moreover, neither those who 3 decide such policies nor those who carry them out should imagine that they will not be held accountable. But my voice alone will not convince the Government. I have tried repeatedly to explain the transition to the Government and to clear up any misconceptions or myths. In public and in private, I have stressed the humanitarian situation and appealed to the Government's own sense of pragmatism. It is time now for additional voices to make themselves heard. We need Governments and individual leaders in Africa and beyond who are in a position to influence the Government of the Sudan to bring that pressure to bear without delay. There must also be a clear, strong and uniform message from this Council.”
2006-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5520 (2006) · source
“Once again, I call on AMIS's partners to ensure that it can continue to work during this crucial transition period. But let us be clear: we all know that the Government of the Sudan still refuses to accept the transition, and the Council has recognized that without the Government's consent the transition will not be possible. Once again, therefore, I urge the Government of the Sudan to embrace the spirit of resolution 1706 (2006), to give its consent to the transition and to pursue the political process with new energy and commitment. The consequences of the Government's current attitude - yet more death and suffering, perhaps on a catastrophic scale - will be felt first and foremost by the people of Darfur. But the Government itself will also suffer if it fails in its sacred responsibility to protect its own people.”
2006-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5520 (2006) · source
“The African Union has been very clear about the need for the transition from AMIS to a United Nations peacekeeping operation, on which the Council has decided. The AU has been equally clear about the need for AMIS to continue until then, as well as about the need to resist any attempt to subvert decisions aimed at achieving those vital objectives. The League of Arab States has also offered vital backing for the transition, and has voiced its conviction that AMIS should stay until the end of the year. Indeed, there can be no walking away from AMIS. The AU troops have performed valiantly, in very difficult conditions. They have a vital role to play until a United Nations operation can be put in place, but they still lack the necessary resources.”
2006-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5520 (2006) · source
“Evidently, those who have ordered this action still believe that there can be a military solution to the crisis in Darfur. Yet, surely, all parties should have understood by now, after so much death and 06-51559 destruction, that only a political agreement in which all stakeholders are fully engaged can bring real peace to the region. As the Council made clear in resolution 1706 (2006), the Darfur Peace Agreement gives us a chance to achieve peace. In the coming days, we in the Secretariat will be meeting senior officials from the Commission of the African Union to finalize a support package for the African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS). The Department of Peacekeeping Operations will also convene a meeting of potential troop and police contributors to discuss the expansion of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan to Darfur.”
2006-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5520 (2006) · source
“Can the international community, having not done enough for the people of Rwanda in their time of need, just watch as this tragedy deepens? Having finally agreed - just one year ago - that there is a responsibility to protect, can we contemplate failing yet another test? Lessons either learned or not, principles either upheld or scorned, this is no time for the middle ground of half measures or further debate. This latest fighting shows utter disregard for the Darfur Peace Agreement. That Agreement created hopes that are being shattered. Current developments defy several of the Council's resolutions and violate commitments that were made, including the non- deployment of additional Sudanese armed forces. Such action is legally and morally unacceptable.”
2006-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5520 (2006) · source
“Never since July 2004, when I signed a joint communique with the Sudan's Foreign Minister, has access been so severely limited. Humanitarian workers have continued to be targets of brutal violence, physical harassment and rhetorical vilification. Many of their vehicles have been stolen. Twelve aid workers have lost their lives in the past two months alone - more than in the previous two years. We pay tribute to their sacrifice, but we cannot and must not accept the acts that led to it. Relief personnel must be allowed to do their jobs unhindered and in safety. As access gets harder, the humanitarian gains of the past two years are being rolled back. Unless security improves, we face the prospect of having to drastically curtail an acutely needed humanitarian operation. Can we in conscience leave the people of Darfur to such a fate?”
2006-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5520 (2006) · source
“I strongly condemn the escalation. The Government should stop its offensive immediately and refrain from any further such action. The latest clashes have brought even greater misery to a population that has already endured far too much. Once again, people have been displaced. The 06-51559 total number of displaced now stands at 1.9 million. Nearly 3 million people in Darfur depend on international aid for food, shelter and medical treatment. The fighting has made it much, much harder for humanitarian workers to reach them. In July, insecurity prevented the World Food Programme from delivering food to 470,000 people in desperate need. In August, the World Food Programme reached the people in south Darfur, but some 355,000 people in north Darfur remained cut off from food aid, most of them for the third consecutive month.”
2006-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5520 (2006) · source
“The tragedy in Darfur has reached a critical moment. It merits the Council's closest attention and urgent action. It is vital that we all speak candidly about what is happening and about what it will take to bring to an end the suffering of so many millions of people. I am very pleased to see the African Union, the League of Arab States and the Organization of the Islamic Conference represented here today. It is also important that the Government of the Sudan is participating in this meeting. We have all heard the latest deeply dismaying reports of renewed fighting - particularly in north Darfur - among the various factions. Thousands of Sudan Armed Forces troops have been deployed to the area in clear violation of the Darfur Peace Agreement. Even worse, the area has been subjected to renewed aerial bombing.”
2006-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5520 (2006) · source
“Ultimately, similar arrangements, based on foundations that are well known to all of us, will have to be put in place along all the borders where there is conflict. Only comprehensive solutions can bring lasting peace. The United Nations stands for a just solution to all these issues. We stand for security for Lebanon, for Israel and for the region. We stand for a comprehensive solution, and must therefore do our utmost to address all the separate but intertwined issues and conflicts in the region, whether manifest or latent. Delays will only mean more lost lives, more shattered hopes and a further decline in the standing and authority of the Council and the Organization. We must spare the people of Lebanon, of Israel and of the wider region any further bloodshed - both now and in the months and years ahead.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“War is not - I repeat, war is not - the continuation of politics by other means. On the contrary, it represents a catastrophic failure of political skill and imagination - a dethronement of peaceful politics from the primacy which it should enjoy. By taking the first step today towards ending the fighting in Lebanon, the Council is belatedly reasserting that primacy - as the founders of this Organization expected it to do. Only political solutions will be sustainable in the long term. The peace treaties between Israel and Egypt, 06-4649] and between Israel and Jordan, are expressions of stable political arrangements and agreements. Through these treaties, the leaders of the countries concerned have courageously brought stability and peace to borders that were previously beset with violence, and thus to their peoples.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“In particular, we must not turn our backs on the bloodshed, suffering and hardship that have continued to afflict Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, or the danger from Qassam rockets that continues to threaten the Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip. Progress in the Middle East peace process would undoubtedly facilitate the resolution of conflicts elsewhere in the region, and vice versa. Therefore, the various crises in the region must henceforth be addressed not in isolation or bilaterally, but as part of a holistic and comprehensive effort, sanctioned and championed by the Council, to bring peace and stability to the region as a whole. The parallel crises in Lebanon and Gaza over the past few weeks have demonstrated, once again, that there are no military solutions to this conflict.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“Perhaps even more ominous than the physical destruction are the changes in perception that have been occurring, both inside the region and beyond it. The Middle East, which has long figured at the very top of the Council's agenda, is likely to remain there for years to come. The draft resolution that the Council is about to adopt is only one step towards the comprehensive approach that is needed. Other steps will need to be taken - many others. In order to prevent yet another eruption of violence and bloodshed, the international community must now be prepared to offer sustained support and assistance for the political and economic reconstruction of Lebanon, and also to address the broader context of crisis in the region.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“They deserve the full support of the United Nations in their effort to cast off the chains of external interference and domestic strife. Doing so will require both the establishment of national consensus among Lebanese and constructive cooperation, based on mutual goodwill and sustained dialogue, by all relevant parties and actors at the regional level, including the Governments of Syria and Iran. Indeed, over the past five weeks we have been reminded yet again what a fragile, tense, crisis-ridden region the Middle East has become - probably now more complex and difficult than ever before. It is now undergoing changes, shifts and realignments on a scale, and of a strategic significance, not seen since the colonial Powers withdrew at the end of the Second World War.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“The Lebanese Government will meet tomorrow, and the Israeli Cabinet on Sunday, to review the resolution. Over the weekend, I will undertake to establish, with both parties, the exact date and time at which the cessation hostilities will come into effect. Lebanon has been a victim for too long. Mired in an incomplete political transformation since the end of the civil war, it has remained an arena in which both domestic and regional actors could play out their self- interested schemes. Such exploitation of a vulnerable country is shameful. It has undermined the laudable efforts of many Lebanese citizens to consolidate their country as a sovereign, independent and democratic State. The country and its people deserve better.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“Some may well be reluctant to do so without solid assurances that, this time, peace is here to stay. Such assurances are indeed essential. And they must rest not only on the cessation of hostilities or the deployment of an expanded peace force, but on the resolution of fundamental underlying political problems, including the release of prisoners, starting with those who have been taken hostage, and a resolution of the Sheba'a farms issue in accordance with resolution 1680 (2006). I will therefore lose no time in taking up the role assigned to me in today's draft resolution. We have just had a terrible lesson in the dangers of allowing problems to fester. We must by now all know that, unless we address unfinished business, it can and will take us unawares.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“It must be robust and effective and ensure that no vacuum is left between the Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of Lebanese forces. Obviously, if it is to carry out this new mandate, it needs to be augmented with the utmost urgency and provided with sophisticated military capabilities. The Council cannot afford to relax for one minute. I urge its members to consult closely, and at once, with both existing and potential troop contributors, with a view to generating the additional forces needed as quickly as possible, before the situation on the ground once again spins out of control. And I urge the Council to make sure they have the equipment they will need. I also appeal to all potential donors to respond swiftly to requests from the Lebanese Government for financial help as it struggles to reconstruct its devastated country.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“The Lebanese State, like any other sovereign State, must have a monopoly of the use of force on its own territory. That implies, of course, a full and swift Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory. We now have a clear scenario for achieving that. The decision of the Lebanese Government to deploy 15,000 of the country's armed forces to the south is a significant development. But, ready and willing as the army may be to undertake this task, the Government itself has acknowledged the need for help. This makes the Council's decision to strengthen the mandate and the numbers of UNIFIL a vital ingredient of the package. Now, UNIFIL faces a new task, perhaps even more difficult and dangerous than its previous one.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“As soon as the fighting stops, the daunting challenge of helping people to return to their homes safely and rebuild their lives begins. Secondly, the draft resolution rightly has at its core Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity, consistent with Council resolutions 425 (1978), 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006). The international community must give the Lebanese Government all possible support, so that it can make that sovereignty effective. The Government, acting through its regular armed forces and police, must be able to assert its authority throughout the country and on all its borders, particularly to prevent illegal and destabilizing flows of arms. Only when there is one authority, and one gun, will there be a chance of lasting stability.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“Without it, you would have had to face the difficult prospect of UNIFIL's withdrawal. Indeed, you may yet have to face it in the hours and days ahead if the immediate cessation of hostilities called for in the draft resolution does not hold. 06-4649] So, this draft resolution comes none too soon, and it marks a vital step forward. I am glad that Council members have been able to resolve their differences, accommodating many points of view, and I hope they will adopt this text unanimously. Having done so, they must work with equal determination to make what they have agreed fully effective on the ground. First of all, humanitarian convoys and relief workers must be given a real guarantee of safe passage and access to those who need help.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“The United Nations itself has been a target of protest and violence, despite the Organization's humanitarian efforts, including those of our valiant peacekeepers in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), to reach people trapped in the crossfire. UNIFIL has had to cope with a situation for which it was neither mandated nor equipped. I am full of pride and admiration for the courageous men and women who serve under the United Nations flag, and indeed for all the humanitarian workers; they have shown incredible courage since 12 July in carrying out their duties in the midst of intense fighting, which has injured 16 United Nations personnel and, tragically, caused the deaths of five others. Indeed, UNIFIL's tenacity has made possible the diplomatic solution that you, the members of the Security Council, have just forged.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“Some 41 Israeli civilians have been killed, and hundreds of thousands have had their lives disrupted - being forced into shelters or to flee their homes - by rocket attacks from Hizbollah, which has launched its fire indiscriminately, to sow the widest possible terror, making no effort to distinguish between civilian and military targets and also endangering civilians on its own side by firing from the midst of heavily populated areas. Nor has the damage been limited to Lebanon and Israel. A region that could ill afford another chapter of violence and another source of instability has been inflamed further still. Extremists have been given new ammunition.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“In fact, more children than fighters have died in this 06-4649] conflict. Israeli bombing has turned thousands of homes to rubble. It has also destroyed dozens of bridges and roads, with the result that more than 100,000 people cannot reach safety; nor can relief supplies reach them. Such devastation would be tragic at any time. That it has been inflicted on Lebanon's people just when they were beginning to make real progress towards political reform and economic recovery makes it all the more so. Israelis, for their part, have been newly awakened to a threat which they had hoped, with good reason, to have escaped when - as the Council certified on my recommendation - they withdrew from Lebanon six years ago.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“For weeks now, I and many others have been calling repeatedly for an immediate cessation of hostilities, for the sake of the civilian population on both sides who have suffered such terrible, unnecessary pain and loss. All members of the Council must be aware that this inability to act sooner has badly shaken the world's faith in its authority and integrity. Since 12 July, when Hizbollah launched an unprovoked attack on Israel, killing eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapping two, both Lebanon and Israel have been thrown back into the turmoil of war, death and destruction. According to the Lebanese Government, over 1,000 Lebanese have been killed and over 3,600 injured. Around a quarter of all of Lebanon's inhabitants, close to a million people, have been displaced. Too many of the victims have been children.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“I welcome wholeheartedly the draft resolution the Council is about to adopt and I am greatly relieved that it provides for a full and immediate cessation of hostilities. It is absolutely vital that the fighting now stop. Provided it does, I believe that this draft resolution will make it possible to conclude a sustainable and lasting ceasefire agreement in the days ahead, and I hope that this could be the beginning of a process to solve the underlying political problems in the region through peaceful means. But I would be remiss if I did not tell members how profoundly disappointed I am that the Council did not reach this point much, much earlier, and I am convinced that my disappointment and sense of frustration are shared by hundreds of millions of people around the world.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“Through the presence of three United Nations peacekeeping missions and one peacebuilding support office in the subregion, the United Nations is demonstrating its commitment to efforts to end the cycle of violence that has destroyed so many lives and so much infrastructure. We are committed to continuing to work with members of the subregion on the journey to sustainable peace - and you can count on us.”
2006-08-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5509 (2006) · source
“06-4607] Too many times, in international responses to post-conflict situations, we have suffered from the same weaknesses - shortage of funds, lack of international coordination and a tendency to leave too soon. That can reverse hard-won results and undermine attempts to build solid States and societies. That is why Member States decided to create the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission, which held its first meeting in June. And it was for all those reasons that the United Nations established an Office for West Africa, based in Dakar, to develop a regional strategy. That work involves continuing efforts to prevent conflict, as demonstrated in the Organization's support for Nigeria and Cameroon when they reached agreement in June on ways to implement a settlement of the four-decades-long dispute over Bakassi.”
2006-08-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5509 (2006) · source
“Unfortunately, these problems, as I have said, do not remain internal for long. They create refugees, they create instability in the region, they scare away investors. So what starts as a problem for one country invariably becomes a regional problem, and I am happy that the countries are engaging it. I think it is extremely important that we focus on ending the conflicts in the region so as to be able to tackle the essential tasks of economic and social development. For peace to prevail, and to last, we are seeking to develop meaningful peacebuilding initiatives, including reconciliation and confidence- building processes, as well as mechanisms to strengthen the rule of law. This is essential to support fragile post-conflict countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea-Bissau.”
2006-08-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5509 (2006) · source
“The region continues to be plagued by grave and widespread shortcomings with regard to governance. That prevents it from taking advantage of its rich natural resources and fulfilling its potential for social and economic development. We know all too well the close connections between different conflicts in West Africa, and we have learned the hard way that we need a holistic approach to them. Insecurity has no respect for national boundaries. These conflicts often start in one country and in no time spread to its neighbours and become a regional problem. Here, I think we need to congratulate the West African leaders for their willingness to become engaged in conflicts in the region, because there had been a tendency to say we do not interfere; it is an internal affair of this or that country.”
2006-08-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5509 (2006) · source
“Let me start by congratulating you, Mr. President, and your delegation, for organizing this important session and by expressing my pleasure to see you in the Chair. While we all remain deeply preoccupied by events in the Middle East, as you said earlier, I am heartened that we have gathered here today for this important discussion on peace consolidation in West Africa. Let me extend a warm welcome to the ministers who have joined us, as well as to the Executive Secretary Ibn Chambas of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Let me also welcome my Special Representative for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah. I'm sure I speak for all of us in expressing gratitude for his important and tireless contribution so far. Political stability and prosperity continue to elude most West African countries.”
2006-08-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5509 (2006) · source
“These requests have often come, where their assistance is required, from the Government of Lebanon. That is something I thought members should know, to let them understand the dynamics in the region and in the south. Let me conclude by stating very clearly and briefly that the authority and standing of the Security Council are at stake. The authority and standing of the Council are at stake: people have noticed its failure to act firmly and quickly during this crisis. Today's events at the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) were in part an expression of that frustration. For the sake of the people of the region and of the Organization, I urge the Council to act, and to act now.”
2006-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5498 (2006) · source
“I should also share with the Council that, this morning in my conversation with Prime Minister Siniora of Lebanon, he told me his Government had taken a decision that it would no longer engage in further diplomatic discussions and efforts to find a solution without a ceasefire. I asked him whether the Government as a whole had taken that decision, and he reaffirmed that it was the decision of his Government. The other information that I would like to share with the Council is that UNIFIL did receive a request from the Israel Defense Forces for the population of two villages - Ramyah and Ayta al-Shab - to be evacuated before sunset today. Of course, UNIFIL has refused to evacuate the villages, indicating that it does not have the capacity to do so.”
2006-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5498 (2006) · source
“While that is happening, we can work together on the political framework needed for a lasting ceasefire and a sustainable solution, the strengthening of Lebanon's Government, the disarming of all militia and the implementation of all Security Council resolutions, including resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006). I will work with the Council on the development and deployment of a stabilization force to support the Government of Lebanon in its decision and responsibility to extend its authority throughout the country. I know there are differences among Council members about the precise sequence of actions needed. 06-44873 I beg them to set those differences aside and come together on the most urgent point: the immediate cessation of hostilities.”
2006-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5498 (2006) · source
“As the Council is aware, I have repeatedly condemned all actions that target civilians. The High Commissioner for Human Rights has reminded all parties that they may be held accountable for any breaches of international humanitarian law. But the most urgent need is to bring the fighting to a halt without further delay. For that, the Council has a solemn responsibility. Action is needed now, before many more children, women and men become casualties of a conflict over which they have no control. I therefore reiterate my call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, to allow desperately needed humanitarian relief to reach the victims.”
2006-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5498 (2006) · source
“Meanwhile, over 50 Israelis have died, including 19 civilians; and the population of northern Israel has been subjected to intense and continuous rocket fire. Thousands are now in shelters. It is important to stress that both sides in this conflict bear a heavy responsibility, and there is strong prima facie evidence that both have committed grave breaches of international humanitarian law. The present fighting began on 12 July with an unprovoked Hizbollah attack on Israel and the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers. Since then, Hizbollah has continued firing rockets indiscriminately into northern Israel from positions apparently located in the midst of civilian populations. No one disputes Israel's right to defend itself, but by its manner of doing so it has caused, and is causing, death and suffering on a wholly unacceptable scale.”
2006-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5498 (2006) · source
“I appeal to the authorities and people in all countries to respect and ensure the safety of United Nations personnel. I appeal to everyone to understand that we are doing our best to help, through diplomacy, humanitarian action and through the efforts of UNIFIL, which, as all are aware, suffered tragic losses only a few days ago. The tragic events in Qana remind us that 10 years ago over 100 people who had taken refuge in that same village suffered a similar fate. We must deliver the region from this seemingly endless cycle of violence. 06-44873 In the last 18 days several hundred Lebanese citizens have been killed, the vast majority of them civilians and at least a third of them children. During the same period hundreds of thousands of Lebanese have had to flee their homes, many of them under heavy shelling.”
2006-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5498 (2006) · source
“Earlier today a large number of protesters broke into our headquarters in Beirut and briefly set it afire. I am glad to say that the fire was quickly put out. As of now, three staff members have been reported injured - and, I am glad to say, none critically. The demonstrators have now left the building, after intervention by the Lebanese armed forces. I am deeply grateful to the Government of Lebanon for that prompt action, as well as to the Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Mr. Nabih Berri, and other Lebanese leaders whose statesmanlike appeals for calm were decisive. The United Nations House is the hub of our humanitarian activities in Lebanon, which will continue throughout the country. But, naturally, we fear similar reactions elsewhere in the region or in the wider Islamic world.”
2006-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5498 (2006) · source
“Preliminary reports say that at least 54 people have been killed, among them at least 37 children. We must condemn this action in the strongest possible terms, and I appeal to the Council to do likewise. I am deeply dismayed that my earlier calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities were not heeded, with the result that innocent life continues to be taken and innocent civilians continue to suffer. I repeat that call once again from the Council Chamber, and I appeal to the Council to do likewise. I send my deepest condolences to the families of all the victims of violence - in Lebanon, in Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Gaza. This tragedy has rightly provoked moral outrage throughout the world. Regrettably, some Lebanese people have turned their anger against the Organization.”
2006-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5498 (2006) · source
“Let me thank you, Mr. President, for arranging this meeting on very short notice. We meet at a moment of extreme gravity, first and foremost for the people of the Middle East, but also for the authority of this Organization, and especially the Security Council. As the Council is aware, during the night the Israeli air force bombed the village of Qana, in southern Lebanon. That village is no longer in the area of operations of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). We therefore had no United Nations personnel nearby at the time of the attack, although Chinese engineers and two medical teams have now managed to reach the 2 area. They are helping to clear the rubble and are giving treatment to survivors. I am therefore relying on the Lebanese authorities for my information.”
2006-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5498 (2006) · source
“06-4367] I invite the Council to consider the parallel implementation of the package of concrete actions I have just presented. The support of the international community in the political, security and financial areas will be critical for the success of the entire process. It is my firm belief that only the simultaneous implementation of the different elements of this package will allow for the transformation of any cessation of hostilities into a durable ceasefire. When that is achieved, the international community will need to develop a framework for the final delineation of the borders of Lebanon and a decisive revival of the Middle East peace process. I urge the Council to take firm action towards ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East region, as mandated by the Charter of the United Nations.”
2006-07-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5492 (2006) · source
“We really need to focus on the quest for a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. Our hearts and minds must be with the civilians in Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, who are enduring daily violence and who are looking to the United Nations, as are many in the wider region, to find a solution to the current crisis. I recognize that there are differences of approach within the Council. But today let us remember what unites us: our compassion for the victims and for all who have lost loved ones - to whom we must all express our deepest condolences - and our common desire to bring about a stable, long-term peace between Israel and its neighbours. That requires the international community, through the Council, to speak with one voice in the coming days.”
2006-07-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5492 (2006) · source
“President Abbas's efforts to move the Palestinian side towards a national unity government that addresses the Quartet's principles must be fully supported. Israel needs to refrain from unilateral acts that prejudice final status issues and agree to negotiate in the peace process. 06-43671 If the violence is to end, and dialogue and engagement to resume, the international community must also play its part and address the Israeli- Palestinian issue boldly and creatively. That would also help remove a pretext used by extremists throughout the region - including in Lebanon. As the G-8 summit concluded, and as Arab leaders stressed to the mission, the need to address a root cause of the region's problems - the absence of a comprehensive Middle East peace - is clear.”
2006-07-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5492 (2006) · source
“As a result of the destruction by Israel of the Gaza power plant, more than a million people are without electricity for most of the day and night. Israelis in the south continue to endure Qassam rocket attacks, though, fortunately, without casualties in the past month. I call for an immediate cessation of indiscriminate and disproportionate violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for a reopening of closed crossing points, without which Gaza will continue to be sucked into a downward spiral of suffering and chaos and the region will be further inflamed. In my delegation's meetings with President Abbas, he underscored his readiness to engage in a proper dialogue with the Government of Israel. It is vital that the regional crisis not be allowed to dampen the hopes that had been emerging on this score.”
2006-07-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5492 (2006) · source
“The Council would need to consider incorporating the elements of such a package in a draft resolution. Meanwhile, the conditions for peacekeeping clearly do not exist. The Security Council will need to decide what to do about UNIFIL, whose mandate expires on 31 July. In my View, the continuation of UNIFIL in its current configuration, and with its current mandate, is not tenable. Should it be withdrawn? Should it be strengthened? Should it be replaced with something else altogether? The context is radically different from that of a few weeks ago. We also need a peace track for Gaza - despite the issues involved - as much as we do for Lebanon. I am gravely concerned about Gaza. Palestinians there are suffering deeply, with well over 100 persons, many of them civilians, killed in the last month alone.”
2006-07-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5492 (2006) · source
“An international conference should be organized, with broad Lebanese and international participation, to develop precise timelines for the speedy and full implementation of the Taif Agreement and further measures needed for Lebanon to comply with its international obligations under Security Council resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006). The conference would also endorse a delineation of Lebanon's international borders, including a final resolution on all disputed areas, especially the Sheba'a Farms. My letter to Prime Minister Siniora of 5 June 2006 covers those issues. The planning and implementation of these elements should, as far as possible, be done in parallel - I repeat, in parallel. I should stress that these ideas would obviously require further elaboration and reworking, in close dialogue with all concerned.”
2006-07-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5492 (2006) · source
“The Prime Minister of Lebanon would unequivocally confirm to the Secretary-General and the Security Council that the Government of Lebanon will respect the Blue Line in its entirety, until agreement on Lebanon's final international boundaries is reached. A donor framework would be established, with immediate effect, to secure funding for an urgent package of aid, reconstruction and development for Lebanon. A mechanism would be established, composed of key regional and international actors, to monitor and guarantee the implementation of all aspects of the agreement.”
2006-07-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5492 (2006) · source