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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“We have seen that, in many instances, regional organizations can be on the ground much faster than the United Nations. Indeed, NATO, the EU and the AU have either established or are developing rapid response capabilities for peacekeeping operations. The United Nations welcomes, and indeed contributes to, those efforts. However, not all regional organizations can sustain their deployments over a long period, and the legitimacy that flows from United Nations operations is often needed for longer-term sustainability. Not all of our cooperative efforts with regional organizations have proceeded without problems. In Kosovo, for instance, after unexpected violence flared up earlier this year, we are looking at how we can do a better job.”
2004-07-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5007 (2004) · source
“In Haiti, the Security Council has stressed the importance of cooperation between the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti and the Organization of American States and the Caribbean Community. The United Nations is working closely with those regional organizations, especially on planning for elections in 2005. In Kosovo, the United Nations, the EU and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have continued to work together, cooperating with the international security force led by NATO. In Afghanistan, the United Nations mission is working with the coalition forces, as well as the International Security Assistance Force, to support the extension of the Government's authority throughout the country and to further the Bonn process, including national elections.”
2004-07-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5007 (2004) · source
“In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the European Union (EU)provided critical support through Operation Artemis. In Burundi, the African Union (AU) deployed a mission to monitor and help consolidate the December 2003 ceasefire agreement, enhance stability and facilitate the overall implementation of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement. In May of this year, the Council authorized the United Nations Operation in Burundi and the immediate "re-batting" of the African Mission in Burundi. In Sudan, we have worked with both the African Union and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development to broker a peace agreement and support the deployment of ceasefire monitors by the AU.”
2004-07-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5007 (2004) · source
“These included proposals to carry out, on a regular basis, a high-level dialogue between the Council and regional organizations, to improve the exchange of information and to promote early coordination. This meeting is, I believe, evidence that we are serious about implementing those proposals. Today, the United Nations is cooperating with regional organizations in stabilization processes in many countries. In Liberia and C6te d'Ivoire, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) played a key role on the ground before handing over to the United Nations. The United Nations Office for West Africa and the ECOWAS secretariat have agreed to improve cooperation in efforts to promote peace and stability in West Africa and to develop regional conflict prevention strategies, as called for by the Security Council.”
2004-07-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5007 (2004) · source
“I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for having organized this important debate in the Security Council. It is also good to welcome you to New York. It is not every day that we have a Prime Minister presiding over a Security Council meeting. In April 2003, when the Council last met to discuss the role of regional organizations in facing new challenges to international peace and security, I argued that we needed to move towards creating a network of effective and mutually reinforcing mechanisms - regional and global - that would be both flexible and responsive to the complex reality we live in today. On that occasion, many participants suggested measures to enhance cooperation to help build such a network.”
2004-07-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5007 (2004) · source
“I hope that, through this debate, the Council will be able to develop more comprehensive and concrete strategies for strengthening its partnership with civil society.”
2004-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4993 (2004) · source
“I would like to remind the Council that many civil society organizations - not just from the North, but also from the South; and not just international, but also local - have shown that they can make a real contribution to the work of the United Nations in peace and security. I therefore have high hopes for the international conference on conflict prevention which civil society groups have decided to hold next year in response to the recommendation in my 2001 conflict- prevention report. Engagement with civil society is not an end in itself, not is it a panacea, but it is vital to our efforts to turn the promise of peace agreements into the reality of peaceful societies and viable States. The partnership between the United Nations and civil society is therefore not an option; it is a necessity.”
2004-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4993 (2004) · source
“The report also has a number of practical suggestions on how the Security Council might engage more effectively with civil society, ranging from making better use of the Arria formula, to holding seminars on issues of emerging importance, to convening independent commissions of inquiry after Council-mandated operations. The Security Council is, of course, a Council of sovereign Governments dealing with the most sensitive matters of war and peace. It should view the input of civil society organizations not as an attempt to usurp the role of Governments but, rather, as a way to add quality and value to its decisions and to help ensure that they will be effectively implemented.”
2004-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4993 (2004) · source
“Here I would ask the Council to pay serious attention to the report released yesterday by the high- level Panel on United Nations relationships with civil society. I am extremely grateful to the Panel members and to all who contributed to the report. Its recommendations are practical and forward-looking. We in the Secretariat are studying them carefully. I trust that the members of the Council - and, indeed, all Member States - will do the same. I am particularly pleased that the Panel has proposed a number of concrete measures to increase the participation of civil society representatives from developing countries, and the report offers many innovative ideas to strengthen the partnership with civil society in our humanitarian and development work.”
2004-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4993 (2004) · source
“On the contrary, civil society organizations, local as well as international, have a role to play in the deliberative processes of the Organization, including the Council. In recent years, civil conflicts and complex emergencies have taken centre stage in the work of the Council. That has deepened the need for the Council to have a real understanding of the places and situations in which it is engaged. I believe that Council members can benefit from the expertise, focus and insight which civil society groups bring to the table. I therefore welcome the efforts the Council has made to strengthen its informal relations with civil society groups. But the time may have come for the Council to deepen its dialogue with them and to place its relations with them on a firmer footing.”
2004-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4993 (2004) · source
“It can help ensure that national and international actors are held accountable. It can assist in building national consensus on the design of post-conflict structures and programmes. It can help prepare local communities to receive back demobilized soldiers, refugees and internally displaced persons, and it can give a voice to the concerns of the marginalized. That is why there should be a two-way dialogue between the United Nations and civil society, not so that one can direct the other but to ensure that our efforts complement one another. However, we should not see civil society groups as peace-building partners only after we have arrived in a country with a mandate in our pockets.”
2004-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4993 (2004) · source
“Others, which I have in the past called "uncivil society", are drivers of conflict. If peace-building missions are to be effective, they should, as part of a clear political strategy, work with and strengthen those civil society forces that are helping ordinary people to voice their concerns and to act on them in peaceful ways. By the same token, they should seek to reduce the influence of forces that promote exclusionary policies or encourage people to resort to violence. The aim must be to create a synergy with those civil society groups that are bridge-builders, truth- finders, watchdogs, human rights defenders and agents of social protection and economic revitalization. That can build reconciliation and lessen the appeal of those who might try to reignite conflict.”
2004-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4993 (2004) · source
“Madam Minister and President, let me start by saying how pleased we are to see you in our midst today and to congratulate you and your delegation on organizing this timely debate. Given its subject, I am very glad that civil society representatives will participate in it. The partnership between the United Nations and civil society has grown considerably in recent years. That reflects the increasing role of civil society in helping to shape and scrutinize government policies and in holding Governments accountable. It also reflects the need, in an era marked by both global integration and State fragmentation and failure, for civil society to contribute to international decision- making. Of course, civil society actors come in all shapes and sizes. Many make outstanding contributions to peace.”
2004-06-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4993 (2004) · source
“Let me reaffirm our readiness to do our utmost, as circumstances permit, to contribute to the restoration of peace and stability in a unified, sovereign and democratic Iraq. To that end, we look forward to a clear definition of our role and to the creation of all the conditions, including the provision of security for our staff and adequate resources, which would allow us to implement the mandate given us to the satisfaction of the Iraqi people and to the satisfaction of the Council and the United Nations membership.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“Their determination to help the people of Iraq is eloquent testimony to the idealism that continues to motivate so many of our staff around the world. I am grateful to the Iraqi and Coalition authorities for providing them with the necessary security during their stay in Iraq, both in Baghdad and on their travels inside the country. The mission that has just been accomplished by Mr. Brahimi was a specific task that I had accepted at the request of both the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Governing Council. Also at their request, the United Nations is now engaged in supporting the preparation for the elections to be held by January 2005. The draft resolution the Council is discussing addresses, among other things, the future role of the United Nations in Iraq.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“Agreement has been reached on the legislative framework needed for elections, including the electoral system, political parties and representation, and criteria for voter registration. All of us know that security remains the primary obstacle and constraint. I hope that, through our combined efforts, we can help promote a political process with credibility that has a positive impact on the overall security environment and reverses the logic of violence on all sides. I should like to seize this opportunity to pay special and heartfelt tribute to my Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, to Ms. Carina Perelli, who is on her way back, and to each and every member of their respective teams, for working with such dedication to complete their mission, under exceptionally difficult and dangerous conditions.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“Brahimi and his team have also helped forge consensus on a Chairman for the committee that will prepare the national conference in early July. The Chairman is now in the process of finalizing the composition of the committee on the basis of recommendations he has received from the United Nations. Finally, our electoral experts have worked diligently to help Iraqis lay the essential groundwork for elections. I am pleased to report that the establishment of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq is complete, following a country- wide nomination process. Close to 2,000 nominations were received from all 18 governorates. Seven Iraqi commissioners and a National Electoral Director have been selected by the United Nations.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“The United Nations was fully involved in facilitating consensus on its structure and composition. This interim Government will now have the task of bringing the country together and of leading it effectively during the next seven months. The Iraqi people will judge it by its actions and results, particularly in helping stem the violence that continues to plague the country. Iraq is not a failed State. I am confident that, through the talent of its people and the natural resources it enjoys, Iraq will soon be able to resume its rightful place among the family of nations. I appeal to the Security Council and to the international community at large, Iraq's neighbours in particular, to respond favourably and generously to the interim Government's request for assistance and support. Mr.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“Thus began the process leading to the formation of the interim Government, as well as to the preparation of elections to be held by January 2005. I have asked Mr. Brahimi to recall for the Council the recommendations of the February fact-finding visit. For my part, I would like to state that the process that began on the basis of the fact-finding team's report has been completed on time and in full. The role of the United Nations, through the good offices of Mr. Brahimi, was to help facilitate a process of national dialogue and consensus-building among Iraqis, leading to the formation of an Iraqi interim Government. Though its members are not elected, we have in place a capable and reasonably balanced interim Government, poised to take power by 30 June 2004.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“This meant that in addition to a technical assessment from the electoral experts, there was a need for skilful management of the complex political factors surrounding it. I therefore asked Mr. Brahimi to visit Iraq from 6 to 13 February 2004, joined by a small political team - two of them are seated behind him today - and a group of electoral experts headed by Carina Perelli, Director of the Election Assistance Division in the Department of Political Affairs. During their trip, they met with hundreds of Iraqi groups and citizens, of all persuasions, from around the country, including prominent figures such as Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani. On 23 February, I presented a report of that fact- finding visit to the Security Council (S/2004/ 140, annex), with my full support for its observations and recommendations.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“Soon after that meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York, on 19 January, I responded positively to the request for assistance, having been given strong assurances that, first , there was a clear role for the United Nations to play, and, secondly, everything possible would be done to provide security for the United Nations personnel engaged in the effort. My position then and now has remained, as I have indicated, that whatever role the United Nations undertakes should be proportionate to the risks we ask our staff to assume. It is within that context that I asked my Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, to play a role in the political transition process. I was conscious that, while much of the work was technical in form, it was intensely political in nature.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“A political crisis was looming. Against that background, the President of the Iraqi Governing Council wrote to me at the end of December 2003. He asked the United Nations to help answer two specific questions: whether elections were feasible by 30 June 2004; and, if not, by what alternative means an interim government could be formed, to which sovereignty would be restored. At my invitation, a delegation of the Iraqi Governing Council, led by Mr. Adnan Pachachi, travelled to New York in January 2004 in order to reiterate and clarify that request in person. Ambassador Paul Bremer, the Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority, as well as Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Prime Minister Blair's Personal Representative to Iraq, joined them to express their support for the re-engagement of the United Nations.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“I therefore welcomed, as a critical first step, the setting of a date - 30 June 2004 - for the end of the occupation and the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty, as prescribed in the Political Agreement reached between the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Governing Council on 15 November 2003. Most Iraqis warmly welcomed the fact that a date had finally been set for the formation of a sovereign Iraqi Government, even if many felt that it was still not soon enough. At the same time, prominent figures representing key constituencies in Iraq were threatening to reject the outcome of the caucus-style method prescribed in the 15 November Agreement for selecting that Government. It looked as if there was a real risk that the political transition process might collapse only a few weeks after it was to have entered a new phase.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“The temporary relocation of our international staff from the country did not mean, however, that the United Nations had disengaged from Iraq's political process. On the contrary, from here at United Nations Headquarters, we intensified contacts with Governments around the world. Iraq was a constant agenda item in virtually all my meetings with Heads of State or Government, and Foreign Ministers. The primary message I gave them was the need for the occupation to be brought to an end as soon as possible and for Iraqis to regain control of their sovereignty, political destiny and natural resources.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“That day brought to a virtual halt the on-the-ground - I emphasize on-the- ground - involvement of the United Nations in the political process in Iraq. It has remained clear since then that any United Nations role in Iraq, political or otherwise, would face serious security constraints. The Council should know that Iraqis of all persuasions fondly remember Sergio and the role he played, repeatedly calling him a true friend of their country. Not surprisingly, given the example he set during such a brief period, Iraqis were sincerely hoping that appropriate security conditions could be established soon, so that the United Nations could quickly resume, on the ground, a meaningful role in the political process.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“Moreover, the deadly attack on United Nations headquarters in Baghdad greatly reduced our capacity to act inside Iraq, and I was insistent that there must be some symmetry between the risks the United Nations was asked to accept and the substance of the role we were being called upon to play. I find it extremely poignant that Lakhdar Brahimi and his team left Baghdad on 2 June, one year to the day after Sergio Vieira de Mello and his team arrived in Baghdad, on 2 June 2003. We all remember, so vividly and painfully, the bombing of the United Nations headquarters at the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, on 19 August 2003, which claimed the lives of some of our most talented and beloved staff, our wonderful friends, including Sergio himself, who was not only my Special Representative for Iraq but also the High Commissioner for Human Rights.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“It is no secret that the events leading up to the war on Iraq, and developments since then, have been among the most divisive that the Council has had to deal with since the end of the Cold War. For many around the world, what was at stake was the way in which the international order and our system of collective security were being defined at the beginning of the new millennium. Against that background of strongly held views on both sides of the argument, and sometimes bitter disagreement over the course of action that was chosen, it was inevitable that agreement on the role to be played by the United Nations in the aftermath of the war, especially in the political process, would also be elusive. Member States were able to agree that the Organization should play a vital or central role. But that role was never specifically defined.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“The Council is meeting today to hear a formal briefing from my Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, on the process leading to the announcement of the Iraqi interim Government on 1 June 2004. I know that his assessment carries great weight with all Security Council members. But before he addresses the Council, I wanted to say a few words. Since the outbreak of the Iraq crisis, the role of the United Nations has been difficult, often dangerous, hedged about with constraints and controversy. In order to understand the role played over the last few weeks by my Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, and his team, and by Carina Perelli and hers, it is important to set their efforts in a wider and longer perspective.”
2004-06-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4984 (2004) · source
“Each new mission, each new effort to resolve conflict, will depend for success on the sustained political engagement of Member States, participating directly in peacekeeping operations and through diplomatic, political and other channels. Our peacekeeping missions have a long history - one that includes times of great pride and times of great difficulty, if not failure. We must recall the hard lessons of the past and ensure that, as we enter this new period of surge, everything that can be done to ensure success is done. Today's new missions must be guaranteed the necessary resources and commitment to handle the uniquely complex and challenging tasks to which they are called.”
2004-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4970 (2004) · source
“Rather, it pools national responsibilities for the greater good. The presence of peacekeeping troops sends a signal that is all the more powerful when they come from across the international community, from countries rich and poor. So I urge Member States across the United Nations to contribute troops. The signal sent by a peacekeeping operation must also be backed up by political commitment from Member States. They play a key role in supporting peace processes and encouraging the parties to continue on the path to peace. Especially in these difficult days, when our focus is on a few major crises, the surge in peacekeeping will stretch the international community's attention.”
2004-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4970 (2004) · source
“The non-paper before the Council provides a more comprehensive picture of the whole range of challenges that must be overcome if we are to meet the goals that we have set ourselves. Both in theory and in reality, peacekeeping embodies the spirit of the United Nations. Through United Nations peacekeeping, the international community comes together in a unique way to pursue peace, using some measure of military means. That was not originally envisaged in the Charter, as we all know, but it is entirely in keeping with the Charter's vision. Peacekeeping sends a powerful signal of the international community's intention to ensure that peace is preserved. But, to have real effect, that signal must be reflected in Member States' presence on the ground. Peacekeeping does not relieve nations of their responsibilities.”
2004-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4970 (2004) · source
“I urge Member States to do their utmost to help fill these gaps so that United Nations peacekeeping operations are able to draw on specialized capacities and to deploy rapidly. The United Nations is also working with regional, subregional and international arrangements to ensure complementary capacities, for example with early temporary force deployments that can bridge the gap until the United Nations peacekeepers can deploy. Another critical gap is our urgent need of French- speaking personnel, especially police, to tackle assignments in Francophone countries. As we add or expand missions this year in Haiti, Cote d'Ivoire and possibly Burundi, that pressure will only intensify. There is work to be done. I have outlined only some of the challenges.”
2004-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4970 (2004) · source
“We are also better equipped, both here at Headquarters and at our logistics base in Brindisi, to support our field operations and to respond more rapidly to sudden developments. Notwithstanding these advances, the scale of the current surge may well outstrip our capacities to backstop the operations, and we will have to look at augmenting these capacities. United Nations missions remain hampered by a lack of specialized military capacities, generally available from the military forces of developed countries. Unfortunately, these countries today make only limited contributions of troops to United Nations peacekeeping operations. At the same time, many States that are willing suppliers of troops have great difficulty in deploying staff within the necessary time frames.”
2004-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4970 (2004) · source
“Your support is especially important when a mission faces challenges to the legitimacy of its mandate from would-be spoilers. United Nations peacekeepers must be equipped to withstand such challenges and to do their work effectively. For this they need a robust mandate, shaped by clear political objectives and backed by a strong international consensus. Furthermore, they must be provided with adequate resources and appropriate reinforcement so they can protect civilians, keep the peace and maintain security when confronted by significant opposition. With your help and that of the General Assembly, we have been able to implement many of the recommendations in the Brahimi report. We are definitely more efficient and better coordinated than we were five years ago.”
2004-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4970 (2004) · source
“United Nations peacekeeping operations need not only information but the capacity to analyse this information and the means to conduct their mission. How do we deal with these challenges? First, and above all, we have to show commitment. The international community must be prepared to stay the course with political will and resources, particularly during times of trial, to ensure that peace processes do not falter and give way to renewed conflict. This Council bears a heavy responsibility as the body that mandates these difficult and dangerous missions. To succeed, our peacekeepers need your sustained solidarity and mandates that are clear, implementable and achievable. It is up to you to lead other Member States in ensuring that each mission receives the troops and the resources it needs.”
2004-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4970 (2004) · source
“We must also ensure that our efforts to build peace never lose sight of the fact that we are there to assist and that it is the local population that must take a lead in the decision-making that affects their lives. Especially as the United Nations moves into non- traditional aspects of peacekeeping, our peacekeepers become targets for people who seek to disrupt the political process, in the hope that further violence will enable them to achieve their aims. It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that those who serve the United Nations Charter in peacekeeping missions are protected. To assess, guard against and manage such threats, the United Nations needs to have a clear picture of the environments in which it is operating.”
2004-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4970 (2004) · source
“As the complexity of mandates has increased, so too have public expectations about what these missions can achieve. Peacekeeping operations are called to assist when peace is often new and fragile, but they must be part of a longer-term strategy to solidify the foundation of peace, lest we find that, as in Haiti and Liberia, we must return again. To this end, the international community must better integrate the security, political, economic and social levers that it has at its disposal to keep and build peace in the immediate post-conflict period and beyond. All the United Nations departments, agencies and programmes, not just the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, have their part to play in the peacekeeping process.”
2004-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4970 (2004) · source
“President, your laudable initiative in organizing this Security Council debate leads us to ask two broad questions. First, what is the nature of the peacekeeping challenge that we face? And second, is the United Nations able to do it - which really means, are you, the Member States, ready and willing to do it? Peacekeeping today has become increasingly multidimensional. The missions you mandate are implementing peace agreements, helping manage political transitions, building institutions, supporting economic reconstruction, organizing the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, assisting humanitarian aid programmes, supervising or even organizing elections, monitoring human rights, clearing minefields and disarming and demobilizing militias and reintegrating their members into civil economy.”
2004-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4970 (2004) · source
“By the end of the year, to absorb the new and enhanced missions, we may need an extra $1 billion for the United Nations peacekeeping budget, which is currently $2.82 billion. Our duty must be to meet this demand and to seize the opportunities to bring longstanding conflicts to an end. For millions of our fellow human beings, United Nations peacekeeping missions offers their best and sometimes only hope of emerging from conflict towards a safe and stable future. A recent study by Oxford University economists points out that the economic cost of civil wars, in terms of lost revenue and local and regional output, averages $128 billion year and that, measured against the costs of conflict, peacekeeping is extremely cost-effective. Mr.”
2004-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4970 (2004) · source
“I hope we will all be invited. All the best, Ambassador. We are facing a time of surging demand for United Nations peacekeeping. Last month there were more than 53,000 troops, military observers and civilian police serving in 15 United Nations missions around the world, the highest number of personnel since October 1995. Many of these missions are large and complex. Most go beyond the limited military functions that have marked traditional peacekeeping missions. Even more missions loom on the horizon. The Security Council has recently authorized a new mission in Haiti and has expanded the existing mission in Cote d'lvoire. Missions are being planned for Burundi and the Sudan.”
2004-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4970 (2004) · source
“Let me start by thanking you, Mr. President, and your delegation, for arranging this important discussion on a key topic for all of us. It is also good to welcome you back to New York. Let me, in my turn, add my words to yours, Sir, by thanking Ambassador Arias for the contribution he has made to the United Nations and to this Council. Mr. President, you have said it all, but I also agree with you that we will miss his sense of realism and his wit. With that wit he often pulls us back to what is possible, what is real, and he encourages us not to drift too far into wishful thinking. I think that is a quality that we are going to miss. I think I speak for all of us when I say that it has been a pleasure working with you, Ambassador. We will miss you. I understand you are going back to Madrid to arrange a championship match.”
2004-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4970 (2004) · source
“This is a subject on which passions run high, as we know. We need to find the proper balance between inducement and enforcement. There are times when outrage is the only proper reaction. There are times when appeals to the common good will fall on deaf ears, but with so much at stake, we cannot afford a situation in which the actors involved are polarized, demonizing each other and unable to engage in dialogue. We must create a space where all can come together and find solutions. I hope that this meeting will contribute to that goal.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“It would give us the tools with which to better understand and more actively influence the economic incentives and disincentives that drive the dynamics of armed conflict, and it would ensure that those factors are reflected in efforts to prevent conflict, in peace agreements and in the mandates given to peace operations. With these aims in mind, I have established an inter-agency group, chaired by the Department of Political Affairs, which is looking carefully at the political economy of armed conflict and will provide recommendations on how to improve the response of the United Nations system and of Member States. I urge this Council, and Member States in general, to focus greater attention on this issue and to engage more dynamically with the private sector. The Secretariat will help in any way it can.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“Transparency is the only way to deal with such allegations and by far the best way to prevent corruption from happening in the first place. That, I believe, will be one of the main lessons we have to learn from this affair, whatever the outcome of the inquiry. In any case, all of these efforts and initiatives have only begun to tackle the issue. The time has come to translate ad hoc efforts into a more systematic approach. At the United Nations, such an approach would promote greater cooperation and interaction between the security and development arms of the Organization.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“Members of the Compact are also discussing adding a tenth principle on corruption to the existing nine principles on human rights, labour standards and the environment. And they are exploring what they can do to help implement the new United Nations Convention against Corruption. All of us - Governments, businesses, non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental organizations - need to learn to operate more openly, in the sunshine of transparency. That is essential if we are to break the cycle of corruption and build greater confidence in our various institutions and enterprises. In the specific context of the United Nations, members probably know that I am establishing an independent inquiry into the allegations of fraud, corruption and mismanagement relating to the oil-for- food programme that we were running.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“This meeting occurs against a backdrop of several important initiatives. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has adopted the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, with the hope of ensuring corporate adherence to Security Council decisions and international conventions. An initiative led by the United Kingdom aims to increase transparency in the extractive industry. Some Members States have issued voluntary principles on security and human rights aimed at ensuring that, when security and protection are subcontracted to private companies, it is done in ways that protect against violations of human rights. And my own Global Compact has sought to improve global corporate citizenship. One product of the dialogue on this subject is the Business Guide to Conflict Impact Assessment and Risk Management.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“And their bottom lines can no longer be separated from some of the key goals of the United Nations: peace, development and equity. All these are compelling reasons why business should play an active role in tackling these issues, without waiting to be asked. The Security Council, for its part, has already addressed many of them. The Council has imposed targeted sanctions. It has supported the Kimberley Process which, though a voluntary initiative, has reduced the trade in so-called conflict diamonds. The Council has set up expert panels to assess the role of political economy in triggering or prolonging conflict. It has authorized some peacekeeping missions to assist in the monitoring of economic sanctions and arms embargoes and to support efforts to re-establish national authority over natural resources.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“Moreover, many of the transactions involved occur in the shadows or within the context of failed States that do not have the capacity to regulate activities that are driven by profit but which fuel conflict. Enforcement and monitoring measures aimed at cracking down on such activities often lack teeth, if they exist at all. Supply chains are often so multilayered as to defy efforts at greater transparency. Even legal activities can have unfortunate and unintended consequences. Business itself has an enormous stake in the search for solutions. After all, companies require a stable environment in order to conduct their operations and minimize their risks. Their reputations, not just with the public but with their own employees and shareholders, depend not only on what products or services are provided but on how they are provided.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“And private enterprises and individuals are involved in the exploitation of, and trade in, lucrative local natural resources, such as oil, diamonds, narcotics, timber and coltan - a crucial ingredient in many high-tech electronics. Governments and rebel groups alike have financed and sustained military campaigns that way. In many situations, the chaos of conflict has enabled resources to be exploited illegally or with little regard for equity or the environment. When local populations are excluded from discussions on access to and control of natural resources and see little benefit from them in their communities, it can in turn be a cause of more conflict. These are complex challenges. They touch on fundamental questions of sovereignty, democratic governance, corporate accountability and individual integrity.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source
“I would like to thank the German Government for taking the initiative on this very important issue. The economic dimensions of armed conflict are often overlooked, but they should never be underestimated. The role of business, in particular, can be crucial, for good and for ill. Private companies operate in many conflict zones and conflict-prone countries. Their decisions - on investment and employment, on relations with local communities, on protection for the local environment, on their own security arrangements - can either help a country turn its back on conflict or exacerbate the tensions that fuelled conflict in the first place. Private companies also manufacture and sell the main hardware of conflict - from tanks to small arms, anti-personnel mines and even machetes.”
2004-04-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4943 (2004) · source