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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“In all these endeavours, the United Nations has relied, to a greater or lesser extent, on regional partners in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Together, through all the turbulent years of the past few decades, we have learnt a great deal about the need to transform a sense of collective insecurity into a system of collective security. That is precisely the purpose of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, which guides and inspires the Council's meeting today. Now we need to redouble our efforts to find common ground and purpose again. We need to move towards creating a network of effective and mutually reinforcing mechanisms - regional and global - that are flexible and responsive to the reality we live in today. The United Nations stands ready to work together with you, the regional organizations, in that cardinal mission.”
2003-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4739 (2003) · source
“They look to the United Nations. They look for ways to translate into reality the ideals expressed in the United Nations Charter, which established the fundamental principles of international law. Those principles are the outcome of the long and often tragic history of humankind. Our Organization - for all its imperfections, real and perceived - has built up unique experience in dealing with a range of crises, by bringing humanitarian relief to millions in need, helping people rebuild their countries from the ruins of armed conflict, promoting human rights and the rule of law, and engaging in many other activities that have come to be seen as essential parts of peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace-building.”
2003-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4739 (2003) · source
“From the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to trafficking in small arms, from climate change to the emergence of new, deadly viruses - all have the potential to threaten not only our stability, but our survival. These issues are not new to the United Nations agenda. But for many, they were brought into more acute and painful focus after the events of 11 September 2001 - and now even more so by the war in Iraq, which people across the globe have been following in real time on their television screens. Yet despite the sense of vulnerability and uncertainty that pervades the global consciousness, people and nations retain the hope of strengthening the foundations of stability and uniting around our common humanity. People look for institutions and systems to uphold shared principles and ensure multilateral solutions.”
2003-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4739 (2003) · source
“We live in a world where unprecedented wealth coexists with terrible deprivation. Globalization brings opportunities for some, but excludes far too many. Interdependence and open borders knit us closer together, while intolerance drives us apart. Science offers unprecedented promise, yet AIDS kills one child every minute. Technological progress enables us to communicate in a split second across thousands of miles, but has given international terrorists tools that can help them in their plans to obliterate thousands of people in the same split second. I could go on with this catalogue, but I do not intend to. It must be clear to all of us that in the twenty-first century many of the challenges we face are global.”
2003-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4739 (2003) · source
“It is wonderful to see you here, Mr. Minister, presiding over the Council at this meeting. Thank you, Mr. President, for your timely initiative in arranging this important meeting. We are clearly at a crucial juncture in the development of international relations, and I am pleased to see representatives of so many regional organizations here. This demonstrates our joint interest in forging common strategies to address the challenges we all face. The feeling of global insecurity has seldom, if ever, been greater than it is today. Equally, there has never been a more keenly felt desire among peoples and nations for a peace and security framework based firmly on the international rule of law. That framework must be capable of responding swiftly and effectively to the challenges of our rapidly changing world.”
2003-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4739 (2003) · source
“I am very happy we have been able to adopt this resolution unanimously. I think it augurs well for future tasks ahead of us. We have many challenging questions and I hope we will be able to approach those tasks with the same spirit.”
2003-03-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4732 (2003) · source
“I appeal to all of you to choose the latter course, and to reunite around a new resolve to uphold the principles of the Charter. This is essential if the Security Council is to recover its rightful role, entrusted to it by the Charter, as the body with primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. For my part, I am prepared to work with the Security Council, on this crisis as in others, and to assist in any way deemed helpful.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“For my part, I would emphasize two guiding principles, on which I believe there is no disagreement, and which should underpin all your efforts or your future decisions on Iraq. The first principle is respect for Iraq's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. The second, which flows logically from the first, is respect for the right of the Iraqi people to determine their own political future and control their own natural resources. Let me conclude by saying that we are living through a moment of deep divisions, which, if not healed, can have grave consequences for the international system and relations between States. By your interventions this afternoon in this debate you have it in your power to deepen those divisions, or to begin to heal them.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“I mean, of course, the tragic conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, for whom the noble vision of two States living side by side in peace and security, which the Security Council laid out just one year ago, is still far from being realized. In the last few months the peoples of the world have shown how much they expect of the United Nations, and of the Security Council in particular. Many of them are now bitterly disappointed. Their faith in the United Nations can be restored only if the Council is able to identify and work constructively towards specific goals. I urge the five permanent members, in particular, to show leadership by making a concerted effort to overcome their differences.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“This Council has other heavy responsibilities related to this crisis. It needs to determine how it will address the many needs of the Iraqi people, whatever the outcome of the war, and what the United Nations itself may be asked to undertake. For anything beyond strictly humanitarian relief, we need a mandate from the Security Council. Needless to say, the Council's responsibilities also extend far beyond Iraq. There are many other conflicts that urgently need its attention - not least the conflict that inflames passions throughout the Middle East and colours so many people's attitudes to the Iraqi issue.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“But the humanitarian agencies of the United Nations are ready to help. Indeed, they have been preparing actively to do so. Even though their international staff had to be temporarily withdrawn from Iraq, most of them have national staff who even now are at work, bringing what limited relief they can to their fellow citizens. Those brave and devoted Iraqis deserve our profound respect. I fear that the humanitarian effort required in the coming weeks and months is going to be very costly. We are about to launch a "flash appeal" to donors. I urge Member States to respond swiftly and generously, and not to do so at the expense of victims of other emergencies in other parts of the world, which may be less newsworthy but are no less devastating for the people caught up in them.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“The Council needs to determine how it will adjust the programme to make it possible for those supplies to reach the Iraqi people under the present circumstances and to ensure that food, medicine and other essential, life-sustaining supplies continue to be provided. I am aware that a concerted effort is being made to reach agreement, and I hope that it will soon succeed. But the conflict is also now creating new humanitarian needs, which the oil for food programme is not expected to cover. We do not yet know how many people will be injured, displaced from their homes or deprived of food, water, sanitation and other essential services. But we fear that the numbers may be high. As I said, the primary responsibility for meeting these needs falls on the belligerents who control the territory.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“I would recall in particular the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, under which those in effective control of any territory are responsible for meeting the humanitarian needs of its population and are required to maintain dialogue and cooperation with international organizations engaged in humanitarian relief. No one, on either side, must obstruct that relief. Last week I drew the Council's attention to the dire plight of the Iraqi people, even before these latest hostilities, and the extent of their dependence on the oil for food programme for medical supplies and food distributed under that programme. The programme has now come to a halt, with some $2.4 billion of supplies, mainly food, in the pipeline.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“The Council, which has now had Iraq on its agenda for 12 long years, must rediscover its unity of purpose. We all want to see this war brought to an end as soon as possible. But while it continues, it is essential that everything be done to protect the civilian population, as well as the wounded and the prisoners of war, on both sides, and to bring relief to the victims. This obligation is binding on all the belligerents. The Geneva Conventions and all other instruments of international humanitarian law must be scrupulously respected.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“Many people ask why the Iraqi Government did not take full advantage of the last chance they were given by the Council, by cooperating actively, wholeheartedly - in substance as well as procedure with the inspectors that the Council sent to ensure that Iraq was disarmed of weapons of mass destruction. But at the same time, many people around the world are seriously questioning whether it was legitimate for some Member States to proceed to such a fateful action now - an action that has far-reaching consequences well beyond the immediate military dimensions - without first reaching a collective decision of this Council. The inability of the Council to agree earlier on a collective course of action places an even greater burden on it today.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“It is exactly a week since I last had the honour to address this Council. During that week we have all been watching hour by hour, on our television screens, the terrifying impact of modern weaponry on Iraq and its people. We not only mourn the dead. We must also feel anguish for the living, and especially for the children. We can only imagine the physical and emotional scars that they will bear, perhaps for the rest of their lives. All of us must regret that our intense efforts to achieve a peaceful solution, through this Council, did not succeed.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“We have also examined the situation caused by the suspension of the activities of the oil for food programme in Iraq and ways that the programme could be adjusted temporarily to enable us to continue providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq during and after hostilities. Such adjustments would require decisions by the Council. I will therefore submit my specific proposals for the Council's consideration, as suggested in your note (S/2003/337), Mr. President. In conclusion, let me express the hope that the effort to relieve the sufferings of the Iraqi people and to rehabilitate their society after so much destruction may yet prove to be the task around which the unity of the Council can be rebuilt.”
2003-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4721 (2003) · source
“Without in any way assuming or diminishing that ultimate responsibility, we in the United Nations will do whatever we can to help. As you know, the humanitarian agencies of the United Nations have for some time been engaged in preparing for this contingency, even while we hoped it could still be averted. We have done our best to assess the possible effects of war, in terms of population displacement and human need, and to position our personnel and equipment accordingly. For these preparations we requested $123.5 million from donors a month ago, but only $45 million has been pledged, and $34 million received to date. I am afraid that we shall very soon be coming back with an appeal for much larger sums to finance actual relief operations - and I earnestly hope that Member States will respond with generosity and speed.”
2003-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4721 (2003) · source
“For more than 60 per cent of the population, this ration is their main source of income. Many families have to sell part of it to buy clothes or other essentials for their children. All that is true as we speak. In the short term, the conflict that is now clearly about to start can make things worse - perhaps much worse. I am sure all members of this Council will agree that we must do everything we can to mitigate this imminent disaster, which could easily lead to epidemics and starvation. Under international law, the responsibility for protecting civilians in conflict falls on the belligerents. In any area under military occupation, responsibility for the welfare of the population falls on the occupying Power.”
2003-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4721 (2003) · source
“It is the plight of the Iraqi people that is now my most immediate concern, and I have been glad to hear that sentiment shared by all the speakers in this debate. In the past 20 years, Iraqis have been through two major wars, internal uprisings and conflict and more than a decade of debilitating sanctions. The country's vital infrastructure has been devastated, so that it no longer meets the most basic needs of clean water, health or education. Already, Iraq's most vulnerable citizens - the elderly, women and children, and the disabled - are denied basic health care for lack of medicine and medical equipment. Already, nearly one million Iraqi children suffer from chronic malnutrition. Already, Iraqis are heavily dependent on the food ration that is handed out each month to every family in the country.”
2003-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4721 (2003) · source
“Needless to say, I fully share the regrets expressed by many members of the Council at the fact that it has not been possible to reach a common position. Whatever our differing views on this complex issue, we must all feel that this is a sad day for the United Nations and the international community. I know that millions of people around the world share this sense of disappointment, and are deeply alarmed by the prospect of imminent war. Let me here pay tribute to the United Nations staff - both international and Iraqi - who have worked so hard in Iraq up to the last possible moment. That includes the inspectors, whose work has now sadly been suspended. I would want to pay a special tribute to Mr. Blix, Mr. ElBaradei and Mr. Lopez Da Silva, the Humanitarian Coordinator under whose leadership the staff worked in Iraq.”
2003-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4721 (2003) · source
“I urge you all to do your utmost to bring the countries of the region to build up the capacity to address this issue. I urge the countries involved, and in particular the leaders, to focus more intently on this very real and very present threat to peace.”
2003-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4720 (2003) · source
“And of course, the economic and social development efforts being carried out by the entire United Nations system - to improve education and health, to create jobs, to promote good governance and respect for human rights - will necessarily have a supportive impact on efforts to demilitarize the societies involved. Unless adequately addressed, the proliferation of small arms and mercenaries will continue to pose a severe threat to the region's hopes of attaining durable peace and security. Spillover effects from one country to the next have been all too common, underscoring the need for regional cooperation and a comprehensive approach. The Council's own panels of experts on Sierra Leone and Liberia have reported as much and offered a range of valuable recommendations.”
2003-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4720 (2003) · source
“To support the moratorium, the United Nations Development Programme has been helping the countries involved to strengthen controls at border posts, to establish arms registers, to build up the capacity of national monitoring commissions and to carry out collections and destructions of illicit arms. This is just one example of the many steps that are being taken by the United Nations system at the operational level and on the ground. The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone and the United Nations peace-building office in Liberia are helping those countries address not only questions of small arms but the full range of post-conflict reconstruction and development tasks. The United Nations is also leading peace-building efforts in Guinea-Bissau.”
2003-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4720 (2003) · source
“This Council has demanded that countries in the Mano River Union cease military support for armed groups in neighbouring countries and refrain from any actions that might contribute to destabilization of the situation on their borders. The Council has also imposed arms embargoes, another essential step. The heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States, for their part, have agreed to work more intensively towards making the region a child-soldier-free zone and have put in place a moratorium on the import, export and manufacture of small arms in the region.”
2003-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4720 (2003) · source
“The problem is easy to diagnose. The more complex challenge is to mount an effective response. Fortunately, the international community and the countries concerned are not without tools with which to fight back. Legal instruments and other international agreements offer one such avenue. The Programme of Action on Small Arms, adopted by the international community in 2001, offers a blueprint for action at all levels, including such steps as increased cooperation with Interpol and the World Customs Organization. The International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries came into force in October 2001; I urge all West African countries to join Mauritania, Mali, Senegal and Togo in ratifying this vital instrument.”
2003-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4720 (2003) · source
“This supply side of the mercenary problem is closely linked, in turn, to the failure to adequately fund and implement disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes and to the failure to provide enough assistance to countries such as Liberia and Guinea-Bissau in restructuring their armed forces as part of post-conflict peace-building arrangements. The result in Liberia, for example, is that tens of thousands of former combatants face little or no prospect of gainful employment, leaving them more susceptible to recruitment as combatants once again. The actions of unscrupulous and predatory arms merchants also bear special mention. Their lack of restraint in the sale and transfer of their products to zones of tension in West Africa and beyond directly translates into more unnecessary suffering and instability.”
2003-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4720 (2003) · source
“This link is particularly evident in West Africa, where the conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and now Cote d'Ivoire have been fuelled in no small part by an unregulated trade in small arms - often paid for with the proceeds from the illicit exploitation of natural resources. The flood of arms in the region has been accompanied by - and, indeed, has facilitated - a rise in the activities of mercenaries. Armed men from within the subregion and beyond have moved across borders: a large force of fighters, unemployed but armed and willing to fight for whomever will pay them most.”
2003-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4720 (2003) · source
“I would like to thank the Security Council for focusing its attention, even at this critical moment when all our minds are on Iraq, on a subject which is of great importance to the welfare and well-being of millions of people in another region of the world, namely West Africa. The uncontrolled proliferation of small arms and light weapons and the use of mercenaries sustain conflict, exacerbate violence, fuel crime and terrorism, promote cultures of Violence, Violate international humanitarian law and impede political, economic and social development. The easy availability of small arms and light weapons is strongly linked with the dramatic rise in the Victimization of women and children and with the phenomenon of child soldiers. Light automatic weapons can be carried and fired by children as young as nine or ten.”
2003-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4720 (2003) · source
“We must act with determination to address - indeed, solve - the political disputes and long- standing conflicts that underlie, fuel and generate support for terrorism. To do so is not to reward terrorism or its perpetrators; it is to diminish their ability to find refuge or recruits in any cause or any country. In its efforts to address the problem of terrorism, the United Nations and its Members must not lose sight of the broader international agenda. While there is an urgent and compelling need to prevent acts of terror, there is a no less compelling need to pursue the goals enshrined in the United Nations Charter. To the extent that the Organization succeeds in fighting poverty, injustice, suffering and war, it is also likely to help end the conditions that serve as justification for those who would commit acts of terror.”
2003-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4688 (2003) · source
“We are seeing too many cases where States living in tension with their neighbours make opportunistic use of the fight against terrorism to threaten or justify new military action on long-running disputes. Similarly, States fighting various forms of unrest or insurgency are finding it tempting to abandon the slow, difficult but sometimes necessary processes of political negotiation for the deceptively easy option of military action. Just as terrorism must never be excused, so must genuine grievances never be ignored. True, it tarnishes a cause when a few wicked men commit murder in its name. But it does not make it any less urgent that the cause be addressed, the grievance heard and the wrong put right. Otherwise, we risk losing the contest for the hearts and minds of much of mankind.”
2003-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4688 (2003) · source
“Domestically, the danger is that, in pursuit of security, we will end up sacrificing crucial liberties, thereby weakening our common security, not strengthening it, and thereby corroding the vessel of democratic government from within. Whether the question involves the treatment of minorities here in the West, or the rights of migrants and asylum seekers, or the presumption of innocence or the right to due process under the law, vigilance must be exercised by all thoughtful citizens to ensure that entire groups in our societies are not tarred with one broad brush and punished for the reprehensible behaviour of a few. Internationally, we are also seeing an increasing use of what I call the "T word" - terrorism - to demonize political opponents, to throttle freedom of speech and the press and to delegitimize legitimate political grievances.”
2003-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4688 (2003) · source
“The United Nations has an indispensable role to play in providing the legal and organizational framework within which the international campaign against terrorism can unfold. But we must never lose sight of the fact that any sacrifice of freedom or the rule of law within States - or any generation of new tensions between States in the name of anti- terrorism- will hand the terrorists a victory that no act of theirs alone could possibly bring. Even as many are rightly praising the unity and the resolve of the international community in this crucial struggle, important and urgent questions are being asked about what might be called the "collateral damage" of the war on terrorism: damage to the presumption of innocence, to precious human rights, to the rule of law and to the very fabric of democratic governance.”
2003-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4688 (2003) · source
“In that regard, I would like to welcome the CTC's initiative to hold a meeting with international, regional and subregional organizations in early March of this year. I trust that that meeting will constitute an important step towards the goal of sustained international cooperation in counter- terrorism. I am also proposing that counter-terrorism be a major agenda item at the meeting that I will convene with regional organizations later this year. We face a grave and growing threat from international terrorism. Terrorism is a global scourge with global effects; its methods are murder and mayhem, but its consequences affect every aspect of the work of the United Nations - from development to peace to human rights and the rule of law.”
2003-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4688 (2003) · source
“Greater efforts are needed to ensure universality, verification and full implementation of the key treaties relating to weapons of mass destruction, to tighten national export controls over the items needed to produce them, and to criminalize the acquisition or use of such weapons by non-State groups. Because of its responsibility in ensuring the implementation of international anti-terrorism conventions and standards, the Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee will continue to be at the centre of global efforts to fight terrorism. Finally, it will be necessary to sustain broad international cooperation by clearly articulating the work of various international, regional and subregional organizations in this effort.”
2003-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4688 (2003) · source
“(spoke in English) The United Nations must play an increasing role in dissuading would-be perpetrators of terror by setting effective international norms and by issuing a clear message on the unacceptability of acts of violence targeting civilians. The United Nations must also do whatever it can to deny terrorists the opportunity to commit their appalling crimes. The Security Council's Counter- Terrorism Committee (CTC) will continue to have a key role to play in this area, as will our common efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”
2003-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4688 (2003) · source
“Today's meeting of the Security Council shows the steady determination of the international community to address the scourge of terrorism. Your presence here at the ministerial level is a sign of the importance that the world places on dealing effectively with this global threat. Terrorism is a menace that requires a global response. Since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 on New York and Washington, the world has focused unprecedented attention on terrorism and on the means of countering it. The tragic loss of life in terrorist attacks such as those in Moscow, Bali and Mombasa is a dramatic reminder that success in countering this threat remains elusive. Despite enhanced attention and more concerted action, the problem of terrorism will require sustained, long-term action if it is to be addressed successfully.”
2003-01-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4688 (2003) · source
“I congratulate the members of the Council on this important step and urge them to maintain their resolve in seeing this challenge through.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“The list represents an important step forward in our efforts to induce compliance with international child protection obligations by parties to conflicts. It is also the beginning of a new era of monitoring and reporting on how parties treat children during conflict. It is essential that the publication of the list be followed by systematic monitoring and reporting on compliance by listed parties, as well as the consideration of targeted measures against those who continue to flout their international obligations. By exposing those who violate standards for the protection of children to the light of public scrutiny we are serving notice that the international community is finally willing to back expressions of concern with action.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“The Security Council, in calling for a list of parties to armed conflict that use or recruit children in violation of international obligations, has taken the first important step in that regard. My report contains a list of 23 parties, including both Governments and insurgents, in five conflict situations on the Council's agenda that use or recruit children. It also highlights other conflicts not on the Council agenda where children are recruited or used. By naming the parties that continue to recruit or use child soldiers, the international community has demonstrated its willingness to match words with deeds. Those who violate standards for the protection of children can no longer do so with impunity.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“Despite the progress made in creating and strengthening the normative framework, the tragic fact is that children continue to be victimized in the most cynical and cruel manner in conflicts around the world. In addition to being forcibly conscripted by Government and rebel armies, children in conflict zones are at risk from landmines and unexploded ordnance, from abduction, from displacement and deprivation of education and basic health care, from use as forced labour in the extraction of natural resources and from sexual exploitation and abuse. These outrages continue to be perpetrated against children in far too many places, in defiance of the will of the international community. The time has come to ensure that the hard-won gains in crafting a protection regime for children are applied and put into practice on the ground.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“I am referring in particular to the entry into force over the past year of two landmark international instruments: the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict - which sets the age limit for compulsory recruitment and direct participation in hostilities at 18 - and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which classifies as war crimes the conscription, enlistment or use in hostilities of children under the age of 15. Those two legal instruments, along with other norms and standards, have strengthened the international framework for the protection of children in situations of armed conflict. Regrettably, there is far more to be done in this area.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“The three resolutions adopted by the Security Council, the integration of child protection in peacekeeping mandates, the deployment of child protection advisers in selected peace missions and the development of child protection training in mission areas all attest to that fact. I am also pleased to note the progressive development of a body of international norms and standards for the protection of children affected by armed conflict.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“Let me also begin by wishing a happy and successful new year to all. This year promises to be a tough one, but I trust that we shall be up to the challenge. I am grateful to you, Mr. President, and to the other members of the Council for holding this meeting to discuss my report on children and armed conflict (8/2002/1299). This is an issue that goes to the heart of our common aim of protecting the most vulnerable of our world. I am pleased to say that we have made steady progress in embedding the protection, rights and well- being of children affected by armed conflict into the United Nations peace and security agenda.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“In conclusion, I want to thank Jacques Klein and Rodolfo Sergio Mujica for the leadership they have provided; the men and women of the two missions for their devoted service; the contributing Governments, for making their personnel available; the leaders of the host countries for their cooperation; and finally, this Council itself, for the steadfast support it has given. Without all of you, the good work would not have been possible.”
2002-12-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4661 (2002) · source
“UNMIBH and UNMOP have shown that, with the right mandate, the cooperation of the parties and the strong support of the Security Council and United Nations Member States in general, United Nations peacekeeping operations can make an important difference. The United Nations will, of course, stay engaged in the Balkans. The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo is carrying out a complex mandate, together with our partners: the European Union (EU), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In doing so, it makes use of many of the lessons learned from Bosnia and Herzegovina. And in Bosnia and Herzegovina itself, the United Nations family will continue to support the Government and the people.”
2002-12-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4661 (2002) · source
“While this protocol does not pre-judge the terms of the final settlement, it is a tangible expression of willingness, on both sides, to settle the dispute in a good-neighbourly manner. Our mission continues in Kosovo. But with the end of these two missions - both, in their way, successors to the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) - an era of United Nations involvement in the former Yugoslavia comes to an end. This era has seen some of peacekeeping's bitterest moments, which have left a lasting impression on the Organization and on all of us who were personally involved. I believe that, over time, we have drawn important conclusions about the nature, scope and role of United Nations peacekeeping and have made it a better instrument for the international community.”
2002-12-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4661 (2002) · source
“The presence of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina at today's session is a demonstration of their common determination to assume full responsibility for meeting the challenges ahead. The United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP) had a more modest objective. By monitoring the demilitarization of the Prevlaka peninsula, it helped to shield this strategically important area from the fighting and tensions in the vicinity. In this way, it maintained a favourable situation for an eventual negotiated settlement. I am encouraged by the signing, on 10 December, of a protocol between Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on an interim agreement along their southern border.”
2002-12-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4661 (2002) · source
“It is a great pleasure to be here at this Security Council meeting on the conclusion of the United Nations missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Prevlaka. Both these missions have successfully completed their mandates. My report on the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) describes in detail what the mission has achieved and how it was done. It has completed successfully the most extensive police reform and restructuring project ever undertaken by the United Nations. In doing so, it broke new ground in the techniques of United Nations civilian-police operations. Bosnia and Herzegovina has now a police "fit for Europe"; this is the orientation of the country's leaders, and they will continue to pursue it.”
2002-12-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4661 (2002) · source
“Ensuring that they receive needed humanitarian assistance, ending and reversing forced displacement, tackling the scourge of landmines and small arms and beginning processes of justice and reconciliation: these are not only worthy efforts in themselves, but they are also the building blocks for peace and recovery. I thank the members of the Council for their important work in this area. Success in this endeavour is essential to achieving the most fundamental aim of this Organization: to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”
2002-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4660 (2002) · source