YouSaid · the spoken record

Sen

lines on the record: 256
first: 2004-09-13
most recent: 2009-03-19
sittings or episodes: 25
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Thus far, our collective effort on that vital aspect has been episodic and inadequate. We need to do better expeditiously. The report identifies some of the key areas in which such capacity-building efforts are vital, and we concur in particular with the notion that strengthening the National Police and public administration has to be taken up as a priority. Limited results in that regard will be reflected by an equally paltry list for us to show for our efforts in any of the benchmarks for progress that we may have set ourselves, be they in the field of counter-narcotics or the efficient utilization of budgetary resources.”
2008-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5930 (2008) · source
“The rising trend of attacks, abductions and suicide bombings is also a sign that terrorist groups are emboldened by the displays of wavering confidence that such bargains imply, and therefore hope to weaken our collective resolve. We cannot have partial compromises with such forces and yet nurture hopes of prevailing in Afghanistan. We remain convinced that there needs to be a much closer alignment between the consistent application of force wherever terrorist groups are present and the political objectives of our efforts in Afghanistan, in which UNAMA must play an important role. Results cannot be achieved on the ground without adequate attention to both security and development components. However, if we are to achieve sustainable success over the long term on both fronts, the common denominator is capacity-building.”
2008-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5930 (2008) · source
“While the international community collectively repeats commitments underscoring the importance of such a demand-driven approach, greater efforts are required on the ground to meet such commitments. Without an Afghan-led process of discussing and finalizing the prioritization of tasks, our collective efforts run the very real risk of losing legitimacy. Events on the ground make it clear that any listing of challenges before the Afghan people must begin with security. We cannot afford to slacken our resolve or our efforts in combating the forces of terrorism, extremism and crime wherever and in whatever forms those groups may take. Most importantly, that must be a collective effort; we cannot succeed if we send mixed signals through bargains for temporary and local peace while the rest of us contend with the consequences of such deals.”
2008-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5930 (2008) · source
“The mandate provided to UNAMA by this Council through resolution 1806 (2008) provides ample scope for the United Nations to play a central role in the international community. Streamlining our collective efforts through UNAMA in support of the newly adopted Afghanistan National Development Strategy and through the national budget will underscore the fact that international assistance is in line with priorities set by Afghanistan. What is crucial, however, is that such coordination be effected in a manner that is coherent and focused. We need to avoid the temptation of trying to resolve all of Afghanistan's problems at once, just as we need to avoid the pitfalls of setting unrealistic benchmarks and objectives that are desirable for us, but less so for the very people we seek to help.”
2008-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5930 (2008) · source
“Having participated in the Conference at the political level, India welcomes its outcome and the proposed presidential statement of this Council in support of that outcome. We share the sense in this Chamber of the need for the international community to provide not just the resources - important as they are - but also the much-needed political space to enable the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to exercise its mandate to assist the national Government in coordinating international assistance for Afghanistan. In that context, I should also underline that, as a regional partner and a country with strong historic and cultural links with Afghanistan, India sees merit in the approach adopted by Special Representative Eide, as reflected in the report before us.”
2008-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5930 (2008) · source
“To those who commit such acts and to those responsible for the greater villainy of sheltering and enabling terrorists, our response remains firm and unyielding. As our Prime Minister has said, "We have lost Indians who were helping their Afghan brothers rebuild their lives and country. That endeavour must continue with renewed commitment". While mourning their loss, we believe that we can best honour our fallen colleagues by redoubling our commitment to working with Afghanistan to secure stability and development in that country and, consequently, in the region. Our discussion today takes place in the context of the recently-convened Paris Conference in Support of Afghanistan.”
2008-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5930 (2008) · source
“I am distressed to have to begin my statement by acknowledging with gratitude the condolences of this Council over the barbaric attack upon our embassy in Kabul two days ago. Not only were scores of innocent Afghan lives lost; we also lost four Indian colleagues working with a fraternal people in their hour of need. Those who perpetrated that act and those who train and protect terrorists and enable them to commit horrific acts of violence are no better than the basest criminals. It is for that reason that security within Afghanistan and coordinated efforts to stop terrorists from operating with impunity beyond Afghanistan's borders must be the paramount priority of our collective efforts in Afghanistan.”
2008-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5930 (2008) · source
“Let me begin by expressing my delegation's pleasure, Sir, at seeing your delegation assume the presidency of the Security Council for this month. I also express India's appreciation to you for scheduling today's debate on this important topic. Let me also welcome the presence of Mr. Rangin Spanta, Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, and Mr. Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Foreign Minister of Pakistan, who just left the Chamber, and thank them for their statements and their expressions of concern and sympathy over the terrorist attack on our embassy in Kabul, their clear condemnation of which has been echoed by members of this Council today. Last but not least, I also thank Special Representative Kai Eide and Under-Secretary-General John Holmes for their briefings today.”
2008-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5930 (2008) · source
“Outside these walls, the world sees only one United Nations, not its constituent organs or Member States. Our effort must therefore be based on a more collective and inclusive approach, one that justifies the first word of the title: the United Nations.”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895Resumption1 (2008) · source
“That idea must be elaborated through open, inclusive and transparent negotiations in order to give the end result greater legitimacy. India hopes to participate fully in discussing this concept, which holds the promise of a new paradigm of cooperation between developed and developing States. Once the concept is fully elaborated, recruitment of those who can deploy the appropriate talents, skills and technologies would greatly help in peacebuilding. In conclusion, I would like to underline our support for the notion that post-conflict peace consolidation remains one of the most serious challenges that the United Nations faces collectively. However, we cannot produce more creative and flexible approaches to address that challenge unless we are willing to move beyond fixed positions.”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895Resumption1 (2008) · source
“Mining companies sometimes leave next to nothing to Governments for spending on social infrastructure. IMF pressure to privatize makes such imbalanced contracting more likely. It would be useful for the World Bank or another expert body to develop model auction procedures and model contracts. The concept paper touches upon factors that hamper efforts of the United Nations and the international community in country. The United Nations contractual system needs to be streamlined and conditions of service of the Secretariat staff in the field harmonized with those of funds and programmes in order to get and retain personnel of better quality. The concept paper outlines the need to establish a rapidly deployable civilian capacity.”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895Resumption1 (2008) · source
“As for the planning and running of operations, including the international financial institutions, the Peacebuilding Commission has the mandate to bring together and mobilize all actors, especially in marshalling resources. Above all, it signals the commitment of the international community to the State concerned, unique as a hedge against political risk to private capital. The Bretton Woods institutions need to be brought into an optimal agenda. They advised Cambodia to reduce its civil service by 20 per cent - after Pol Pot had already decimated it. The downsizing was apparently not enough for them. Four countries in Africa that collapsed into civil war had been, in the preceding ten years, 62 to 83 per cent under a programme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895Resumption1 (2008) · source
“While the paper correctly points out the need for better operational coordination among international agencies on the ground, empowerment of Special Representatives of the Secretary-General is not necessarily the solution, especially if such concentration of authority is achieved at the expense of nascent national leadership, which is often an inevitable if unintended consequence. It is national ownership that must assess critical requirements and gaps and must share that assessment institutionally with those who have the ability to deliver on bridging those gaps. That would also help us respond to the problem posed by the inadequacy of international resources in helping to stabilize post-conflict countries when everything is urgent.”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895Resumption1 (2008) · source
“I shall try to address the questions posed in the concept paper (S/2008/29l, annex). The roots of peacebuilding go deep into the Security Council mandate on peacekeeping. It is therefore important to implement Article 44 of the United Nations Charter and to involve troop-contributing countries in shaping that mandate. For instance, our armed forces have effective programmes aimed at winning minds and hearts. National ownership is essential in peacebuilding. This is not just a question of sovereignty; it is a functional matter. For instance, schools and clinics have on occasion been constructed by multiple agencies and non-governmental organizations in post-conflict situations, which later were found unsustainable, leading to duplication and waste. National ownership mitigates this.”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895Resumption1 (2008) · source
“Let me begin by joining others in expressing India's heartfelt condolences on the losses of lives sustained by two of our close neighbours, the People's Republic of China and Myanmar, as a result of natural calamities. Let me also place on record our appreciation of the leadership of the Security Council by the United Kingdom presidency for the month of may. It was in recognition of the international community's less-than-stellar record in securing lasting peace after more successfully stopping conflict that we established the Peacebuilding Commission as the centrepiece of an international effort to promote post-conflict peace consolidation. In that context, our delegation aligns itself with the statement made by the Permanent Representative of Jamaica on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.”
2008-05-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5895Resumption1 (2008) · source
“For that, we must not only work to foster better institutional cooperation and "jointedness" - if I may use the word - within the international system, we must also focus on implementing goals that can be achieved before mandating new and potentially challenging commitments.”
2008-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5886 (2008) · source
“Such assistance can be provided by India bilaterally or multilaterally, especially to countries that are themselves not directly threatened by terrorism but whose participation is vital to the success of the larger international effort. Our comments here today are in the spirit of pressing for further forward movement in bringing existing mechanisms to deal with terrorism closer together in operational terms. We welcome more efforts to use such open dialogues as a mechanism to build closer cooperation within the international system. We therefore look forward to working in a pragmatic manner to alter the regrettable perception outside these walls that the role of the United Nations in combating terrorism is limited to statements and speeches and does not include concrete measures.”
2008-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5886 (2008) · source
“While supporting the greater emphasis on the extension of technical assistance bilaterally, regionally and internationally, we should keep in mind the primary task of ensuring the fullest implementation of the relevant Council resolutions before we take the process forward to more technical and potentially intrusive areas of implementation that may add to the sense of report fatigue among many Member States. India remains willing to provide all assistance in the larger effort to counter the threat of terrorism. Our commitment to do so is already on record, in India's fifth report, submitted to the CTC in March 2007. We are willing to share information with other relevant United Nations mechanisms that work in those fields.”
2008-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5886 (2008) · source
“Better coordination between the various arms of the Council's counter-terrorism mechanism must begin at home. In other words, inter-related aspects of the work of the 1267 Committee, the 1540 Committee and the CTC should be dovetailed with those of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force. Those tasks should also be more closely linked with the core tasks of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, INTERPOL, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Maritime Organization and others.”
2008-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5886 (2008) · source
“Greater dialogue and consultation with all Member States and better operational coordination with the Counter- Terrorism Implementation Task Force is the correct way forward for a mechanism that eventually has a larger responsibility to the entire membership of the United Nations. Ultimately, we will collectively benefit from the furtherance of the ongoing process of making the CTED a completely professional, apolitical body that goes beyond analysis of reports. However, the CTED can only transcend the minutiae of examining reports and preliminary implementation assessments once it is no longer perceived as a largely political body, but as an apolitical, professional organization. In conclusion, I would venture the following suggestions.”
2008-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5886 (2008) · source
“The Security Council should also consider whether its existing procedures need some overhauling, in particular with regard to the sanctions regime imposed upon Al-Qaida and Taliban operatives, entities and their supporters. While at one level the effort to improve modalities for review and delisting is to be welcomed, there is also a need for the Council to examine its own practice of selectively evaluating the provision of information that it seeks from Member States, which, for unrelated and procedural reasons, is sometimes not utilized. With regard to the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) and the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), we are encouraged by the positive efforts of the dynamic new Executive Director.”
2008-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5886 (2008) · source
“Implementation of resolution 1540 (2004), including reporting, remains a national responsibility on the basis of national legislation, arrangements and regulations. There may also be merit in an approach that provides incentives for cooperation rather than the current effort to continually raise the bar for implementation by adding newer and more intrusive reporting obligations, irrespective of whether those are currently described as voluntary tasks. That apart, however, I also wish to reiterate at this juncture India's continuing emphasis on the need for closer and more comprehensive international cooperation to root out the phenomenon of illicit activities such as clandestine proliferation of sensitive technologies, which could contribute to the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction.”
2008-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5886 (2008) · source
“Not the least of those potential benefits is better implementation of the resolutions relating to counter- terrorism, namely resolutions 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001) and 1540 (2004) and their successor resolutions. However, to reach that stage of pragmatic, goal- based cooperation, we need to do much more than we have done thus far. It is also unclear whether better implementation of those resolutions can be secured by upgrading their existing mandates, as in the recent case of resolution 1810 (2008), or by working to identify genuine barriers to better implementation and promoting a more collaborative system of extending assistance and utilizing available regional expertise and appropriate technologies.”
2008-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5886 (2008) · source
“If those overarching goals are to be achieved, there is also a need for a more genuinely inclusive approach to be adopted by the Security Council, taking along the larger membership of the General Assembly. While India remains committed to fully cooperating with all existing counter-terrorism mechanisms, as a State with long experience in dealing with terrorism, we are of the view that better cooperation between the Council and the General Assembly will provide our collective efforts greater legitimacy and ownership. There are also operational benefits to be achieved from greater collective pragmatism in tackling terrorism through multilateral mechanisms.”
2008-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5886 (2008) · source
“Such a convention must be agreed upon to create a strong interlocking network of Member States, international organizations and specialized agencies working in unison to counter terrorism. The adoption of such a convention through the exercise of the lawmaking powers of the General Assembly would be in the interests of all Member States and would reinvigorate the multilateral and collective dimensions of counter-terrorism efforts. India continues to call upon the world to act as one in denying terrorists, their ideologues and their financiers access to arms, funds and means of transportation for their deadly goods, as well as safe havens.”
2008-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5886 (2008) · source
“At the outset, please accept my felicitations, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month. We are happy to participate in today's joint debate on three Security Council items, whose implementation requires not only the fullest collective effort by the entire membership, but also their fullest participation in processes that affect the collective security of all nations equally. I will limit my remarks to a few comments, proceeding from my last statement on this subject, in March this year, before this body (see S/PV.5855). To begin with, let me reaffirm India's abiding determination to work to conclude the long-pending effort to finalize a comprehensive convention on international terrorism, moving beyond debates that essentially miss the larger point.”
2008-05-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5886 (2008) · source
“The larger effort to foster international cooperation requires greater cooperation between the members of the Security Council and the larger United Nations membership. We hope that today's exercise is the first of more efforts to build closer cooperation within the international system. In conclusion, allow me to also congratulate the Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, Mr. Jurica, and thank Mr. Mike Smith, the Executive Director of CTED, both for his presentation today, on which I have been briefed by my colleague, and for the vigour and commitment he has brought to his post. We wish him every success in making CTED a responsive and flexible tool in the larger fight against terror. (spoke in Russian) Along with you, Mr. President, we know first- hand what terrorism is.”
2008-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5855 (2008) · source
“We are willing to render such assistance bilaterally or multilaterally, especially in the instance of countries that are themselves not directly threatened by terrorism but whose participation is vital to the success of the larger international effort. We would, however, urge that there be greater efforts to follow up on information obtained from Member States as part of the effort against terrorism. Pooling our collective knowledge and expertise is desirable but can succeed only when there is adequate evidence that it is both welcome and necessary. The political and socio-economic programme of fundamentalists is always deeply reactionary and exploitative. History teaches us that to prevent fundamentalist terrorist forces from occupying space for dissent, democratic and secular forces must be strengthened, not weakened.”
2008-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5855 (2008) · source
“India hopes that all those efforts within the United Nations will be integrated more closely, with the core tasks being taken forward by specialized bodies such as UNODC, INTERPOL, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization. Therefore, India strongly affirms the importance of a collective effort to focus on technical assistance in the larger struggle against terrorism, in helping States implement the mandate of the CTC and related instruments. India is willing to provide all assistance in the larger effort to counter the threat of terrorism. Our commitment to do so is already on record, in India's fifth report submitted to the CTC in March 2007, and we are willing to share information with other relevant United Nations mechanisms that work in those fields.”
2008-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5855 (2008) · source
“Our approach is guided by the conviction that the sum of our collective efforts can indeed be greater than the total of each individual nation's part in the battle against terrorism. Therefore, I should like to state for the record the following. India welcomes the revised organizational plan of the CTED, as contained in document S/2008/80. We hope that it will bring about greater flexibility of approach and effectiveness of operation. We also look forward to greater efforts to bring together interrelated aspects of the operational mechanisms of the 1267 Committee, the 1540 Committee and the CTC, and dovetailing them with the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force.”
2008-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5855 (2008) · source
“We have adopted such an approach in working with and supporting the efforts of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999) concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban and associated individuals and entities and the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004) - we articulated our views at that time on resolution 1540 (2004) - and their expert panels. Not the least of those measures was welcoming a joint visit of experts coordinated by the CTED, which included experts from the Monitoring Team of the 1267 Committee and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), to India in November 2006 and sharing our mutual experiences.”
2008-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5855 (2008) · source
“Current proposals address effectively the question of offences governed by international humanitarian law and those governed by the convention. What is now needed, therefore, is the political will to conclude the convention. The Security Council's efforts could be maintained on the basis of such a resolution passed by the General Assembly. Over and above our commitment to the early conclusion of a comprehensive convention, which we initiated at the Assembly's fifty-first session, we see merit in a pragmatic approach to the various counter- terrorism mechanisms and elements that already exist.”
2008-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5855 (2008) · source
“We have argued for over a decade, and we continue to believe, that agreement on a comprehensive convention on international terrorism should have been a first step in any consolidated counter-terrorism efforts within the United Nations. Such a convention would provide the legal framework for an effective counter-terrorism strategy. We remain convinced that a comprehensive convention on international terrorism must be agreed upon if we are to have a strong interlocking network of Member States, international organizations and specialized agencies functioning together in unison to counter terrorism. We do not need a philosophical definition of terrorism. Paragraph 1 of draft article 2 enunciates clearly the criminal law definition of terrorist acts.”
2008-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5855 (2008) · source
“Our own efforts utilize all available tools within the arsenal of a democratic nation governed by the rule of law. They run the gamut of efforts from surveillance methods governed by law, monitoring financial flows and effective legislation regarding dual-use items to old-fashioned police investigation work. Yet we recognize that no matter how comprehensive the effort, there is always the chance of one catastrophic failure. It is in recognition of this that we seek a comprehensive international effort to counter terrorism. In that context, despite counter-terrorism being taken up more seriously by the United Nations in general and the Security Council in particular, there is limited evidence of a genuinely common effort to create a more unified international response to terrorism.”
2008-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5855 (2008) · source
“India therefore has an overriding interest in greater and more meaningful international cooperation to counter terrorism. That also underscores the rationale behind our conviction that no political cause, no argument, no belief can or should be used to justify acts of terrorism. That Mahatma Gandhi preferred to call off his mass movement and postpone the independence of India rather than compromise with violence at Chauri Chaura gives us the right to say this. We continue to call upon the world to act as one in denying terrorists, their ideologues and financiers access to arms, funds and means of transportation of their deadly goods, as well as safe havens. However, as an unfortunate but inevitable result of our tragic history of dealing with terrorism, India has accumulated the expertise and experience for doing so.”
2008-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5855 (2008) · source
“At the outset I thank you, Mr. President, for scheduling this open debate on an issue that has, unfortunately, become a defining element of our world. Terrorism grew steadily through the twentieth century to become one of the leading strategic, political and developmental challenges of the twenty-first century. India's advocacy of international cooperation in order to fight the threat of terrorism predates most measures taken by the Security Council or the General Assembly; indeed, it predates serious consideration of the issue of terrorism within the United Nations. That is because India has been, and unfortunately remains, a victim of international terrorism. In less than 25 years, over 60,000 have been killed in various parts of India as a direct result of terrorism, quite apart from the concomitant impact upon our economy.”
2008-03-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5855 (2008) · source
“We hope that the recognition of those realities will increasingly inform discussions on the subject of assistance to Afghanistan.”
2008-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5851Resumption1 (2008) · source
“As a committed development partner of Afghanistan, India is willing to actively participate in any United Nations-led effort to improve donor cohesion, in support of Afghan-defined priorities. In conclusion, let me also reiterate our abiding belief in the determination of the Afghan people to look beyond the tragedies of the past and to seize the opportunities that the future holds, on which my colleague the Afghan Ambassador spoke so eloquently. The international community must not fail them by displaying weakness of resolve, or by setting unrealistic benchmarks of progress. Our approach needs to be guided by the recognition of the distance Afghanistan has traversed in the past six years, rather than being derailed by the image of an idealized version of what we would like Afghanistan to be.”
2008-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5851Resumption1 (2008) · source
“At the same time, UNAMA must also be mandated to increasingly streamline international assistance in support of a prioritized Afghan National Development Strategy, once it is adopted, and the core budget. That will have the effect of bringing credibility to the Strategy while bolstering the budget, and at the same time it will underscore that our assistance is in line with priorities set by Afghanistan. India is fully committed to implementing the inter-related security, political and developmental challenges facing Afghanistan. Our commitment to reconstruction, development and capacity-building in Afghanistan is unflinching. India's assistance programme has now exceeded $750 million, and it spans the gamut of requirements - ranging from developing capacity to infrastructure and reconstruction.”
2008-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5851Resumption1 (2008) · source
“To put it another way, to strengthen the connection between the Afghan people and their Government requires far more coordination among international partners, and between us and the Afghan Government. The United Nations is not only the best qualified, but also the most appropriate body to do so. However, we cannot achieve better coordination unless we give UNAMA the tools to bring about greater cohesion; and better cohesion is predicated upon more comprehensive access to information. Therefore, in providing a mandate for UNAMA to play a coordinating role, it is important to clearly outline an operational relationship between those two bodies, so that information on aid flows and on projects under implementation can be comprehensively mapped.”
2008-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5851Resumption1 (2008) · source
“Additionally, a core capacity-building component can be added easily to all our aid projects in Afghanistan. India is already including a strong capacity-development component in all infrastructure projects it is executing in Afghanistan. We must also reflect about the methods we employ to achieve those goals. Any objective analysis will tell us that despite the large investment in human capital and treasury resources, the international community is still faced with a significant challenge in ensuring that our objectives are met in Afghanistan. Quite clearly, apart from underlining our unshakeable determination to stay the course in Afghanistan, we need to improve the cohesion of our efforts.”
2008-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5851Resumption1 (2008) · source
“That is part of the picture, but equally important are effective disincentives against poppy cultivation, in contrast to efforts to legitimize the practice via so-called legal opiates. However, international partners must also make corresponding efforts to upgrade Afghan capacity to take more effective action to prevent cross-border smuggling and movements, and work in a united way in support of actions by Afghan agencies, and internationally, to stem demand for narcotics products. We must also simultaneously ramp up efforts to build local capacity across the board - from administration to security, from civil engineering to medical science. For India, capacity-building is a priority area, as we believe that that is one area of assistance that requires minimal investment but yields maximal long-term benefits.”
2008-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5851Resumption1 (2008) · source
“We must also bolster the security effort through stronger collective action, within Afghanistan and outside it, in ensuring that terrorist groups and their patrons are deprived of shelter, financing and ideological support. We should neither underestimate the Taliban and Al-Qaida nor fight terrorism with any less military and political determination than in the immediate post-2001 days. The counter-narcotics effort is precisely at the intersection of the effort to assist the Government to establish its authority, the fight against terror and organized crime and the challenge of poverty alleviation and development. The report of the Secretary-General exhorts the Government to muster the political will on the issue of eradication - sensitivities on this exist - and take measures against erring public officials and large landowners.”
2008-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5851Resumption1 (2008) · source
“Development and security are closely intertwined and, on both, the international community and the United Nations must be in closer coordination with each other and with relevant Afghan agencies. To do so, on the one hand, while pressing forward forcefully in terms of security operations, we must also pay more attention to building capacity in the Afghan National Army and the National Police. I have been briefed by my colleague about what the Ambassador of Afghanistan has said about security, anti-terrorism and capacity-building. I share those views and would support them very strongly. Both those institutions require much more support in terms of training and the provision of equipment. There is also a need to devise new strategies to achieve optimum results in that regard.”
2008-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5851Resumption1 (2008) · source
“That is not to say that international partners should not have input in drawing up a list of priorities; but, at the end of the day, Afghan interlocutors should have the final say on where scarce resources - manpower and money - are allocated. From that standpoint, our collective energies must be directed towards what is very clearly the first priority for the Afghan people, namely, security. As the report of the Secretary-General notes, "Provinces not affected by anti-Government violence have demonstrated an increasing capacity for delivering governance and economic development." (ibid., para. 11). India is convinced that effective, people- centric administration closely follows robust efforts to provide security.”
2008-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5851Resumption1 (2008) · source
“The central objective of the international community is to assist Afghanistan to complete its re- emergence from decades of war, civil strife and privation. We have set ourselves the goal of assisting Afghanistan to emerge as a modern democratic country rooted in its unique culture, at peace with itself, secure in its neighbourhood and on the path to sustainable economic development. Each of those processes needs to be "Afghanized" at a pace and in a manner that is acceptable to the Afghan people and their Government. The prioritization of tasks in an environment as challenging as it is in Afghanistan is a difficult task, but we must let this be an Afghan-led process. As the Secretary-General's report notes, efforts are needed to ensure that "international assistance is driven by demand rather than by supply" (S/2008/J 59, para. 4).”
2008-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5851Resumption1 (2008) · source
“Let me begin by placing on record India's commitment to working closely with Ambassador Kai Eide and his colleagues in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) as he takes on his new responsibilities as Special Representative of the Secretary-General. I wish him every success in his new responsibilities. Today's debate is opportune, as it is set in the context of the Secretary-General's report on Afghanistan and the Council's consideration of the renewal of the mandate of UNAMA. Since this debate is to contribute to the latter while drawing upon the former, it is worthwhile to restate our goals in Afghanistan and to rededicate ourselves to achieving them in the most appropriate manner.”
2008-03-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5851Resumption1 (2008) · source
“Those include addressing key and topical challenges, such as cross-border terrorism, the upgrading of law enforcement and governance capacities, the facilitation of overland transit and the expansion of trade and business linkages. In conclusion, at the macro level, our best response to those who seek to drive the international community out of Afghanistan is to display a heightened sense of resolve. We can only succeed by showing that our commitment is long-term and that our resolve is unshaken. Most important, we must work together in a more effective partnership with the Government of Afghanistan. As the latest report of the Secretary-General underlines, strong leadership from the Afghan Government must be matched by greater donor coherence and a strong commitment from all of us in the neighbourhood.”
2007-10-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5760 (2007) · source
“Afghanistan's entry into the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in April 2007 will not only further strengthen its historical links with the South Asian region, but also provide the region with lasting benefits in free trade and shared economic activities. In that context, several important regional cooperation events have taken place over the past few years, including the Kabul Conference on Regional Economic Cooperation and the New Delhi Regional Economic Cooperation Conference. However, the central challenge remains the need to develop coordinated measures to implement the programmes formulated in such regional processes.”
2007-10-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5760 (2007) · source
“Such projects are aimed at providing the most direct peace dividend to communities that have yet to see the benefits of development. India has worked to align its assistance programmes with Afghan priorities. Our projects are being implemented in close coordination with Afghan stakeholders, focusing particularly on local implementation, management and ownership of assets. As a country with traditionally close historic, cultural and regional links with Afghanistan, it is natural for us to see regional cooperation as the third pillar of the effort to stabilize Afghanistan. Regional economic cooperation is an important benchmark of the Compact and is a strategic element of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy.”
2007-10-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5760 (2007) · source