YouSaid · the spoken record

Stefano Toscano

lines on the record
10
first
2021-04-08
most recent
2021-04-08
sittings or episodes
1
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un-security-council

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  1. “It saves lives and enables development. It protects communities and paves the way for peace. Through continued international cooperation, enhanced efforts at local, regional and global levels, and sustained funding, the job can be done within the current decade. The Security Council has expressed on numerous occasions its deep concern about the terrible consequences of the use of mines and other explosive ordnance on peace and security. To echo the Secretary-General, there can be no lasting peace without mine action. And — I would add — no mine action without the contribution of all key stakeholders. The Council is one of them.”

    2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source

  2. “In Afghanistan, mine action provides meaningful and dignified employment to hundreds of former Taliban combatants, now employed by the HALO Trust, a major mine action operator. The two treaties banning anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions, while not yet universal, have prevented the use of these weapons by a large majority of States. New uses of mines are mainly attributable to non-State armed groups, which is a major challenge requiring innovative responses. The recent Arria Formula meeting on the threat of improvised explosive devices against peace operations is an excellent initiative in that regard. Efforts towards preventing the use of IEDs by non-State armed groups, including by ensuring better compliance with international humanitarian law by those groups, should be continued. Mine action is needed more than ever.”

    2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source

  3. “The mine action sector also contributes directly to resolution 1325 (2000), on women and peace and security, by encouraging an inclusive approach to operations with an emphasis on women’s empowerment and gender-transformative impact. Why is mine action important for the Security Council? It is of great relevance that mine action is on the Council’s agenda and not only because mine contamination is a threat to peace and security. Mine action has proven significantly to contribute to peace efforts. Colombia is a case in point. The Colombian Government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo agreed in March 2015 to conduct a pilot project in humanitarian demining to strengthen confidence in the peace process. Mine action can also contribute to demobilization efforts.”

    2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source

  4. “Mine action is inherently geographic, and the Information Management System for Mine Action developed by the GICHD — so called IMSMA — makes it possible to collect and visualize information related to contamination and to link such information with data related to reconstruction and development. This last point is important. Mine action is a catalyst for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, such as those related to poverty reduction, food security, education, health and gender equality. It is therefore essential for national authorities to integrate mine action into broader national efforts to match humanitarian, development and peacebuilding efforts.”

    2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source

  5. “The recent development of new standards guiding how to address IEDs and urban contamination testifies to the ability of the sector to adjust to an evolving context and be responsive to new challenges. Technological innovations are also reshaping approaches to humanitarian demining and offer a real opportunity to improve safety and the efficiency of operations. For example, robotics and remotely operated vehicles are increasingly used, especially to address IEDs in urban areas. Information management tools also provide crucial support in this context.”

    2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source

  6. “The current pandemic represents an additional challenge, but also an opportunity; an opportunity to increase our efforts towards strong national ownership and the localization of responses. Mine action should be as local as possible and as international as necessary. Let us continue to pursue our efforts in that regard. We can and must do more to empower local actors. The sector is addressing these and other challenges.S/2021/346 With the adoption of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty in 1997 and the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2008, a majority of States agreed to ban these weapons. Sound and efficient operations at field level, for their part, are ensured by the International Mine Action Standards. They represent a unique feature in the field of conventional disarmament.”

    2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source

  7. “IED casings can range from soda cans, plastic bags and pressure cookers to shoeboxes, suicide vests and gas cylinders. This makes them particularly dangerous to civilians and hard to find and dispose of. IED contamination is not new, but the extent is unprecedented. The interconnectedness of risks adds to the complexity of the working environment — for example, diverted ammunition stockpiles can be used to manufacture IEDs. Mine action remains a necessary response to a humanitarian imperative. It is also an enabler of broader humanitarian action, a precondition for reconstruction and development and can serve as a conduit for peace. The mine action community has made great efforts to link its activities to broader agendas, highlighting its transformational role. But more is needed on this front.”

    2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source

  8. “We bring forward innovative approaches, methods and tools, keeping mine action up to speed with new challenges. The mine action sector is facing new challenges. These are relevant to the Security Council as well. Current conflicts are typically fragmented and protracted, with a multiplicity of actors, agendas and risks. And they are often associated with recurrent violations of international humanitarian law. To quote the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, “city centers and residential areas have become the battlefields of our time.” As a result, the impact on civilians and infrastructure is exacerbated. In this context, we are witnessing an increased use of, and contamination from, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), particularly in urban and populated areas.”

    2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source

  9. “I am grateful to the Vietnamese presidency for putting this topic on the agenda of the Security Council and for inviting the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) to take part in this debate. There is a long history of cooperation between Viet Nam and the Centre, and I still have fond memories of my first visit as GICHD Director to Viet Nam, where I witnessed a strong commitment from the Government to addressing contamination from past wars. The Centre was founded internationally in 1998 as a result of an initiative by the Swiss Government, following the adoption of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. We work with national authorities on the development of appropriate strategies, standards and institutional frameworks.”

    2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source

  10. “Mine action is needed more than ever. Every day, new mines are laid in different regions of the globe. The harm and pain suffered by their victims is similar across countries and over time. What has changed over the past decade is the type of mines being used, their placement and who lays them. Responses to contamination are evolving accordingly. The story of mine action is one of an adaptive, collaborative and solution-oriented sector. Mines and cluster munitions pose a severe threat to security and are an obstacle to lasting peace. Today’s debate provides a unique opportunity to discuss mine action within the United Nations organ responsible for peace and security.”

    2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source