YouSaid · the spoken record

Uhuru Kenyatta

lines on the record: 40
first: 2021-01-06
most recent: 2021-10-28
sittings or episodes: 5
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

“Let us undertake a structured dialogue on how to make missions in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and Central Africa fit for purpose. For the sake of peace, we should discuss assessed contributions and the reforms that States and regional organizations need to undertake in order to secure inclusivity and sustainable socioeconomic development and jobs. I look forward to participating in this conversation so that we can cooperate more effectively in the pursuit of peace, security, political stability and economic prosperity for Africa and its peoples.”
2021-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/941 (2021) · source
“However, the simple can often be difficult to see and grasp as we grapple with the complex issues we navigate daily. I will finish my statement by proposing immediate actions we can take to bring those reforms to life in the context of cooperation between the United Nations, the AU and the regional economic blocs. Let us act based on the simple fact that African multinational peace enforcement missions, whether the Group of Five for the Sahel or the African Union Mission in Somalia, are delivering a critical service to international peace and security. They cannot take action to stop global terrorist groups from overwhelming States without adequate, predictable and sustainable financing, as well as force enablers and multipliers.”
2021-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/941 (2021) · source
“In that context, the forthcoming twenty-sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Glasgow, needs to produce tangible and transformative investments in climate adaptation that will enable strong green growth in Africa. We must also leverage Africa’s emerging investments in climate change adaptation, including in renewable energy, in order to boost responsible green investment. That should be the way forward, as it will provide Africa ample resources, while delivering jobs and services to Africans in a sustainable manner. Those economic and investment reforms would contribute significantly to peace and security. My three broad points are obvious on many levels.”
2021-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/941 (2021) · source
“Our partnership with the United Nations has produced a number of initiatives and reforms under the broad umbrella of good governance. We need to add competencies that make inclusion a key dimension of State-building and the pursuit of peace, as well as the ability to deliver sustainable economic growth and create jobs in countries considered high-risk by global investors. We are in a do-or-die moment. If the green agenda does not deliver green growth and green jobs to Africa, then it will fail globally. The rapidly growing population of Africa will eventually contribute to climate change, which we must confront to save Africa.”
2021-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/941 (2021) · source
“We will successfully overcome our insecurity when we combine military action with fundamental governance reforms that deliver inclusivity for every race, ethnicity, gender, religion and economic status. Inclusivity in service delivery, competent and non-partisan civil services, fair policies and legislation are key. We should also embrace a political culture that discourages winner-take-all outcomes in divided societies. The peaceful and inclusive management of diversity must become the core of nation-building and State stabilization. My third recommendation is that this partnership must enable the production of plentiful jobs that harness the energy and skills of African youth. A State that is unable to deliver jobs will be under constant threat of instability, driven by frustration and anti-establishment sentiments.”
2021-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/941 (2021) · source
“Effective peacekeeping requires better alignment between the Africa-led responders and United Nations peacekeeping missions. My second strategic recommendation is that inclusivity is an essential component of sustainable peacekeeping. That is not just the case in Africa. Indeed, based on identity differences that are politicized and sometimes weaponized in political competitions, the world is becoming even more divided. Technology and social media adding disinformation and toxic narratives to conversations are the main drivers. Even the wealthiest and most stable democracies are discovering that dangerous divisions, a product of identity, can threaten the constitutional foundations of a State.”
2021-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/941 (2021) · source
“They need greater military capacity and resources to respond effectively to the complex environment they face. Often, the first responders to those terrorist groups are African-led. The Multinational Joint Task Force, anchored and funded by Nigeria, is an example of clear and telling success. Similarly, the interventions by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the African Union in Somalia are yielding results. But Africa-led responses are handicapped by insufficient financial and technological resources to overcome the terrorist groups that have become entrenched in fragile States. United Nations peacekeeping missions, which are better resourced, are then deployed to support African first-responders. However, their mandates are not fit for purpose.”
2021-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/941 (2021) · source
“Our efforts could show the world that global leadership can rise to the challenge. Together, we can enable African States and regions to overcome insecurity in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, Central Africa and countries dealing with dangerous insurgent and terrorist groups. The way forward has three strategic orientations, which I would like to share with the Security Council. First, the Council should appreciate that peacekeeping in Africa has fundamentally changed. The Council field trip to Mali and the Niger this month, under the Kenyan presidency, made that abundantly clear. The missions of both the United Nations and the AU are increasingly contending with sophisticated international terrorist groups, in addition to overseeing peace agreements.”
2021-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/941 (2021) · source
“Rarely in the past have multiple crisis situations interacted as they are doing now, or produced effects that may lead to a state of continental emergency. This is not just a challenge of and for Africa. Globally, multilateral responses are falling short in overcoming the pandemic, climate change, economic crisis and terrorism. As the Secretary-General reminded us in his recent call to action, we must, “break through or break down”. This moment calls for bold and visionary action that rises above narrow self- interest and drives concerted and sustainable multilateral responses. I propose that we start a conversation on how to renew Africa’s security architecture through cooperation among the United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the regional economic blocs.”
2021-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/941 (2021) · source
“The vacuum resulting from those negative situations has led new external actors to intervene, which has further deepened the crisis and drawn in geopolitical rivals. As was the case during the Cold War, those rivalries come at the cost of African lives and our stability. Africa is not facing its problems passively. It has developed an architecture for conflict prevention, conflict management, conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction. That architecture has delivered multiple peace agreements and pushed back against terrorist groups. Africa’s mediators and peacekeepers have been heroic. I pay tribute to them and honour the sacrifices they have made for the sake of our common peace, stability and security. Nonetheless, I am sure that everybody will agree with me that, given the current challenges, that architecture is strained.”
2021-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/941 (2021) · source
“The aftermath of the 2011 Libyan invasion, the rise of Al-Qaida and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham, the proliferation of illicit firearms, insurgency and the emergence of domestic terror groups funded by international actors all pose grave socioeconomic challenges for Africa. The recent upsurge in coups, which we thought were behind us, have exacerbated those negative situations. Following two decades of rapid economic growth, the coronavirus disease pandemic has reversed the economic gains and plunged large numbers of Africans back into the poverty they had escaped from. Furthermore, the effects of climate change are increasing social and economic fragility and escalating conflicts over resources.”
2021-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/941 (2021) · source
“I thank Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Ms. Amina Mohammed and Mr. Donald Kaberuka, for their informative briefings. Today’s debate comes at a time when the African continent is at a crossroads. On one hand, Africa is poised to reap from its demographic dividend and the bold economic reforms in intra-African trade and investment. Our integration agenda is marching forward, and our political solidarity is finding expression in our collective responses to insecurity. On the other hand, terrorism and insurgency are spreading and fundamentally challenging almost every nation on the continent.”
2021-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/941 (2021) · source
“Last but not least is a reminder that rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions, courtesy of climate change, threaten the existence of some small island States and coastal populations. Therefore, successful global climate change adaptation and mitigation are key to the security of these States. Let me, in closing my remarks, encourage more thinking and innovation to be devoted to developing ambitious free- and fair-trade regimes in areas such as the Indian Ocean rim. I am confident that this can deliver economic prosperity to a large proportion of the world poorest and, therefore, greatly change the world for the better.”
2021-08-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/722 (2021) · source
“Instead, we need strengthened emphasis on observing international law and resisting the lure of promoting proxy rivalries in the pursuit of narrow interests. Third is our understanding that threats to the maritime security such as terrorism, piracy and robbery at sea are predominantly a factor of land-based instability, meaning that secure maritime routes and economic zones depend on helping to develop more capable and legitimate States that are able to resolve domestic and regional challenges. Fourth is that international cooperation should prioritize the equipping and training of effective national coast guards. A properly contextualized regional and subregional approach is the way to go.”
2021-08-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/722 (2021) · source
“Unless addressed with nuance, this will continue undermining the security of the coastal States and the maritime dom ain and, indeed, the livelihoods of millions of people. On this confluence of opportunity and threat, allow me to underscore the following action points that I recommend to the Security Council and the international community. First is that we need to better coordinate existing maritime security strategies and mediation mechanisms. This we can do by strengthening the international legal regime and institutions at the forefront of addressing maritime insecurity; Second, geopolitical rivalries that manifest in insecurity in the maritime domain must be limited. Competition between established and rising powers leaves us all worse off.”
2021-08-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/722 (2021) · source
“Today, when we look at the greater Indian Ocean rim, we see a vibrant grouping that has recorded and sustained the fastest economic growth in human history. We are, however, alive to the threats in the rim, which deserve much more multilateral cooperation and multinational attention if we hope to sustain the economic progress achieved so far. Piracy remains a threat to shipping. In the Straits of Malacca, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, criminal networks are active in piracy, in the illicit trafficking of persons, firearms and narcotics and in illegal fishing. In addition, competition and meddling for influence and resources in the region by extraregional powers has intensified.”
2021-08-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/722 (2021) · source
“It is in this context that, in November 2018, together with Canada and Japan, we hosted the first-ever global Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi, attracting delegates from 184 countries. The Conference dedicated a session to maritime security, recognizing that a secure maritime domain is an enabler of seaborne trade, jobs and wealth creation. Kenya therefore welcomes this debate as a continuing conversation on the subject and the Council’s contribution to the attainment of the aspirations of the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference. Kenya is an Indian Ocean rim State. This means that we are part of a region that brings together countries from three continents, with different sizes and economic strengths and a wide diversity of languages and cultures.”
2021-08-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/722 (2021) · source
“We must value a resource to protect it. The maritime domain, and the related blue economy, is one such precious resource. We depend on the maritime domain for food security, navigation for international trade, and tourism and ecological heritage, among other essential aspects, for our citizens’ livelihoods. However, the maritime domain is inadvertently a field prone to insecurity that affects coastal nations and the stability of entire regions. Piracy, narcotics trafficking, arms smuggling and other transnational threats all thrive in maritime space, undercutting government authority and investor confidence. Cognizant of the development potential of maritime domain, Kenya has and continues to champion environmental-friendly and sustainable exploitation of the Blue Economy.”
2021-08-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/722 (2021) · source
“In conclusion, I stand eager to join hands with you to build a more ambitious collaboration between the Security Council and regional and subregional organizations.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“In this context, Kenya has provided such support to States in the region that have appealed for our assistance. Our South Sudan Liaison Office, for example, has trained hundreds of public servants for South Sudan. Fifthly, we must do a better job at burden sharing. I greatly appreciate the assistance in response to humanitarian crises. The conflict-resolution pillar must attract the same level of urgency if we are to truly bring cycles of violence to an end. We will have fit-for-purpose Security Council peacekeeping mandates in Africa only if they have adequate and predictable funding through United Nations- assessed contributions. It is these that will protect peacekeepers, allow their mission to be fit for purpose, and enable quicker and more lasting success.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“Kenya has developed one of the most far-reaching disengagement and reintegration programmes in Africa. Our disengagement programme is nationwide and assists individuals newly recruited into violent extremism and others who are returnees from foreign battlefields. We have designed the programme so that it is a platform that can offer capacity-building and training to others. To this end, we welcome the United Nations to support and make use of this facility.Fourthly, without a competent Government, fragile countries, or those emerging from conflict, will not secure peace and development. Therefore, the United Nations must be at the forefront in assisting countries that are emerging from conflict and develop a more competent and inclusive civil service.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“Secondly, we must do better in appreciating cross-border dimensions of conflicts, for it is not enough to focus on a single file in the Security Council to the exclusion of neighbouring countries. Resolving conflicts should not shift the threat to neighbouring countries, particularly when insurgent and terrorist organizations are part of the problem. The United Nations should indeed consult closely with neighbouring States in their endeavours in these countries. Thirdly, we should do a better job at disarming, demobilizing and reintegrating fighters. Returning fighters to lawful civilian life guarantees sustainable peace and successful post-conflict reconstruction. The United Nations should treat this as a priority and become more innovative in the demobilization and reintegration of groups that have been ideologically derailed.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“I want to propose that the time has come to scale up our conflict-resolution efforts, particularly in Africa. Let me propose five recommendations for your consideration. First, we need to recognize and support regional peacekeeping organs. The Security Council, and particularly the presidencies and penholders, should undertake more comprehensive consultations and build on regional efforts. History and experience remind us that, the closer you are to a problem, the better you understand its complexity and its workable solutions. Regional and subregional organizations have a greater stake in a conflict and provide proximity and insights that are critical in conflict resolution.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“The Peace and Security Council of the African Union, which I am currently chairing, is the decision-making organ of the African Union for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts. Working in close collaboration with regional blocs such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the Economic Community of West African States, the Council has facilitated a number of peace agreements and reduced the escalation of conflict in several countries. Regrettably, there are still too many conflicts brewing in Africa that require our concerted effort to contain. Why is this so? Because conflict is destructive: it destroys lives and livelihoods and erodes the socioeconomic gains a country may have made; and overall, it deters our forward progress.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“Let me first and foremost take this opportunity to congratulate Your Excellency, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, on your recent election as President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Your country’s remarkable history has inspired Kenya and many nations around the world. I also applaud the extraordinary leadership Viet Nam has shown in effectively combating the coronavirus disease crisis. Let me also thank Their Excellencies Mr. António Guterres and Mr. Ban Ki- moon and the Heads of regional organizations for their informative briefings. With nearly half of all global peace operations taking place on the African continent, the African Union has put the peace agenda high on its priority list and established several institutional structures to address conflict prevention and resolution.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“The world expects results and is looking to the Security Council to ever-more effectively fulfil its mandate. A growing part of that work is likely to involve the conflict impacts of climate change. Once again, I thank you, Mr. President, for the invitation, and I thank all members for their kind attention.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“Another important and prompt action that the Council can take to boost peace and security in the most fragile regions in Africa is to act strongly against illicit financial outflows, illicit resource exploitation, terrorism financing and money laundering. Doing so immediately boosts the resources available to Governments to undertake climate change mitigation and offer the public services and goods needed to consolidate and protect peace. It also disrupts the negative forces that worsen the threat of climate change by making it tougher to tackle its security impact. In conclusion, let me affirm that Kenya will remain a strong voice for Africa and the Global South, including small island developing States, in making the case for the climate change and security nexus.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“In this regard, I applaud resolution 2349 (2017), on Lake Chad, and resolution 2502 (2019), on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which have integrated measures to address the impact of climate change. Fragile countries experiencing armed conflict, or the threat of it, receive little public or private investment. The lack of employment and opportunity, in turn, worsens the political and security crisis. The Council and the relevant United Nations and international financial institutions that respond to its resolutions can help alleviate this challenge by aligning conflict resolution, peacekeeping, humanitarian aid and post-conflict reconstruction with job creation by the domestic private sector.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“Such tools include the building of dynamic and accessible modelling at the national and regional levels that allow Governments and the multilateral and private sectors to deploy solutions in a security-conscious, forward-looking manner. For such innovative work to have policy impact, it will require democratized access S/2021/198 S/2021/198 to critical data and much more data-sharing with African institutions, engineers and researchers. Allow me to finish with two recommendations that can be immediately acted on by the Security Council. In crafting mandates for conflict resolution and post-conflict resolution, we can do more to ensure they dovetail with the efforts to deploy climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“Examples of the consequences abound. The drought-stricken Horn of Africa, the drying up Lake Chad basin and the shrinking Sahel and savannah grasslands have worsened economic vulnerabilities and set in motion political, demographic and migratory dynamics that increase the threat of insurgency and violent extremism. I hope that the Security Council will listen more carefully — and respond — to the new, innovative tools for climate-related conflict-prevention and resilience- building that can emerge from the Peacebuilding Commission, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Environment Programme. I strongly urge these bodies to link early-warning systems that map climate change hotspots to decision-making tools that enable conflict prevention at the national, regional and international levels.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“While the bulk of this work is happening outside the Security Council, as it should, no body with such a strong mandate should step aside from this challenge. That is why one of our priorities as Kenya, during our term on the Security Council, is to clarify the importance of the climate and security nexus. This nexus is already impacting Africa, whose files dominate the Council’s agenda. Listen to us Africans when we tell you that the link is clear, its impact tangible and the need for solutions urgent. Africa unfortunately will suffer the worst consequences of climate change, despite being the least responsible for global greenhouse-gas emissions. Projected climatic changes for Africa suggest a future of increasing water scarcity, decreasing agricultural yields, encroaching desert and damaged coastal infrastructure.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“As a start, we can recognize that persistent droughts, constant sea-level rise and increasingly frequent extreme weather patterns are reversing economic growth and development gains achieved over decades. The result is increased fragility to instability and armed conflict, which then come to the attention of the Security Council. The implementation of the Council’s mandate to maintain global peace and security will only get more difficult with time if climate change remains on its present course. Rather than wait for a future tipping point, we must redouble the efforts to direct all the resources and multilateral frameworks of our rules-based international order to mitigate the effects of climate change.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“Let me begin by congratulating you on your continued stewardship of the Security Council for the month of February 2021. I welcome this high-level debate, as our understanding of climate change continues to reveal its role as a multiplier of existing threats to international peace and security. The international community has responded elsewhere to the threat of climate change with ambitious solutions that are transforming economic development through investment that seeks to minimize environmental, social and governance harms. We must do more to ensure that these new approaches to investment by the public and private sector reach the countries and regions worst hit by climate change.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“The group’s joint action allows the hundreds of millions in Africa, the Caribbean and other parts of the world to believe that their voice in the Security Council matters. That belief will lead to greater faith in the United Nations and its decisions. It is for this reason that I have charged our Mission to the United Nations with the task of being a strong voice for a united Africa and for the global South in the General Assembly.”
2021-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/24 (2021) · source
“President, for the pivotal role Tunisia played in the adoption of resolution 2532 (2020), by which the Council recognized the grave and devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in countries in conflict or post-conflict situations. My fourth proposal is that we must strengthen the role of Africa and the global South in the multilateral system. The road to revitalizing multilateralism to effectively deliver global peace and security runs through a united Africa and an active and engaged global South. In this regard, I applaud our fellow elected member Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for becoming the “plus One”, which, together with three African members of the Security Council, form the A3+1.”
2021-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/24 (2021) · source
“This focus should dovetail with the Security Council prioritizing closer cooperation with such mechanisms as the African Union and the regional economic communities. Secondly, the Security Council and associated United Nations bodies should do more to strengthen the capacity of key State institutions during post-conflict reconstruction. The Peacebuilding Commission will play an invaluable role, which Kenya will strongly support over the next two years. Thirdly, we should not let the COVID-19 pandemic be a major driver of insecurity. If fragile countries do not get prompt access to the vaccine, their economic problems will likely turn into political and security challenges. Affordable and quick access to the COVID-19 vaccine should therefore be regarded as a valuable investment in peace. I commend you, Mr.”
2021-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/24 (2021) · source
“In countries afflicted by war, or recovering from it, peace will be maintained only if they have the strength to win control of their territory and provide public services. The multilateral system as embodied in the United Nations will therefore need to help fragile States attain such capacities. Political processes that build peace together with binding resolutions from the Security Council should include measurable elements that strengthen States. Let me conclude with four proposals for building a multilateralism fit for our times. First, we must leverage the knowledge and buy-in of stakeholders closest to a crisis. That means listening to and empowering national actors committed to building bipartisan and non-partisan political bridges to peace and security.”
2021-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/24 (2021) · source
“To add to the fragility, multilateral institutions have often lacked the resources, the know-how and fit-for-purpose mandates to effectively support States facing dire security challenges. The competence and reach of the State is the single-most important national and global asset in maintaining peace in fragile situations. If we take, as an example, the responses to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the biggest difference is not between Eastern and Western approaches, but between States that can provide a strong bridge for their citizens and economies to successfully navigate extreme crises, on the one hand, and those that cannot muster such an effort, on the other hand.”
2021-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/24 (2021) · source
“If we are to be true to the founding Charter of the United Nations, it therefore follows that we should invest more in building more effective approaches or revitalizing existing mechanisms to maintain peace and anchor stability in Africa. In the most fragile situations Africa, the capacity of the State has not sufficiently grown so that it can effectively control every part of its territory. The State’s ability to deliver public goods to all citizens has also been limited. In the meantime, the most dangerous challenges facing countries have multiplied. Globalization may have expanded our economic opportunities but it has also further shrunk the role of the State.”
2021-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/24 (2021) · source
“Let me begin, Mr. President, by congratulating you, my brother, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of January 2021. I also congratulate India, Mexico, Ireland and Norway, with whom we have joined the Security Council as elected members for the period 2021-2022. I thank Their Excellencies Mr. António Guterres, Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat and former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for their informative briefings. This high-level debate demands we revisit the very reason the United Nations exists: how multilateralism can be made fit for purpose in maintaining peace today. The fact that the bulk of the Security Council’s agenda is devoted to conflicts in Africa is testament to the fragility of many countries and regions on the continent.”
2021-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/24 (2021) · source