YouSaid · the spoken record

Urbina

lines on the record: 774
first: 2007-10-23
most recent: 2010-03-19
sittings or episodes: 103
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

“It is no longer possible to delay negotiations on the borders and the settlements, the issue of refugees and their compensation and their right of return and, in addition, the status of the city of Jerusalem. The vision of a final agreement will undoubtedly be an element that will strengthen the work of those who are fighting for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. 17 The Security Council must ensure conditions that enable the Israelis and the Palestinians to take their fate into their own hands, without interference by those who wish to stir up the conflict so that hatred and intolerance will prevail. Once we have ensured Palestinian and Israeli ownership of the process, the international community and this Council must also facilitate final negotiations on core issues and guarantee a framework of respect for its decisions.”
2008-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5827 (2008) · source
“We need to leave behind approaches requiring that one phase be exhausted before the next can begin. These phased negotiation schemes have been the trap in which hope has often been imprisoned. What we must do now is address core issues, as Olmert and Abbas agreed in Annapolis when they expressed their determination to "launch bilateral negotiations in order to conclude a peace treaty to resolve all remaining issues, including core issues, without exception". We note with satisfaction the resolve of Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas. We welcome the fact that, in the gloomy atmosphere of the past two weeks, they mustered the determination to have a conversation last Sunday. Their generosity should lead to final negotiations.”
2008-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5827 (2008) · source
“But to carry out that mission, the Council must also overcome its own contradictions. For Costa Rica, it is regrettable that the humanitarian tragedy of Gaza and the terrorist attacks on populations in southern Israel have occurred amid the silence of the Council. If we do not overcome our own differences and set aside our particular interests, we cannot play the role that those who yearn to live in peace call on us to play. The Security Council in particular must finally move foreign interests away from Palestinians and Israelis and ensure respect for the goodwill born in Oslo and reaffirmed many times already. What we need to do now, from our perspective, is to advocate a comprehensive approach in the negotiations and to abandon plans for successive negotiation phases.”
2008-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5827 (2008) · source
“It took us time, as it has taken time in the Middle East, to understand that the solution lay with ourselves. Just like them, we had to experience pain to finally understand that it takes more courage to agree than it does to disagree. We understood, again with pain, that it is easier to erect walls than to build bridges. Today, however, we have faith. We believe that, at last, men like Mahmoud Abbas and Ehud Olmert are good omens for a better life for Palestinians and Israelis. They must set out on the path undertaken much earlier by Itzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat. They must build peace on so much pain - which is often the most fertile ground where hope can flourish. The international community, particularly the Security Council, has a fundamental role to play.”
2008-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5827 (2008) · source
“When one looks at the history of the past six decades in the Middle East, one clearly sees interference by foreign interests, which have prevented the Palestinians and the Israelis from peacefully resolving their differences. Only open interference by foreign interests could explain why it will take still more time for Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas to fulfil the commitment that they undertook a few weeks ago when they expressed their "determination to bring an end to bloodshed, suffering and decades of conflict between our peoples, to usher in a new era of peace based on freedom, security, justice, dignity, respect and mutual recognition". Perhaps because this drama is not foreign to us - because we also killed one another for others' interests - we understand this tragedy.”
2008-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5827 (2008) · source
“However, we are duty-bound to note that the road to peace and the desired coexistence is full of obstacles. In recent weeks and months, from Annapolis to Gaza, we have seen hope re-emerge yet again, only to disappear in the face of violence and humanitarian drama. This story is nothing new. It is the interminable repetition of the trauma that has dashed the hopes of generations of Palestinians and Israelis. It is the eternal history of lost opportunities. One might believe that those are distant and foreign realities for us Central Americans. That is not true. Less than two decades ago in Central America, blood was shed, and it was shed for the same reasons that it continues to be shed in Israel and Palestine. In Central America, as in Palestine and in Israel, others provided the weapons and we provided the dead.”
2008-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5827 (2008) · source
“Our Vision began to take shape when we voted on General Assembly resolution 181 (II) on 29 November 1947. On that day, along with 32 other nations, we supported the independence of Palestine and the partition of its lands into two States. We proposed delimiting the borders, supported provisions for the economic union and committed ourselves to supporting membership of both States in the United Nations. Today, a little more than six decades later, we are still prepared to promote the idea of two States that live in peace, respect their differences, promote the enjoyment of human rights for their populations and cooperate in the promotion of their well-being. Accordingly, we understand our service in the Security Council as a great opportunity to support any efforts that may lead, finally, to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”
2008-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5827 (2008) · source
“Mr. Urbina (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): Mr. President, I would like to thank you for convening this meeting and Mr. Pascoe for briefing us. I would also like to thank the representative of the Palestinian State and the Permanent Representative of Israel for the statements they made. They added their own assessments and gave us a small sample of the obstacles and the difficulties we have yet to overcome. Although this is Costa Rica's third term of membership in the Security Council, it is the first time that we are taking part in a debate on the Middle East, an item that has been on the Council's agenda since 24 February 1948. It therefore seems appropriate to me to sum up, in a few words, our vision for peace in the Middle East from the United Nations perspective and from the perspective of the Security Council.”
2008-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5827 (2008) · source
“We have heard with optimism the news that some restrictions imposed by the Israeli Government have begun to be lifted as a result of the concern expressed by the international community and of a timely exercise in self-criticism within the Government of Israel itself. We hope and trust that the situation will soon be normalized as a result of recent progress in the peace process necessary to put an end to the tragedy.”
2008-01-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5824 (2008) · source
“The Security Council needs to act definitively and decisively. The inclusion of the item under discussion on the Council's agenda over the past six decades is a cause of concern to all of us and should act as a stimulus for the decisive and sustained action of which I spoke earlier. Now if a peaceful and definitive settlement of the problem appears on the horizon, the Council must carefully assess its actions to identify those that could effectively contribute to a sustained improvement in the situation. My delegation shares the view that the Council should today offer a clear demonstration of its resolve to protect the 860,000 suffering civilians in Gaza.”
2008-01-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5824 (2008) · source
“We believe that the appeal should be pure and simple, but we also deem it essential to ensure that all actors in this tragedy understand that the Security Council has a complete overview and full grasp of the lack of compliance by several protagonists with their responsibilities. We are witness to a drama in which the various actors have, so to speak, common but differentiated responsibilities, if I may borrow language usually applied to other spheres of the Organization's activities. From our perspective, the Palestinian authorities are obligated to control the activities of terrorists on their territory. That is their responsibility in this drama, and their obligations must also be recalled here. The State of Israel should also be urged to meet its obligations as a subject under international law and a Member of this Organization.”
2008-01-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5824 (2008) · source
“Having noted the disastrous consequences of those measures, Mr. Holmes said that, although the attacks on Israel from Palestinian territory should be repudiated, the response of the Israeli forces has not been proportionate. The Under-Secretary- General asserted that it was his firm position that "[t]his kind of action against the people in Gaza cannot be justified, even by those rocket attacks". Those are the assessments of the highest representatives of this Organization, which prompt us to urge the Security Council today to send a clear message, first and foremost to the Government of Israel.”
2008-01-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5824 (2008) · source
“My delegation recalls that, last Friday, the Secretary-General made a statement in which he very clearly said that the Israeli decision to close the border crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip that are used for humanitarian assistance deprives the population of the critical supplies of fuel needed to pump water and generate power for housing and hospitals. After calling on Israel to abstain from taking measures that would harm the welfare of the civilian population in Gaza, the Secretary-General also expressed regret for actions that affect the communities of southern Israel. He reminded both sides of the need to comply with international humanitarian law. That very day, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Holmes, said that the restrictions on access to the Gaza Strip are unjustifiable and unacceptable.”
2008-01-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5824 (2008) · source
“All the news agencies, many non-governmental organizations and other actors in the region have reported on the unsustainable situation created by recent Israeli measures. However, it is not this Council's job to act solely on the basis of reports from such people and organizations. The Council's job is principally to analyse the official reports and balanced assessments of the situation provided by its own representatives. If we fail to heed those who act as our eyes in the field - as we noted just a few days ago when we were discussing the attack on a United Nations convoy in Darfur - we will be opening a veritable Pandora's box and end in total chaos. I would therefore recall the recent words of certain representatives of our Organization.”
2008-01-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5824 (2008) · source
“Mr. Urbina (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): At the outset, I thank Under-Secretary-General Pascoe for his briefing, which confirmed a very alarming situation of which we had already been aware. I also thank the representatives of Palestine and Israel for their statements, which provided additional information for our discussion of the situation. The circumstances that have brought us to meet today in the Security Council are a cause of sorrow and concern to all. Restrictions of access to the Gaza Strip, the lack of fuel supplies and the power cuts - regardless of their scope and consequences for the population - dash the hopes that had arisen for a peaceful and lasting settlement in the region.”
2008-01-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5824 (2008) · source
“Costa Rica - I believe that the representative of Indonesia said this as well - anxiously awaits significant progress in that process. We were also pleased to read in December's letter from the Iraqi Prime Minister of his agreement to the extension of UNAMI's mandate for a further year, that it would be subject to ongoing review and that it could be concluded earlier at the request of the Iraqi Government. We also welcome the statement made today by the representative of Iraq concerning the desire of his country, people and Government no longer to be considered under the provisions of Chapter VII of the Charter and to normalize their relations with the international community.”
2008-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5823 (2008) · source
“We welcome the Special Representative's statement that 2008 should be a year of sovereignty and responsibility. In that connection, we welcome the willingness of the Government of Iraq and its political forces to move forward with flexibility. We note with satisfaction the agreements of the political forces to promote agreements leading to national reconciliation, which we consider an important element in the ultimate resolution of the Iraqi situation. We welcome the spirit in which the Government of Iraq is calling for international support while, at the same time, expressing its will to assume ownership of its own national process. In that regard, we recall how, in a letter dated in December 2007, the Iraqi Government shared with us how it had replaced the multinational forces, in terms of security, in eight provinces.”
2008-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5823 (2008) · source
“Mr. Urbina (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): I should like to begin by thanking Mr. De Mistura for his briefing to the Council and Ambassador Khalilzad for his briefing on the Multinational Force. My delegation requested the floor after Ambassador Al Bayati had made his statement because we were convinced that the statement would provide additional elements that the Council should consider. It is possible that, in future, we will again ask the Council's permission to take the floor after the interested parties have done so. Costa Rica believes that, as other delegations have stated, the humanitarian situation in Iraq remains worrisome. However, we believe that we must acknowledge and welcome the progress made with regard to establishing security and the rule of law in Iraq.”
2008-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5823 (2008) · source
“We also welcome supplementary efforts in that regard, with special mention of the work of the International Criminal Court to criminalize sexual and gender-based violence and to protect civilians in armed conflict. A coordinated, coherent and results-based response that promotes and encourages fulfilment of the commitments made by States over the years is the best way to guarantee that peace, security, sustainable development and respect for human rights will be the pillars supporting the future of our nations.”
2007-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5766Resumption1 (2007) · source
“We are convinced of the need to support States - particularly those that find themselves in or emerging from a situation of armed conflict - in capacity- building in the areas of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Mindful of that priority consideration, we urge that the 2008-2009 Action Plan be updated to make it a results-based instrument through monitoring and reporting in its thematic areas. We look forward to the assessment of the results of this support tool. Finally, despite all the challenges still facing us, it is important to highlight and recognize the efforts of the Security Council and of the agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system aimed at the effective implementation of resolution 1325 (2000).”
2007-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5766Resumption1 (2007) · source
“We are concerned at the compartmentalization of issues that, by their very nature, are entirely cross-cutting, as the Secretary-General indicates in his note contained in document A/6l/583. For that reason, we consider it imperative to move forward without delay in discussing and taking swift decisions regarding the Organization's gender architecture. At the same time, Costa Rica believes it is important to strengthen the political commitment of all actors. In that connection, we wish to reaffirm the importance of fulfilling the commitments set out in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, as well as those made at the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, particularly with regard to attaining the six strategic objectives of the Platform for Action pertaining to armed conflict.”
2007-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5766Resumption1 (2007) · source
“To ensure progress towards lasting peace and security and towards the effective protection of human rights of all individuals in situations of armed conflict, Costa Rica is convinced that it is necessary to give women effective empowerment. The United Nations should facilitate and promote national activities aimed at that objective. Furthermore, the multidimensionality of the problems of women and girls in situations of armed conflict requires a systemic approach. In that connection, Costa Rica understands that all United Nations organs and programmes should participate in an active and coordinated manner in efforts to overcome the great challenges in this area.”
2007-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5766Resumption1 (2007) · source
“It is ironic that women are excluded almost completely from the peace processes when it is they who most suffer the consequences of armed conflict. It is they who are the great majority of the refugees and displaced persons; and it is they who are the most likely to be victims of all consequences of wars. I say it is ironic because it is generally recognized that women are agents of change and engines for development. For this reason, Costa Rica would like women to have a major role and effective participation in any decisions taken in areas of conflict prevention and conflict resolution, as well as in the design and implementation of reconstruction and peacebuilding. There are few situations where the link between peace, security, development and human rights is as clear as in gender-based issues.”
2007-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5766Resumption1 (2007) · source
“Mr. Urbina (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): I would like to start by thanking the President for convening this open debate on women and peace and security. Costa Rica would like to reiterate its commitment to the defence and promotion of human rights of women and girls. It expresses its concern because, in spite of some progress made in this area, the Organization as a whole today is not sufficiently prepared to face the grave challenges that are urgent in this context. The violence against women, especially in situations of armed conflict, has become an endemic problem. For this reason, it should be approached comprehensively with a time-horizon that goes beyond the immediate and with mechanisms that go beyond well-intentioned improvisation.”
2007-10-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5766Resumption1 (2007) · source