YouSaid · the spoken record

Vedrine

lines on the record
30
first
1997-09-25
most recent
2001-11-13
sittings or episodes
4
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “The meeting of the Group of 21 could relaunch the process and send a message of our long- term commitment to all the Afghan people. Together, we will help Afghan men and women to rebuild their country and to create a democratic, representative Government based on an Afghanistan at peace. This moment may be tragic, but it represents a great opportunity. As Mr. Brahimi has suggested, we must therefore speedily define the type of international security presence that we will need there. We fully support Lakhdar Brahimi and we must not squander the best opportunity to come along for Afghanistan in 20 years. The entire world is prepared to help, but all those who hold responsibility, influence or power in Afghanistan must rise to the occasion.”

    2001-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4414 (2001) · source

  2. “I do not underestimate the difficulties in this respect. I am aware of them, but I feel that every Afghan leader and every representative of an Afghan entity - from the recognized Government to all other forces - must understand today that all that matters is the future of the country. That understanding must prevail over calculations of influence and balance. As to humanitarian assistance and to the rebuilding of the country, I believe that we can move quickly from one to the other. I agree that, as proposed by Mr. Brahimi, the Group of 21 should hold a meeting here in New York on Friday, to be chaired by the Secretary-General, whose tireless involvement in the search for a settlement of the Afghan question I commend.”

    2001-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4414 (2001) · source

  3. “They must control their troops and not perpetuate the cycle of reprisals and vengeance. They must behave responsibly, as they know we all expect them to do. Of course, we will need subsequently to accelerate the preparations that have been made in recent weeks. Lakhdar Brahimi has proposed the approach we should take towards attaining our goals. France fully supports him, his goals and the phases he has proposed. We have been making similar political proposals since early October and it is now time to implement them without further delay. The faster we move, the better. Specifically, I believe that the United Nations should move as quickly into Kabul and other liberated cities as security conditions allow it to. We could respond to the acceleration of developments on the ground by launching the political process as early as this week.”

    2001-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4414 (2001) · source

  4. “Mr. Vedrine (France) (spoke in French): I wish at the outset to pay tribute to the statement made and outstanding work done by Mr. Brahimi, which will be even more important and decisive in coming days. My first comment refers to the fact that, even if we have questions about the follow-up, the essential thing is that we are starting to attain our goal of depriving Al Qaeda of its support by bringing about the collapse of the Taliban regime, which has been atrocious from many perspectives. Thus, our primary emotion today is one of satisfaction strongly tempered by concern. As we prepare to fulfil our commitment to creating a new Afghanistan, it is very important that those who have authority in the field - military leaders, for the time being - show concern for the security of the populace.”

    2001-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4414 (2001) · source

  5. “These also make provision for measures that can be taken by States that are not members of the FATF. It is essential also to ensure consistency between the initiatives of these various bodies and what is being done in the United Nations. In that connection, France proposes the establishment of a forum on the financing of terrorism, with a broader membership than that of the FATF, which could, inter alia, be an efficient relay point for requirements formulated by the United Nations. Acts of international terrorism clearly pose a threat to international peace and security that the Security Council must combat with the greatest robustness. The draft declaration that the Council will adopt today attests to the unanimous resolve of its members, and through them, that of the entire international community.”

    2001-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4413 (2001) · source

  6. “By setting up a counter-terrorism Committee, Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) put in place a mechanism for cooperation and encouragement which, we hope, will help States, in line with their needs, to respond to the requirements of the global coalition. For this to be effective, regional organizations and specialized bodies must be mobilized around the same objectives. On 21 September, the European Union adopted a very broad plan of action, including a European arrest warrant and other legal, police and aviation-security measures. The new recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), adopted at Washington, D.C., on 30 October, enable its members to apply to the sources of financing of terrorism methods that they have been successfully using to combat money laundering.”

    2001-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4413 (2001) · source

  7. “The mobilization must be universal, and it is. Here, the United Nations has a key role to play. It must, first, provide the international community with strengthened legal instruments enabling it to fight terrorism, including by depriving terrorists of all financing and by ensuring that they can nowhere find support or refuge. The Security Council responded to that urgent need by unanimously adopting resolution 1373 (2001). In the same spirit, we must act to promote the entry into force of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, adopted in 1999. Finally, it is important to conclude the draft comprehensive convention as soon as possible. This mobilization also means increased cooperation among States, something to which the United Nations can make a major contribution.”

    2001-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4413 (2001) · source

  8. “Mr. Vedrine (France) (spoke in French): I wish first of all to say how sad I was to hear of the event that occurred this morning. We do not yet know the nature of that event, but I want to convey condolences to the city of New York, which has again been traumatized, and to the victims and their families. The attacks of 11 September are a major challenge to peace and democracy. The Security Council reacted immediately by adopting resolution 1368 (2001). Pursuant to that resolution, and in exercise of its right of self-defence, the United States has undertaken an armed response against Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda network and against the Taliban system that supports them. France stands in solidarity with that action. Combating international terrorism means acting simultaneously on many fronts.”

    2001-11-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4413 (2001) · source

  9. “When the Secretary-General presented his report in this very Chamber, he insisted, rightly, on the indispensable political resolve which must be demonstrated by the African countries, and also by the rest of the international community, in order to resolve Africa's problems. France shares this conviction and hopes that the Secretary- General's call will be heard. France is confident in the future of Africa, and confirms the continuity of its commitment.”

    1998-09-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3931 (1998) · source

  10. “The developing countries, especially those which have opened up, commendably, to world trade and international financial flows, are the first to be hurt in the present financial turmoil. No industrialized country today could have developed under such conditions. Compliance with a number of rules, which is essential, and the establishment of protective mechanisms should benefit them first and foremost. The African countries should not be the first victims of disorders that started elsewhere. This concern inspired the proposals France is presenting for the reform of the international financial and monetary system.”

    1998-09-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3931 (1998) · source

  11. “Development assistance remains a vital complement to the policies pursued by the African countries. This concerns, in particular, the least developed countries, three-quarters of which are in Africa. For its part, France will maintain its official development assistance. It devotes nearly 0.5 per cent of its gross national product to such aid - $6.3 billion in 1997 - and ranks second among the donor countries. Half of this official aid goes to Africa. France has consistently pleaded the case for easing the debt burden and has acted to do so. France and its European Union partners have also worked for a long time to obtain broader access to world trade for the African countries. The choice does not have to be between aid and commerce. Both are indispensable.”

    1998-09-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3931 (1998) · source

  12. “In the long run, the only way to prevent these conflicts will be to build, consolidate and bring out of crisis States governed by the rule of law, capable of convincing their citizens to settle their conflicts from this point on by peaceful and lawful means, not by arms or violence. The Secretary-General made this point very well. This presupposes clear-cut rules, the maintenance of order in a way that respects democracy, and a judicial system that operates fairly. One of the keys to progress here lies in the successful combination of recognizing the legal role of the majority and respecting the rights of minorities. The Secretary-General also rightly emphasizes the imperative need for sustainable economic and social development. How can one not be worried by the sharp reduction in aid to Africa we have seen in the past few years?”

    1998-09-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3931 (1998) · source

  13. “With regard to refugees, the Secretary-General is right to say that it is essential at one and the same time to guarantee their rights and safety, ensure the security of the countries which receive them and prevent the refugees from being used by one or another party as a pretext for political or military action. Similarly, illegal flows of arms are helping to transform many tensions into armed confrontation and to maintain a climate of insecurity. Our Council must continue to urge the supplier countries and the users to show restraint and to try to enhance the effectiveness of Security Council arms embargoes, which recent history shows too often remain a dead letter.”

    1998-09-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3931 (1998) · source

  14. “The regional crisis involving six or seven States on the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo demonstrates the need for an international conference on peace in the Great Lakes region which would permit all the protagonists to address and try to resolve together the problems of security, refugees and minorities and to lay the groundwork for regional cooperation. I think that this idea is gaining ground. France hopes that the countries concerned will commit themselves to this path, and it will support all efforts in that direction.”

    1998-09-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3931 (1998) · source

  15. “The former has taken over from an inter-African force, the Inter-African Mission to Monitor the Implementation of the Bangui Agreements (MISAB), in order to consolidate its achievements with a broader mandate. The latter is supporting a regional force, the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). In Africa, as elsewhere, the Security Council must of course retain control of the operations it authorizes, in accordance with its responsibilities. The particular nature of the present conflicts calls for a comprehensive approach.”

    1998-09-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3931 (1998) · source

  16. “My country, for its part, will continue to make a major contribution, whether by participating directly in United Nations operations, such as MINURCA, in which 200 French soldiers are serving, or through a $40 million cooperation programme to strengthen the peacekeeping capabilities of the African countries. Good coordination between the United Nations and the very positive actions of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) - and I welcome what was said here by its current Chairman, President Blaise Compaore - and subregional organizations takes on special importance in this context. The Security Council adopted a welcome resolution on this matter on 17 September. MINURCA and UNOMSIL are a good illustration of positive interaction between the United Nations and regional initiatives.”

    1998-09-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3931 (1998) · source

  17. “The Council was right, in spite of the bitter experiences of the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) in Somalia and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) in Rwanda, not to abdicate its responsibilities, and to establish last spring the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA) for the Central African Republic and the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) for Sierra Leone, and to try to maintain the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) in an effort to save the peace process in Angola. The Secretary-General is right to insist on the need to give the Organization the financial, material and human resources needed for intervention. Peacekeeping cannot depend solely on shifting coalitions and optional financing.”

    1998-09-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3931 (1998) · source

  18. “The persevering efforts of the Secretary-General's special envoys and representatives in the settlement of several conflicts - tribute should be paid here to Maitre Blondin Beye - and the presence in the field of observer missions and peacekeeping operations are evidence of the United Nations role.”

    1998-09-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3931 (1998) · source

  19. “In this regard, I commend the African mediation effort led by President Bongo in the Central African Republic; that of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the crises in Liberia, Sierra Leone and, in cooperation with the community of Portuguese-speaking countries, in Guinea-Bissau; the efforts by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for Somalia and southern Sudan; and those of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Security Council must retain primary responsibility for international peacekeeping and security operations, in Africa and elsewhere.”

    1998-09-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3931 (1998) · source

  20. “The source of instability is most often internal, but the nature of these crises is such that they spread rapidly by generating and fuelling the movement of refugees, arms-trafficking, ethnic solidarity, guerrillas and foreign interference. This is the case in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in particular. The contagious effect of these crises on the region warrants a greater role by the regional organizations in the prevention and resolution of conflicts.”

    1998-09-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3931 (1998) · source

  21. “Mr. Vedrine (France) (interpretation from French): A year ago we met to discuss Africa, on the initiative of Mrs. Albright, and asked the Secretary-General to present a report to us on this subject. The report contains many proposals and recommendations. The Security Council has already acted to take these recommendations forward. Several resolutions and presidential statements were adopted to that end on the initiative of the African delegations last week. I would like to make a few short observations on the experience of the past year and the work that has been accomplished. The number of conflicts on the continent remains high; it has actually risen. Conventional conflicts between States have not gone away, as evidenced by those in East Africa.”

    1998-09-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3931 (1998) · source

  22. “My country has clearly chosen its policy: support for the building of democratic States based on the rule of law, support for good governance, support for development - the key to stability and peace in Africa - and the construction of a partnership that looks to the future. It shares this policy with the other members of the European Union, which, through the European Development Fund, the Lome Convention and bilateral assistance, is by far the African continent's principal partner. France is adopting and modernizing its African policy to take account of present- day realities, but it will not disengage. On the contrary, it will continue to uphold this policy while working alongside you, Madam President, the Secretary-General and the Ministers present today.”

    1997-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3819 (1997) · source

  23. “On the contrary, it must become involved by going beyond declarations of intent, and intervene effectively in crisis situations as soon as conditions allow for an effective presence. For its part, France, conscious of its special responsibilities as a permanent member of the Security Council, and aware of the importance of respect for Security Council decisions, is working tirelessly to help prevent crises, increasingly favouring a multilateral approach to questions of security on the African continent. While maintaining the defence agreements linking it to certain countries, France has signalled its refusal to be drawn into internal conflicts or to interfere in the internal affairs of its African partners.”

    1997-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3819 (1997) · source

  24. “But, because we believe that this encouragement should not be limited merely to words, mechanisms must be put in place to enable the international community as a whole to coordinate its assistance to African States and organizations so as to strengthen their peacekeeping capabilities. In this spirit France, the United Kingdom and the United States recently agreed to cooperate to strengthen the peacekeeping capabilities of the African countries under the auspices of the United Nations and in liaison with the OAU. But helping Africa to become more involved in the resolution of its crises does not in any way, in our view, mean that the international community should relinquish its responsibilities with regard to the African continent.”

    1997-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3819 (1997) · source

  25. “Some subregional organizations, in southern African, West Africa and the Horn of Africa, are asserting their strengths and are already a stabilizing factor that should be encouraged. Preventive diplomacy by heads of State is making a useful contribution to solving many disputes. In certain situations, Africa, despite limited means, has taken the initiative in peacekeeping operations. In this respect, the action taken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in Liberia was a positive experience. The mission to monitor the Bangui Agreements in the Central African Republic is proving to be a success for the African countries that comprise it. The Security Council recognized that success recently by approving the continuation of those operations. This positive development should be encouraged.”

    1997-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3819 (1997) · source

  26. “Signs of hope are beginning to appear. First of all, for several years Africa has daily offered growing proof of its determination to work actively towards preventing and settling the conflicts it faces. The Organization of African Unity is playing an increasing and positive role in many sensitive situations. For the first time, in the course of the last 12 months, the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity appointed a joint Special Representative in the Great Lakes region in the person of Ambassador Sahnoun. France welcomes the closer ties between the two organizations. I wish to add that I approve what the Secretary-General of the OAU said concerning the appeal made by President Bongo with regard to the Republic of the Congo.”

    1997-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3819 (1997) · source

  27. “It will continue to do so. This is the background we must bear in mind when we address questions of security in Africa even if, in each crisis, local and subregional political factors, often ethnic factors, also play a leading role. The tragedies in some countries these past few years have produced tremendous human suffering and massive displacements of civilians to countries that are themselves beset by serious problems. These streams of refugees have destabilized entire regions, in spite of the remarkable efforts made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. These populations, sometimes held hostage by armed groups bent on genocide - for which an international criminal court has been set up - have in turn been massacred in circumstances that need to be brought to light so that a different future can be forged.”

    1997-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3819 (1997) · source

  28. “Above all, certain major countries have drastically slashed their development aid budgets. In some cases, the reduction was more than 30 per cent in 1995 and 1996 alone. The aid cutbacks came just when Africa was engaged in courageous structural adjustment processes. African Governments thus found they had less external financing just as they were making great demands on their populations. Continuing the reduction of international aid flows, I want to emphasize here, would raise the spectre of increased tension and further crises in Africa. We drew the attention of our European partners to this in 1995 in connection with the replenishment of the European Development Fund, and we pleaded this cause at the G-7 Summit in Lyon in 1996. This has been a French commitment for decades, and for a long time France was alone in recalling this issue.”

    1997-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3819 (1997) · source

  29. “But for a good many countries, growth is still not in the cards, and the regional context is particularly important. Furthermore, while Africa as a whole is enjoying renewed growth, sub-Saharan Africa's overall share of world trade has fallen steadily for the past 25 years, to the point that it now accounts for only 1.5 per cent. This highlights how difficult it is for Africa to fall in with the current process of globalization. The debt burden, in spite of repeated programmes to cancel or reschedule debt, is still a major handicap for Africa at a time when it is looking for ways to achieve a new dynamism. Added to these serious constraints is the trend towards reducing official development assistance. With the end of the cold war, part of the aid that Africa enjoyed has been directed elsewhere.”

    1997-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3819 (1997) · source

  30. “Mr. Vedrine (France) (interpretation from French): Our Council has regularly convened to discuss Africa, but all too often we are urgently looking for solutions to crises. So it is an excellent idea to have a substantive debate on the problems of peace and development on the African continent. No other international body can do so with the same legitimacy or with the same responsibilities. First of all, which Africa are we discussing? Since 1995, the African continent has seen renewed growth, higher than its rate of demographic expansion, yet that growth is unevenly distributed. Some States have been able to take advantage of favourable economic conditions by moving towards both democratization and bold economic reforms at the same time.”

    1997-09-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3819 (1997) · source