YouSaid · the spoken record

Vieira De Mello

lines on the record
513
first
1999-01-21
most recent
2003-07-22
sittings or episodes
16
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “We need the Council, as I have stated in the past, to strongly reaffirm these principles, both in a generic and country-specific manner. The caution regarding international engagement evident after the Somalia experience has led to more reluctance in the deployment of United Nations peacekeeping operations. I do not wish here to get into the arguments for or against the deployment of individual peacekeeping missions, which is clearly beyond my competence, but would like to highlight a number of points which have a bearing on humanitarian action. The contribution peacekeeping forces and international police can and do make to averting and containing humanitarian crises is too often overlooked.”

    1999-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3968 (1999) · source

  2. “General Assembly resolution 46/182 of 1991 - the resolution which also established my functions - spells out that humanitarian aid should be undertaken with the consent of the sovereign State. The same resolution also reiterates the responsibility of States to take care of victims of emergencies occurring within their territories. International law spells out the right of victims of armed conflict to humanitarian assistance and protection. If States are for any reason unable to fulfil this obligation, they have another, which is to facilitate the provision of international humanitarian aid. In reaffirming the rights of victims, humanitarian organizations must also accept their obligation to uphold the non-political nature of humanitarian action and the highest standards of impartiality.”

    1999-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3968 (1999) · source

  3. “Humanitarian action cannot succeed without unimpeded access to those in need. Government and opposition leaders in countries affected by conflict must understand that they do not confer recognition on their opponents simply by allowing civilians living in areas which they do not control to receive help. On the contrary, it is an obligation under international law of all legitimate authorities to ensure that all those in need receive assistance. This is the fundamental principle of the responsibility of States towards their citizens. I was pleased that this was immediately recognized by both sides to the conflict in Guinea-Bissau. We need the Council's help to get the message across in Angola, as we discussed yesterday, and Sierra Leone, where hundreds of thousands are in immediate need.”

    1999-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3968 (1999) · source

  4. “I strongly support the move by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and others to increase the minimum age to 18 and to introduce an age requirement for United Nations peacekeepers and international civilian police as well. The Council may wish to examine the fate of children caught up in armed conflict, and effective ways of protecting them, on a future occasion, as it did, I know, last year. I have elaborated on the two main elements that characterize the environment in which we currently operate: the changed nature of conflict and the pervasive disregard for international norms by parties to a conflict. I would now like to make some further specific suggestions on ways in which the Council could consider assisting humanitarian agencies in these very difficult circumstances.”

    1999-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3968 (1999) · source

  5. “A major accomplishment in recent years is the recognition that human, civil, political and social and economic rights are not simply a matter of principle or politics, but from a strictly pragmatic point of View constitute an essential building block for peace and security of and among nations. The Secretary-General, in his reform programme of 1997, notes that "Human rights are integral to the promotion of peace and security" (A/51/950, para. 78). The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child is the only Convention which incorporates articles of human rights as well as international humanitarian and refugee law. Article 38 directly calls on States to respect international humanitarian law and also establishes the minimum age for conscription at 15, a provision which is being regularly flouted in today's conflicts.”

    1999-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3968 (1999) · source

  6. “To cite only a few, resolutions 688 (1991) of 5 April 1991, establishing the security zone in northern Iraq; resolution 941 (1994) of 23 September 1994, on "ethnic cleansing" in Bosnia; and resolution 955 (1994) of 8 November 1994, calling upon States to cooperate with the International Tribunal for Rwanda, all are based on this understanding. Alongside international humanitarian law, the importance of respect for human rights is more and more frequently recognized. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his 13 April 1998 report on Africa highlighted the all-important link between upholding human rights and preventing humanitarian disasters. While international law defines the moral and legal imperatives for action, the law is ineffective if it is not translated into pragmatic action.”

    1999-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3968 (1999) · source

  7. “The process of ratification of the ICC Statute and the setting up of the Court need to be accelerated. The action of members of this Council will be crucial in setting an example to other Member States. By establishing the two ad hoc Tribunals, for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Council has in fact recognized its responsibility for dealing with the question of impunity and its link to sustainable peace and security. Most importantly, the Security Council has for some time recognized that massive violations of humanitarian law can constitute a threat to peace and security.”

    1999-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3968 (1999) · source

  8. “While the primary obligation to abide by international humanitarian law and human rights rests with Member States and parties to conflicts, which have often committed themselves on paper, the Council is still charged with ensuring respect, as part of its international responsibility to maintain peace and security. Almost every abuse of a civilian population or attack on humanitarian personnel represents a breach of international legislation and principles. The 1998 Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) elaborates further on previous international instruments in defining the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes under the jurisdiction of the Court. The elaboration of the Statute of the International Criminal Court is a major development in this respect.”

    1999-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3968 (1999) · source

  9. “Combined with other instruments, such as the Genocide Convention, today we have a greater body of international law regulating the behaviour of parties in conflict and aimed at protecting civilian populations, before or after they become victims, than was ever before the case. This is a major achievement of humankind. However, in most contemporary conflicts, international humanitarian law, human rights law and refugee law are unknown, ignored or wilfully disrespected. The gulf between existing international norms and respect for them on the ground has probably never been so wide. Our greatest challenge is to bridge this gap through the realization of international laws and fundamental principles in practice.”

    1999-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3968 (1999) · source

  10. “The only effective way to deal with many of these crises is for the Security Council to exercise its central and unique responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security, as foreseen in the Charter. The second aspect of the environment in which we work is the legal framework for our activities. This year is the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the thirtieth anniversary of the Organization of African Unity Convention governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, a very important regional instrument. It is also the fiftieth anniversary of the Geneva Conventions and the one hundredth anniversary of the Hague Convention. 1999 is also a year of commemoration of the St. Petersburg Declaration, one of the first instruments in terms of international humanitarian law.”

    1999-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3968 (1999) · source

  11. “Humanitarian needs are disproportionate, in fact, to the scale of military conflict. Meeting these needs has become more difficult as the dividing line between combatants and civilians has grown blurred. Too often, humanitarian agencies are left alone in these desperate situations, and their efforts are taken for granted. Humanitarian action on its own may alleviate and at times appease through non-political dialogue, but it can never resolve conflicts that in essence have political or other origins. The willingness to commit resources - be they political or military - to resolving international crises has diminished since the early 19903. As Edmund Burke said, the only requirement for evil to prevail is for good individuals to do nothing.”

    1999-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3968 (1999) · source

  12. “Today's warfare often takes place in cities and Villages, with civilians as the preferred targets, the propagation of terror as the premeditated tactic and the physical elimination or mass displacement of certain categories of populations as the overarching strategy. The acts of warring parties in recent conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan bear testimony to this. Breaches of human rights and humanitarian law, including mutilation, rape, forced displacement, denial of the right to food and medicines, diversion of aid and attacks on medical personnel and hospitals are no longer inevitable by-products or collateral damages of war. They have become the means to achieve a strategic goal. As a result, even low- intensity conflicts generate enormous human suffering.”

    1999-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3968 (1999) · source

  13. “Mr. Vieira de Mello (Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator): On behalf of my colleagues in the humanitarian community, thank you, Mr. President, for giving me this opportunity to address the Council in an open meeting. The aim of my remarks today is to put before the Council some of our concerns as they relate to the question of peace and security, and to suggest a number of issues that the Council may wish to take up in 1999. Let me start by touching on two aspects of the environment in which we work: the nature of modern warfare and the legal context that guides our action. Contemporary armed conflict is seldom conducted on a clearly defined battlefield by conventional armies confronting each other.”

    1999-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3968 (1999) · source