YouSaid · the spoken record

Von Der Schulenburg

lines on the record
182
first
2009-02-09
most recent
2012-03-22
sittings or episodes
9
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

  1. “The joint communique between the two major parties, to which other parties also later pledged their support, has effectively ended the spiral of violence. But the significance of the joint communique goes much beyond that, as it recognizes the joint responsibility that both the governing and the opposition parties have in building a democratic and prosperous Sierra Leone. In addition to re-emphasizing national reconciliation and dialogue, the joint communique therefore stresses multi-partisan support for developing further Sierra Leone's democratic institutions - such as the Parliament, the justice system and the national security services - as well as for the need to create strong, credible and independent national commissions in the areas of elections, party registration, human rights and media supervision.”

    2009-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6137 (2009) · source

  2. “It brought to the surface deeply rooted historical differences and emotions that continue to exist in Sierra Leone. Those differences were fueled by a general dissatisfaction among many Sierra Leoneans that peace and democracy have not yet brought them significant improvements in their daily lives, and in particular by the frustrations that are felt by many young Sierra Leoneans who have no jobs and few hopes for a decent future. If continued unabated, those disturbances could have easily spiraled out of control and split the country between supporters of one party another, between members of one ethnic group or another, between the young and the older generation, between northerners and southerners or between citizens in Freetown and those in the provinces.”

    2009-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6137 (2009) · source

  3. “Finally, I would like to add a few words on UNIPSIL itself. Politicians do not have the luxury of choosing the political events and problems that they are confronted with, but they do have a choice in how to react to them. For that reason, we rate politicians not so much by the problems that they encounter but by the way they deal with them. Measured by that standard, Sierra Leone's politicians deserve the highest praise for how they handled the recent outbreak of political violence in their country when they came together and signed and committed to the joint communique on 2 April of this yean 09-36192 We must all recognize the gravity of the sudden eruption of the political violence and intolerance that occurred in March. That was the most serious outbreak of violence since the end of the civil war in 2002.”

    2009-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6137 (2009) · source

  4. “Mr. Von der Schulenburg: In presenting to the Security Council the second report (8/2009/267) of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL), I would like to concentrate my introduction on four issues. First, I want to speak about the significance for peacebuilding of the joint communique between Sierra Leone's political parties. Secondly, I want to draw the Council's attention to the importance of the forthcoming special session of the Peacebuilding Commission for rallying international support around one common development strategy for Sierra Leone, namely, the Government's Agenda for Change. Thirdly, I want to highlight the new integrated approach to peacebuilding by the United Nations family, namely, the United Nations Joint Vision for Sierra Leone.”

    2009-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6137 (2009) · source

  5. “With the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, we have agreed to monitor the border, together with the newly established refugee office, to see if there is any unusual movement and to predict if there will be any movement from Guinea into Sierra Leone. For the time being, there are no movements which we can detect, but we will keep on monitoring. The other aspect is, of course, international criminal activity. One of the worries we have - although I make no accusations in this regard - is, of course, that neighbouring countries that experience a crisis very easily become the point of flight for criminals in Sierra Leone, as we saw with the seizure of the plane and the new problem of piracy, which many believe comes from areas in the neighbourhood that are less stable than Sierra Leone.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  6. “Guinea is a concern, and we have heard from the representative of Sierra Leone that his Government is very concerned. I can confirm that, too, from my discussions with the President. Guinea is a country that has a very long border with Sierra Leone. As I 09-23183 mentioned, certain parts of the border - such as at Yenga - are still in dispute. There are a lot of cultural and ethnic relationships on both sides. According to the Government, the largest expatriate community of Guineans lives in Sierra Leone, so whatever happens there will have an impact on Guinea. From our side, there are two more immediate things we are trying to monitor.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  7. “One of the things we have agreed on among our United Nations colleagues is that we would learn from the experience of the Peacebuilding Fund, when we got the money and then tried to find projects on which to spend it. This time, we would like to have the development framework and present to the Peacebuilding Commission not only the general policies, but, for each of the objectives, the programmes which we want to support. It is a long consultative process; only when it is complete would we open the multi-donor trust fund, because the funding should actually follow from concrete things. We do not want to have an open-ended fund because that has created some of the problems we have experienced with the implementation of the Peacebuilding Fund. Let me also respond briefly to the question of Guinea.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  8. “We have a similar concept now on health care, and we will do this also for the other issues. What I had hoped in particular - and this is the reason for having a special session of the Peacebuilding Commission as discussed with Ambassador Majoor with the support of the Government of Sierra Leone - was to be able to move from the stage of defining general directions, to establishing programmatic areas where we could think of establishing concrete benchmarks. I think I would also ask for patience in this instance. This is the first time, and I think it will be very well consolidated. In that context, I would also like to respond to the question from the representative of Uganda about the multi-donor trust fund.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  9. “There has been considerable progress made on those, especially on some tricky issues like youth employment. We have recently agreed not only among the United Nations agencies but with all major donors to provide the President with a five-page advisory note on what could be done in the area of youth employment - one of the major risk areas of the country. When I go back that is a discussion that will have to be continued and it must be followed up by the creation of a youth commission. We have also given to the President, also in agreement with the others, an advisory note on the issue of illicit drug trafficking, in particular on coastal security and finding different approaches to resolving that issue. One of our roles is to try to get not only the United Nations community behind us, but also our main development partners.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  10. “That is exactly why we did not choose the traditional format of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework, but instead chose the Joint Vision document, in order to be able to combine those two areas into one Joint Vision, which is now supported by 15 United Nations agencies that have signed on. That is very encouraging. Having said that, the seven pages of the Joint Vision only describe the directions. We have what we call one plus four objectives, or priority areas. One is mainly a political area, in which I invite United Nations agencies to participate. The others are more development priority areas. We are now in the process of detailing the steps to be taken under the five objectives. I think the process will be completed by March 2009.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  11. “I personally think that the Peacebuilding Commission is of extreme importance to us because, although all of the United Nations agencies have executive boards to report back to and they get feedback from the Member States that support the agencies, the integrated peacebuilding mission actually has no one to play that role, unless the Peacebuilding Commission takes over the function of endorsing our efforts, so we can negotiate with Member States. The final issue here is: how do we integrate a political mandate with a development mandate, assuming that in a post-conflict situation politics actually is largely development - creating jobs, providing services and so forth.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  12. “I think that is a question that we must all answer very clearly. I have given some of our responses to that question to the Peacebuilding Commission, as well as what I think must be done. The third issue is the relationship between a peacebuilding mission on the ground and the Peacebuilding Commission here in New York. Since we are probably the first one - at least in a fully integrated sense - I think that this is a necessary discussion, and I hope to continue my discussion with Ambassador Majoor on how I see that relationship.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  13. “The first one is to what degree is an executive representative to the Secretary-General required, rather than a resident coordinator? I think we must all be frank about that question. Does it add value or simply an extra layer? If an extra layer, then what is that extra layer? We have had extensive discussions with our United Nations agency colleagues and I think we may be on the right track in one area in that we receive so much support from United Nations agencies that could potentially see us as an additional layer blocking some of the sunshine. The other issue is - what actually makes an executive representative credible, since we no longer have armed forces on the ground and we usually do not have funding, as do other agencies. In that situation, what makes one credible?”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  14. “Mr. von der Schulenburg: Let me first thank all of the members of the Security Council for the kind words of support for the work of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL), our United Nations country team and to myself. The support is very encouraging to me and will be of assistance when I go back to Sierra Leone and to the work being done there. Let me try to answer a few of the questions. Of course members have asked me the most difficult questions - about benchmarks. But before answering, let me put that in context. I think that a peacebuilding mission is a new type of mission. Not everyone may be aware that a peacebuilding mission raises a lot of conceptual issues. We have tried in the first three months to respond to most of them.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  15. “In addition, I wish to thank the Government of Sierra Leone and, in particular, President Koroma for the warm and cordial welcome that I have received in their country.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  16. “Finally, let me reassure members of the commitment and determination of all my United Nations colleagues in UNIPSIL and our sister agencies to make peacebuilding in Sierra Leone a success. As the first of the new type of fully integrated United Nations peacebuilding offices, we all hope that, with the Council's help, we will also be able to make Sierra Leone an example for other countries that may choose a similar path out of conflict. I would also like to thank the Secretary-General for the confidence invested in me and to thank Mr. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, and Kamal DerVis, United Nations Development Programme Administrator, for their support.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  17. “There will be no clear benchmarks to tell us if and when we have succeeded. We need patience, and we need to avoid succumbing to undue rush. Peacebuilding must be nurtured, and that requires time. At the same time, however, peacebuilding brings with it a sense of urgency. After a conflict, expectations are high and many of the underlying problems that once led to the civil conflict need to be urgently addressed. Together with the Government, we will therefore have to find the right balance between patience and perseverance, on the one hand, and the need to act urgently, on the other. Finding the right balance may largely determine our success in peacebuilding.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  18. “In particular, the personal commitment, support and leadership that His Excellency Ambassador Frank Majoor has extended to the United Nations family, my team and myself over the critical period of the transition from a peacekeeping to a peacebuilding mission is highly appreciated. We intend to further strengthen this important relationship between the Peacebuilding Commission in New York and the Peacebuilding Office in Freetown. Ambassador Majoor and I have been discussing the possibility of holding, together with the Government, a special session of the Peacebuilding Commission either here in New York or in Freetown to rally international support behind the President's Agenda for Change and the United Nations Joint Vision. Peacebuilding will not be achieved overnight.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  19. “The result of that new approach is the Joint Vision of the United Nations Family for Sierra Leone, a document that has recently received the endorsement of the Peacebuilding Commission. Let me take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues in the United Nations country team for their exceptional readiness to work together for the good of Sierra Leone, as well as for their great spirit of mutual support. Peacebuilding in Sierra Leone needs sustained political and financial support from the international community. Here, we will continue to rely on the vital support that we have received from the Peacebuilding Commission.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  20. “It will be our primary task to assist the country and its Government through the difficult process of consolidating peace. In that spirit, we see ourselves at the forefront of the development and testing of a new and, above all, practical concept of effective peacebuilding. Compared with the previous mission, our new Office is much smaller but, at the same time, much more substantive, enabling us to deal professionally with the many important mandates that the Council has given us. More important, we have been able to develop a stronger, integrated approach combining the political mandate given to UNIPSIL with the development and humanitarian mandates given to our sister United Nations agencies.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  21. “It is now important that that be followed up with a number of concrete programmes designed to make a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of young men and women. All of this will require a focused and well coordinated approach on the part of the Government and its international development partners. Allow me to add a few words on our own behalf. As required by the Council, we have now established a new United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone. The essential groundwork has been laid, but more work still needs to be done if the Office is become fully functional. We see the new United Nations Office as a vehicle for the partnership between the United Nations - including the Peacebuilding Commission and, indeed, the Security Council - and the democratically elected Government of Sierra Leone.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  22. “Further, I welcome plans by Venezuela and Colombia to strengthen their cooperation with law enforcement authorities in West Africa and stand ready to facilitate any cooperation that they would also like to extend to Sierra Leone. With regard to youth unemployment, one of the most disheartening aspects of many post-conflict societies is that young people, instead of being a country's most productive resource and a symbol of its future, may indeed be perceived as a potential threat to peace and stability. We estimate that in Sierra Leone approximately 1 million young people are either underemployed or simply unemployed. Despite the magnitude of the problem, attempts to find solutions to youth unemployment have remained modest. In order to deal with that problem, the Government is in the process of setting up a National Youth Commission.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  23. “The financial and logistical power of international drug cartels greatly surpasses the resources that are available to countries such as Sierra Leone; the street value of the recently seized cocaine is estimated to exceed the Government's entire budget for this year. Sierra Leone will therefore need strong and reliable international support. In this context, I would like to thank the British Government, the United States as well as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for their prompt action in support of Sierra Leone's law enforcement services. I would also like to thank the Netherlands for considering funding a sizeable assistance programme to strengthen Sierra Leone's law enforcement agencies.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  24. “I also welcome the recently established presidential committee to review all mining contracts of the country, which were a source of so much conflict in the past. With respect to illicit drugs, the trafficking of illicit drugs from Latin America through West Africa en route to European markets has created immense 3 political and socio-economic challenges in large parts of the subregion. This threat has now reached the shores of Sierra Leone. Thankfully, Sierra Leone is still in the prevention stage; illicit drugs have not yet penetrated its society and undermined its institutions. The fight against illicit drug trafficking can be won, and the decisive actions taken by President Koroma following the seizure of the plane loaded with illicit drugs in July of last year are particularly commendable.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  25. “However, old habits die slowly, and time and perseverance are required for them to be overcome. However, I remain confident that the Government is determined to ensure that any real or perceived administrative mismanagement or corruption will not derail the strong commitments it has made to the people of Sierra Leone and its international development partners to deal with the problem. The United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) and the United Nations country team stand ready to continue to work with of the Anti-Corruption Commission. In this context, I also welcome the work of the UNDP together with other development partners in supporting the Government's civil service reforms with the aim of creating a more transparent and effective Government.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  26. “Coming out of a conflict and trying to consolidate peace will never be an easy task, and as we travel down the road towards greater stability and economic progress, we must be fully aware of the risks that lie ahead. Only then can we deal with them effectively. Therefore, I believe it is of the utmost importance that President Koroma in his Agenda for Change has clearly reiterated his Government's determination to combat the three most imminent threats on Sierra Leone's road to peace and prosperity - corruption, illicit drug trafficking and youth unemployment. Let me be more specific. The Government has made considerable progress on stamping out corruption. The newly structured Anti-Corruption Commission has made a credible start, and a recently approved anti-corruption law provides the legal basis for decisive action.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  27. “In addition to international organizations, such as the United Nations family, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank, I would like to applaud in particular the sustained support that Sierra Leone has been receiving over the years from the British 09-23183 Government and the European Commission, as well as from its regional partners, in particular Nigeria. In addition, other countries such as China, Ireland, Germany, the United States, Japan and Italy have proven valuable and reliable partners to Sierra Leone. I would also like to welcome Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and India - States that have now joined in supporting Sierra Leone. Nonetheless, we will have to continue making all efforts to even further expand the donor base for the country.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  28. “In addition, we, the international development partners for Sierra Leone, should stay the course and fulfil our commitments, even in the difficult times of a global financial crisis. In a region that is beset with social, political and economic problems, it is important that we all work together with the Government to make Sierra Leone a success story and turn it into a beacon for democracy, stability and economic progress. That job has not yet been done; it will require continued Government efforts and sustained international cooperation. Many donors have come to the support of Sierra Leone.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  29. “Despite all the progress that has been made, many Sierra Leoneans do not yet fully benefit from any peace dividend; that is especially the case for many rural poor and the country's youth. Almost a year and a half into the tenure of the new Government, expectations among many Sierra Leoneans remain high that the new Government will deliver on the promises it made during the elections. For the Government, it is now very important not to lose momentum, to stay the course and implement the many reforms and plans it has committed itself to put into place. The President's Agenda for Change provides an excellent policy document to lead and focus the work of the Government over the coming years.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  30. “09-23183 Although exact statistics are hard to come by, there is a general agreement among experts that poverty levels in Sierra Leone have dropped since the year 2003. Furthermore, a recent health survey would indicate that child mortality rates have declined considerably, providing an example of how focused Government intervention, together with decisive support from international development partners, can produce results. Despite these encouraging achievements, much remains to be done, and Sierra Leone's young democracy continues to face daunting challenges. Sierra Leone remains one of the poorest countries in the world and is at the bottom of Human Development Index created by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  31. “There have also been two important and peaceful local Government elections and a number of by-elections since 2004, the most recent election having taken place in July of last year. Also promising are the signs that non-governmental associations are increasingly engaging in free and fair elections to select or replace their leaders. Sierra Leone has also made considerable progress in rebuilding key national institutions. The performance of the National Electoral Commission and the Sierra Leone Police during the recent elections has been very professional. Sierra Leone now has a working Human Rights Commission and the first steps have been taken towards a decentralization of power towards the provinces.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source

  32. “Mr. von der Schulenburg: Mr. President, I am grateful for the opportunity to present to you the First Report of the Secretary-General on the recently established United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (S/2009/59). As we meet here today, Sierra Leone is entering its eighth year of peace. It was in January 2002 that the then President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah declared an end to the ll years of an often brutal war. Since then, Sierra Leone has made great strides. Today, there are no longer any armed opposition groups in Sierra Leone and the use of arms in political or ethnic disputes has almost completely disappeared. Over the last seven years, we have seen a number of democratic elections and the peaceful transition from one elected Government to another.”

    2009-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6080 (2009) · source