YouSaid · the spoken record

Zinsou

lines on the record: 354
first: 2004-02-17
most recent: 2015-05-13
sittings or episodes: 46
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

“This can be promoted through the granting of local procurement contracts through peacekeeping operations in order to rebuild local production capacity. That helps to generate resources locally in a way that can promote ownership of the recovery process. Thanks to its purview and broad membership, the Peacebuilding Commission is particularly sensitive to the causal links that can lead to a better analysis of data collected on the ground, which in turn can bring synergy to efforts to help synchronize peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts. In that context, the Council can make use of the lessons learned by the Peacebuilding Commission in its work in various theatres of operation in the countries on its agenda.”
2011-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6472Resumption1 (2011) · source
“Nonetheless, laying the groundwork in close cooperation with national actors can help to identify the absolute top priorities. Such work can help decide which measures to take immediately and which to implement in the short- and medium terms, with the criterion for setting deadlines being their importance to maintaining functions crucial to people's lives and the stabilization of the country. Such work must also seek to identify the most vulnerable populations to target for emergency programmes and the restoration of basic services. In any case, it is always necessary to better integrate all efforts involved, including those relating to the return of refugees and internally displaced persons; to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes; and to institution-building and the restoration of economic activity.”
2011-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6472Resumption1 (2011) · source
“We hope that the forthcoming report on civil capacity will address these issues. Successful institution-building, in our opinion, involves strengthening analytical capacities and designing national strategies for a country's recovery and development, while establishing an optimal balance between the structural and functional approaches. That will allow us to determine whether new institutions must be established or if coordination and cooperation mechanisms can be set up to carry out specific functions to meet particular needs. Identifying and meeting needs effectively requires the establishment of a hierarchy of true priorities on the ground in order to create the conditions necessary to the success of activities under way, even in the face of the fact that, in a post-conflict country, every need can seem to be a priority.”
2011-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6472Resumption1 (2011) · source
“In order to help achieve such a partnership between local actors and external contributors, the United Nations must focus on knowledge transfer and require it as an essential criterion when recruiting external actors. The permanency of the institutions established depends on this requirement, and the Security Council should supply the directives necessary in that respect. In this context, Benin has solved the problem of transfer of expertise by designating, for each foreign expert recruited to supervise a project, a national counterpart assigned to work in tandem with him or her in order to ensure that projects under way can be effectively carried out. Such experts are as likely to come from countries of the South as of the North, but they will come increasingly, we hope, from the South.”
2011-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6472Resumption1 (2011) · source
“It must also mobilize civil society in order to credibly legitimize the exercise of power and the modalities for managing public affairs. The aim is to ensure as early as possible that peacebuilding plans launch a participatory and inclusive process that can restore basic services and restart economic activity in order to bolster confidence in and commitment to the peace process. In designing different plans, we must seek to identify national capacities and establish a partnership with them so as to enable the established legal authorities to be self-sustaining, to develop their own expertise and ultimately to be capable on their own of providing essential services and of earning legitimacy in the eyes of their people.”
2011-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6472Resumption1 (2011) · source
“Its modalities must be studied in order to identify the conditions necessary for it to succeed fully in the countries affected. In this regard, I would like to share some modest reflections with the Council. One of the most difficult and key challenges is to ensure that countries emerging from a devastating conflict do not relapse into violence. Here, I welcome the importance that the Council attaches to the efforts of the international community to promote peace processes. The first cardinal principle is to respect the need for national ownership based on the specifics and realities of each country concerned. The sole aim of external support should be to strengthen national capacities in order to establish and restore State institutions, centrally and locally.”
2011-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6472Resumption1 (2011) · source
“Mr. Zinsou (Benin) (spoke in French): I would first like to warmly congratulate you, Mr. President, on your country's presidency of the Security Council and on the professionalism with which you are conducting its work for the month of January. I also congratulate your predecessor, the representative of the United States. I welcome the significant contribution of the Deputy Prime Minister of Timor-Leste to our debate this morning. I would also like to thank you, and through you the other members of the Security Council, as well as the Secretary-General, for their valuable contributions to this open debate on institution-building in the framework of post-conflict peacebuilding. Institution-building is a crucial factor in stabilizing and strengthening sustainable peace in countries emerging from conflict.”
2011-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6472Resumption1 (2011) · source
“Development assistance should be implemented in such a way as to contribute to the prevention of conflicts by fully incorporating measures aimed at tackling their underlying causes. Large-scale youth unemployment is one such cause, and in this regard decent work for youth is equal to peace. Finally, resolution 1625 (2005) calls for a strategic assessment of the risks of conflicts in countries showing signs of fragility. In this respect, the United Nations should fully utilize the synergies offered through support to regional mechanisms for conflict prevention. The support of the international community for the implementation of the recommendations arising from the African Peer Review Mechanism in the framework of the New Partnership for Africa's Development should lead to good results.”
2010-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6360Resumption1 (2010) · source
“Manual voter registries, compiled anew for every election, make the conduct of elections very costly for low-income countries. The creation of a permanent electronic voter registry, impervious to partisan manipulation but easily updated and reusable, could guarantee transparency. Furthermore, such a permanent electronic registry, once established, could also provide a mine of statistical data to promote economic and social development and balanced land-use planning in all countries, including in the context of the Millennium Development Goals, in order to guarantee to all citizens the benefits of common minimum social services as a means of combating the various forms of social exclusion.”
2010-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6360Resumption1 (2010) · source
“Given the recent eruption of post-electoral Violence, special attention must be paid in preventive diplomacy efforts to guaranteeing the transparency of elections, remedying the lack of trust in conventional bodies for settling electoral disputes, increasing the credibility of the electoral process as a whole as a way to transfer power, and consolidating the legitimacy of elected officials in order to avoid situations in which their democratic process could be blocked and undermined. The extremely high costs of popular elections prevent low-income countries from taking appropriate precautionary measures. This situation is fraught with a great many risks for peace and stability in the countries concerned. The international community should offer countries in that situation appropriate assistance to organize credible and peaceful elections.”
2010-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6360Resumption1 (2010) · source
“The exchange of bilateral visits between countries in difficult situations and the heads of State or ministers for foreign affairs of countries sitting on the Security Council can also promote intensive political dialogue with their leaders and help to identify the constraints they are facing, the path to follow and the resources that can be brought to bear to contribute to an improvement in their situation.”
2010-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6360Resumption1 (2010) · source
“The extraordinary monitoring work carried out by the United Nations Office for West Africa, in liaison with the Economic Community of West African States, enables us to keep an eye on critical situations at the level of individual countries and in the subregion as a whole. Fortunately, the effectiveness of the United Nations peacebuilding mechanism very successfully bridges the institutional gaps in this field. The usefulness of the catalyst subsidies provided to the Peacebuilding Fund has been clearly demonstrated. The international community should increase the resources available to the Fund by maintaining these two rapid response channels. My delegation advocates an increase in the number of visits by the Secretary-General to countries in precarious situations, as he represents the collective conscience of the international community.”
2010-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6360Resumption1 (2010) · source
“With respect to the establishment of early warning and rapid response mechanisms, preventive diplomacy should be aimed at recognizing crisis and conflict warning signs, contribute to re-launching dialogue between stakeholders when dialogue has broken down or become bogged down, and promote conciliation or reconciliation in order to strengthen the national consensus that is so crucial to preserving lasting peace and stability. I must here underscore the importance of the regular reports that are submitted to the Security Council on the challenges facing some regions of our continent.”
2010-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6360Resumption1 (2010) · source
“In terms of internal capacity-building, Benin's journey on the road to democracy over the past 20 years has passed through social and economic reforms in various sectors and the establishment of support programmes negotiated and implemented in cooperation with development partners. We should not underestimate the role played by opposition and mediation institutions, which have energized our national and local dialogues and thus contributed to ensuring political and social stability in the country over the years. More recently created institutions include the offices of the Mediator of the Republic and the High Commissioner for Concerted Governance, which seek to improve and strengthen national governance, not to mention the independent reflection commissions.”
2010-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6360Resumption1 (2010) · source
“Such a strategy should be based on the following main points: State capacity-building aimed at enabling countries to settle their internal disputes peacefully, without resort to armed violence; the establishment of staggered early warning and rapid response mechanisms that could include the preventive deployment of United Nations forces; the strengthening of cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations pursuant to Chapter VIII of the Charter - the African Union provides optimal conditions for such cooperation in the spirit of partnership for peace; the mobilization of adequate financial resources for the implementation of structural and operational preventive measures; and the strengthening of systemic measures to reduce the level of violence in the international system.”
2010-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6360Resumption1 (2010) · source
“This question was highlighted by resolution 1625 (2005), which was presented and negotiated by the African States that were then members of the Council, on the basis of the work of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution of Nigeria.”
2010-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6360Resumption1 (2010) · source
“While sovereign responsibilities place the primary responsibility for the prevention of conflicts on United Nations Member States, it is equally true that the eruption of conflict in any country whatsoever illustrates the failure not only of its political class, but also of the international community. The thematic outline that was provided by your delegation to guide our consideration of this topic appropriately frames this issue in all its aspects. It raises critical questions that require responses commensurate with the challenges facing the African continent. That outline reintroduces on our agenda the issue of the establishment of a cohesive conflict prevention strategy for the entire United Nations.”
2010-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6360Resumption1 (2010) · source
“Mr. Zinsou (Benin) (spoke in French): On behalf of the Government of Benin, I would like at the outset to congratulate you, Madam President, and, through you, your country on your accession to the presidency of the Security Council. We wish you every possible success during your term at the head of this institution. I also convey my gratitude to the Ambassador of Mexico, who presided so outstandingly over the Council's work during the month of June 2010. The presence in New York for this debate of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of your country, Madam, clearly demonstrates Nigeria's commitment to peace and international security, especially on the African continent. Your country has paid a very heavy price for peace in Africa, which is a priority of its foreign policy.”
2010-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6360Resumption1 (2010) · source
“In conclusion, my delegation associates itself with the presidential statement to be adopted at the end of this meeting. The deadline which the Security Council has set for finalizing its deliberations on the issue of extending the annexes to the report represents a commitment that we duly note. Beyond the efforts under way to increase pressure on violators of children's rights in armed conflict, the best form of protection would be the cessation of such conflicts. We have always cherished that hope. We must enhance diplomatic measures to reconcile belligerents and to help countries at war to return rapidly to the path of peace.”
2009-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6114Resumption1 (2009) · source
“If there should prove to be a need at this stage of its implementation for an additional resolution to ensure the universality of the mechanism and to enhance its effectiveness in the fight to protect children in armed conflict effectively, no artificial obstacles should be raised to hinder its adoption. We must give serious consideration to strengthening national mechanisms for effective follow-up and assistance to affected children. Appropriate assistance programmes should be established at the national and local levels to ensure the rehabilitation and lasting social reintegration of demobilized children. The testimony of Ms. Grace Akallo has shown us the path we must follow in order to provide a better future to children mistreated in armed conflict.”
2009-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6114Resumption1 (2009) · source
“The necessary arrangements must be made to ensure that children exposed to such reprehensible practices are not abandoned to their sad fate. The responsibility to assist, which is incumbent on the international community, requires action. These crimes are part and parcel of the responsibility to protect that it must fulfil through the competent entities, which must use the means at their disposal. Peacekeeping operations should be fully up to speed in that respect. We note the briefing on that issue by the Under- Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Alain le Roy. In all circumstances, there is a need to end impunity for crimes against children in armed conflict. The United Nations should fully exploit every opportunity for action under resolution 1612 (2005).”
2009-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6114Resumption1 (2009) · source
“In that respect, the Security Council should use the instruments at its disposal to obtain the cooperation of unrepentant violators of children's rights. There is an urgent need to further develop the monitoring and reporting mechanism in order to ensure that it covers all crimes committed against children and to end the prevailing use of double standards. My delegation advocates the inclusion on the list of criteria of the six identified violations of children's rights, to include the no less horrendous practice of sexual violence against children. Such practices are sufficiently serious for the International Criminal Court to involve itself by initiating proceedings against perpetrators in cases where national jurisdictions are unable to provide justice to victims.”
2009-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6114Resumption1 (2009) · source
“They have played a significant role in achieving progress in the implementation of the action plans adopted by parties, in cooperation with the mechanism, thus demonstrating the great utility of the mechanism in assisting affected children. The invaluable contribution of UNICEF to the implementation of child protection in the field, in conditions that are well known to be extremely difficult, is a particular credit to its leaders and staff at headquarters and in the field. To my country, Benin - which negotiated and co-sponsored resolution 1612 (2005) in the hope of putting a rapid end to the aforementioned phenomena - their upsurge during the reporting period is most alarming. The situation requires bold measures to increase the pressure on parties to conflicts that continue to commit grave violations of children's rights.”
2009-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6114Resumption1 (2009) · source
“Coomaraswamy, and her entire team, as well as to the task leaders of the monitoring and reporting mechanism, for their untiring efforts and praiseworthy self-sacrifice in discharging the heavy burden entrusted to them. The Secretary-General's very disturbing annual report (S/2009/158), which Ms. Coomaraswamy eloquently presented to the Council, says a great deal about the scale of the challenge posed by the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict and of the massive violations of their human rights. We welcome the commitment of the members of the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, charged with responsibility on this issue.”
2009-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6114Resumption1 (2009) · source
“Mr. Zinsou (Benin) (spoke in French): I should like at the outset to express my delegation's high appreciation for the way in which your country, Sir, has led the work of the Security Council this month. The presence of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Mexico has considerably enhanced the quality of this debate. My delegation notes with great satisfaction the Secretary-General's personal contribution and the diligent participation of the Deputy Secretary-General. We see all this as strong evidence of the recognition of the gravity of the situation of children in armed conflict. We pay tribute to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms.”
2009-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6114Resumption1 (2009) · source
“Accordingly, the United Nations system should act in a concerted and coherent manner, in particular to ensure the structural and systematic prevention of conflicts that will allow it resolutely to address the elimination of the underlying causes of conflict, endogenous and exogenous alike. The primary goal is to build a world driven by the culture of peace and the virtues of dialogue at the service of the stability of countries and the promotion of universal well-being. In conclusion, my delegation associates itself with the presidential statement to be adopted at the end of this meeting.”
2009-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6108Resumption1 (2009) · source
“It is important effectively to promote strong partnership based on subsidiarity and the comparative advantages of stakeholders so that the Security Council can exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It must be able to use appropriately the instruments available to it, including sanctions. In that way, it can help proactively to create the conditions for the rational and cost-effective management of uncertain situations and crises in order to ensure post-conflict peacebuilding if violence has unavoidably escalated. In sum, Benin supports the Secretary-General's recommendations on the capacity-building of regional and subregional organizations and other agents for mediation and conflict settlement and prevention.”
2009-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6108Resumption1 (2009) · source
“The importance of the Secretary-General's report lies in particular in the fact that he highlights lessons learned from the practice of mediation, as well as steps taken or to be taken to meet challenges to the efficacy of the international community's conflict prevention efforts. My delegation feels that the stress placed on the quality of the human resources required is fully justified, particularly with respect to the need to train new staff capable of meeting any challenge. The United Nations should endorse the African Union's 2002 appeal to all its members to develop mechanisms for the pacific settlement of disputes. In that respect, development assistance funds and programmes should lend effective support to the capacity-building efforts of national and regional mediation institutions.”
2009-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6108Resumption1 (2009) · source
“We recall that the Secretary-General submitted a very instructive report (S/2008/18) in January 2008 on efforts made pursuant to resolution 1625 (2005). Benin welcomes the significant progress made since then in the capacity-building of the United Nations, and in particular of the Department of Political Affairs, in the field of mediation support, which is also covered by the report before us today (S/2009/189), which is a useful complement to the aforementioned report. Benin welcomes the Secretary-General's proposal to act on the United Nations commitment to developing mediation.”
2009-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6108Resumption1 (2009) · source
“Inter alia, it has placed its national competencies at the service of the African Union Panel of the Wise and the Economic Community of West African States. Two high-profile women from Benin are members of those mediation boards. Benin is currently presiding over the Association of Mediators of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, comprising French- speaking States of the subregion. At the global level, Benin has helped to revive the international community's interest in mediation, and above all in the critical role of the Security Council in that field, by implementing resolution 1625 (2005), adopted on 14 September 2005, which includes explicit provisions on mediation and preventive diplomacy.”
2009-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6108Resumption1 (2009) · source
“The Presidential Mediation Body, which is associated with the presidency of the Republic, is responsible for settling disputes between citizens and the administration at the national and local levels. The High Council on Cooperative Governance seeks consensus-based solutions to challenges confronting the country. Its purpose is to consolidate the direction of the nation's governance in an environment of peace and concord in order to perpetuate the legacy of the national conference of February 1990 by managing public affairs in a participatory manner. At the subregional level, Benin participates in efforts undertaken in the framework of the African Peace and Security Architecture, which includes functioning mediation mechanisms.”
2009-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6108Resumption1 (2009) · source
“Today's debate is of particular interest to Benin, since we have made dialogue the cement that reinforces, day after day, the building of our young democracy, which came into being at the memorable national conference of February 1990. That exceptional forum dedicated to national reconciliation was made possible thanks to the masterful mediation of the local Catholic Church. Governments of Benin since 1991 have striven to maintain special channels of cooperation within and between national democratic institutions and among social partners to avoid or contain tensions that could escalate. In recent years, the political landscape in Benin has been enriched by two new national institutions.”
2009-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6108Resumption1 (2009) · source
“Mr. Zinsou (Benin) (spoke in French): My delegation congratulates you sincerely, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council. We also express our appreciation to the representative of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, who did a commendable job this past month as President. There is no doubt that mediation is a powerful instrument for the positive transformation of relations between the parties to a dispute, and one that makes it possible to avoid the escalation of armed violence. Burkina Faso, which is making an outstanding contribution to mediation in Africa, has quite rightly made the promotion of mediation a priority during its term on the Security Council.”
2009-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6108Resumption1 (2009) · source
“We hope that the follow-up to the implementation of that resolution will once again lead, this year, to a report by the Secretary-General, as was the case in January 2008 (see S/2008/18), and take into account the potential of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund. Emergency actions by those bodies have allowed us to quickly address situations of concern. In conclusion, my delegation supports the draft presidential statement that will be adopted at the end of this debate. Benin hopes that the recommendations of the panel will enjoy meticulous follow-up and that a joint team tasked with studying the implementation of these recommendations will be set up as soon as possible.”
2009-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6092Resumption1 (2009) · source
“This is all the more important in this period of crisis, in which the risk of social conflicts degenerating into major political crises cannot be dismissed. My delegation would like to recall that resolution 1625 (2005) set forth a pragmatic approach that advocated enhancing the monitoring of States where the risks of conflict are clear, in order to contain crises and ensure that they do not become entrenched and to deal effectively with the underlying causes of the conflicts. Sufficient human and financial resources must be mobilized to this end. The recent measures that were adopted to strengthen the Department of Political Affairs will, in our View, enable us to develop a cohesive strategy for the use of early warning and mediation mechanisms and peacebuilding and development efforts.”
2009-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6092Resumption1 (2009) · source
“In our view, it would be very useful to include the regional economic communities on the board of this fund. This special trust fund should devote particular attention to setting up standing logistic capacity - through the acquisition of a critical mass of equipment that can be mobilized on a short-term basis - in order to validate the rapid response capacity of the standby force and to avoid privatization measures in the area of logistics. Of course, this question should be studied in greater depth. In addition, Benin fully supports the strengthening of the African Union complementary mechanisms for conflict prevention, which will ultimately help it avoid having to resort to peacekeeping operations.”
2009-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6092Resumption1 (2009) · source
“Assistance aimed at strengthening these communities, which are essential elements in the region, should be fully taken into account in efforts undertaken by the international community to strengthen African peacekeeping capacities in the context of implementing the Ten-Year Capacity- Building Programme. This is part of the clear strategic relationship to be drawn up between the United Nations and the African Union, with strict respect for the Security Council's primary responsibility for international peace and security. We fully support the proposal by the panel that a special multi-donor trust fund to support the African Peace and Security Architecture be set up. That proposal accurately reflects the primary responsibility of the international community.”
2009-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6092Resumption1 (2009) · source
“We fully adhere to the principle that a peacekeeping operation initiated by the African Union and that must extend beyond six months can be put under United Nations command. From this perspective, the financing of these operations from United Nations assessed contributions for a period of six or more months is fully justified. We wish to underscore the importance of the coordination and synergy that must be developed between the United Nations and the African Union on the one hand and Africa's regional economic communities on the other hand. The African Peace and Security Architecture is established on the basis of such coordination and synergy.”
2009-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6092Resumption1 (2009) · source
“In this regard, I welcome the participation in this debate of His Excellency Ambassador Edouard Aho-Glele, Permanent Representative of Benin to the AU in Addis Ababa, through the explicit decision of that body of the Union. Having said that, Benin largely shares the assessments of the panel. These are part of a realistic and promising approach that has enabled us to discard the concept of subcontracting peacekeeping operations to the African Union and adopt the principle of subsidiarity, in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter. Such an approach will take full advantage of AU rapid response capacities and of their comparative advantage in terms of knowledge of the realities on the ground. This approach presupposes that cases that exceed the capacities under development by the AU can be rapidly taken on by the United Nations.”
2009-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6092Resumption1 (2009) · source
“I must also refer to resolution 1631 (2005) and resolution 1809 (2008), which was an initiative of the Republic of South Africa, represented here today by its Minister for Foreign Affairs. I recall that in implementation of resolution 1631 (2005), Benin, which then chaired the Security Council's Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa, held a seminar, on 15 December 2005, on the very topic of cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union in the field of international peace and security. The ongoing commitment of Benin to this subject is made evident by a happy coincidence: this debate is taking place at a time when Benin is chair of the AU Peace and Security Council.”
2009-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6092Resumption1 (2009) · source
“The report before the Security Council today is in line with Benin's untiring efforts during its membership of the Council in 2004 and 2005 to focus the attention of the international community on the need to strengthen cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union in order to promote stability throughout the continent. In this regard, I would like to recall that the first building blocks of this structure were the presidential statement on institutional relations with the African Union (S/PRST/2004/44), adopted in Nairobi on 19 November 2004 by the Security Council, and resolution 1625 (2005), adopted at the high-level meeting of the Council held in this Chamber on 14 September 2005.”
2009-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6092Resumption1 (2009) · source
“Mr. Zinsou (Benin) (spoke in French): My delegation is pleased to see you, Sir, presiding over this important meeting of the Security Council to consider the report (S/2008/813) of the African Union-United Nations panel led by Mr. Romano Prodi, who is present among us. The panel has been charged to consider in- depth the modalities of cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union in the conduct of United Nations-mandated peacekeeping operations. We warmly congratulate Mr. Prodi on his work. We also welcome the notable presence here of the Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro.”
2009-03-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6092Resumption1 (2009) · source
“In order to face those challenges, the reform under way in the international system should be aimed resolutely towards evolving a new logic that embodies in the best possible way the major principles of the United Nations Charter.”
2008-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6017Resumption1 (2008) · source
“It is important to promote in this regard effective cooperation among States in order to ensure international peace and security at less cost. In this regard, Benin welcomes the operational guidelines contained in resolutions 1625 (2005), 1631 (2005) and 1809 (2008), which are rightly recalled in your letter, Sir, on today's debate. At the same time, the Security Council should mobilize the international community to meaningful action to eliminate the root causes of conflict, through developing the interdependence of States, their internal relations and the relationship between man and nature. The major challenges that this involves prove the total inconsistency of the arms race.”
2008-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6017Resumption1 (2008) · source
“In this regard, Benin would like to draw the attention of the Security Council to the very interesting study by Professor Paul Collier of Oxford University on regional coordination for the reduction of military expenditures. The peacekeeping and conflict prevention mechanisms established in various parts of the world should be designed to build the architecture of the collective security system envisaged in Chapter VIII of the Charter. The African Union has achieved considerable progress in this area and has repeatedly expressed its desire that the Security Council and the United Nations express their appreciation for its efforts, in part by financing peacekeeping operations conducted under the mandate of the Council.”
2008-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6017Resumption1 (2008) · source
“The Security Council must implement those ideas in a meaningful manner by working relentlessly to make the collective security system established by the Charter fully operational in all its dimensions. It should endeavour to regain control over the unacceptable distortions plaguing international peace and security by fully shouldering its responsibilities, with strict respect for the principles of the sovereign equality of States, whether large or small. The Security Council should become a major inspiration for multilateralism, consistently making use of its universal competencies and the regional coordination required for their effective exercise.”
2008-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6017Resumption1 (2008) · source
“If it is able to do so, it will create conditions favourable for a realization of the promise of peace, of security, of development and of the promotion of respect for basic human rights, as contained in the Millennium Declaration adopted at the 2000 Millennium Summit and in the Final Document of the 2005 World Summit of the United Nations General Assembly. My delegation therefore fully agrees with the analysis proposed in the concept paper (S/2008/697, annex) drawn up by your country, Sir, to guide our thoughts on this topic. We endorse the major ideas put forth in paragraphs 10 to 20 of that document for tackling the challenges described in it.”
2008-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6017Resumption1 (2008) · source
“This has happened because the Security Council has played only a marginal role in the regulation and reduction of armaments called for in Article 26. We can no longer let this situation, which is totally unacceptable, further frustrate the expectations of humankind. By opening a public debate on the strengthening of collective security through a general regulation and reduction of armaments as the safest way to peace and development, your country, Mr. President, has begun an undertaking of crucial importance. We hope that the Security Council will seize this new opportunity to resume leadership in efforts to stem the arms race throughout the world.”
2008-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6017Resumption1 (2008) · source
“Regional conflicts, which increased during that period, are also part of the framework of that major confrontation. At the end of the cold war, the entire world had cherished the hope of reaping the real dividends of peace by beginning strategic cooperation among the major Powers in order to face the challenges to humankind at the beginning of the third millennium. If the bilateral disarmament agreements in nuclear weapons concluded in the 1990s made such hopes credible, the current situation is one of grave concern. We see an increase of 45 per cent in military expenditures in the same period, with real or supposed proliferation risks generated by the deadlock in which the disarmament machinery administered by the General Assembly finds itself.”
2008-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6017Resumption1 (2008) · source
“Benin recalled the appeal made in Article 26 of the Charter in our statement made during the general debate of the sixty-third session in the First Committee, where we expressed our grave concern over the considerable increase in military expenditures among Member States. The topic of our discussion today, then, puts at the forefront of the Security Council's agenda this crucial function granted to it by the Charter, which it has not been able to carry out because of unfavourable circumstances accompanying its development since the entry into force of the Charter. The Security Council's inaction in the area of arms regulation and reduction is linked to the development of nuclear weapons and their proliferation in the context of the cold war.”
2008-11-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6017Resumption1 (2008) · source