The text before us is the welcome outcome of long and difficult negotiations. It is welcome because the text rules out for good wording that could have proved dangerous. The principles underlying the oil-for-food programme have been respected. The Memorandum of Understanding of May 1996, which serve…
I also welcome the presence in our midst of General Carneiro.
France is deeply concerned at the deterioration of the situation in Angola in recent weeks. This situation has been marked by an absence of progress in the peace process and by an increased number of armed incidents, including against th…
The Security Council, in resolutions 808 (1993) and 827 (1993), entrusted the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia with the task of trying persons charged with serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia from 1 January…
The Security Council, in resolution 955 (1994), entrusted the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda with the mission of prosecuting, trying and punishing the persons responsible for acts of genocide committed in 1994 in Rwanda. No one can underestimate the importance of this task, nor its diffi…
The evolution of the peace process in Angola has always been a contrasting mixture of progress and setbacks, of violence and peacemaking. We note, however, that in recent months important steps have been taken towards the implementation of the Lusaka Protocol. We hope that these steps will be irreve…
France pays tribute to the Secretary-General for the report that he has prepared. It is remarkable in two ways. On the one hand it contains precise and honest analyses of realities and of past experience and also makes useful and well-founded proposals; on the other, it is remarkable in its timeline…
Unfortunately, violence and instability continue to affect the Great Lakes region. Civilian populations are terrorized, attacked and taken hostage. This climate of insecurity obstructs national reconciliation and jeopardizes economic reconstruction. Rwanda is a particular victim of these tragic even…
The situation in Kosovo in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia calls for a response from the Security Council. The tragic events that have marked the former Yugoslavia in recent years have indeed demonstrated the need for a rapid and appropriate response to crisis situations in the region.
During th…
Allow me to say once again how honoured we are that you, Sir, are presiding over this debate. It is a useful debate. For almost seven years now, the Security Council has been
In its first resolution on this matter, the Security Council urged the Libyan Government to provide a full and effective res…
I wish first of all, Sir, to say how pleased and honoured we are to begin our deliberations this month under the guidance of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Gambia. I also wish to convey sincere congratulations to your predecessor, our friend the Permanent Representative of Gabon, and to his…
The text that we shall be adopting today represents an important step in the right direction. Before the Secretary-General’s important visit to Baghdad it was essential for us to be able to express our support for his report and his recommendations for improving the arrangements provided for in reso…
I am of course very grateful, Mr. President, for the kind words that you addressed to my country. Allow me to also tell you how honoured we feel to be meeting today under your presidency, as you are the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Gabon, an African State whose very practical, imaginative and ene…
The General Assembly is being asked today to extend the mandate of the International Civilian Mission to Haiti (MICIVIH) to 31 December 1998, in response to the wishes expressed by President René Préval in his letter dated 10 November 1997 to the Secretary-General, in which he requested the continue…
My statement will be brief. Its purpose is to reaffirm France's continued interest in the current work on the expansion of the Security Council. This endeavour, in which we have now been engaged for the last four years, must be successfully concluded.
France's position is unambiguous. We are in fav…
It was necessary to extend the humanitarian provisions of resolution 986 (1995). But, in the light of the report of the Secretary-General, for which we thank him, and in the light of the scope of the humanitarian disaster in Iraq, such an extension is not enough. We should have gone further. Some, i…
The support of the United Nations has played an essential role in the establishment in Haiti of a police force that respects legality. The strengthening of the national police is essential for the consolidation of democracy and a State based on the rule of law in Haiti.
As stressed by President Pré…
Since the adoption of the United Nations Charter, Article 111 of which states that the texts in the various languages are equally authentic, we have continually tried to maintain parity in the official languages and working languages of the various bodies.
It is this use of several languages, on th…
France, with its partners in the European Union, voted in favour of the draft resolution. It gives its full support in particular to the paragraphs relating to Angola, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
In this context, France wishes, nevertheless, to recall its traditional reservations as to the concept of…
The Tajik parties are engaged in a process of national reconciliation. This is a long and difficult undertaking, but the Government and the opposition alike are increasingly demonstrating their readiness to cooperate. We welcome in particular the intention stated by the two parties to establish a jo…
France regrets that Iraq did not wish to rescind its unacceptable decision to limit its cooperation with the Special Commission. We were among the first to express our disapproval of this decision, which violates resolutions of the Security Council. We very quickly agreed to a strong, unanimous stat…
