I thank Assistant Secretary-General Türk for his comprehensive briefing to the Council this morning. New Zealand welcomes the ongoing progress with the peace process on the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville, and we are grateful to the United Nations Political Office in Bougainville (UNPOB) for…
As the current chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the members who are represented at the United Nations, namely, Australia, Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomo…
The legacy of war is not easily overcome, and that is especially true in those countries where many landmines and large amounts of unexploded ordnance remain. In response to the humanitarian crisis caused by mines and unexploded ordnance, New Zealand has been active on a number of fronts.
New Zeala…
The United Nations Year for Cultural Heritage was a celebration of our collective cultural and natural inheritance, of our global treasures and gifts. The celebration of that heritage did not end one year ago when the General Assembly officially brought the Year to a close.
Cultural heritage is par…
We would like, at the outset, to pay tribute to Mr. Sharma, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, to his staff and to those here at United Nations Headquarters who do such a fine job in supporting the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET). Their hard work, and the comm…
New Zealand strongly supports the efforts of the Quartet to work towards a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute through the road map. We are very concerned at the tragic increase in violence that has occurred over the past few months. An appalling example is the recent attack in Ha…
Last year we combined the debate on the Security Council report with that on Security Council reform. That was a good approach. It saved time, and the discussion reflected obvious linkages between the issues involved in the two items. We hope that that practice can formally be reinstated in the futu…
No principle is closer to the heart of the work of the United Nations than that of justice. The links with the particular role of this organ to maintain and restore peace and security are very clear. This link has obviously been increasingly recognized by the Council in recent years. There has been …
The General Assembly is meeting in the shadow of the tragedy last month in which United Nations staff were killed or injured in Baghdad. New Zealand unreservedly condemns such brutal and calculated acts of terror. The United Nations, after all, was in Iraq to improve the conditions of Iraqi people a…
As Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the members represented at the United Nations, namely: Australia, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu a…
Let be begin by recording my thanks to the Council for once again enabling this discussion of the peace process on the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville to take place in an open meeting. This appropriately allows for input
from the countries in the Pacific region that have been supporting thi…
New Zealand welcomes the Council’s agreement to requests of Member States, including ourselves, for a public meeting on this issue. This issue has important implications for all Members of the United Nations, as well as particular implications for those States party to the Rome Statute of the Intern…
New Zealand welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) and the steady progress in implementing UNMISET's mandate. We also congratulate Timor-Leste on its engagement with the international system, the setting up of a Government admini…
Let be begin by conveying my thanks to the Council for allowing this to be an open meeting. The Council is obviously preoccupied with momentous global issues at present, but the peace process on the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville has been of great concern to my Government and to other Gover…
The New Zealand Government deeply regrets the breakdown of the diplomatic process and the hostilities that are now under way. While we acknowledge the endeavour to avoid civilian casualties, the loss of life on both sides is of deep concern. It is also essential that the Geneva Conventions be adhere…
Three weeks ago, the New Zealand Government’s statement to the Council urged that the diplomatic process be allowed to run its course with respect to the crisis over Iraq. It also urged that Iraq move rapidly to provide the information and cooperation required of it to avert the catastrophe which wa…
New Zealand welcomes this open debate. The Council is dealing with issues that are of vital importance to us all.
Countries that are not members of the Security Council last had the opportunity to address these issues in the debate four months ago, on 16 October. Since then, pursuant to resolution …
I express appreciation to the representative of Antigua and Barbuda for his statement, because I think it would have been very unfortunate indeed if we had needed to take a decision on a challenge at this stage. It seems to me, looking at the very unequivocal advice that was received from the Legal …
New Zealand is pleased to acknowledge and join the celebration of 4 December as the day for Cultural Heritage, marking the end of the United Nations Year for Cultural Heritage. We would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to all involved in organizing the year, particularly the…
New Zealand is saddened to note that, over the past few months, violence has continued unabated in the occupied territories and in Israel, while prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict remain bleaker than ever. The two are, of course, connected. Death and serious injuries are reported on…
