S/PV.10042 Security Council

The representative of Algeria has asked for the floor.

As we are about to proceed with the vote on an important matter before us, which is the mandate renewal of an important peacekeeping operation, the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei, and in the light of the discussion that took place on the draft text until the last minute, I wish to call, on behalf of the three African members plus (A3+), for closed consultations before we proceed to the vote.

In the light of the comments made, I now propose to suspend the meeting and invite Council members to informal consultations to continue our discussion on the subject. The representative of the United States of America has asked for the floor.

From the United States perspective, we have negotiated this draft resolution in good faith. We are asking for quite reasonable and common-sense benchmarks for this mission. We understand it is absolutely critical, given the situation that is going on in South Sudan and to the protection of the people in Abyei. We believe this draft resolution should be adopted, and we believe every peacekeeping mission should have appropriate benchmarks so that we understand its success and we understand exactly what the parties involved are doing to facilitate the mandate that the Council has given to this important mission.

In the light of the request for the suspension of the meeting, the meeting is suspended.