S/PV.3408 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them the report of the Secretary-General on stand-by arrangements for peace-keeping, contained in document S/1994/777. Following consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council: "The Security Council has considered the report of the Secretary-General of 30 June 1994 concerning stand-by arrangements for peace-keeping (S/1994/777), submitted pursuant to the statement by the President of the Council of 3 May 1994 (S/PRST/1994/22). "The Security Council reiterates the importance it attaches to improving the capacity of the United Nations for rapid deployment and reinforcement of peace-keeping operations. The recent history of United Nations peace-keeping operations demonstrates that such an effort is essential. "The Security Council notes that one of the major limiting factors in the timely deployment of troops for United Nations peace-keeping is the lack of readily available equipment. It stresses the importance of urgently addressing the issue of availability of equipment both in the context of stand-by arrangements and more broadly. "The Security Council notes the Secretary- General’s view that the commitments made so far do not yet cover adequately the spectrum of resources required to mount and execute future peace-keeping operations. It also notes that additional commitments are expected from other Member States. In this context, it welcomes the Secretary- General’s call to those Member States which are not already doing so to participate in the arrangements. "The Security Council looks forward to a further and more comprehensive report on the progress of the stand-by arrangements initiative." This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/1994/36. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on the agenda.