S/PV.6843 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of Afghanistan to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2012/742, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Germany. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2012/703, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security. I also wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2012/749, which contains a letter dated 9 October 2012 from the Permanent Representative of Afghanistan addressed to the President of the Security Council. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2069 (2012). I shall now give the floor to members who would like to make statements following the voting.

Togo welcomes the adoption of resolution 2069 (2012), through which the Council has decided to extend to 13 October 2013 the mandate of the International Security Assistance Force. We would like to thank the other Council members, in particular Germany, for the efforts undertaken to that end. At the same time, while joining the consensus, my delegation would like to explain its vote on two items. First, Togo would like to have noted its reservations with respect to the part of the eighteenth preambular paragraph that stipulates: (spoke in English) “and remaining concerned at the serious harm that opium cultivation, production and trafficking and consumption continue to cause to the security, development and governance of Afghanistan as well as to the region and beyond”. (spoke in French) The reference to “as well as to the region and beyond”, without any other geographical limitations, would seem to generalize the impact of drugs in Afghanistan as beyond the region and without limits. Clearly, Togo, like other Council members, is very sensitive to the issue of drugs worldwide in general and in Afghanistan in particular. The open debate that was held on 21 February under the presidency of Togo (see S/PV.6717) was illustrative of that concern. We believe that while this phenomenon affects Afghanistan’s neighbours and States beyond the region, we have had no indication to date that the impact of drugs from Afghanistan extends to all regions of the world. We should therefore have defined the geographic extent of the phenomenon. Secondly, my delegation fully understands the rationale beyond the resort to the concept of agreed language as a solution to ending the stalemate in the negotiations. We nevertheless believe that the agreed language should not be systematically used in circumstances that differ from those for which it had previously been adopted.

There are no further speakers on my list. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council will remain seized of the matter.