S/PV.6856 Security Council

The Security Council will now proceed to the consideration of its annual report to the General Assembly, for the period from 1 August 2011 to 31 July 2012. The draft report has been provided to members of the Council. The introduction to the draft report was prepared by the delegation of Colombia, as President of the Council in July 2012, with the participation of the other members of the Council. The body of the report was prepared by the Secretariat. I should like to express appreciation to Colombia and the Secretariat for their respective contributions. I should like to point out that the draft report was prepared in accordance with the note by the President of 26 July 2010 (S/2010/507). I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Néstor Osorio, Permanent Representative of Colombia, in his capacity as head of the delegation responsible for drafting the introduction to this year’s annual report.

I thank you, Sir, for convening this meeting in order to consider the draft annual report of the Security Council. I would also like to express our gratitude to all Council members for their valuable collaboration in the process of drawing up the draft report. Their suggestions, proposals and commitment were essential to achieving this result. We have approached our participation in the Council in full adherence to the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter aimed at preserving international peace and security. During the reporting period, we faced delicate situations that led the Council to act to promote understanding and provide solutions. Many lives were saved. Fundamental rights were respected and defended. We helped to build institutions and protect civilians at risk in nations where peace, stability and constitutional order were threatened. Following procedure, the report covers the Security Council’s activities from August 2011 to July 2012. During that period, the Council held 222 formal meetings, of which 205 were public. The Council achieved a significant level of participation on the part of members and non-member States in its briefings and in all its debates, in conformity with its policy of transparency. During the period, the Council adopted 60 resolutions and 25 presidential statements, and issued 83 statements to the press. The Council considered events occurring in many regions of the world. Its dialogue with their representatives was fluid and active, thanks to the presence of the United Nations in those areas and to the participation in high-level Council meetings of Heads of State and Foreign Ministers from Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. The Council continued to monitor the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. The Council followed up on the activities of the Secretary- General and the Quartet. Unfortunately, the efforts aimed at achieving peace between Israel and Palestine and coexistence between them were unsuccessful. The democratic aspirations of the Arab peoples gave rise to profound changes, in some cases not without violence. The transition period also saw processes leading to institutional reform that holds promise for a democratic future of peace and stability. In the case of Syria, where internal violence reached extreme levels, the Council issued various press statements and adopted resolutions 2042 (2012) and 2043 (2012). But its calls went unheard, and in its efforts to take decisions covered by Chapter VII of the Charter the Council were divided. On three occasions, most recently in July (see S/PV.6810), we failed in our attempts to adopt resolutions. Many of the Council’s activities, discussions and efforts were focused on the situations in various African countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, the Central African region, Liberia, Libya, Somalia, the Sudan, South Sudan, and Mali. After many years of tyranny and arbitrariness, Libya is on the road to democracy, but internal security is still precarious. The situation in Côte d’Ivoire since last year’s electoral crisis has improved with the strengthening of its institutions, but issues relating to security and effective reconciliation persist. Regarding South Sudan, the Council closely followed its internal evolution since its admission to membership of the United Nations in July 2011, as well as its relations and disputes with the Sudan. In May, the Council adopted resolution 2046 (2012), endorsing the African Union road map and exhorting the parties to achieve a negotiated solution to all unresolved post- secession issues. Significant progress was made, but major issues remain outstanding, such as, among others, the status of Abyei, delimitation and the border regime. On 5 July, following the deterioration of the security situation in Mali as a result of the 20 March military coup and the occupation of the northern part of the country by terrorist groups and armed rebels, the Council adopted resolution 2056 (2012), expressing its full support for the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union in Mali, with the backing of the United Nations, and encouraging them to continue their close coordination with Mali’s Transitional authorities in order to restore constitutional order. On 12 October, through resolution 2071 (2012) and in accordance with Chapter VII of the Charter, the Council welcomed a Government of national unity in Mali and reiterated its demand that no member of the armed forces should interfere in the work of the transitional authorities, while calling on Malian rebel groups to sever all ties to terrorist organizations, notably Al-Qaida and its affiliated groups. The Council also expressed its readiness to adopt targeted sanctions against any rebel groups that failed to cut ties to terrorist organizations. Reiterating its condemnation of the military coup that took place in Guinea-Bissau on 12 April, on 18 May the Council unanimously adopted resolution 2048 (2012), seeking restoration of and respect for constitutional order there. Based on Article 41 of Chapter VII, the Council demanded that the military leadership restore and respect constitutional order, including a democratic electoral process, by ensuring that all soldiers return to barracks, and that its members relinquish their positions of authority. The Council also continued to monitor and to adopt decisions on the developments in Afghanistan, as well as in other countries of Asia, including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Myanmar and Timor-Leste. In Europe, the Council pursued its long-standing interest in exploring means and ways to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in its institutionalization process and in encouraging the progress of negotiations in Cyprus. These responsibilities also included monitoring the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo and the peaceful settlement of differences through the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. The Security Council reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring stability and security in Haiti, as well as in assisting Haiti in its reconstruction process, extending the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti in resolution 2012 (2011). The Council visited Haiti in February in order to demonstrate its involvement and determination to contribute to implementing the institutional and physical restoration of the country. Topics related to peacekeeping, peacebuilding, the rule of law, and cooperation with regional and subregional organizations were also central to the Council’s activities. The Council commended and promoted cooperation with subregional organizations, and in particular the African Union, with its adoption of resolution 2033 (2012), promoting the strengthening of that relationship. In that spirit, debates and consultations were held on peace and security in Africa, as well as ways to support the United Nations Office for West Africa and the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa. Other thematic issues included a high-level meeting on the “Maintenance of international peace and security: conflict prevention” (S/PV.6621), as well as consideration of the subject of “Maintenance of peace and security: new challenges to international peace and security and conflict prevention” (S/PV.6668). As a complement to the open debate on post-conflict peacebuilding (S/PV.6805), an interactive dialogue on that topic discussed proposals to realize the Peacebuilding Commission’s full potential and to bring together all partners around common strategies. The Council received briefings by the Presidents of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on the progress of their work and the adoption of various procedural measures. In a simultaneous vote with the General Assembly, the Council elected new members of the International Court of Justice. The issues of children and armed conflict, women and peace and security, and the protection of civilians also figured on the Council’s agenda, demonstrating its involvement in topics that increasingly provoke debate on the best way for all members to promote them in an effort to condense the agenda for countries with such thematic issues. The length of the report that I have had the honour to submit is due to the intensity and proliferation of events, situations, conflicts and activities demanding intense work from the Council. In that context, in such a chaotic period the enormous importance and responsibility of the Security Council in exercising its functions and powers, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, in the maintenance of international peace and security, has become ever more paramount.

It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the adoption of the draft annual report. May I take it that the draft report is adopted by the Council? There being no objection, it is so decided. This decision will be reflected in a note by the President of the Security Council to be issued as document S/2012/815. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.