S/PV.6898 Security Council

Under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I welcome His Excellency Mr. Tiéman Hubert Coulibaly, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Mali, and the represenative of Côte d’Ivoire and invite them to participate in this meeting. Under rule of 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite His Excellency Mr. Téte António, Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations, 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/2012/926, which contains a letter dated 13 December 2012 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council. Members of the Council also have before them document S/2012/946, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Colombia, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Morocco, Portugal, South Africa, Togo, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. 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 2085 (2012). I now give the floor to Minister Coulibaly.

First of all, I would like to express the sincere gratitude of myself and the delegation of Mali for the convening of this important meeting, which is the culmination of the tireless commendable efforts we have made in the search for a lasting solution to the serious crisis that Mali is currently experiencing. In that connection, Morocco’s presidency of the Security Council has served to move forward the process of resolving the crisis in Mali. That is reflected in the Council’s meeting on 5 December on the situation in the Sahel (see S/PV.6879), during which the Council considered the report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Mali (S/2012/894), as well as in the open debate held on 10 December (see S/PV.6882). The Security Council has taken a historic step today in unanimously adopting resolution 2085 (2012), which, under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, authorizes the deployment of an international force under African leadership to help Mali’s military and police forces to restore State sovereignty and territorial integrity in the areas of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, which are controlled by the terrorists and extremists of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Mouvement pour l’unicité et le jihad en Afrique de l’Ouest (MUJAO) and affiliated groups. Mali welcomes the adoption of this resolution, which reflects the commitment of the international community to stand by Mali in combating terrorism and transnational organized crime, which gravely imperil the region’s stability as well as international peace and security. The Government of Mali commits itself to cooperate fully with the Security Council and to fulfil its obligations under this resolution. In that regard, I would like to reiterate here our determination to pursue, under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States mediator, the discussions that have been initiated with Malian rebel groups that have decided to break all ties with AQMI, MUJAO and their affiliated terrorist and extremist groups, as well as to definitively reject violence and the notion of secession. Needless to say, political dialogue cannot begin outside the framework of non-negotiable conditions set out by the Government of Mali, which includes strict respect for Mali’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the secular nature of the State and the unity of the country. Allow me to take this opportunity, on behalf of the President of the Republic of Mali, His Excellency Mr. Dioncounda Traoré, and of the Government of Mali, to thank the members of the Security Council for their tireless efforts in adopting today’s resolution, to the great happiness of all of Mali’s people — and in particular our people under occupation and those who have been displaced or become refugees. I would in particular like to thank France, its people, President and Government, who very early on understood that the presence in northern Mali of heavily armed AQMI, MUJAO and affiliated extremists and terrorists posed an immediate threat to international peace and security. France spared no effort in ensuring that the Security Council assumed its responsibilities. I cannot conclude without expressing the deep gratitude of Mali’s authorities to the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union, the European Union, the United Nations, our bilateral and multilateral partners, our neigbouring countries and all the States of the region for their solidarity and support in the process of resolving the crisis in Mali.

I now give the floor to the representative of Côte d’Ivoire.

In his statement during the Security Council debate on 10 December, the Minister of State and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, warned of the imminent threat posed by the increasing presence of terrorist groups in northern Mali: ”Northern Mali is gradually being transformed into a sanctuary for terrorist groups engaged, with total impunity, in the worst possible abuses and massive violations of human rights. That terrorist presence threatens every State in West Africa and the Sahel, but also those of the Maghreb and beyond. We are talking about a real danger to international peace and security, which therefore demands a comprehensive and determined response on the part of the international community.” (S/PV.6882, p. 10) Resolution 2085 (2012), which the Council has just adopted and which authorizes the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA), is for us proof that the Council took that warning very seriously, properly assuming its legal responsibility in that regard under the Charter of the United Nations. The resolution provides the necessary international legitimacy to carry out the necessary actions to restore the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Mali. On behalf of His Excellency President Alassane Ouattara, current Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), I should like to express the satisfaction of ECOWAS at the adoption of this historic resolution that responds to the expecations of all of Africa in the face of the tragedy in Mali. First, I would like to point out that this resolution is timely. Its adoption before the end of this year is in fact an outstanding message of hope and solidarity both for the victimized people of northern Mali, who can now begin to believe that their nightmare will soon come to an end, as well as to the millions of people who are suffering similar violence; they, too, will be able to believe in the ability of the United Nations to take the life-saving decisions that will bring them the security to which they have a right. Secondly, resolution 2085 (2012) sets out a political strategy that provides every opportunity for peace. The strategy is based on the framework agreement agreed by the Malian parties on 6 April, which was later endorsed by ECOWAS, the African Union, the United Nations and all our development partners, with a view to developing a road map aimed at the full restoration of the constitutional order and the re-establishment of national unity, in particular by organizing free, fair and transparent presidential and legislative elections next year. Moreover, resolution 2085 (2012) sends out an unambiguous political message calling for the military to refrain from all political activity, for the holding of an inclusive political dialogue, as well as for the unrelenting pursuit of negotation and mediation with both independence-seeking and separatist armed groups and other groups that have clearly distanced themselves from terrorist groups. Thirdly and lastly, resolution 2085 (2012) sets out a military strategy focused on the deployment of AFISMA that provides for the following crucial goals: contributing to rebuilding the Malian armed forces; operational support to Mali’s authorities aimed at retaking the territory under the control of terrorist and extremist groups; and a transition to stabilize the security situation with a view to placing security matters back in the hands of Mali’s authorities. It is clear that the noble goals of resolution 2085 (2012) will be achieved only with significant mobilization and the commensurate international support. It is for that reason that, together with ECOWAS, the African Union calls for a financial and logistical support package financed through United Nations assessed contributions to be quickly agreed by the Security Council. We believe that will be the only way to provide the means to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of AFISMA’s action. ECOWAS welcomes the singular perspective and agreement on action that has developed between it and the African Union on the issue of Mali. This convergence of views has extended to all international partners, first among which is the Security Council. On behalf of President Ouattara, I would like to expres the great gratitude of ECOWAS for the great sense of responsibility demonstrated by the Council in unanimously adopting resolution 2085 (2012) to authorize the deployment of an international force to Mali to put an end to the presence of terrorist groups in the north of the country and to restore the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this very important African country of the Sahel.

I now give the floor to Mr. António. Mr. António: At the outset, I wish to thank you, Mr. President, and through you the members of the Security Council, for inviting the African Union to participate in this meeting — further eloquent testimony to the evolving strategic partnership that exists between the United Nations and the African Union on matters of peace and security on the continent. (spoke in French) I should also like to welcome the presence here today of His Excellency Mr. Tiéman Hubert Coulibaly, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Mali. I thank him for his eloquent statement. I also welcome the statement just made by my brother Ambassador Bamba, whose views the African Union fully supports and who spoke of the elements of the strategy we have espoused since our meeting here on 5 December (see S/PV.6879). (spoke in English) When we met here on 5 December, our intervention mirrored a collective sense of urgency and a unified message for concrete and decisive action to resolve the crisis in Mali. It is in that context that the African Union welcomes the adoption today of resolution 2085 (2012) as a major step forward and clear recognition of the primacy of the Security Council in the maintenance of peace and security in all parts of the world. We also wish to commend the high-quality wisdom and political will shown through the decision of the members of the Security Council to support the requests of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union by authorizing the deployment of the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) for an initial period of one year. I wish therefore to extend the African Union’s appreciation to all the members of the Security Council for their tireless efforts, resolve and commitment, which led to the adoption of resolution 2085 (2012). Recent experience in Darfur and Somalia has shown that an appropriate United Nations support package that provides for sustainable and predictable funding remains a critical element of the success of any international support mission. We note and welcome with appreciation the conscientious effort of the Security Council to address that critical matter, as reflected in the resolution, and we reiterate the African Union’s call on the United Nations to put in place a support package for the International Support Mission, to be funded through assessed contributions, and to establish a trust fund to support the Malian Defence and Security Forces, given the lead role they are expected to play in addressing the security challenges in their country. In conclusion, the African Union Commission wishes to recall the press statement issued by the African Union Peace and Security Council at its 348th meeting, held on 13 December, which, among other things, “reaffirmed the need for sustained efforts by both the Malian actors and the international partners, in order to expedite the resolution of the multidimensional crisis facing Mali, recalling, in this regard, the relevance of the strategic concept for the resolution of the crises in Mali”. In the statement, the Council also stressed “that issues of democratic governance, as well as the negotiation process and the deployment of AFISMA go hand-in-hand, and are mutually reinforcing, and that determined efforts should be made on these two tracks [and] appealed for the mobilization of humanitarian aid to assist the increasing numbers of refugees in the neighboring countries and internally displaced persons within Mali”. Finally, I wish to reaffirm the African Union’s continued commitment to working in partnership with the United Nations, ECOWAS, the countries of the region and other parners towards the speedy resolution of the crisis in Mali.

There are no more names inscribed on the list of speakers. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.