S/PV.8040 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of Mali 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/2017/748, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by France. 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.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2374 (2017). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements following the voting.

France welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2374 (2017), which establishes a specific sanctions regime on Mali. The adoption of resolution 2374 (2017) is the result of a request by the Malian Government to the Security Council to establish a sanctions regime, without delay, in order to meet the numerous challenges in implementing the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, and in overcoming serious threats to the fragile gains made thus far. The idea to impose sanctions on those hindering the implementation of the peace agreement is not a new one. It is clearly stipulated in the text of the Agreement and therefore formally endorsed by all signatories. It has been mentioned on several occasions by the Agreement Monitoring Committee in response to the deadlock. The Secretary-General has often called for such sanctions in his quarterly reports on the situation in Mali, and the Security Council has supported the idea in its most recent resolutions on Mali. The Malian Government believes — and we share that belief — that it is time to take further steps on the issue by implementing a specific sanctions regime on Mali. The peace process is now at a critical juncture, more than two years after the Agreement was signed. Although progress has been satisfactory, political will has been lacking, to some extent, and certain activities pose a serious threat to the gains already made. The sanctions regime will complement in a useful way the range of tools that we have available to us collectively to help Mali with its recovery. It also sends a very strong and dissuasive political message capable of changing the behaviour of actors on the ground. It will provide credibility to the Council in its support of the effective implementation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, in favour of which we have been arguing for a number of months without, to date, being able to achieve the desired results. It is also a means of accompanying the work of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) on the political aspect. Resolution 2374 (2017), which we have just adopted, puts in place a sanctions regime that takes the form of a travel ban and assets freeze, under criteria that were designated in keeping with the guidelines set out by the Peace Agreement with respect to violations of the ceasefire and obstruction of the implementation of the Agreement. We have added to that attacks on various institutions that were established by the Agreement, the Malian armed forces, United Nations staff and other forms of international presence, as well as other criteria connected with all forms of trafficking, violations of human rights, obstruction of the dispatch of humanitarian assistance, and the use of children in armed conflict. In order to move forward in a gradual and appropriate manner, France has chosen to suggest to its partners in the Council that we take the first step of creating a regime without attaching, at this stage, a list of persons or entities that would be subject to sanctions. That possibility, however, is still fully open if it turns out to be necessary in the future to further bolster the pressure on certain actors that do not adhere to their obligations. We are aware that sanctions alone cannot resolve the situation. We see them as an additional tool to promote the implementation of the Peace Agreement, along with the necessary mobilization of the international community, regional actors and MINUSMA. Today, it is vital that we make as much progress as possible. Time is not on our side, and the implementation of the Malian Peace Agreement is one of the keys to the stabilization of the situation in the Sahel, to which the Council is committed. The establishment of this new sanctions regime today places the actors involved in bringing about peace in Mali before their commitments and sends a strong political message with respect to the determination of the Council to use every means available to it to help Mali achieve peace and stability, and to encourage significant progress in the implementation of the Agreement in the weeks to come. Anyone who impedes this process must realize that the Council will no longer tolerate their action. What is at stake is much too important, and we know the impact of the situation in Mali for the stability of the entire Sahel region, and the relevant consequences with regard to the security of the rest of the world.

Italy voted in favour of resolution 2374 (2017) and affirms its support for the peace process in Mali. The rapid and effective implementation of the provisions of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali remains top priority with a view to ensuring peace and security in Mali and the Sahel region as a whole. The resolution provides additional tools, demonstrating the Security Council’s commitment to pursuing this collective goal. We would like to conclude by thanking the French delegation for the success of these negotiations, and by welcoming the full commitment demonstrated by the Malian Government on this occasion.

The Russian delegation voted in favour of resolution 2374 (2017), mindful of the importance of maintaining the Council’s consensus support for the peace settlement in Mali. We take note of the fact that the Malian Government, seeking to accelerate the stabilization of the northern territories, appealed to the Security Council, and we are concerned about the security situation and the resumption of clashes between the parties signatory to the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali. At the same time, we note that the excessive use of restrictive measures may lead the Security Council to drift away from its direct obligations in the maintenance of international peace and security, ending armed conflicts and promoting the reconciliation of parties, and to deteriorate into a mere sanctions truncheon. Whether sanctions are effective in other contexts is already the subject of serious doubt. Of the examples provided by the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Yemen, none points to the usefulness of sanctions in the process of a settlement. Indeed, the opposite is true. Sanctions antagonize, make it more difficult for the parties to negotiate and complicate the political process. In our view, if we are to make progress in the matter, we need to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the Malian crisis. We must find out exactly what its sources and underlying causes are, and determine the sources of instability. We must not forget that the security situation in the Sahel degenerated after the foreign intervention in Libya in 2011 and the destruction of the Libyan State. A few years ago, we proposed that a full-fledged plan of action be drafted for the Sahel region. We believe that the time has now come to seriously consider that option and to move away from the specific situation, basing our action on the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel. We are ready for active cooperation with all interested parties on both the Mali and the Sahel issues. I take this opportunity to inform the members of the Council of the following. As we all know, today at the Brazil, Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa Summit, the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, declared that the Russian Federation would submit to the Security Council a draft resolution on the establishment of a United Nations mission to to strengthen the protection of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. The presence there of United Nations peacekeepers, which would provide security for the OSCE Mission, is something that we deem to be appropriate. That would advance a solution to the problem in south- eastern Ukraine. Of course, however, one can only refer to the task of providing security to OSCE staff. Now, those forces must remain along the separating lines and not in any other territories. The issue can be resolved only after the two sides have been separated and heavy equipment has been removed. We have sent a draft resolution to the President of the Security Council and the Secretary- General, and we cherish the hope that in the near future it will be circulated to the members of the Council. We intend to convene relevant consultations at the expert level. Then, after the Security Council mission has returned from Ethiopia, we shall hold consultations at the Permanent Representative level.

Although we are still on the item concerning Mali, because the Ambassador of the Russian Federation mentioned my country, I would like to react very briefly. We took careful note of the statement made by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation on the intention to circulate a draft resolution on the possibility of deploying United Nations peacekeepers in the Donbas. There is a saying: “Water wears away the stone”. I would like to remind everybody that back in March 2015, the President of Ukraine addressed the President of the Security Council and the Secretary-General on the same issue, requesting the Security Council to consider the possibility of the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping operation. In Ukraine, we consider that such deployment could greatly contribute to the restoration of peace and security in the east of Ukraine, which was undermined, as everyone knows, as a result of Russia’s aggression and continued support of the separatists in Donbas. Having said that, we consider that the mandate of such a mission should be carefully crafted, and our delegation is ready to take an active part in its consideration as soon as the Security Council delegation comes back from Ethiopia.