We meet, as you have said, Sir, in exceptionally grave circumstances. Our host country and this host city have been subjected to a terrorist attack which horrifies us all. We do not yet know the full extent of the damage, but it seems certain that thousands of people have lost their lives and that m…
It gives me great pleasure to join the Council today as it considers the contribution it can make in addressing the devastating impact of small arms and light weapons on people and societies throughout the world.
Last month’s United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light We…
We meet at an important moment in the development of the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Over the past few months, there have been several positive developments. The ceasefire is holding at the confrontation lines, notwithstanding some allegations of violations, which the Unit…
I am deeply honoured by the decision you have just taken. Let me thank the President of the Security Council — my good friend, Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury — for proposing my reappointment, and to thank all of you for the great honour you have done me.
When your predecessors re-appointed Dag …
At the outset, I wish to pay tribute to the just-concluded Security Council mission to the Great Lakes region. I believe that that timely and important visit served to consolidate the recent momentum for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and demonstrated the importance that the United N…
It gives me great pleasure to join the Council today for this open debate on the implementation of decisions taken last September, when this Council met — for only the second time in its history — at the level of heads of State or Government. Let me thank you, Mr. President, for initiating this time…
Last June in this Chamber, the members of the Political Committee for the Implementation of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement met with the Security Council to discuss advancing the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Much has changed since last June, and in recent weeks some things, …
I have had the chance this morning to meet with President Kagame, and we have had a very good discussion. For the second time in less than one week, we are meeting again here in the Council to reaffirm our commitment to bringing peace and stability to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
I believe…
It gives me great pleasure to join the Council today for this open debate on peace-building. I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for your initiative on this key aspect of international peace and security. I am confident that it will contribute to our efforts to arrive at a shared vision of pea…
We are meeting today to discuss once again one of the biggest challenges currently facing Africa and the United Nations — the challenge of bringing peace and stability to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to the region around it.
Let me begin by welcoming President Joseph Kabila to the Unite…
Let me begin by saying that I am very pleased to join the Council today for this important meeting on Guinea-Bissau, which could not be more timely. Last week’s armed showdown between the head of the former military junta and the elected President, which nearly plunged the country back into turmoil,…
It gives me great pleasure to join the Council and to provide it with an update on the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).
This new operation holds great promise for the countries and the peoples involved, for Africa and for peacekeeping in general. We must get it right and I lo…
Let me thank and congratulate the presidency of the Security Council for its initiative in holding this meeting on women and armed conflict. The theme chosen is crucial, for it brings together two vital parts of the United Nations mission. The Charter tells us that the Organization was created “to s…
I would like to thank the Security Council for holding this meeting, which is very timely. Most of all I want to express my deep appreciation to President Mandela for travelling all the way to New York to brief the Council on the current phase of his peace efforts in Burundi. Thanks to President Man…
“The tumult and the shouting dies; the captains and the kings depart.”
In other years this day, when the Assembly begins its general debate, marks the climax of the United Nations calendar. This year, coming the week after our historic Millennium Summit, it may seem something of an anticlimax.
But…
I thank you, Mr. President, Madam President, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. May I first thank you all for attending this historic Summit and for having given us clear guidance. In the course of these three days I have listened to you closely, and I have read carefully the Declaration you h…
It is an honour for me to welcome you to the United Nations for this historic meeting of the Security Council. You have come to New York to participate in the Millennium Summit, during which we will endeavour to give fresh impetus to the United Nations Organization for the century that is now beginn…
Ladies and gentlemen, I am deeply honoured to welcome you all. Never before have the leaders of so many nations come together in a single assembly. This is a unique event, a unique opportunity, and therefore a unique responsibility. You, ladies and gentlemen, are the leaders to whom the world’s peop…
I much regret to have to open our proceedings on a sombre note. The safety of United Nations personnel in both peacekeeping and humanitarian missions is a matter of vital concern to all of us. Before delivering my prepared statement, therefore, I must inform heads of State and heads of Government of…
We should all be grateful to you, Mr. President, and to your country’s admirable Permanent Representative for convening this second open debate of the Security Council on conflict prevention.
Interest in this subject is on the rise — and with good reason. In the last decade alone, 5 million people …
