Mr. President, your presence in New York with us today is a clear indication of how seriously Ghana takes this matter. We commend the Ghanaian delegation for organizing the annual open debate on women and peace and security. We are also grateful for the contributions made to the debate by Mr. Jean-M…
South Africa wishes to welcome His Excellency Mr. Djibrill Bassolé, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso, in his capacity as representative of the Facilitator of the Ivorian peace process, President Blaise Compaoré, and thank him for his briefing here today. May I also use this opportunity t…
We thank Under- Secretary-General Lynn Pascoe for his briefing on the report before us and the representative of the United States, Ambassador Khalilzad, for his briefing on the activities of the Multinational Force in Iraq.
We view positively the rounds of talks, negotiations and visits by the Ira…
We too believe that it is important for the Security Council to debate the report of the Peacebuilding Commission. South Africa would have aligned itself with the statement to be made by the distinguished representative of Jamaica on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement and regret that he will not be …
We join others in thanking the Special Representative of the Secretary- General for Afghanistan, Mr. Tom Koenigs, for his valuable presentation of the Secretary-General’s latest report on the situation in Afghanistan.
There has been timid progress in such areas as the rule of law, the disbanding of…
Allow me to begin by thanking you, Madam President, for your leadership on this very important and fundamental reform of the United Nations. The manner in which you guided our work on this issue and in which you were available to
consult with all of us throughout is deeply appreciated, not only by …
Let me start by thanking Mr. Michael Williams, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, for his statement. We too wish him well in his next endeavour, which we hope will be less turbulent than the one he has just completed.
My delegation aligns itself with the statement to be delivere…
We wish at the outset to express our appreciation to the Congolese presidency for organizing this important meeting. We also wish to welcome the Secretary-General and to thank him for his unwavering support for Africa. We believe that his trip to the Sudan comes at just the right
time, when we need…
South Africa supports the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for an additional year, as recommended by the Secretary- General and as requested by the Prime Minister of Lebanon. However, my delegation would have preferred to have had a draft resolution of a…
I have the honour to report on the Council’s visit to Addis Ababa, Khartoum and Accra, which we undertook jointly with Ambassador Jones Parry of the United Kingdom.
One of the most important things that we did was to spend significant time in Addis Ababa with Chairman Konaré and other high official…
We, too, would like to convey the South African Government’s appreciation to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and its predecessor, the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) for the outstanding and high…
It is an especially great honour for me, Mr. Minister, that you are presiding over this meeting today, because I know how much Belgium has been assisting us on the African continent.
My task today is to very briefly and informally recall the mission that I had the honour to lead, together with the …
The discussion of natural resources and conflict is indeed both timely and necessary. By proposing such a specific topic, the Belgian presidency has made it possible to draw a clear distinction between African countries that are at peace, where natural resources have become the lifeline of the peopl…
South Africa unequivocally condemns the assassinations of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Mr. Rafiq Hariri, and other Lebanese leaders. Indeed, there is a consensus within Lebanon and internationally on the need for the United Nations to assist the Lebanese authorities in their efforts to bring …
My delegation, too, wishes to express its appreciation to the Chairmen of the three subsidiary bodies for their concise but detailed briefings today. We thank Ambassadors Verbeke, Arias and Burian for the work that they have done for the Committees.
With regard to the Counter-Terrorism Committee (C…
I too wish to thank Mr. Holmes for his very detailed briefing to us today. He has brought an element of courage and urgency to the situation in the Great Lakes region, and that is greatly appreciated. His efforts are indicative of the courage and commitment of hundreds of non- governmental organizat…
We, too, wish to thank the High Representative, Mr. Schwarz-Schilling, for his comprehensive report and briefing. It is encouraging to us to note the many positive developments indicating that Bosnia and Herzegovina is progressing on the road towards the establishment of a fully functioning democrac…
I wish to refer the Council to the draft resolution before it on Western Sahara.
My delegation wishes to place on record that, with regard to the reference in the fifth preambular paragraph to the Council “welcoming serious and credible Moroccan efforts”, our understanding is that the word “credibl…
We, too, are very honoured and pleased that you, Madam, have come all this way to chair our meeting today.
I would also like to associate myself with the statements to be made by the representative of Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China; by the representative of Cuba on behalf of the No…
Let me also thank Sir John Holmes for his very comprehensive briefing. I must confess, though, that it was rather depressing to listen and to hear about the continued suffering of the people in Chad, the Central African Republic and the Sudan. But one of the bright spots of his briefing came at the …
