I thank you, Sir, and High Representative Petritsch for coming to brief us this morning. I have to say that, like Ambassador Chowdhury of Bangladesh, I found his contribution thoughtful, insightful and the basis for what I hope will be a stimulating continuing consideration of the complexities of Bo…
I would like to thank Assistant Secretary-General Annabi for what has been a most useful, comprehensive and informative briefing.
I think, if I may say so, that the process of reporting on East Timor and the interaction between the Council and the Secretariat as the United Nations Transitional Admi…
I should like to join in the condolences that have been expressed by other members of the Council to the delegation of Tunisia on the death of President Bourguiba, and also in the congratulations that have been expressed to the President, and others around the Council table today. It is a great plea…
It is a great pleasure to see you here today, Mr. President. I should like, if I may, to join the tributes the have already been paid both to you and to Ambassador Chowdhury and the Bangladesh Mission for the really sterling work that they are doing during the current presidency of the Security Coun…
The adoption of the draft resolution on which we will vote today is a critical step forward in the Council's consideration of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a clear demonstration of the Council's readiness to build on the momentum of January's open meeting. And in practical terms, it cr…
Welcome, Sir, to New York and to the Security Council. As others have said, it is a real pleasure to see you here today.
Against this background, we should clearly continue to analyse all proposals for United Nations operations to ensure that these risks are kept to a minimum and, where they cannot…
At the outset, I congratulate you, Mr. President, on your assumption of the office you now hold. It is good to see you in the hot seat so soon after your arrival in New York, and my delegation pledges to work with you, not only during this coming month but for the remainder of Argentina's term on th…
I should like to take the floor in explanation of the United Kingdom’s votes on the draft resolution on the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (A/54/L.50) and the draft resolution on the dissemination of information on decolonization (…
We welcome the opportunity of this debate, during which the representative of Finland will speak later on behalf of the European Union, and whose intervention my delegation fully supports.
As Assistant Secretary-General Fall told us earlier, the situation in Burundi is becoming increasingly complex…
I would first like to associate myself with the statement made earlier in this debate by the Permanent Representative of Finland on behalf of the European Union. I can, as a result, be extremely brief.
The draft resolution on which we are about to vote today, and which the United Kingdom had the ho…
The draft resolution which the Council is about to adopt, and which the United Kingdom has been privileged to steer through the Council, is an important and significant milestone on the long and challenging road to lasting peace in Sierra Leone. With the establishment of the United Nations Mission i…
Like other speakers I should like to emphasize the gravity of the present situation in East Timor. Shortly before this meeting I spoke to Sir Jeremy Greenstock, who had just returned from Dili with the Security Council mission. He confirmed at first hand the extent of the destruction in the city and…
By chance, Sir, I find myself the first member of the Council to speak in the first open discussion of your presidency. Your presidency marks a real landmark, both for your country and for you personally. We have much appreciated the way in which you have smoothly guided the Council’s work so far th…
As Sir Jeremy Greenstock set out in detail in the Security Council debate on 24 March, the international community has over the past year made exhaustive efforts to resolve the crisis in Kosovo through negotiation. Every means short of force was used to try to avert the current situation. These effo…
First I should like to welcome you, Mr. President, most warmly to this Council meeting. The United Kingdom very much appreciates and supports Canada’s initiative in arranging this briefing and the commitment that you personally have given to it. 1999 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Geneva Conv…
I regret that my delegation has found it again necessary to vote against resolution 53/68, on the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, and resolution 53/69, on the dissemination of information on decolonization.
The latter text does co…
Thank you, Mr. President, for taking the initiative in calling this meeting. The efficacy of the format is, I believe, amply demonstrated by the stimulating, interesting and very useful briefing that Mrs. Ogata has given, and I should like to pay a considerable tribute to her. Like others, we hope t…
I would like to say a few words in response to the remarks made by the Foreign Minister of Spain earlier this afternoon about Gibraltar. The long-standing position of the British Government on this matter is well known to the Government of Spain. I will simply restate it briefly here.
British sover…
