S/PV.8334 Maintenance of International Peace and Security 29/08/2018
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United Nations S/ PV.8334 Security Council Provisional Seventy-third year 8334th meeting Wednesday, 29 August 2018, 10 a.m. New York President: Lord Ahmad/Mr. Hickey .......................... (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) Members: Bolivia (Plurinational State of) ..................... Mrs. Cordova Soria China ......................................... Mr. Wu Haitao Côte d’Ivoire ................................... Mr. Ipo Equatorial Guinea ............................... Mr. Esono Mbengono Ethiopia ....................................... Ms. Guadey France ........................................ Mrs. Gueguen Kazakhstan .................................... Mr. Umarov Kuwait ........................................ Mr. Alotaibi Netherlands .................................... Mr. Van Oosterom Peru .......................................... Mr. Meza-Cuadra Poland ........................................ Ms. Wronecka Russian Federation ............................... Mr. Nebenzia Sweden ....................................... Mr. Orrenius Skau United States of America .......................... Mr. Hunter Agenda Maintenance of international peace and security Mediation and settlement of disputes Letter dated 3 August 2018 from the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General (S/2018/586) This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the translation of speeches delivered in other languages. The final text will be printed in the Official Records of the Security Council. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room U-0506 ([email protected]). Corrected records will be reissued electronically on the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org). 18-26970 (E) *1826970* S/PV.8334 Maintenance of international peace and security 29/08/2018 The meeting was called to order at 10.10 a.m. I wish to draw the attention of the members of the Council to document S/2018/586, which contains Adoption of the agenda a letter dated 3 August 2018 from the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain The agenda was adopted. and Northern Ireland to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, transmitting a concept note Maintenance of international peace and security on the item under consideration. Mediation and settlement of disputes I now wish to warmly welcome the Secretary- Letter dated 3 August 2018 from the General His Excellency Mr. António Guterres and give Permanent Representative of the United him the floor. Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern The Secretary-General: War is becoming Ireland to the United Nations addressed to the increasingly complex, and so is mediating peace. Today, Secretary-General (S/2018/586) internal conflicts frequently take on regional and The President: In accordance with rule 37 of the transnational dimensions. Many feature a deadly mix of Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the fragmented armed groups and political interests funded representatives of Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, by criminal activities. Conflicts around the world drag Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, on for years and decades, holding back development Colombia, Cuba, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Estonia, and stunting opportunities. Comprehensive peace Fiji, Georgia, Germany, Guatemala, Haiti, India, agreements are becoming more elusive and short-lived. Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ireland, Italy, Political will wanes; international attention drifts. The Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Central African Republic, for example, has suffered overlapping national and local conflicts for decades, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, yet some 15 peace agreements have been signed there Norway, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Portugal, since 1997. Qatar, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, the Sudan, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the As bad as the situation is in many parts of the world, United Arab Emirates, the Bolivarian Republic of I am convinced that it is within our power to tackle and Venezuela and Viet Nam to participate in this meeting. reverse these trends. That is why, since the beginning of my tenure, one of my key priorities has been a surge In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s in diplomacy for peace. As I have consistently stressed, provisional rules of procedure, I invite the following we must make prevention our priority. But prevention briefers to participate in this meeting: The Most also includes investment in mediation, peacebuilding Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby, and sustainable development. We must be bold and Archbishop of Canterbury; and Ms. Mossarat Qadeem, creative in bringing together the avenues and capacities Co-founder of PAIMAN Alumni Trust. that are available for mediation. In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s The United Nations has a number of mediation provisional rules of procedure, I also invite Her resources that we deploy in various ways. My Special Excellency Ms. Joanne Adamson, Chargé d’affaires a.i. Envoys and Representatives pursue consultations, of the Delegation of the European Union to the United good offices and formal talks, often alongside envoys Nations, to participate in this meeting. and mediators from regional organizations or Member I propose that the Council invite the Permanent States. They may lead a political process, as in Libya Observer of the Observer State of the Holy See to or Yemen. They may head a complex peacekeeping the United Nations to participate in this meeting, in operation, as in Mali, or they may focus on prevention accordance with the provisional rules of procedure and from a regional office, as in West Africa. the previous practice in this regard. Collaboration with other mediation actors is key. Allow me to mention two recent examples. In It is so decided. Madagascar, my Special Adviser has coordinated The Security Council will now begin its closely with the special envoys of the African Union, consideration of the item on its agenda. the Southern Africa Development Community, the 2/77 18-26970 29/08/2018 Maintenance of international peace and security S/PV.8334 European Union and the International Organization of To complement my efforts and those of my envoys, la Francophonie to facilitate Malagasy-led negotiations I have established the High-level Advisory Board to hold peaceful and inclusive negotiations aimed on Mediation. I am pleased to have the Archbishop at ensuring free and fair elections. In the Gambia, of Canterbury with us today, and look forward to coordinated action by the Economic Community of working with him on several concrete initiatives in the West African States, the African Union, the United coming months. I am also grateful to former Nigerian Nations and neighbouring countries succeeded in President Olusegun Obasanjo, a member of the Board, preventing a major political crisis and supporting a who travelled to Liberia on my behalf to support the democratic transition. peaceful transfer of power after the 2017 elections. That is just one example of how we can deploy Board Members of the United Nations Standby Team of members in the cause of conflict prevention. The Senior Mediation Advisers are providing advice in the Board’s members have experience and networks across Central African Republic on transitional justice issues, the entire spectrum of mediation. I look to them to as part of the peace process there. In Yemen, they are provide tailored advice, to find new entry points and to assisting with the design of the mediation process help train and build capacity among our partners. led by my Special Envoy. In South Sudan, they have Successful mediation and the peaceful settlement provided support to the Intergovernmental Authority on of disputes requires a deep understanding of leaders Development, which is leading the mediation process. and their constituencies and strong political will. The The decisive engagement of the region, particularly Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship signed by the neighbouring countries — backed by the Security the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea last month, after Council — was a critical element in the agreement 20 years of conflict and stalemate, is an example of recently reached by the South Sudanese leaders to end political courage that is already having a positive effect the conflict. throughout the region, but we must also continue and Discreet engagement also plays a role. Continuing strengthen our efforts to move beyond negotiations talks with the Taliban, despite years of war and with political and military elites. That means working continued fighting, and away from the glare of at the subnational and local levels to help build peace publicity, allows position to be clarified. Renewed from the ground up. Local authorities, civil society and engagement with the Democratic People’s Republic traditional and religious leaders all have critical roles of Korea has also benefited from this approach. The to play. The national conference process in Libya, for example, is a bottom-up, inclusive process that has United Nations also works with private mediation provided valuable insights into the aspirations of the actors,