Security Council – Work assessment under Peru presidency (November 2006) – Letter from Peru (excerpts)

Letter dated 22 March 2007 from the Permanent Representative

of Peru to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

  I have the honour to enclose herewith the assessment of the work of the Security Council during the presidency of Peru in November 2006. The assessment is the responsibility of the Peruvian delegation and it has been prepared after consultations with the other members of the Council.

  I would greatly appreciate it if this letter and its annex could be circulated as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Jorge Voto-Bernales

Ambassador

Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations

Annex to the letter dated 22 March 2007 from the Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

    Assessment of the work of the Security Council during the presidency of Peru (November 2006)

   Introduction

  Under the presidency of Peru in November 2006, the Security Council addressed a diverse range of issues on its agenda, including Haiti, the Middle East including the Palestinian question, the Sudan including Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Côte d’Ivoire, and thematic issues such as children and armed conflict and the prevention of armed conflict.

  The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru, José Antonio García Belaunde, presided the Security Council in the open debate on children and armed conflict convened on 28 November, at the end of which the Council adopted a presidential statement.

  During the month of November, the Council held 15 public meetings, including three open debates, one debate and two briefings, and adopted four resolutions and five presidential statements. In addition the Council held consultations of the whole on 14 separate occasions. The President also made three statements to the press on behalf of the Security Council, sent eight letters to the Secretary-General, and delivered a statement, on behalf of the Council, on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people.

  On 2 November, the President of the Security Council briefed the press on the work programme of the Council for November. The presidency provided updates on the programme of work through the website of the Security Council, through a designated official to update non-members of the Council after informal consultations, and when required by the President at the press stakeout.

  The five newly elected members of the Security Council were invited to attend as observers all the meetings of the Council and its subsidiary bodies and the informal consultations of the whole, from mid-November, as agreed by the Council in 2006 (see S/2006/507).

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   Middle East

    The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question 

  On 9 November, at the request of the delegations of Qatar on behalf of the League of Arab States (S/2006/868), Azerbaijan on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (S/2006/869), and Cuba on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (S/2006/871), the Security Council held an open debate to discuss the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. The Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Angela Kane, briefed the Council on the latest developments in the region, particularly a weeklong military operation undertaken by the Israeli army in northern Gaza that killed and injured a number of Palestinians. The Assistant Secretary-General expressed her hope that Israelis and Palestinians would, in the wake of that tragedy, reflect on the fact that the conflict between them would not be resolved by force and that ways must be found to bring about negotiations.

  At the open debate the observer delegation of Palestine, the delegation of Israel, the Council members, 24 other Member States, and the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Permanent Observer of the League of Arab States made statements. At their request three of them were allowed to make a second statement.

  On 10 November a draft resolution on the deteriorating situation on the Occupied Palestinian Territory was submitted to the Security Council by the delegation of Qatar. The draft resolution (S/2006/878) was put to the vote on 11 November and was not adopted owing to the negative vote of the United States of America, a permanent member. The draft also received 10 votes in favour (Argentina, China, Congo, France, Ghana, Greece, Peru, Qatar, Russian Federation, United Republic of Tanzania) and 4 abstentions (Denmark, Japan, Slovakia, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland).

  On 21 November the Council held a second open debate on the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. The Council was briefed by the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, who updated the Council on the latest developments in the Occupied Territory, Israel and Lebanon and the fragile situation for the peace process in the region. The observer delegation of Palestine, the delegation of Israel, the Council members and three other Member States made statements during the open debate.

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