Security Council – Work assessment under Belgium presidency (August 2008) – Letter from the United Kingdom (excerpts)

Letter dated 8 September 2008 from the Permanent Representative of Belgium

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

  I have the honour to transmit herewith a report on the work of the Security Council during the presidency of Belgium in August 2008 (see annex). The document was prepared under my own responsibility, following consultations with other members of the Security Council. I should be grateful if you would have the present letter and its annex circulated as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Jan Grauls

Ambassador

Permanent Representative of Belgium to the United Nations

in New York

Annex to the letter dated 8 September 2008 from the Permanent Representative

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

    Assessment of the work of the Security Council during the presidency of Belgium (August 2008)

   Introduction

  Under the presidency of Belgium, the Security Council held 22 meetings and 17 consultations of the whole, during which four resolutions and four presidential statements were adopted. The President also made two statements to the press on behalf of the Council.

   Asia

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   Middle East

  On 20 August, the Council heard a briefing by the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, which was followed by consultations of the whole. The Under-Secretary-General informed the Council that Israeli-Palestinian negotiations as part of the Annapolis process were continuing, that the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas had been largely respected, but that the situation on the ground remained a cause for concern, particularly the continuing settlement activity across the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, and the rise of internal Palestinian violence. The organization in September of a meeting of the Quartet, followed by an iftar with Arab partners, and a meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee will provide occasions to take stock of the progress made and to assist in the implementation of donor pledges to address the impending Palestinian budget crisis. Concerning Lebanon, the past month had been marked positively by the Parliamentary vote of confidence on the Cabinet’s ministerial declaration and the bilateral commitments made by President Suleiman and President Assad in Damascus, including the establishment of diplomatic relations.

  These positive developments were, however, overshadowed by security incidents which continued in and around the northern city of Tripoli. The Under-Secretary-General concluded by reaffirming the Secretary-General’s commitment to a just and lasting comprehensive regional peace in the Middle East, based on Security Council resolutions.

The meeting was followed by consultations of the whole.

/…

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