Security Council – Work assessment under Congo presidency (May 2006) – Letter from Congo (excerpts)

Letter dated 16 August 2006 from the Permanent Representative of the Congo to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

I have the honour to convey the attached assessment of the work of the Security Council during the presidency of the Congo in May 2006 (see annex).

This assessment has been prepared under my own responsibility following consultations with other members of the Council.

I should be grateful if the present letter and its annex could be circulated as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Basile Ikouebe

Ambassador

Permanent Representative

Annex to the letter dated 16 August 2006 from the Permanent Representative of the Congo to the United Nations addressed

to the President of the Security Council

Assessment of the work of the Security Council during the Presidency of the Congo (May 2006)

Introduction

In May 2006, under the presidency of Basile Ikouebe, Permanent Representative of the Congo to the United Nations, the Security Council addressed a wide range of issues on its agenda.

The Council placed special emphasis on African issues, as was particularly apparent during the ministerial meeting of 9 May 2006, chaired by Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Congo, Rodolphe Adada, on the situation in the Sudan following the signing in Abuja on 5 May 2006 of the Darfur Peace Agreement, and during the private meeting held on 31 May 2006, in which members of the Council heard a briefing by Denis Sassou-Nguesso, President of the Congo and President of the African Union, on armed conflicts in Africa.

In May, the Council held 19 official meetings and 22 informal consultations. It adopted six resolutions and five presidential statements. The President also made five statements to the press on behalf of the Security Council. He held one private meeting with the troop-contributing countries.

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The Middle East

Lebanon

On 12 May, the Security Council held consultations on the situation in Lebanon in connection with the implementation of resolution 1559 (2004) on the political independence and sovereignty of Lebanon in a context marked by the holding of the Lebanese national dialogue and the briefing held by the Security Council with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

On 17 May, in the context of the consultations, the Council adopted resolution 1680 (2006). The Council encouraged the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic to respond favourably to the request made by the Government of Lebanon to delineate the border between Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular in the area of the Shab’a Farms, and establish diplomatic relations and representation.

The Council urged the Governments of Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic to take measures to prevent the movement of arms for the militias into Lebanese territory, and welcomed the decision of the national dialogue to disarm Palestinian and all other militias.

The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question

On 24 May 2006, the Security Council held a public meeting at which it conducted its monthly review of the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. The members of the Council focused on the conclusions of the meeting of the Quartet, in particular the demands made of the Government of the Palestinian Authority led by Hamas, and the decisions that followed, against the backdrop of acute humanitarian and financial crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The members also made an appeal for restraint and called on the parties not to resort to unilateral measures which could pre-empt final status issues.

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