Security Council – Work assessment under Russian Federation presidency (December 2011) – Letter from Russian Federation (excerpts)

Letter dated 18 May 2012 from the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council 

 I have the honour to transmit herewith the report on the work of the Security Council during the presidency of the Russian Federation in December 2011 (see annex). This report was prepared under my responsibility, after consultation with the 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) Vitaly Churkin 

Annex to the letter dated 18 May 2012 from the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council 

[Original: English] 

   Assessment of the work of the Security Council during the presidency of the Russian Federation (December 2011) 

   Introduction 

 Under the presidency of the Russian Federation, the Security Council carried out an extensive programme of work during the month of December. The Council held 50 meetings and closed consultations. The Council adopted 11 resolutions and agreed on one presidential statement and nine statements to the press.

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   Middle East

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 On 12 December, the Council was briefed in closed consultations by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, on the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic and the occupied Palestinian territories. She expressed grave concern over the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic. 

 Members of the Council condemned human rights violations and abuses and acts of violence in the Syrian Arab Republic, stressing the need to launch an inclusive Syrian-led political process. Some members of the Council stressed the deplorable human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. 

 On 15 December, the Council held urgent consultations convened at the request of one member who introduced a draft resolution on the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic. 

 On 20 December, the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, stressed that the realization of a two-State solution had not advanced, with violent incidents erupting at a worrisome rate, and outlined the efforts undertaken by the Quartet to help the parties resume direct talks, stressing the importance of de-escalation and confidence-building between the parties. He noted recent arson attacks and acts of desecration against mosques, among other actions by Israeli extremists, and welcomed in this context the condemnation of those acts by the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his intention to prevent further such incidents. The Assistant Secretary-General also voiced concern over Israeli settlement activity, violence on the part of settlers and the overall security situation in Gaza, including the firing of projectiles from Gaza into Israel. 

 He also expressed concern regarding the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, where popular protests had continued to be met with violent repression, resulting in numerous deaths, injuries and detentions, and said that the signing in Cairo of a protocol to dispatch League of Arab States monitors to the Syrian Arab Republic was encouraging. 

 At the closed consultations that followed, members of the Council stressed the importance of resuming Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and condemned unilateral actions, in particular the construction of settlements in occupied territories, which undermined the Quartet’s efforts towards a negotiable solution of the conflict. 

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