Mideast situation – Work of the Security Council – Verbatim records (excerpts)

Provisional

Security Council

Fifty-seventh year

4466th meeting

Thursday, 31 January 2002, 3.45 p.m.

New York

Agenda

Wrap-up discussion on the work of the Security Council for the current month

    The meeting was called to order at 3.45 p.m.

Adoption of the agenda

  The agenda was adopted.

Wrap-up discussion on the work of the Security Council for the current month

 The President : The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations.

  As this is a wrap-up meeting, by definition we are supposed to take stock of what we have done during the month, or what we have not done, or what we would have liked to have achieved. This exercise can also be an opportunity to evaluate the way in which the Council has conducted its business during the month. In that connection, I invite members to comment on all the issues that we have dealt with during the month, and also to comment on the manner in which these issues have been dealt with. I also invite the comments of members on how we can improve upon what we have not been able to achieve during the month.

  For this meeting we do not have a list of speakers, and I invite those who wish to take the floor to raise their hands.

  I would now like to make a very brief statement on how we have seen our own presidency before I open the floor to Council members.

  The programme of work of the Security Council for the month of January has been determined mainly by the exigencies imposed by previous decisions of the Security Council. The Council renewed the mandates of four peacekeeping operations, examined 11 reports of the Secretary-General and adopted seven resolutions and two presidential statements. We also issued 12 press statements on various issues discussed during the month.

  While the attention of the international community continues to be occupied with the situations in Afghanistan and the Middle East, as well as with the threats posed by terrorism to international peace and security, the programme of work for the month of January attempted to strike a balance in its approach by addressing these issues in an adequate manner and, at the same time, refocusing attention on conflict situations in Africa and elsewhere.

[…]

  During this month we were also able to start regular briefings on the situation in the Middle East, a subject which had remained in the footnote of the Council’s programme for far too long. The briefing by Mr. Terje Roed-Larsen, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process, was, I hope, extremely useful, because we were able to get first-hand information from somebody who has actually been operating in the field.

[…]

 Mr. Shen Guofang (China) ( spoke in Chinese ): …

[…]

  Of course, there is still the regrettably unresolved issue of the conflict between Palestine and Israel. Yesterday’s discussion of it was far from sufficient. We hope that the Security Council will expand its involvement in and give greater attention to this issue so that it can play a greater role. It would be a pity if the Security Council could not play a greater role on that question, which affects the security of the region and the world.

[…]

 Mr. Doutriaux (France) ( spoke in French ): …

[…]

  My third point is on the Middle East. We kept our commitment to have a meeting on the Middle East in January. It was held yesterday with Mr. Roed-Larsen. We have a press statement available on the web site of the presidency of the Security Council. We must continue, and the question of the Middle East must be dealt with by the Council on a very regular basis. I hope that I did not exceed my three minutes.

[…]

  Mr. Fall (Guinea) (spoke in French ): …

[…]

 Another issue is the question of the Middle East. The Council has just taken the innovative step of organizing a briefing on the question of the Middle East. That wise decision was implemented during your presidency, Sir, and we had a very useful exchange on recent developments in the situation in the Middle East.

[…]

 Mr. Corr (Ireland): …

[…]

  Finally, other issues of importance during the month were, of course, the emphasis on African issues generally in terms of particular situations, such as those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau and so on. We also welcomed the opportunity to have the open debate on East Timor and the briefings on Afghanistan. We especially welcomed yesterday’s consultations on the Middle East and look forward to seeing that continued. We also welcomed the number of meetings with the troop contributors, which you, Sir, mentioned in your opening remarks, and the agreement on the new mechanism for consultation to be chaired by Ambassador Strømmen, which we regard as important.

[…]

 Mr. Mekdad (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic ): …

[…]

  We express our satisfaction that, for the first time, the Security Council, under your presidency, Sir, has convened regular formal briefings on the Middle East. For years, we looked forward to such an opportunity to discuss the situation in that explosive region, which represents a true threat to international peace and security. The Security Council has a special responsibility vis-à-vis developments in the region. We believe that the briefing by Mr. Roed-Larsen, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General, was very informative and encouraging and gave the Security Council additional information that accurately reflects the situation on the ground. Mr. Roed-Larsen, after all, works in the region and is most knowledgeable about developments there.

  We feel that such briefings, as well as the important subsequent discussions, are a first step on the road towards correcting the Security Council’s work in this regard. In many countries, the Council is often accused of employing double standards in debating and considering issues pertaining to the Middle East and in assuming its responsibilities towards that region.

[…]

 Mr. Belinga-Eboutou (Cameroon) (spoke in French ): …

[…]

  First of all, Sir, my delegation wants to reaffirm our hearty congratulations on the extremely constructive way in which you presided over the work of the Council in January 2002. You proposed a programme of work that was balanced and covered many items; it enabled us to consider the thorniest of the issues facing us in the realm of international peace and security. Some of those issues concerned specific regions, such as Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East; others concerned more general matters, such as terrorism.

[…]

    The meeting rose at 5.25 p.m.