Security Council – Work assessment under Uganda presidency (October 2010) – Letter from Uganda (excerpts)

Letter dated 9 December 2010 from the Permanent Representative of Uganda 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 Uganda in October 2010 (see annex). 

 The document 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. 

Annex to the letter dated 9 December 2010 from the Permanent Representative of Uganda to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council 

   Assessment of the work of the Security Council during the presidency of Uganda (October 2010) 

   Introduction 

 During the presidency of Uganda, in the month of October 2010, the Security Council held 20 formal meetings, including 18 public meetings, of which four were open debates. It also held two private meetings and eight closed consultations. The members of the Council undertook a mission to Uganda and the Sudan from 4 to 10 October. 

 The Council adopted five resolutions and three presidential statements. The President also read out four press statements and made oral remarks to the press in two instances.

/…

   The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question 

 On 18 October, the Council held an open debate on the situation in the Middle East, during which it heard a briefing by the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco.

 Mr. Fernandez-Taranco stressed the need to overcome the current impasse in the talks between Israelis and Palestinians and to ensure that when talks resumed they moved intensively and definitively to seek resolutions of the key core issues. He noted that the parties had not met since 15 September, following the expiration of Israel’s partial settlement moratorium in the West Bank on 26 September. He reiterated that there was no alternative to a negotiated settlement resulting in two States living side by side in peace. He said that in spite of the uncertainties, the State-building agenda of the Palestinian Authority continued to advance. 

 The Council also heard statements by the Permanent Representative of Israel and the Permanent Observer for Palestine. Statements were made by Council members and 25 other speakers. Most speakers called upon both the Israeli and Palestinian sides to return to the negotiating table and to make the necessary compromises to agree on a two-State solution for durable peace and security. Many speakers called on Israel to renew its moratorium on settlement activity, and called for an immediate freeze on all settlement activity. On Lebanon, many speakers expressed support for the independence of the Special Tribunal and reiterated the importance of all parties fulfilling their obligations under Council resolution 1701 (2006). 

   Lebanon 

 On 28 October, the Council was briefed in consultations by the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Terje Roed-Larsen, on the implementation of resolution 1559 (2004) as reflected in the twelfth semi-annual report of the Secretary-General (S/2010/538). 

/…

__________