From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Dec 03 2009 - 16:34:28 EST
Press conference by Security Council President
Date: 02 Dec 2009
……. Security Council might meet on Djibouti/ Eritrea and the Somalia
issue…..
Burkina Faso, December’s President of the Security Council, had organized an
open debate on "drug trafficking as a threat to international security" on 8
December, that country’s Permanent Representative Michel Kafando said today
at Headquarters.
Briefing correspondents on the Council’s programme of work for the coming
month, the subject for that debate was a timely choice, as drug trafficking
in West African States such as Guinea Bissau, Guinea and Cape Verde had
taken on worrying dimensions and was afflicting not only the subregion, but
also countries in Latin America and Asia. The debate would be chaired by his
country’s Minister for Foreign Affairs. Antonio Maria Costa, Executive
Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), would
brief participants, including the Secretary-General and other high-level
representatives. A presidential statement was expected.
He said that on 4 December, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal
Court would brief the Council on that body’s involvement with Sudan. On that
same day, the Council would have consultations on Côte d’Ivoire to discuss
the outcome of the meeting of the Permanent Consultation Forum of the
Ouagadougou Agreement and the presidential elections, which were expected to
take place in 2010. There would also be briefings on the activities of the
Committee established pursuant to resolution 1737 (2006) regarding
non-proliferation in Iran, on the Central African Republic, Burundi, the
Middle East and the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (MONUC).
All in all, 15 meetings were planned for December, as several mandates were
to expire, including on Burundi, MONUC, the United Nations Disengagement
Observer Force (UNDOF) and of ad litem judges for the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda. The Council might meet on the Djibouti/Eritrea and the Somalia
issue, as the delegation of Uganda prepared a draft resolution proposing
sanctions on Eritrea. Pending developments, the Council might also discuss
the situation in Guinea and further developments regarding non-proliferation
in Iran. The Council’s last meeting this year was planned for 21 December.
Asked why he had opted for a presidential statement on drug trafficking as a
threat to international security, and not a resolution, Mr. Kafando said it
had been his country’s intention to raise the issue at the Council level in
connection with the maintenance of international peace and security. As the
issue was not often discussed in that context, the first step would be a
presidential statement that emphasized the significance of the problem and
identified some of the measures to address it. The Council might consider
adopting a resolution later on.
Answering questions about the Democratic Republic of the Congo and possible
changes in the mandate for MONUC, Mr. Kafando said that negotiations on the
mandate extension had posed some difficulties. The mandate might be renewed
for a shorter period than the usual 12 months. As for reports that the Panel
of Experts regarding sanctions against the Democratic Republic of the Congo
had accused MONUC that it had done too little to counter the illegal
exploitation of natural resources, he said the Panel’s report had not yet
been received by the Council. If received, it would be part of the Council’s
deliberations on 16 December.
Addressing questions about Djibouti/Eritrea and Somalia, he said Uganda had
submitted a draft resolution calling for sanctions on Eritrea as a follow-up
to a request received six months ago from the African Union that the Council
consider the conflict and the situation in Somalia and consider sanctions
against Eritrea. Sanctions, however, were a thorny issue in the Council.
There was no agreement among members.
It was true that the Goldstone report had been submitted to the Security
Council by the Secretary-General and that the Council would address the
subject, he answered to another question. No meeting on the issue had been
planned in December. According to the resolution adopted by the Human Rights
Council, the parties had a period of six months to initiate investigations
before the Council should take up the matter.
Asked why a letter from Venezuela requesting that the Council consider
actions by Colombia was not on the programme of work, he said the Council
preferred to have all necessary elements at hand before addressing the
matter. The Council would proceed cautiously, in order to find an
appropriate solution.
No Council meeting was planned on the announced postponement of elections in
Iraq, Mr. Kafando answered to another question. On 21 December, the Council
would consider the mandate of the Development Fund for Iraq and the
International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq. During consultations
on 17 December, the Council would look at ways to give more capacity to
Iraqi authorities in managing the Fund.
Commenting on the General Assembly debate on Security Council Reform, he
said that debate had been going on for years without a solution. It was not
easy to agree on ending the privileges one had. Extending or maintaining the
power of veto was an ongoing problem. The African position remained that
Africa should have two permanent seats on the Council, with the power of
veto, if the veto was to be maintained. Negotiations with other countries
were ongoing in order to come to some kind of change. When that could happen
was the big question, he said.
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