14 May 2003
Security Council Mission to West Africa Postponed
(Commitment to West Africa is strong, council president says) (650) By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- The Security Council mission to West Africa has been postponed for several weeks to allow council members to concentrate on a draft resolution on Iraq, the president of the council announced May 13. Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan, president of the council said, "the decision to postpone was not political. It was merely logistical. ... There is a sense of commitment to West Africa. There is a sense of urgency that we will re-schedule the mission as soon as possible. It won't be months, it will be weeks." "The situation in West Africa certainly deserves attention and deserves urgent attention and that is why the mission was to be sent and is to be sent. At the same time ... the representatives on the mission also felt -- at least some of them -- they were required by their governments to be here at this time," the president said. "It's a question of determining governmental priorities. The Security Council is seized with so many issues. But this is not an indication of any loss of priority for West Africa. The commitment is there. The mission will go very soon," Akram said. The 14-nation mission, under the leadership of U.K. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, was scheduled for May 15 to 23. It was to begin in Abuja, Nigeria and move on to Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone meeting with heads of state and major political leaders in each country. The mission also includes Ambassador Richard Williamson of the United States, Ambassador Ismael Gaspar Martins of Angola, Ambassador Stefan Tafrov of Bulgaria, Ambassador Wang Yingfan of China, Ambassador Mamady Traore of Guinea, Ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser of Mexico, Ambassador Martin Chungong Ayafor of Cameroon, Ambassador Michel Duclos of France, Ambassador Alexander Konuzin of Russia, Minister Michael Von Ungern-Sternberg of Germany, Tariq Chaudhry of Pakistan, and Dr. Ghassan Obeid of Syria. The draft resolution under discussion in the council proposes, among other things, to lift sanctions imposed on Iraq in 1991, establish a U.N. special coordinator for Iraq, and provide for humanitarian needs while the Oil-for-Food program is winding down. Earlier in the day May 13, the council adopted a resolution establishing the 75-member U.N. Mission to Cote d'Ivoire (MINUCI) to help the French and the (Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) implement the peace agreement among the Ivorian parties. The staff will include a special representative of the secretary general and work on political, legal, and civilian affairs, civilian police, elections, humanitarian and human rights issues as well as help plan the disengagement, disarmament and demobilizing of local forces. Council President Akram said "the resolution on Cote d'Ivoire ought to send a very good signal to all the parties concerned. That in itself is an important development. The message in the resolution will be followed up by the mission and the talks the mission will have in the region." Before the postponement was announced, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte cited the mission as an example of the Security Council's role in settling disputes as set out in the U.N. Charter. "The members of this council will depart on a mission to West Africa to witness first hand the situation in several areas where the peace is precarious," the ambassador said. "The trip should deepen the council's understanding of the factors that give rise to the dispute in Cote d'Ivoire and, hopefully, lead to progress in resolving it." The mission is also "an opportunity to learn what has gone right in Sierra Leone where concerted United Nations and international intervention have produced progress in building lasting peace," Negroponte said during a council public debate on the role of the Security Council in the pacific settlement of disputes. (The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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