SC/10916
Security Council
6919th Meeting (AM)
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Briefs, As Council Considers Issue of Cooperation with Regional Organizations
The European Union harboured a strong belief in effective multilateralism and would remain a steadfast partner of the Security Council in its great responsibility of steering the international community away from conflict and confrontation towards a more peaceful and secure world, its High Representative pledged today, as she addressed the 15-member body.
Briefing the Council as it considered cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations, Catherine Ashton told its members: “In carrying out your tasks, you can count on the full commitment and support of the EU.” The European Union, through its development cooperation and political support, contributed to lasting security, deep democracy and prosperity, she said.
Its contribution was three-fold: its ability to marshal a wide range of instruments for a comprehensive approach; its direct involvement in international negotiations, including mediation, on the international community’s behalf; and its close work with international and regional partners, of the view that only collective efforts could deliver results. The Union also had a range of tools with which to respond to a crisis, be it humanitarian, security or political.
Ms. Ashton highlighted the Union’s long-standing engagement in Somalia and the Horn of Africa, which, in close cooperation with the United Nations, had contributed to the recent breakthrough in both the political process and in terms of security in that region. Its support of Mali took the form of security-related measures, such as its training mission to help restructure the Malian army. Its political support focused on concrete implementation of the road map, the electoral process and, importantly, inclusive national dialogue.
The Union was also determined to works towards a solution of the Iranian issue based on the dual-track approach of pressure and engagement, she said, adding that it would also strive to build a firm and unified response to this week’s nuclear test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to demonstrate that there were consequences for such continued violations.
In Serbia and Kosovo, the restoration of peace was not easy for either side, but both knew they had the Union’s full support, she said. The group was also working closely with partners to address some of the most difficult challenges to international peace and security — in the Middle East and Syria.
When the floor opened to Council members, the representative of Luxembourg — one of the 27 member States of the European Union — said that, together with the United Nations, the two organizations shared a “peace project”, with the goal of promoting peace and preventing future generations from the scourge of war.
The bloc remained a unique model of cooperation and integration in the service of peace and security, said France’s representative, noting the Union’s role in the heart of Africa and the Balkans, in Syria and Iran. The General Assembly, in an earlier resolution, had called the Union a partner and a friend of the United Nations, not only as a regional organization, but also as “a pillar of a coherent and effective international system”.
Morocco attached great importance to that cooperation, said its representative, of the view that the Union was making a significant contribution to conflict resolution, through its technological and economic assistance and its weighty and cumulative experience with several regions. Also noteworthy was its “neighbourhood policy”, with countries to the east and south. In the Mediterranean, that relationship had promoted economic development, democracy, and the integration of the six countries in the Mediterranean basin.
Also making statements were the representatives of Azerbaijan, Australia, Guatemala, China, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Togo, Russian Federation, Argentina, United States, Rwanda, and the Republic of Korea (national capacity).
The meeting was called to order at 10:19 a.m. and adjourned at 12:20 p.m.