Statement by Mr.Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, at the Security Council on the sitiation in Mali
Russia supported the Council’s adoption today of resolution 2423 (2018), which extends the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).
Our decision was based on the importance of maintaining consensus in the Security Council and on the understanding that in helping the Malian authorities to rectify the situation in the country, MINUSMA is carrying out a very important task. However, our agreement with the resolution does not mean that we are willing to subscribe to a number of its provisions.
In particular, we oppose the use of the term “intelligence” in relation to the mandate of peacekeepers, based on the fact that the terminology should correspond exactly to the words of the report of the General Assembly’s Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (A/72/19). We would like to draw the Council’s attention to the resolution’s provisions on climate and ecological issues.
We believe that this issue, as it has always been, comes under the purview of the relevant bodies of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. Let us not poach from them. Besides that, the Council has neither the mandate nor the necessary expertise to deal with such issues.
Its main aim, as established in the Charter of the United Nations, is to examine issues that directly relate to peace and security. Unfortunately, our reasoning on this, which other delegations also talked about during the negotiations on the resolution, was not taken into consideration. This is therefore another de facto case of penholders abusing their rights.
We believe that a note by the President of the Security Council aimed at a fair distribution of the relevant powers would be a good tool for rectifying this situation.
The Russian delegation has circulated such a document and submitted it to the Council’s Informal Working Group on Documentation and other Procedural Questions.
