UNITED

NATIONS
s
Security Council
Distr.
GENERAL

S/23500
31 January 1992

ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

NOTE BY THE PRRSIDENT OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL

At the conclusion of the 3046th meeting of the security council, held at

the level of Heads of State and Governrnent on 31 January 1992 in connection
with the item entitled ~The responsibility of the Security Council in the
maintenance of international peace and security", the President of the
Security council made the following statement on behalf of the members of
the Council.
"The members of the Security Council have authorized me to make the
followinq statement on their behalf.
"The Security council met at the Headquarters of the United Nations
in New York on 31 January 1992, for the first time at the level of Heads
of State and oovernment. The members of the council considered, within
the frarnework of their commitment to the United Nations Charter, 'The
responsibility of the Security council in the maintenance of
international peace and security'. !/

!/ The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland as the President of the security Council for
January. statements were made by His Excellency Dr. Franz Vranitzky, Federal
Chancellor of Austria, His Excellency Mr. Wilfried Martens, Prime Minister of
Belgiurn, His Excellency Dr. Carlos Alberto Wahnon de Carvalho Veiga,
Prime Minister of Cape Verde,·His Excellency Mr. Li Peng, Premier of the State
Council of China, His Excellency Dr. Rodrigo Borja-Cevallos, Constitutional
President of Ecuador, His Excellency Mr. François Mitterrand, President of
France, His Excellency Dr. Géza Jeszenszky, Minister for Foreign Affairs and
Persona! Emissary of the Prime Minister of Hungary, His Excellency
Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao, Prime Minister of India, His Excellency
Mr. Kiichi Miyazawa, Prime Minister of Japan, His Majesty Hassan II, King of
Morocco, His Excellency Mr. Boris N. teltsln, President of the Russian
Federation, His Excellency the Rt. Hon. John Major MP, Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, His Excellency
Mr. George Bush, President of the United States of America, His Excellency
Dr. Carlos Andrés Pérez, President of Venezuela and His Excellency
Dr. Nathan Shamuyarira, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Personal Emissary of
the President of Zimbabwe, as well as by the secretary-General, His Excellency
Dr • Bout ros 'Bout ros-·Gha 1 i.

92-0~334F 3047e (E) I • ••

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"The members of the security Council consider .that their meeting is

a timely recognition of the fact that there are new favourable
international ctrcumstances under which the Security Council has begun to
fulfil more effectively its primary responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security.

"A time of change

"This meeting takes place at a time of momentous change. The ending
of the cold War has raised hopes for a safer, more equitable and more
humane world. Rapid progress has been made, in many regions of the
world, towards democracy and responsive forms of government, as well as
towards achieving the Purposes set out in the Charter. The completion of
the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa would constitute a major
contribution to these Purposes and positive trends, including to the
encouragement of respect for human.rights and fundamental Ereedoms.

•Last year, under the authority of the United Nations, the

international community succeeded in enabling Kuwait to regain its
sovereignty and territorial integrity, which it had lost as a result of
Iraqi aggression. The resolutions adopted by the Security Council rematn
essenttal to the restoration of peace and stability in the reqion and
must be fully tmplemented. At the same time the members of the council
are concerned by the humanitarian situation of the innocent civllian
population of Iraq.

wThe members of the Council support the Middle East peace process,
facilitated by the Russian Federation and the United States, and hope
that it will be brought to a successful conclusion on the basis of
council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).

"They welcome the role the United Nations has been able to play
under the Charter in progress towards settling long-standing regional
disputes, and Will work for further proqress towards their resolution.
They applaud the valuable contribution being made by United Nations
peace-keeping forces now operating in Asia, Africa, t~atin America and
Europe.•

wThe members of the Council note that United Nations peace-koeping

tasks have increased and broadened considerably in recent years.
Election monitoring, human rights verification and the repatriation of
refugees have in the settlement of some regional conflicts, at the
request or with the agreement of the parties concerned, bcen integral
parts of the Security council's effort to maintain international peace
and security. They welcome these developments~

"The members of the Council also recognize that change, however

welcome, has brought new risks for stability and security. some of the
most acute problems result from changes to state structures. The members
of the council will encourage all efforts to help achieve peace,
stability and cooperation during these changes.
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"The international community therefore faces new challenges in the

search for.peac~. All Member States expect the United Nations to play a
central role at this crucial stage. The members of the Council stress
the importance of strengthening and improving the United Nations to
increase its effectiveness. They are determined to assume fully their
responsibilities within the United Nations Organization in the framework
of the Charter.

"The absence of war and military cQnf.licts amongst States does not
in itself ensure international peace and security. The non-military
sources of instability in the economic, social, humanitarian and.
ecological fields have become threats to peace and security. 'l'he United
Nations membership as a whole, working throuqh the appropdate bodies,
needs to give the highest priority to the solution of these matters.

"Commitment to collective security

"The members of the Council pledge their commitment to tnternational

law and to the United Nations Charter.· All disputes between States
should be peacefully resolved in accordance with the provisions of the
Charter.

wThe members of the council reaffirm their commitment to the

collective security system of the Charter to deal with threats to peace
and to reverse acts of aqgresston.

"The members of the Council express ·their deep concern over acts of
international terrorism and emphasize the need for the internati.onal
community to deal effectively with all such acts.

wpeacemakinq and peace-keeping

"To strengthen the effectiveness of these commitm.ents, and in order

that the Security council should have the means to discharqe its pd.mary
responsibtlity under the Charter for the maintenance of i.nternati.onal
peace and security, the members of the Council have decided on the
following approach.

"They i.nvite the Secretary-Oeneral to prepare, for circulation to

the Members of the United Nations by 1 July 1992, his analysis and
recommendations on ways of strengthening and making more efficient within
the framework and provisions of the Charter the capacity of the United
Nations tor preventive diplomacy, for peacemaking and for peace-keeping.

"The Secretary-General's analysis and recommendations could cover

the role of the United Nations in identifying potential crises and areas
of instability as well as the contribution to be made by regional
organizations in accordance with Chapter VIII of the United Nations
Charter in helping the work of the Council. They could also cover the
need for adequate resources, both rnaterial and fi.nanci.aL The
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Secretary-General might draw on lessons learned in rec.ent United Nations

peace-keeping missions to recommend ways of making more effective
secretàriat planning and operations. He could also consider how greater
use might be made of his good offices, and of his other functions under
the United Nations Charter.

"Disarmament, arius control and weapons of mass destruction

"The members of the Council, while fully conscious of the

responsi.bi.lities of other organs of the United Nations in the fields of
disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation, reaffirm the crucial
contribution which progress in these areas can make to the maintenance of
international peace and security. They express their comrnitment to take
concrete steps to enhance the effectiveness. of the United Nations in
these areas.

"The members of the council undertine the need for all Member States
to fulfil their obligations in relation to arms control and disarmament:
to prevent the proliferation in all its aspects of all weapons of mass
destruction; to avoid excessive and destabilizing accumulations and
transfers of arms; and to resolve peacefully in accordance with the
Charter any problems concerning these matters threatening or disrupting
the maintenance of regional and global stability. They emphasize the
importance of the early ratification and implementation by the States
concerned of all international and regional arms control arrangements,
especially the START and CFE Treaties.

"The protiferation of all weapons of mass destruction constitutes a

threat to international peaèe and security. The members of the council
commit themselves to working to prevent the spread of technology related
to the research for or production of such weapons and to take appropriate
action to that end.

"on nuclear proliferation, they note the importance of the decision

of many countries to adhere to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and emphasize
the integral role in the implementation of that Treaty of fully effective
IAEA safeguards, as well as the importance of effective export controls.
The members of the council will take appropriate measures in the case of
any violations notified to them by the IAEA.

"on chemical weapons, they support the efforts of the Geneva

Conference with a view to reaching agreement on the conclusion, by the
end of 1992, of a universal convention, i.ncluding a verification regime,
to prohibit chemical weapons.

"on conventional armaments, they note the General Assembly's vote in

faveur of a United Nations register of arms transfers as a first step,
and in this connection recognize the importance of all States providing
all the information called for in the General Assembly's resolution.
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) '

"In conclusion, the members of the security council affirm their

determination to build on the initiative of their meetinq in order to
secure positive ·advances ln promoting international peace and security.
They agree that the United Nations Secretary-General has a crucial rote
to play. The members of the Council express their deep appreciation to
the outgoing Secretary-Oeneral, His Excellency
Mr. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, for his outstanding contribution to the work
of the United Nations, culminating in the signature of the El Salvador
peace agreement. They welcome the new secretary-oeneral, His Excellency
Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, ànd note with satisfaction his intention to
strengthen and improve the functioninq of the United Nations. They
pledge their full support to him, and undertake to work closely with him
and his staff in fulfilment of their shared objectives, including a more
efficient and effective United Nations system.

"The members of the council agree that the world now has the best
chance of achieving international peace and security since the foundation
of the United Nations. They undertake to work in close cooperation with
other United Nations Member States in their own efforts to achieve this,
as well as to address urgently all the other problems, in particular
those of economic and social development, requiring the collective
response of the international COOllllunity. They recognize that peace and
prosperity are indivisible and that lasting peace and stability require
effective international cooperation for the eradication of poverty and
the promotion of a better life for all in larger freedom."