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...meeting follows the ministerial-level session of 24 September 2003, during which, through a statement read by the Council President, it invited all Member States to contribute to enhancing the United Nations role in establishing justice and the rule of law in post-conflict societies. [For further information, see Press Release SC/7880 of 24 September.]
Statements
JEAN-MARIE GUEHENNO, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, speaking on behalf of several United Nations departments within the Secretariat engaged in supporting justice and the rule of law in post-conflict societies, said the restoration of the rule of law was a sine qua non for the sustainable resolution of conflict and the rebuilding of secure, orderly and humane societies. Too often, the United Nations had failed to give that critical sector the importance it was due and rule of law activities had been considered a subset of the "real mandate". "We can no longer afford to treat the rule of law as a side activity in which we engage alongside political objectives", he said. In many cases, it lay at the heart of the success or failure of peacekeeping operations.
He said that did not mean that the United Nations had neglected the rule of law, but, in some cases, the failure of a peace agreement to address rule of law concerns had tied the United Nation's hands. It was, therefore, essential to ensure that the rule of law figured prominently even at the early stages of peace negotiations. Transitional administrations in Kosovo and Timor-Leste had provided the United Nations with broad mandates in the area of rule of law, bringing to light a number of important lessons. In the case of Kosovo, Member States were not structured to provide qualified personnel quickly enough and the need for international judges and prosecutors had not been appreciated. However, despite successes after a difficult start, the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo had difficulty recruiting qualified international judges and prosecutors and ethnic bias could still taint cases handled by the local judiciary. Since the missions in Kosovo and East Timor, the Organization had learned that significant assistance in the judicial and corrections areas should not be limited to interim administration missions.
He said in the case of Liberia, the Secretary-General had recommended that the criminal justice chain be addressed in a comprehensive manner, and those recommendations had been adopted by the Council. Liberia would be a...
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