Matthew Lee described on his Inner City Press blog the negotiations conducted by the president of the UN Security Council before the statement issued concerning Benazir Bhutto’s assassination: “In the hours after Benazir Bhutto was killed, the 15 members of the UN Security Council negotiated and agreed to a Presidential Statement of condemnation. A sixteenth country was consulted: Pakistan. According to Council diplomats involved in the negotiations, among the changes made before the final Presidential Statement was issued was the omission of any temporal reference in the Council’s statement of the ‘need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism to justice’. The proposal was to say this should be done as soon as possible, but this was omitted, apparently to make it less likely that the matter could be brought back before the Council if the investigation is too slow or otherwise not credible. Before these Security Council negotiations, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had issued a statement, including a ‘call for the perpetrators to be brought to justice as soon as possible. I convey my heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Bhutto’s family, her colleagues and to the people of Pakistan. While strongly urging for calm and restraint to be maintained at this difficult time, I call on all Pakistanis to work together for peace and national unity‘. In the Council, it was suggested that the Presidential Statement should track Ban Ki-moon’s already-issued statement. But issue was taken with the phrase “as soon as possible” and “peace” — “international peace and security” being the legal hook for the Council to send peacekeepers or investigators, as in Lebanon, to a country … [And so] the phrase ‘as soon as possible’, which is in the Secretary-General’s statement…did not make it into the Council’s Presidential Statement … The real question, though, concerns the omission of those fighting for democracy and rule of law.
While the final Presidential Statement offers a ‘tribute to former Prime Minister Bhutto’, it had been proposed to also mention those fighting for democracy and the rule of law. But this too was omitted, apparently under the theory that it might embolden and even empower those questioning the rule of Pervez Musharraf. One is left with a watered down statement, and ever-multiplying questions”. Matthew Lee’s post is here.
And, here is the final result, the UNSC’s Presidential Statement, read out by the current SC President for the month of December, Ambassador Marcello Spatafora of Italy:
“The Security Council condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist suicide attack by extremists that occurred in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on 27 December 2007, causing the death of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and numerous other casualties, and expresses its deep sympathy and condolences to the victims of this heinous act of terrorism and their families, and to the people and the Government of Pakistan. The Security Council pays tribute to former Prime Minister Bhutto.
“The Security Council calls on all Pakistanis to exercise restraint and maintain stability in the country.
“The Security Council underlines the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism to justice, and urges all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and resolution 1373 (2001) and consistent with resolution 1624 (2005), to cooperate actively with the Pakistani authorities in this regard.
“The Security Council reaffirms that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.
“The Security Council further reaffirms the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts. The Council reminds States that they must ensure that any measures taken to combat terrorism comply with all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law.
“The Security Council reiterates its determination to combat all forms of terrorism, in accordance with its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations.”
This statement is contained in a UN press release here.
And, as the UN press release says, the meeting started at 2 p.m. and ended at 2:05 p.m.