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H.E. Mr. Koichi Haraguchi
Permanent Representative of Japan
At the Open Meeting of the Security Council
on the Situation in Bougainville
6 May, 2004
Mr. President,
Allow me first of all to express my appreciation
for the comprehensive briefing provided by the Secretariat
on the situation in Bougainville. Japan is very pleased to
note that, in the period since the political mission was reorganized
into the United Nations Observer Mission in Bougainville (UNOMB)
last December, it has continued its activities in an efficient
and effective manner. Let me also take this opportunity to
say that we highly appreciate the positive role that Ambassador
Noel Sinclair played as the head of the UN mission in Bougainville
until the end of February of this year.
Mr. President,
The Bougainville peace process has entered into
its final and most critical stage both politically and militarily.
The current tasks are to formulate the Bougainville Constitution
and to collect and destroy weapons. We understand that the
Constitutional Commission is currently working on the final
draft constitution. It is our hope that the Commission will
be able to finalize its work quickly and report to the Government
of Papua New Guinea for its speedy endorsement of the draft
constitution.
Japan welcomes the report that, through the
voluntary cooperation of the people of Bougainville, eighty
percent of the collected weapons have already been destroyed.
We are somewhat worried, however, about the report that a
considerable number of weapons were recently stolen from a
government weapons repository. Although we understand that
such a theft is an exceptional occurrence, we wish to register
our hope that the weapons disposal work be completed expeditiously,
so that there will be no recurrence of this kind of unfortunate
incident.
Mr. President,
My government would also like to emphasize that,
as the expiration date of the mandate of Observer Mission
in Bougainville is fast approaching, it is essential for the
people of Bougainville to exercise their ownership in accelerating
the peace process. On this point, we have been pleased to
how positively Bougainvilleans responded to the work of weapons
disposal. Japan, for its part, intends to continue extending
the bilateral assistance in the areas of education, public
health and transportation infrastructure that it began to
implement last October. It is our hope that this bilateral
assistance will improve daily life and strengthen the economy,
so that the people of Bougainville will be able to stand on
their own two feet.
The mandate of UN Observer Mission in Bougainville
is scheduled to expire at the end of June. For the sake of
the consolidation of peace in Bougainville, we are fully aware
of the necessity of a long-term commitment, including assistance
for economic development on the part of the international
community. At the same time, however, Japan maintains the
position that the mandate of any United Nations political
mission should be limited to the period deemed necessary to
complete its assigned goals. We, therefore, strongly hope
that, in the period of between now and the end of June, UNOMB
will further intensify its work, so that it will be able to
fulfill its mission as completely as possible in the time
remaining.
Thank you, Mr. President.
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