Mission to Brazil by Pierre Jean Vandoorne
Iraq / Kuwait
Iran / Nuclear issue
Mission to Brazil by Pierre Jean Vandoorne, ambassador to the families of the victims of the AF 447 accident
Pierre Jean Vandoorne, ambassador to the families of the victims of flight AF 447, which disappeared in flight on June 1, visited Brazil from June 13 to 16.
He went firstly to Rio de Janeiro where he met with the families of the victims gathered at the reception center set up by Air France; he also met the teams of volunteers from the airline tasked with helping the families.
He then went to Recife where he met with the Brazilian civilian and military authorities as well as the French teams on the ground, including medical examiners and identification specialists authorized to work, alongside their Brazilian colleagues, at the Forensic Institute where the bodies recovered from the sea have been taken, and representatives from the Investigation and Analysis Bureau (BEA) tasked with receiving the plane’s debris recovered from the sea and carrying out the initial examination of it as required by the technical investigation.
Pierre Jean Vandoorne was also involved in the handing over, in Recife, of the first personal effects of the victims, recovered from the sea by the Brazilian navy, to the French Consul General and officers from France’s Criminal Investigation Division.
He discussed the operation that has been put in place in coordination with the French navy at the operational center set up by the Brazilian authorities. He met with the Military Regional Commander and his deputies as well as the admiral responsible for the marine search operation. The current force […] consists of around ten vessels that are permanently in the area as well as air assets that have completed more than a thousand flying hours to date.
Lastly, in Brasilia Pierre Jean Vandoorne met with representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for handling this distressing issue. He obtained the necessary contacts so that information relating to the identification of the victims could be passed as quickly as possible to the families and to the embassies and consulates of countries that had citizens aboard flight AF 447. Specifically, he met with the Director-General of the Federal Police and the Director of the Forensic Police and was fully reassured of the strong Franco-Brazilian cooperation that exists and of the collaboration between the French experts and the teams responsible for identifying the victims.
As soon as he returned to Paris, Pierre Jean Vandoorne held a second meeting to provide information to the foreign representations in France, as he also did on June 11. This meeting, in which the Brazilian Consul General again took part, gave him the opportunity to present the results of his mission to them and explain the procedures relating to the legal investigation and advise them with regard to the collection of ante-mortem information required to identify the victims.
The meeting also provided a forum for responding to the questions from the consular representatives who will also pass this information to the families of the foreign victims.
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As the President of the Republic emphasized during his visit to Baghdad on February 10 and reiterated during the visits to France by the Iraqi Vice President and Prime Minister, we want Iraq to regain its rightful place in the international community as soon as possible.
In order for it to regain that position, the Security Council must examine the legally binding provisions applied to Iraq under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which have been implemented since 1990. Resolution 1859, adopted on December 22, 2008, provides, to this end, for a review of the resolutions adopted by the Security Council since 1990 pursuant to Chapter VII. This examination will be based on the UN Secretary-General’s report, slated for late June or early July.
The Iraqi and Kuwaiti authorities have begun bilateral discussions under the auspices of the UN in order to make progress on the sensitive issue of those who disappeared during the Gulf War, and on State assets and archives.
We support any and all progress in the bilateral Iraqi-Kuwaiti relationship. We notably support the continuation of the discussions between the two countries that got under way in Amman on May 19 and 20. The initiatives taken by the two countries are welcome and bolster the move toward the complete restoration of Iraqi sovereignty in respect of its international obligations and—with regard to its maritime and land borders with Kuwait—of resolutions 773 and 833.
Do you have any comment on Mr. ElBaradei’s most recent statements concerning Iran’s nuclear activities, and particularly that Iran is seeking to obtain nuclear weapons?
It is very significant that the Agency’s director general himself expressed the most serious doubts on the objectives being pursued by Iran in its nuclear program. Iran must understand the extent of the international community’s concern and respond to the Agency’s questions without delay.
It is troubling to see a state move ahead with enrichment without any identifiable civilian outlet and violate its safeguards agreement with the IAEA.
Indeed, the Agency has serious information that is specifically laid out in the director general’s reports on possible Iranian activities leading directly to the design and manufacture of nuclear weapons.
Do you think the current situation in Iran is fostering or delaying the resumption of negotiations with the 5+1 group on the nuclear issue?
In April, the Six proposed a meeting to the Iranian negotiator in order to discuss the nuclear issue. We are waiting for the Iranian response.