YouSaid · the spoken record

Antoni Martí Petit

lines on the record: 119
first: 2013-09-24
most recent: 2018-09-24
sittings or episodes: 6
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“The actions taken by my country in the United Nations over the past year have focused primarily on education. That matter requires, perhaps more than any other, a vision that integrates long-term thinking. Promoting access to quality education for all the citizens of our planet has always been a priority of the United Nations, because when we speak of education we are speaking also of fundamental rights and of development. But I would go further. Education is also an instrument for creating awareness of a global citizenry. If there is not a broad majority of citizens of the world who believe in the principles and values of the United Nations, our actions will always be in vain. I am convinced that the only way to create global awareness is through education.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We all feel as if we are British, American or French citizens when watching the recent savage executions. We must also all feel as if we were Syrian or Iraqi citizens — true victims of those extremists, though not always so visible in the media. There can be no room for inaction or for impunity. New threats, also global in nature, have appeared, such as the phenomenon of foreign combatants. In that connection, Andorra co-sponsored the recent Security Council resolution 2178 (2014). We must have a response to rechannel efforts to tackle the challenges and immediate threats. In the long run we must be able to persevere in the fight against sectarian discourse, extremist discourse, and discourses of hate. On that point, education must play an essential role, together with the other values of the United Nations, now and in the future.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Along the same lines, we do not believe that any solution to the Ukrainian conflict can be stable unless it respects the principles of international law and unless it comes as the fruit of a sincere dialogue — neither in Ukraine nor anywhere else. The risk and threat to international peace and security arising from the emergence of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq require a clear response from the international community vis-à-vis the extremists. There can be no excuse or mitigating factor for the criminal acts of barbarism, sectarianism and — let us be clear — terrorism to which the Islamic State resorts as a strategy for its action and communication. There can be no double-standard discourse. The Islamic State murders innocent people in cold blood.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We did so when we co-sponsored the draft resolution in the Security Council that would have requested that the case of Syria be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC), because without justice there can be no lasting peace — neither in Syria nor anywhere else. Also, in the same spirit we have been unflagging in our defence of a solution to the Palestinian conflict that obtains peaceful coexistence for two States, in compliance with United Nations resolutions. A solution must be based on mutual recognition and mutual respect, because the aspirations of the Palestinian people to have their own State are noble and respectable, but also noble and respectable are the aspirations of the Government of Israel to ensure life and security for its citizens.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Certainly there is a variety of challenges, but they have a very significant common denominator: they can be resolved only with a vision that is global, multilateral, effective and, above all, respectful of the principles that inspire this General Assembly. The conflicts in Syria, Palestine or Ukraine, which threaten peace and security and stability, will not be resolved optimally or effectively with a partial or short- term vision. Any solution that veers away from the founding principles of the United Nations is condemned to be unstable, not lasting and, unfortunately, quite often a solution that leads to new conflicts. Therefore Andorra has always championed and will continue to champion the discussion of and solutions to those conflicts under United Nations auspices.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Further, the foreign activities of countries, focusing solely and exclusively on their national interests, proved in some cases to be the cause of the conflicts. The two World Wars raised humankind’s awareness in that the world needed a global order that would ensure peace and security and promote development and justice. Those functions could no longer be provided by a single country, however powerful and large, or even by a bloc of countries; rather, there had to be multilateral action. That was the raison d’être of the United Nations, of which the highest expression is this General Assembly. I wanted to begin with a brief historical reference, because I believe that the challenges of peace and security in the world of today are not very different from the challenges of peace and security of the world of yesterday, of 1914 or 1944.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It is an honour for me to represent my country, the Principality of Andorra, in the Assembly, which for almost seven decades has been meeting annually to speak of peace, development and justice, and particularly this year, in which we are marking two historic events that are closely linked to the birth of the United Nations. The year 2014 will mark 100 years since the beginning of the First World War and 70 years since the landing of the Allies in Normandy, which was the beginning of the end of the Second World War. Those two armed conflicts caused humanity to open its eyes to a new reality: the old balances among European Powers no longer served to maintain peace in the world. The policy of blocs was ineffectual in preventing conflicts with enormous destructive capacity.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“All of us who are here today, all of us who have spoken from this rostrum this week, are obligated to ensure peace and justice, democracy and development, human rights and the peaceful resolution of conflicts. All the principles and values to which we are firmly committed must always go hand in hand. It is a long and difficult path, but it is the only way in which a better world can possibly come about. Referring to what President Obama said a few days ago (see A/68/PV.5), it is obvious that we live in a world of imperfect choices. This difficulty must not be used as an excuse for our failure to act. As President Hollande stated from this very rostrum (see A/68/PV.5), the United Nations has a responsibility to act, and the worst decision is to take no action at all.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Early in my statement, in recalling Andorra’s admission into the United Nations 20 years ago, I referred to the more than seven centuries of peace in our country, which is a relevant point to make at an event such as this. I am sure that other Andorran representatives have raised this point. We are proud of our country’s peaceful history, but we are also keenly aware that Andorra, a small State, would probably not have enjoyed more than 700 years of peace had there been any great inequalities among its inhabitants, had the laws not been fair or had tyranny reigned instead of a parliamentary regime, since there cannot be peace without justice in Andorra or anywhere else.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“It is not always easy for the international community to find a fair and effective way of responding, perhaps because we are responding to the problems rather than preventing them. Therefore, I would like to return to what I said at the beginning of my speech. We cannot allow the principles and values of the United Nations to be relegated to high-flown declarations that have no positive impact on people’s lives. Peace, the rule of law and democracy must be accompanied by effective respect for human rights and a substantial improvement in the living conditions of people, which means less poverty, less hunger, more education and more gender equality. An ambitious development agenda that is implemented effectively is the best way of preventing conflicts and ensuring peace and security.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Nor must we forget the humanitarian dimension of the Syrian conflict, which is not only a priority but a terrible loss and a cruel emergency. The resumption of negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis can also be included in the dynamic of our quest for the right balance, based on a two- State-solution, between the legitimate demand of the Palestinian people for a peaceful and democratic State and the desire of Israelis to obtain assurances for their existence, safety and security. Each and every time we are unable to resolve a conflict, we are jeopardizing the principles and values that are most valued by the international community: peace, security, dialogue, human rights and democracy.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The use of chemical weapons against civilians, which we condemn and which is contrary to all the values that the General Assembly upholds, places the international community in a scenario that requires firm and strong answers. The strong reaction to the situation led by the United States and France, along with the pragmatic attitude of Russia, has generated the momentum to advance in the search for that fair balance. First is the issue of reaching agreement on the evidence and destruction of such chemical weapons; second is the issue of taking advantage of this dynamic in order to make greater diplomatic efforts to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict. That will require new steps towards furthering the Geneva process.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Even more seriously, we would run the risk of words such as “democracy”, “human rights” and “international law” becoming meaningless. A year ago, on the occasion of the sixty-seventh session of the General Assembly, we condemned and repudiated the Benghazi attack. Today, one year later, we must all feel that we are citizens of Nairobi. We must stand with those who condemn terrorism and defend the principles of the United Nations. A year ago we used this platform to express our deep concern about the civil war in Syria, in particular the conflict’s devastating effects on the Syrian population. We said then that the conflict was creating a terrible dilemma for the international community — that of finding the right balance between a diplomatic resolution and respect for the rule of law.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“That is why I said that we applaud the fact that specific objectives have been set, that we evaluate progress towards meeting them and that we come here to explain that progress and shortcomings. I hope the goals of the post-2015 agenda will be even more ambitious and that we will be able to dedicate even more effort to realizing them. That is because the citizens of the world need to know that those who proclaim the expansion of democracy and the rule of law are the same people who have striven to reduce poverty, hunger and child mortality and to promote gender equality and universal education, which are so important. Otherwise, we will run the risk of citizens perceiving their institutions and the United Nations as being far removed from their everyday lives and real problems.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Notable progress has been achieved in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis, and the goal of reducing hunger by 50 per cent in 2015 would appear to be achievable, which would be a great success. Andorra applauds the decision to conjoin the United Nations main principles with specific objectives to solve the great problems faced by humankind. We must not give the impression that we are just a group of Heads of State and Government who have met in a First World city, full of fine words and good intentions, but completely ineffective when it comes to solving the problems threatening the lives and dignity of millions of people all over the world. Unfortunately, that is the image that we have at times projected to the international community.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Over the past 13 years we have advanced very little with respect to the sustainability and protection of the environment. Child mortality continues to increase in the poorest regions and countries. Achieving universal primary education by 2015 is totally unviable, and progress towards preventing and treating AIDS in the poorer countries remains inadequate. A great deal of work remains to be done. It would not, however, be fair to emphasize only what we have not done and to forget all the progress that has been achieved in other areas. Since 2000, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty has been halved. The share of the world’s population with access to safe drinking water rose from 76 per cent in 1990 to 89 per cent in 2010.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I refer to the Millennium Development Goals adopted in 2000, which are to be assessed definitively in two years’ time. It was particularly relevant to directly link the main principles of peace, democracy and the negotiated resolution of conflicts and human rights with more specific matters of extreme importance, such as the eradication of poverty and hunger, universal primary education and the sustainability and protection of the environment. At this session of the General Assembly, we have discussed and we will continue to discuss the definition of new goals to be introduced after 2015. However, we must not forget that all reports indicate that we shall reach that date without having accomplished most of the Goals set in 2000.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In 1993, with the approval of the Constitution and our entry into the United Nations, Andorra’s 700-year reality as a sovereign, democratic country that had no army and had remained neutral — few countries can make such a claim — in the heart of the Pyrenees was formally recognized. The visit of the Secretary- General to our country in April on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of our Constitution served to reiterate once again Andorra’s commitment to the principles and values of the United Nations. Those principles and values must not remain mere high- sounding declarations and founding charters, but must be translated into greater effectiveness in improving people’s lives. It is particularly worth noting the emphasis that the United Nations has placed on development in recent years.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I should like to begin by congratulating the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session, Ambassador John Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda. We are fully convinced that he will be a manifest example of how small States can shoulder the responsibilities deriving from participating in the international community. It is both an honour and a great responsibility to address the Assembly on behalf of the people and the Government of the Principality of Andorra. It is doubly an honour as we are celebrating 20 years since our country became a Member of the United Nations.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)