YouSaid · the spoken record

Carlos Saúl Menem

lines on the record: 65
first: 1989-09-24
most recent: 1999-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
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

“Our country has sizeable Arab and Jewish communities; they coexist peacefully with their own lifestyles, traditions and religious beliefs. I myself am a descendant of one of those communities and I can bear witness to our modest but not insignificant experience. We Argentines believe, as do any people strengthened by the most heterogeneous immigration, that men can live in peace, whatever their creed, race or colour. Therefore, feeling this problem as one very close to my own heart and experience, I have offered the good offices of my Government, and my own, to work towards a rapprochement of the parties involved, if they so wish, according to the method that they deem appropriate.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Much has been achieved in the field of intentions and declarations, but, unfortunately, Palestine remains a land of death, pain and growing hatred. Lebanon, in its unfortunate situation, is flagrant proof of the inability to attain peaceful solutions. Our country favours the convening of an international peace conference within the framework of the United Nations in order to bring peace to that region and to negotiate an eventual agreement that will include solid international guarantees until the time when the situation is normalized. That method has made it possible to find appropriate solutions in equally dangerous circumstances. In any event, we shall support any type of negotiation which the parties may agree to with a view to putting an end to the bloodshed.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Likewise, conflicts would only increase if attempts were made to postpone the full implementation of democratic pluralism and freedom. The question of the Middle East deserves careful reflection. That region is a historical cross-roads of culture. Like any zone of conflict, it can become and indeed has become an area of failure and danger. It is a particularly acute area of danger because of its geopolitical position and the heterogeneous interests that it involves. Cur country reaffirms the need to find an urgent solution for all opposing sectors. That is to say, the solution must include respect for the rights of all parties concerned to self-determination and to live within recognized and safe boundaries. Those rights are applicable equally to Israel and to the Palestinian people.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“On repeated occasions you have expressed your overwhelming support for our just claim. That attitude and that complete support encourage our hopes for a fair and peaceful solution of this conflict. I should like to assert that we shall struggle unstintingly and peacefully, with reason and perseverance, to recover our Malvinas Islands. Among the regional conflicts, one which naturally involves us is that of Central America. We favour a negotiated political solution, without external interference. The countries directly involved must find their own solutions. Experience has shown this to be the proper approach. Agreements such as the Tela Declaration reached by the Central American Presidents are proof of that. There can be no solutions if we directly or indirectly disregard the principle of non-intervention.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“This issue is directly linked to peace and disarmament. From the moment our Government came to power, we have sought to join in the general climate of detente. That is why we have taken positive measures. We have extended our hand, showing our willingness to enter into dialogue, while in no way casting any doubt on our historical and inalienable rights to sovereignty over those South Atlantic islands. The recent concrete steps taken at our initiative are well known. The normalization of bilateral dialogue must be followed by a firm and sensible will to bring an end to an obsolete colonial situation that is historically unsustainable. This is the appropriate occasion for me to express to the representatives of the vast majority of countries represented here the deep gratitude of the Argentine people.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“We sincerely hope that next November elections will be held in Namibia and that its long-suffering people may be represented at the next session of the General Assembly and that we may welcome it to our midst as a new independent and democratic State. That will be a decisive step towards normalizing the situation in the southern cone of the African continent. But much more is needed, without the final eradication of apartheid in South Africa, the spark of violence will not be extinguished, what kind of peace can be guaranteed if it is based on silence with respect to the exclusion and daily violation of the most elemental human right, the right to equality? We Argentines have a special debt of gratitude to Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar for the role he has played in regard to our regional conflict - that of the Malvinas Islands.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“I think we should all thank the Secretary-General for his determination, his wise, concrete, untiring and hopeful activities - even at times when it seemed impossible to have any reason to feel hopeful. Suffice it to recall the progress made towards peace in the conflict between Iraq and Iran, and in defusing the problems of Cyprus and Afghanistan. With regard to the questions of Kampuchea and the Western Sahara, we hope that the Secretary-General will continue to receive the support that is essential for the final attainment of peace. It is also our hope that a fair solution can be reached on the Korean issue.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“It is obvious, furthermore, that the present political horizon does give us reason for hope. We can see a climate of detente taking shape not only at the level of ideological-political opposition between the super-Powers, but also in regional conflicts. In the last five years we have seen concrete steps taken along that long road towards overcoming the cold-war climate. Solid progress has been achieved in disarmament, such as the historic 1988 treaty between the Soviet Union and the United States. Such progress may point to the beginning of the definitive overcoming of the irrational arms race. That event is exemplary because it has positive repercussions on other conflicts.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Furthermore, it is necessary to rescue the cultural values, the quality of life, the style and tradition that are inherent in the identity of every nation. It is essential to encourage man's progressive rediscovery of nature, water, earth, air, plants and the animals of creation. These are substantive issues that require a political awareness and a resolute response before it is too late. The concern of philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists, theologians and poets can no longer proceed independently of the mediocre universe of the policy of mere efficiency. I do not believe in the illusory domination that involves a real danger to the destiny of the world. The United Nations is the ideal forum in which to forge that conscience required by changing circumstances.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Today, here and now, we must do likewise to avoid the equally dangerous North-South split, which would bring us into the twenty-first century with two totally opposite universes: a rich, affluent society facing a majority of increasingly impoverished countries. In the same way, it is necessary to give deep thought to the dangers threatening the ecological balance and the human environment. For all of us, man cannot become the predator of man. ""Our planet is not a degradable entity. Development is not a mere mathematical equation. Technology is not a mirage that must merely destroy mankind's home. An appropriate form of production must be founded on wise management of renewable resources and decreasing consumption of irreplaceable raw materials and energy.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“I think that the time has come to reformulate old ideas, to dust them off and update them and to make them consonant with the contemporary world; that is why the concept of international security must be re-adapted to the new realities. Today, insecurity is no longer limited merely to the danger of a nuclear confrontation between super-Powers. There is another world insecurity: it is the risk that the world may once again be split up, this tine into North and South; it is the inability to harmonize economic development on a global scale. There can be no peace or international order in a world given over to the irrationality of inequality. For decades we have been appealing to the conscience of universal peace, that everything be done to end the East-West split.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“An understanding of those realities is not a minor detail of the history through which we are living. What is at stake is the difference between peace and war, between progress and decadence, between development and poverty, between life and death. The century that is about to end has been marked by unprecedented technological and scientific progress, but it has also been marked by atrocious wars, by genocide and by new threats. We must be aware of that interplay of light and shadow, and we must prepare ourselves to ensure that the twenty-first century will be set upon the right road towards the desired harmony.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“There is a challenge before us, there is a clamour around us; there is an inescapable responsibility. The twenty-first century must be the century of a true renascence. It will demand greatness to do away with selfish criteria that are merely partisan, ideological, class-related, religious or racial. It will demand intelligence to understand the problems of our times from a global standpoint. It will demand resolve if we are not to confine ourselves to mere words. Today, to defend what is ours we must be aware of everyone's world. What was a humanitarian option yesterday is now an imperative. We feel that we are all united in the face of great world problems that require co-operation and responses in a spirit of solidarity. There is only one world. There is only one human dignity. There is only one home for all mankind.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“I have always believed it to be impossible to imagine the future of one's country without reflecting upon the reality of the world around us, impossible to have a correct national vision without a correct international vision, impossible to progress if we cover our eyes and grope our way forward without knowing what is going on in a constantly changing world. For that reason, here in this highest forum I wish to speak about some of our concerns, goals and ambitions. I wish to talk about our fears and also about our hopes. I wish to talk about risks and also opportunities. In short, I have come to share with you our dreams and our realities. What is politics, if not the focal point of our will and our ideas? History summons us, and we cannot turn our backs on it.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“I should like to begin by congratulating you, Mr. President, on your election to head the work of the General Assembly at its forty-fourth session. You represent Africa, a continent linked to the most difficult and successful of the struggles of the United Nations, You also represent a country, Nigeria, that has played a significant role in promoting the principles and purposes of the Organization's Charter. We know of your efforts in the Special Committee against Apartheid, and in you we see a standard bearer in the fight to eradicate the vile practice of racial discrimination from southern Africa. I should also like to salute the outgoing President, Mr. Dante Caputo, who, on behalf of our country, accepted the responsibility of presiding over the General Assembly.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)