YouSaid · the spoken record

Bakir Izetbegović

lines on the record: 39
first: 2012-09-24
most recent: 2016-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
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

“We must find the will and courage to take urgent actions to turn the agendas we agreed upon into instruments of true global change, honouring our pledge to humankind and leaving a legacy true to our values.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Injustice and inequality diminish the human potential of our communities, leaving development and prosperity beyond their reach. The road towards progress goes from ending poverty to reducing inequality and building just, equitable, tolerant, open and inclusive societies, with respect for human rights and the promotion of the rule of law at the core of our every action. History will judge us by the difference we make in the lives of millions of people who are suffering from marginalization, discrimination, poverty, malnutrition, disease, natural disasters and climate change. We must listen to their voices and respond to their needs, hopes and aspirations.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We have collectively committed ourselves to the betterment of humankind with our renewed focus on conflict prevention and resolution and our strengthened efforts towards sustainable development, equal opportunity for all, the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Peace and security cannot be detached from either development or environmental agendas. Peace is not merely the absence of violence. It is freedom from fear and insecurity. There can be no lasting peace and security when injustice and inequality are an everyday experience for millions of people or when basic rights and freedoms are denied to so many human beings. The resulting grievances make our States unstable and our societies vulnerable and readily fuel extremism, radicalization and violence.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We will continue advocating the use of all available legal mechanisms to seek and achieve justice for all victims of crimes against humanity, because we believe that truth and justice are prerequisites for achieving lasting reconciliation, peace and security. In the past year we have seen a renewed sense of unity and unprecedented levels of commitment. We acceded to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the Addis Ababa Action Plan on Transformative Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Agenda for Humanity and the historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Bosnia and Herzegovina is deeply committed to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, multilateralism and the settling of international disputes and conflicts through peaceful means. Using the advantages of our geopolitical position as a bridge between the East and the West and a meeting point of civilizations, we want to advance dialogue and understanding and forge partnerships with friendly countries around the world. We strongly value and are committed to regional and subregional cooperation and remain active in a number of regional initiatives focusing on peacebuilding, migration, cross-border security and development issues. At home and abroad, we will continue to uphold and promote good governance, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We support the United Nations in convening an international conflict-prevention forum by 2020, and we urge the Secretary-General to develop a comprehensive United Nations plan to strengthen conflict prevention. We recognize the value of introducing United Nations peacebuilding efforts at an early stage, alongside peacekeeping activities. The contemporary peace and security environment demands increasingly complex peacekeeping missions with coherent mandates that effectively correspond to situations on the ground. We are proud to have contributed to the United Nations peacekeeping operations in the Congo and in Mali with our military peacekeepers and with police officers in South Sudan, Liberia, Cyprus and Afghanistan, nearly a quarter of whom were women.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“It is critically important to develop and strengthen shared frameworks for conflict-risk analysis, including early-warning mechanisms at the local, national, regional and international levels. Bosnia and Herzegovina encourages the better use of Articles 34 and 99 of the Charter of the United Nations by the Security Council in order to place greater emphasis on preventive diplomacy in situations that could give rise to conflict or threaten international peace and security. Early United Nations engagement and use of the Secretary-General’s good offices, combined with regional mediation efforts, can also substantially reduce the risk of conflict.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The main causes of modern conflicts are discrimination and exclusion, failures of governance, impunity, deep-rooted poverty and the lack of opportunity, aggravated by the growing effects of climate change. In our increasingly interconnected world, we can no longer keep the impact of faraway conflicts outside our borders, nor can we ignore their global consequences. Our past failures, which came at a very high human cost, should have taught us how to better prevent and end conflicts. The scenes from Syria or the Mediterranean shores are a painful reminder that we have not learned those lessons and are still failing to turn our promises into actions. We must act upon early-warning signs of potential conflict.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The engagement of the United Nations has never been more critical, as we face unprecedented challenges in confronting the surge in violence in various forms around the world. Global action, guided by the principles of international law, is required to put an end to the violence and instability in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Libya and other crisis areas. Ensuring the protection of civilians and compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law is imperative. Neutrality and indifference lead to resentment and frustration, further emboldening those who leave devastation and sorrow in their wake. Humanitarian aid can never serve as a substitute for solutions that address the root causes of conflict, nor can it create the necessary conditions for lasting peace and stability.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“However, if that part of our response is not carried out precisely and selectively, with respect for human rights and the rule of law, it will only cause a new wave of radicalization. The real fight and ultimate victory must and can be reached solely on the ideological level. Our approach and strategy must be holistic. We must apply a wide range of policies and measures that address the economic and social conditions conducive to the spread of violent extremism that terrorist organizations exploit to drive recruitment and radicalization. In particular, we must work harder to eliminate discrimination, prejudice and xenophobia in our societies, reduce poverty and inequality, improve education and expand opportunities, especially for our younger generations.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We welcome the Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism as another useful tool in a comprehensive whole-of-United Nations approach to preventing violent extremism. The prevention of extremism and the promotion of human rights are inextricably linked. Inclusive governance and respect for the rule of law are of paramount importance. Political, economic and social injustices around the world contribute to the rise of despair and hopelessness, creating a fertile ground for the emergence of radicalism and violent extremism. In the imperfect world in which we live, injustice is constantly growing, but actions that cause further injustice are not the right response. Our Governments must and will respond to violence with forceful and repressive measures.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We face a problem that has deep and complex roots, that transcends national boundaries, and that cannot, and should not, be associated with any one religion, nationality or ethnic group. Those who perpetrate, organize and inspire terrorist attacks, claiming to do so in the name of Islam, want to turn Islam into an ideology of global fear. Violent extremism and terrorism are unacceptable from the viewpoint of any religion, including Islam. They undermine Islam’s system of values and its universal teachings of tolerance and coexistence. Bosnia and Herzegovina is strongly committed to combating terrorism in all its forms. We are deeply concerned with the rise of violent extremism, and attach a great importance to countering it.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the atrocities, systematic abuses of human rights and violations of international law committed by ISIL. As a member of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, Bosnia and Herzegovina will continue to contribute within our means to international efforts to defeat this terrorist organization. Terrorism is a global threat that affects us all. No State or society is immune to it, and no State alone can counter it. With violent extremism on the rise and a growing number of foreign fighters, terrorism is becoming an increasingly difficult challenge that requires a comprehensive response involving the collaboration of all States, employing both preventative and security measures.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“It is deeply troubling that the most influential global and regional actors have so far failed to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria. Bosnia and Herzegovina fully supports the Geneva peace talks and the efforts of the International Syria Support Group to find a political solution to this conflict. The peaceful future of Syria rests upon respecting the will of the Syrian people and allowing them to express that will in democratic elections. The so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has severely destabilized Syria, Iraq and the broader Middle East, posing a grave threat to international security. Its ideology, objectives and actions are contrary to all values and norms of our civilization.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We are deeply concerned about the erosion of world peace and security caused by new and protracted conflicts, especially in the Middle East. The Israeli- Palestinian conflict, which has lasted for over 60 years, has been the primary and constant source of instability in the Middle East. A new impetus for negotiations is urgently needed. We strongly support efforts to hold a peace conference that would bring a lasting and just resolution to this conflict, based on the principles of international law and reaching a consensus on the peaceful coexistence of two independent States. International peace and stability are being dramatically undermined by the violence and crimes against the Syrian people.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“There is always room for inequality and injustice to thrive if our approach, acceptance and implementation are not cohesive and unified. What we make of the 2030 Agenda and how we build upon it will determine its results in improving equal opportunity for all people. Human rights are at the heart of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, from eradicating poverty to reducing inequality and promoting inclusive societies. As we start to bring people in from the margins, we must strive to put human rights at the centre of our actions, as they are the most powerful driving forces of peace and development. The SDGs are the gold standard we are committed to upholding so that our people can enjoy dignity, freedom and equality. They are a moral and legal framework that empowers people everywhere to fight injustice anywhere.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Unless we urgently take coordinated global action to reverse existing patterns of environmental degradation and climate change, we risk endangering a desired future for generations to come. Fulfilling the commitments of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is critical to protecting development outcomes and adapting to the consequences of natural disasters and climate change through risk-informed development. Bosnia and Herzegovina is already implementing its Climate Change Adaptation and Low-Emission Development Strategy, with the aim of becoming a viable and advanced green economy by 2025. But we need to stay alert. The 2030 Agenda is not the answer to all our problems.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Our ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will depend on the availability of support for national implementation — primarily from the revised and improved Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, which must be a true global platform for the exchange of best practices in the fields of finance, trade, technology and capacity- building among Member States. We support the Global Mechanism and the monitoring of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, which will outline critical milestones towards a coherent and inclusive follow-up and review of the Agenda at the global level. The 2030 Agenda requires us to achieve transformation not only for the sake of the people but also for the sake of the planet. Our development must not come at the expense of our habitat.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We recognize the importance and timely organization of the summit for refugees and migrants, and we welcome the adoption of the outcome document (resolution 71/1) that is clearly linked to the 2030 Agenda. We hope that the commitments made by Member States at that meeting will have meaningful impact on the ground. In the 2030 Agenda, we pledged to ensure that no one is left behind and committed to empowering the most vulnerable. Bosnia and Herzegovina fully supports the 2030 Agenda. As a newly elected member of the Economic and Social Council, we will play an active role in the implementation of this transformative blueprint for change.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“It requires stronger political leadership and resolve, as well as a rethinking of policy, operational and financing strategies at national, regional and international levels. However, all too often, narrow national interests impede the formulation of such joint responses. When crises, such as the current refugee and migrant crisis in the Middle East and in Europe, transcend borders we must look at the big picture — not merely from the standpoint of national interests — because the consequences of our actions and omissions resonate beyond our borders. As a country that had hundreds of thousands of its citizens suffer the plight of being forced out of their homes, Bosnia and Herzegovina attaches great significance to addressing this challenge.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Some 60 million people have been forced to flee their homes because of wars, persecution and human-rights violations. They are scattered around the world with their livelihoods and communities shattered to pieces and their nations and cultures torn apart. Robbed of their dignity and living in despair in refugee camps, they are compelled to seek a better future on the borders of other countries. They are not faceless statistics, but human beings with every right to a future free of violence and a future full of hope and opportunity. Their tragedy is our tragedy; their future is our future. This crisis requires not only a humanitarian response but a sustainable political solution.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Peace and security, human rights and development are the pillars of the United Nations — a founding promise to the world that this Organization was created to safeguard. Yet our world today is anything but peaceful and secure; it is marred by injustice, inequality and intolerance, each of which erodes the foundations of human society. We are witnessing human suffering on an unprecedented scale, suffering that reaches far beyond national boundaries and capacities to deal with it. Poverty, hunger, disease, natural disasters and climate change afflict millions of our fellow human beings. Many States and societies are trapped in protracted conflicts, with cycles of violence claiming countless victims. We are facing the worst forced displacement crisis since the Second World War.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We must listen to the views of others, no matter how different those views might be. We must understand each other better and respect each other more. Our most important mission in the time to come will be to build bridges between cultures, religions and civilizations — bridges of trust, understanding and respect, bridges to reach out to problems the true nature of which we have only begun to understand. That is hard work that requires daring leadership. The Organization has undergone difficult trials, but it has always been the best framework for building those bridges. Let us keep it that way as we go forward.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Cooperative approaches are difficult to accomplish but are needed more than ever. We are not perfect, and we can be better. We can be wiser, more responsible, more willing to learn from our past mistakes. Too often we have been prisoners of our own mentalities. We perceive willingness to compromise as a weakness, but just the opposite is true — compromise requires courage. To build a future we must make compromises. To succeed we must stop indulging in manipulative kinds of populism. We must break out of the worn and frayed patterns of the past. We must turn to the future. Instead of having endless debates about what has been, we must devote ourselves to reaching agreements about what can be. We must more correctly interpret the interests of those we represent.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Yet the selfish side of that power cuts into the very substance on which our future depends, namely, our physical habitat and our spiritual essence. The world we live in is changing at a speed and in a direction that is rightfully worrisome. Inequality, injustice and intolerance are on the rise. There is more conflict and less cooperation. There is ever more violence and ever less compassion, solidarity, mutual care, healthy interpersonal relations and family life. People around the world are taking to the streets, which is a dramatic warning that there is less and less fairness in the societies in which they live. Those unsettling trends can be reversed only by decisive and coordinated global action. The future we desire will not be just a utopia if we join our forces to find the right solutions.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“That is why its preservation and success, as a specific microcosm, is crucial for the whole world. However, owing to our recent past, a great struggle is now under way in my country between the idea of coexistence and the idea of division. I believe that the outcome of that struggle will have a significant bearing on resolving one of the greatest challenges of our time, that of conflict versus cooperation. If the idea of coexistence and cooperation does not prevail in Bosnia, it can hardly prevail anywhere else in the world. If the unique social fabric of my country, which was torn by crimes and force, is not restored, that will be a defeat for the very idea of coexistence, which will produce a widening gap at one of the most delicate fault lines of the world. The growing power of humankind brings progress and prosperity.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“I come from a country whose historical experience can offer valuable lessons in finding a model for peaceful coexistence within such diversity. The whole world can benefit from the lessons that my country has learned from constantly seeking to improve its understanding and management of diversity. For hundreds of years, its citizens lived in harmony, helping each other build houses of worship that are physically almost leaning on each other. The westernmost range of Orthodox Christianity and Islam, the easternmost range of Catholicism, Bosnia is a meeting point of civilizations, a bridge between East and West. Its unique multi-ethnic culture has been woven through a thousand years of tolerance and respect among its citizens, regardless of their ethnic and religious affiliation.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“The relationship between the West and the Islamic world and between their respective value systems is going to be one of the most critical issues of our time. That relationship will go through crises and periods of misunderstanding and intolerance. In the modern age, we need to continue to seek a formula, which is to say a model, for how to reconcile Islamic and Western values, East and West. No matter how hard it may be, finding that formula is going to be essential in the time ahead of us. The human condition is one of diversity. Our human race is a mosaic composed of a rich variety of peoples, cultures and religions that shine together in a dynamic, sparkling pattern. Our responsibility is to nurture and protect that mosaic.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“That is why, as responsible leaders, we should have a frank debate about the outer limits of free expression when that freedom is abused to incite hate and deliberately slander the dignity of others. There is no inherent contradiction between Islamic and Western values. On the contrary, those values are compatible. After all, they are derived from the same sources. Throughout history, interactions between those values have led to tremendous achievements. There need be no clash. There are only those who need to create a false perception of a clash in order to come to power or maintain their hold on it. So many societies in today’s world are in transition, yearning to find a balance between traditional and modern values.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“The video that sparked those developments is deeply insulting. It deserves the strongest condemnation, and we absolutely reject its content and message. There is no justification, however, for responding to that movie with violence. Violence in response to speech is unacceptable. There can be no debate about that. Violence is no way to honour religion. Responding to bigotry with violence only further fans the flames of intolerance. We must draw the line at violence, but we must also find a way to prevent hate speech and bigotry. Yes, there is the right to free speech, but there is also the right to dignity. We cannot impose our ideology or our religion on anyone else. We must promote tolerance, but we must also promote mutual respect.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“That is the only realistic way to bring about a just resolution to the conflict and to ensure stability and progress in the Middle East. To achieve such a solution, a more sincere attempt at good-faith negotiations is needed, especially on the part of Israel. The road to peace does not include ignoring United Nations resolutions, squeezing the Palestinians onto bits and pieces of the land that once belonged to their fathers, and building settlements on those remaining bits of land. The Organization needs to send a strong message demanding that its resolutions be respected and that there be no double standards or chosen peoples when it comes to the application of international legal norms and human rights principles. Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed disturbing violence linked to intolerance.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“All attempts to create new realities on the ground in the hope that they will be accepted as a starting point for future negotiations must be rejected. The continuation of settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories continues to pose the most serious obstacle to peace. Israel should immediately end all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, because those activities are illegal under international law. Doing so is in Israel’s own best interest if it truly desires peace with the Palestinians. The state of affairs of 60 or 6,000 years ago is not the right point of reference. The right point of reference for a solution is the principle of the peaceful coexistence of two sovereign States — an independent Palestine and a secure Israel.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“We acted to ensure that the international community supported those who wanted free societies instead of closed ones, the rule of law instead of the rule of one individual, democracy instead of dictatorship, justice and fairness instead of oppression and corruption. The stalemate in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is also deeply troubling. The peace process is not moving forward, and the chain of violence has not been broken. A new impetus to negotiations is urgently needed, because there is no alternative to a negotiated solution. The Palestinians have every right — historical, moral and legal — to a State of their own, but Israel has every right to its security. The occupation of Palestinian territories must end, but so must the terror and violence.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Developments at the beginning of the twenty-first century defy rational prediction. Indeed, who could have predicted such an explosion of freedom in the Middle East? In the last few years, we have witnessed a historic awakening in the Arab world. Profound social and political changes aimed at creating democratic societies are under way now — changes that have been fermenting for decades. They are the best confirmation that Muslims strive vigorously for freedom, dignity and human rights. A well-educated, free-thinking generation of young Arabs has finally broken the chains of dictatorship. No force can prevent that new generation from taking charge of its destiny. As a non-permanent member of the Security Council, Bosnia and Herzegovina strongly supported the Arab peoples’ aspirations for greater freedom and democracy.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“The best way to honour the victims of the Srebrenica genocide would have been to learn the lessons of that failure and never commit the same errors again. Sadly, the United Nations, especially the Security Council, has failed to do that. The international community has chosen yet again to repeat the trial-and-error pattern of the policies that failed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The resolutions, statements of concern, ineffective sanctions, observers, and missions with no mandate to protect civilians are actions that have deadly consequences, as demonstrated in my country. Make no mistake. Unless we act now, and act decisively, to help the people of Syria and put an end to the bloodshed there, that tragedy will haunt our history forever, just like Srebrenica.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“When Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Srebrenica with me this July to pay his respects to the genocide victims, he said: “The international community must be united not to see any further bloodshed in Syria because I do not want to see any of my successors, after 20 years, visiting Syria, apologizing for what we could have done to protect the civilians in Syria — which we are not doing now”. His predecessor, Kofi Annan, stated in the report on the fall of Srebrenica: “Through error, misjudgment and an inability to recognize the scope of the evil confronting us, we failed to do our part to help save the people of Srebrenica ... The tragedy of Srebrenica will haunt our history forever” (A/54/549, para. 503) Today, those words about the Organization’s failure to respond to the tragedy in Syria ring true.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Once again, we are idly standing by while a human tragedy of dramatic proportions is unfolding before our eyes. We should do our part to help the Syrian people’s historic stand for freedom. We should do our part to save the people of Syria from tyranny. We should, but we are not. The images coming from Syria remind us of the tragedy of Bosnia. We in Bosnia and Herzegovina feel the pain of the Syrian people as our own because we went through the same horrors not that long ago.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“We in Bosnia and Herzegovina recognize the importance of, and fully support, his action agenda, which identified five generational imperatives: prevention, a more secure world, helping countries in transition, empowering women and youth, and sustainable development. Today’s world is the scene of unfolding crises and mounting global challenges. The first and foremost of these is the disaster in Syria. As we stand here, our fellow Syrians are fighting against a brutal regime. They are fighting to take their destiny into their own hands. The regime of Bashar Al-Assad is answering their yearning for freedom and democracy with guns and bombs, just as his father’s regime did 30 years ago. That is revolting and morally reprehensible — but so is our collective failure to stop it.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“I would like to congratulate President Jeremić on his election and to thank Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser for having successfully presided over the General Assembly at its previous session. I also wish to express my deepest gratitude to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for having visited my country this past July. As we are marking the twentieth anniversary of our admission to the United Nations, his visit came as a recognition of the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina has travelled a long way since joining the Organization, having transformed itself from a recipient of security assistance into a contributor to global peace and security. I also want to commend the Secretary-General for his tireless efforts to advance dialogue and cooperation, and for his firm commitment to the core values and principles of the United Nations.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)