YouSaid · the spoken record

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,

lines on the record: 83
first: 2003-09-24
most recent: 2023-09-24
sittings or episodes: 5
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

“In Haiti, we are showing that peace and stability are built with democracy and social development. Walking into this building, representatives to the United Nations can admire a work of art that Brazil presented to the United Nations 50 years ago. I am referring to the murals that portray war and peace painted by a great Brazilian artist, Cândido Portinari. The suffering so expressively portrayed in the mural depicting war brings to mind the United Nations crucial responsibility in containing the risk of armed conflict. The second mural reminds us that peace is much more than the absence of war. It evokes well- being, health and harmonious coexistence with nature. It calls for social justice, freedom and overcoming the scourges of hunger and poverty.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“We all agree on the need for increased participation by developing countries in the major international decision-making bodies, in particular the Security Council. The time has come to move from words to action. We appreciate recent proposals by President Sarkozy to reform the Security Council, with the inclusion of developing nations. A review of decision-making processes within international financial institutions is also required. The United Nations is our best tool to deal with today’s international challenges. It is through multilateral diplomacy that we find the way to fostering peace and development. Brazil’s role alongside other Latin America and Caribbean nations in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti highlights our efforts to strengthen multilateral institutions.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“We cannot accept agricultural protectionism that perpetuates dependency and underdevelopment. Brazil will spare no effort for a successful conclusion of those negotiations, which must, above all, benefit the poorest countries. Building a new international order is no rhetorical turn of phrase; it is a matter of common sense. Brazil is proud of its contribution to South American integration, particularly through the Common Market of the South. We are working to bring together peoples and regions. We seek to enhance political dialogue and economic links with the Arab world, Africa and Asia, and we do so without sacrificing our traditional partners. Brazil has set up an innovative cooperation mechanism with India and South Africa. Together we are working on specific projects to help in various countries, including Haiti and Guinea-Bissau.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Early results are encouraging, particularly the creation of the International Drug Purchase Facility (UNITAID). UNITAID has already achieved 45-per-cent price cuts in drugs used against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis for the poorest countries of Africa. The time has come for us to give it a new push. We cannot allow ideas that so mobilized our countries to fade because of bureaucratic inertia. However, the final defeat of poverty demands more than international solidarity. It depends above all on new economic relations that no longer penalize poor countries. The Doha Round of the World Trade Organization should promote a true pact for development by adopting fair and balanced rules for international trade. Farm subsidies that make the rich richer and the poor poorer are no longer acceptable.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“The country is growing again, creating jobs and distributing income. This time, opportunities are being created for all. We are paying off a centuries-old social debt, while at the same time investing heavily in quality education, science and technology. We have honoured our commitment to “zero hunger” by sweeping away that scourge from the lives of over 45 million people. We achieved the first Millennium Development Goal 10 years ahead of schedule, cutting extreme poverty in our country by more than half. Fighting hunger and poverty should be the concern of all peoples. A global society held back by growing income disparities is simply not viable. There will be no lasting peace if we do not progressively reduce inequality. In 2004, we launched the global Action against Hunger and Poverty.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“It is entirely possible to combine bio-fuels with environmental protection and food production. We will ensure that bio-fuel production complies with all social and environmental guarantees. Our Government has decided to implement a complete agro-ecological zoning of the country in order to identify farmland best suited to producing bio-fuels. Brazilian bio-fuels will reach the world market with a seal of assurance for their social, labour and environmental quality. In 2008, Brazil is set to host an international conference on bio-fuels that will lay the foundations for wide-ranging global cooperation. I hereby invite all countries to participate. Sustainable development is not just an environmental issue; it is also a social challenge. We are making Brazil less unequal and more dynamic.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Bio-fuels can be much more than a clean-energy alternative. Ethanol and bio-diesel can open up excellent opportunities for over 100 poor and developing countries in Latin America, Asia and, especially, Africa. They can enhance energy autonomy, without costly investments. They can create jobs and income and promote family farming. They can help balance trade deficits by reducing imports and generating surplus exportable crops. Brazil’s experience over three decades has shown that bio-fuel production does not affect food security. Sugarcane crops cover just 1 per cent of the country’s arable land, and yields continue to rise. People do not go hungry around the world for lack of food, but rather for lack of income, which afflicts almost 1 billion men, women and children.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“It is very important to adopt an integrated political approach to the environmental agenda as a whole. Brazil hosted the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development the Earth Summit. We need to review what has been achieved since then, and set a new course of action. I therefore propose that we hold a new Conference, in 2012, the “Rio +20” Conference to be hosted by Brazil. We will not overcome the terrible impacts of climate change until humanity changes its patterns of energy production and consumption. The world urgently needs to develop a new energy matrix in which bio-fuels will play a vital role. Bio-fuels significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With its increased and more efficient use of ethanol, Brazil has kept 644 million tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere over the past 30 years.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Brazil will under no circumstance abdicate either its sovereignty or its responsibilities in the Amazon. Our recent achievements derive from an increasing presence of the Brazilian State in the region, fostering sustainable development with economic, social, educational and cultural benefits for its more than 20 million inhabitants. I am convinced that our experience can enrich similar endeavours in other countries. In Nairobi, Brazil proposed the adoption of economic and financial incentives to reduce deforestation on a global scale. We must also increase South-South cooperation while promoting innovative modalities of joint action with developed countries. That is how we can materialize the principle of shared but differentiated responsibilities.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“We need to set more ambitious goals for 2012 onwards and we must take strong action to ensure universal accession to the Protocol. Developing countries must also help in combating climate change. We need clear national strategies to hold Governments accountable to their peoples. Brazil will soon launch its own national plan to combat climate change. The Amazon forest is one of the areas most vulnerable to global warming, but the threats cover all continents. They range from greater desertification to the outright disappearance of territories or even of entire countries lost to rising sea levels. Brazil has undertaken major efforts to minimize the impact of climate change. Suffice it to say that, in recent years, we have halved the rate of deforestation in the Amazon region. Results like that should come as no surprise.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“The preservation of life must prevail over mindless greed. The world will not correct its irresponsible relationship with nature, however, until we change the way development relates to social justice. If we want to salvage our common heritage, a new and more balanced distribution of wealth is needed, both internationally and within each country. Social equity is our best weapon against the planet’s degradation. Each one of us must do our part. It is unacceptable that the cost of the irresponsibility of a privileged few be shouldered by the dispossessed of the Earth. The most highly industrialized countries can and must set the example. Full compliance with their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol is indispensable. That is not enough, however.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“I congratulate the Secretary-General on his assumption of such a high office within the international system. I welcome his decision to encourage high-level debate on the extremely grave issue of climate change. It is most appropriate that that discussion take place here at the United Nations. Let us not delude ourselves. If the groundwork of global development is not rebuilt, the risks of unprecedented environmental and human catastrophe will grow. We must overcome the apparently pragmatic and sophisticated notion which is actually anachronistic, predatory and senseless that profits and wealth can grow forever, at any cost. There are prices that humanity cannot afford to pay at the risk of destroying the material and spiritual foundations of our collective existence at the risk of self-destruction.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“The greatest and noblest challenge facing humanity is precisely that of becoming more humane. It is time to call peace by its true name: social justice. I am convinced that together we shall be able to grasp this historic opportunity to bring about justice.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“With the same determination that goes into my endeavours and those of my partners to make Brazilian society more just and humane, I will invest in the establishment of international partnerships that foster equitable development and a more peace-loving, tolerant and unified world. This century, so full of technological and material promise, must not be allowed to slide into political and spiritual decline. It is our obligation to mould, under the reinvigorated leadership of the United Nations, an international climate of peace and conciliation. True peace will bloom from democracy, from respect for international law, from the dismantling of deadly weapons arsenals and, above all, from the final eradication of hunger in the world. We cannot afford to frustrate such high hopes.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“For this reason, I am submitting a proposal for consideration by the General Assembly to establish a world committee within the United Nations itself to fight hunger. It would be made up of heads of State or Government from all continents with the purpose of unifying and operationalizing proposals. We hope to attract donations from developed and developing countries according to their capacities, as well as from large private enterprises and non-governmental organizations. My life experience and political history have taught me to believe above all in the power of dialogue. I will never forget Gandhi's invaluable lesson that when out of violence something good appears to result, this good is at best short-lived, while the evil that it produces is enduring. Democratic dialogue is the most efficient of all tools for change.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Other proposals have been put forward as well, some already integrated into existing United Nations programmes. What has been lacking until now is the indispensable political will of us all, especially of those countries in a position to contribute most. Creating new funds is of no use if no resources are committed to them. The Millennium Development Goals are very worthy, but if we remain passive, if our collective behaviour remains unchanged, those Goals may never materialize, and the ensuing frustration will be immense. Now more than ever, good intentions must give rise to concrete gestures. We must put commitments into practice. We must practice what we preach with audacity, good sense and our feet firmly on the ground, yet boldly, and with new methods, solutions and intense social participation.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“It seeks to eradicate hunger and its root causes in the shortest possible time by promoting major solidarity and wide-ranging programmes bringing together Government, civil society and the private sector. The results of those 8 emergency and structural measures are already benefiting 4 million individuals who were previously denied the right to a daily meal. The goal of this programme is to guarantee that no Brazilians will go hungry. The United Nations adopted the highly acclaimed Millennium Development Goals. The Food and Agriculture Organization has at its disposal outstanding technical and social expertise. But we need to make a qualitative leap in the global endeavour to fight hunger. That is why I proposed setting up a global fund to fight hunger and suggested means to make it operational.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“We will continue to work hard to balance public accounts and to reduce external vulnerability. We will spare no effort to increase exports, raise the savings rate, attract foreign investment and start growing again. Yet at the same time we must strive to cope with the need for food, jobs, education and health services for millions of Brazilians living below the poverty line. We are committed to bringing about major social reform in the country. Hunger is the most dramatic and urgent expression of a structural imbalance requiring correction through integrated policies that foster full citizenship. That is why I launched the zero hunger' programme in Brazil.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“We no longer have the right to allege that we were not home when they knocked at our door asking for solidarity. We have no right to say to the famished who have waited for so long: come back next century. The true path to peace is to fight hunger and extreme poverty to the end, in a campaign of solidarity that unites the planet rather than deepening the divisions and the hatred that inflame people and sow terror. Despite the failure of systems that favour the generation of wealth without reducing extreme poverty, many people still persist in their short-sightedness and greed. Since my inauguration as President of Brazil on 1 January, significant progress has been made on the economic front. Stability is back and the groundwork for a renewed cycle of sustained growth has been laid.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The more we celebrate God by generating riches, the more we hurt our ideals by not minimally sharing them. What is the use of all our science and technology, of all the abundance and luxury that it has generated, if we do not put it to use, guaranteeing the most sacred of rights: the right to life? I recall the penetrating warning, made by Pope Paul VI 36 years ago, but which is still surprisingly relevant: The starving people of the world dramatically address their plea to the wealthy'. Hunger is an emergency, and it should be dealt with as such. The eradication of hunger is a civilizational challenge that requires that we seek a shortcut to the future. Will we act to eliminate hunger or will we forsake our credibility through omission?”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Yet we cannot dismiss the statistics that expose the terrible scourge of extreme poverty and hunger in the world. Hunger today touches a fourth of the world's population, including 300 million children. Daily, 24,000 people fall victim to malnutrition-related diseases. Nothing is more absurd or intolerable than the pervasiveness of hunger in the twenty-first century, this golden age of science and technology. With each passing day, human intelligence enlarges the horizons of the possible and achieves prodigious feats. Yet, hunger persists and, what is worse, it is spreading throughout various regions of the planet. The more we seem to approach the divine through our creative abilities, the more humanity betrays its aspirations through our inability to respect and protect our fellow creatures.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“From that standpoint, trade negotiations are not an end in themselves, but rather a means to foster development and overcome poverty. International trade should be a tool not only for creating wealth, but also for its distribution. I reaffirm before this truly universal Assembly the appeal I launched at the Davos and Porto Alegre forums and at the Enlarged Summit of the G-8 at Evian. We must wage both politically and materially the only war from which we will all emerge victorious: the war against hunger and extreme poverty. The eradication of hunger in the world is a moral and political imperative. And we all know that it is possible. What is truly required is political will. I do not wish to dwell on indications of barbarism. I would rather acknowledge ethical and social progress, no matter how modest.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Brazil and its partners in the G-22 maintained during the World Trade Organization summit meeting at Cancun that the crucial goal of effectively opening markets is achievable through pragmatic and mutually reinforcing negotiations that bring about an effective opening of markets. I reaffirm our willingness to travel along a path that converges towards solutions that 7 benefit all countries, taking into account the interests of developing countries. We are entirely in favour of free trade as long as we can all compete on a level playing field. Liberalization should not require countries to abandon the prerogative of formulating industrial, technological, social and environmental policy. In Brazil we are engaged in setting up a new framework that balances economic stability and social inclusion.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In November, I will be travelling to five countries in Southern Africa to foster economic, political, social and cultural cooperation. With the same goal in mind, we will also host a summit meeting between South American countries and the member States of the League of Arab States. With India and South Africa we have established a trilateral forum for political consultations and joint projects. The protectionism practised by rich countries unfairly penalizes efficient producers in developing countries. Today this is the greatest obstacle to launching a new era of economic and social progress.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“We are moving beyond our shared history and geography to create a unique sense of kinship and partnership. In this context, our relationship with Argentina remains crucial. South America and Latin America are increasingly seen as a region of peace, democracy and development that aspires to become a new outpost for growth in a stagnating world economy. We are deepening the already significant ties with traditional partners in North America and Europe, but we also seek to widen and diversify our international presence. Our relations with China and the Russian Federation have revealed unexpected complementarities. We are proud to be the country with the second largest population of African descent in the world.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The General Assembly has fulfilled a historically important role by convening major conferences and other meetings on human rights, the environment, population, women's rights, racial discrimination, AIDS and social development. However, the General Assembly should not hesitate to assume its responsibilities for maintaining international peace and security. Our Organization has shown that there are legal and political alternatives to a veto- induced paralysis and to actions lacking multilateral endorsement. Peace, security, development and social justice are indivisible. Brazil has endeavoured to practice with utmost consistency the principles for which it stands. The new relationship we are forging with our South American neighbours is founded on mutual respect, friendship and cooperation.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Given the support we received in South America and beyond, Brazil is encouraged to continue advocating for a Security Council that better reflects contemporary reality. We also favour an Economic and Social Council capable of bringing about a fair and just economic order. It is crucial that the Economic and Social Council regain the role bestowed upon it by the founding fathers of the Organization. We wish to see the Economic and Social Council cooperate actively with the Security Council in preventing conflicts and in nation building. The General Assembly, in turn, must be strengthened politically so as to focus on priority issues and avoid duplication of effort.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Above all, its decisions must seen as legitimate by the community of nations as a whole. Its composition, in particular as concerns permanent membership, cannot remain unaltered almost 60 years later. It can no longer ignore the changing world. More specifically, it must take into account the emergence on the international scene of developing countries. They have become important actors that often exercise a critical role in ensuring the pacific settlement of disputes. Brazil believes that it has a useful contribution to make. It seeks not to advance an exclusive conception of international security, but rather to give expression to the perceptions and aspirations of a region that today is a hallmark of peaceful coexistence among its members and that is a force for international stability.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Let there be no ambiguity on this subject: no matter how invaluable its humanitarian work, the United Nations 6 was conceived to do more than simply to clear away the rubble of conflicts that it was unable to prevent. Our central task is to preserve people from the scourge of war, to negotiate settlements inspired by the principles and objectives of the San Francisco Charter. Let us not place greater trust on military might than on the institutions we created with the light of reason and the vision of history. Reform of the United Nations has become an urgent task, given the present risks to the international political order. The Security Council must be fully empowered to deal with crises and threats to peace. It must therefore be equipped with the tools for effective action.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“That impasse can be overcome only under the leadership of the United Nations leadership not only in re-establishing acceptable security conditions, but also in guiding the political process towards the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty as soon as possible. We must not shy away from our collective responsibilities. A war can perhaps be won single-handedly, but peace lasting peace cannot be secured without the support of all. Two years later, the images of the barbaric attack on 11 September still haunt us. There is a commendable willingness today to adopt more effective measures to deal with terrorism, with weapons of mass destruction and with organized crime. Unfortunately, there are also worrisome signs of an attempt to discredit the Organization and even to divest the United Nations of its political authority.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In my nine months as President of Brazil, I have conferred with leaders of all continents, and I have sensed in them a deep concern to defend and strengthen multilateral institutions. The improvement of the multilateral system is a necessary counterpart to democratic practice within nations. Every nation that practices democracy must strive to ensure that in international affairs, decision-making is equally open, transparent, legitimate and representative. The tragedies that have befallen Iraq and the Middle East can be overcome only within a multilateral framework one in which the United Nations is given a central role. In Iraq, the prevailing climate of insecurity and growing tension makes national reconstruction an even more complex task.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Sergio's renowned competence was nurtured by the only weapons in which he believed: dialogue, persuasion and, above all, concern for those who are most vulnerable. On behalf of the United Nations, he showed a tolerant, peace-loving and courageous humanism that mirrors Brazil's libertarian soul. Sergio's sacrifice, and that of his colleagues, must not be in vain. We can best honour his memory by redoubling our efforts to protect human dignity wherever it is threatened. I warmly greet Mr. Julian Hunte, who was elected President of the Assembly at a particularly grave moment in the history of the United Nations. The international community faces enormous political, economic and social challenges requiring an accelerated pace of reform. Only thus will our collective decisions and actions be truly respected and effective.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Let my first words before this world parliament be of confidence in the human capacity to overcome challenges and to move towards higher forms of partnership, both within and among nations. On behalf of the Brazilian people, I reaffirm our belief in the United Nations. Its role in promoting peace and social justice remains irreplaceable. I pay tribute to Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the leadership that he has shown in defence of a world united through respect for international law and solidarity among nations. The Assembly convenes under the impact of the brutal attack on the United Nations Mission in Baghdad, which took the life of its head officer, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, our compatriot Sergio Vieira de Mello.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)