YouSaid · the spoken record

Lyonchoen Jigmi Yoezer Thinley

lines on the record: 35
first: 2008-09-24
most recent: 2012-09-24
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

“As a small State, we have always attached the highest importance to multilateralism and the primacy of an effective United Nations that serves the interests of all its Member States. The election of non-permanent members to the Security Council next month will, I believe, provide the opportunity for the international community, as represented by all Member States, to demonstrate its commitment to the fundamental precept of sovereign equality as enshrined in the United Nations Charter and to the principles of democracy and rotation that give it meaning.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“As a responsible member of the international community, committed to the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, Bhutan is now prepared to engage directly in the process of building a more secure world through non-permanent membership in the Security Council. This we regard not only as a privilege, but also as a responsibility of United Nations membership. It was in this context that in 1999 Bhutan informed the Asian Group of its aspiration to seek membership in the Security Council for the term 2013-2014. Having never held nor sought membership in the Council before, we are convinced that all States, regardless of size, population or level of development, must be permitted the opportunity to contribute by bringing diversity of thought, approach and, indeed, their will to the work of the Council.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Towards this end, my Government also looks forward to the early establishment of the intergovernmental open working group tasked with designing sustainable development goals, as agreed at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio. This month, Bhutan enters its forty-second year of membership in the United Nations. During this period, Bhutan has been a beneficiary of the international community, whose support and generosity have helped to bring about tangible improvements in the lives of the Bhutanese people. In return, Bhutan’s contributions to the work of the United Nations have been modest but focused. We have endeavoured to demonstrate our dedication to the causes of peace, development and the rule of law.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“The working group will elaborate and refine the four themes of well-being and happiness, ecological sustainability, fair distribution, and the efficient use of resources. It will prepare detailed documentation, including thorough literature reviews and examinations of existing best practices on how the new paradigm can work. They will look at its potential accounting and measurement systems, regulatory and financial mechanisms, and trade, governance, and other institutional arrangements. We believe the findings will complement and contribute to the efforts being undertaken by the Secretary-General’s high-level panel.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“For our part, I would like to submit that Bhutan has initiated a number of steps in the same direction, pursuant to the recommendation issued at the 2 April High-level Meeting on Well-being and Happiness here at the United Nations. In July, His Majesty the King of Bhutan established a working group of international experts, comprising over 50 thought leaders, to elaborate the details of the new proposed development paradigm over the coming two years. Their work will be made available for consideration at the sixty-eighth and sixty-ninth sessions of the General Assembly, in 2013 and 2014. Simultaneously, His Majesty the King appointed a national steering committee to guide and support this process.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“They are the pioneers, taking the lead where Governments fear to tread, and giving courageous expression to humankind’s basic goodness and inherent wisdom. They are the torchbearers of a brave new dawn, and we too must have the wisdom and humility to follow their lead. I am also inspired by the appointment of a high-level panel by the Secretary-General to advise on the global development agenda beyond 2015, which, we note, convened its first meeting earlier this week. Moreover, the launch of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, led by Jeffrey Sachs, is to be welcomed, as is the Secretary-General’s personal commitment to enriching the discourse on the future of our race.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“It is our expectation that such sustainable development goals will steer the post-2015 international development agenda and set humankind on the right course. What inspired me most at Rio was the indomitable spirit of the hundreds of side events, several of which I was honoured to participate in. These were organized by civil society, grass-roots organizations and the private sector. They came to share best practices and learn from each other, and, more important, to demonstrate that sustainable development is not just an idle dream but that there are individuals and organizations who are breathing and living lives to realize what is profound and necessary. While many of them went home disappointed by the outcome document, I know it is not in their creed to despair.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“The outcome document (resolution 66/288, annex) fell far short of what we ought to have achieved. Many saw it as a missed opportunity. Not so for my country and people, who, with minimal expectations, came away with cause for hope. The agreement to develop universal sustainable development goals that would integrate the economic, environmental and social dimensions of development was a substantive outcome, consistent with relevant General Assembly resolutions and the efforts that my own country is making. My country hopes to participate actively in this work and sees it as evidence of the growing convergence in the belief that we need to make a break with the past and agree on a collective vision.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“That determination caused my country to host a high-level meeting here at the United Nations, which brought together more than 800 participants from all walks of life and all over the world. I was awed, humbled and indeed inspired by the phenomenal response to our call. It was a gathering of extraordinary minds and concerned citizens, moved by the urgent need for change — to blaze a new global path to human happiness and the well-being of life on earth. Yet another moment came just months ago when the General Assembly declared 20 March the International Day of Happiness, thereby bringing together all human beings, at least once a year, to reflect on the meaning and purpose of life and realign our thoughts and actions. Three months ago, 40,000 representatives gathered for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“We are discovering that our problems — be they economic, social, ecological or even political — are interconnected and rooted in the folly of mankind’s pursuit of the wrong ends in wrongful ways. Although the United Nations has been a house of gloom in recent years, it does have its shining moments, projecting rays of hope. The Secretary-General referred to some of these in his address that focused on sounding the alarm about our direction as a human family. One such moment came when this great body resolved that it was time to accept human well-being and happiness as a developmental goal binding all of humankind with a common vision and pursuit, and that it should therefore bring about a holistic, sustainable and inclusive approach to development.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“The growing extractive industry spurred by consumerism is exhausting our natural resources, and conflicts are rising in number and more are looming on the horizon. Food and energy are becoming costlier, thereby deepening poverty, inequality and discontent. Economies are unravelling; jobs and security are being lost. For too many, basic human rights and dignity remain beyond reach, and the relevance of Governments and States is in question. Families and communities are losing their resilience, and society is crumbling. I have reminded the Assembly each year that the solutions we speak of and the measures we take to meet all these challenges and many others plaguing mankind are of the kind that address the symptoms but aggravate the deeper malaise.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“As with most sessions of the General Assembly, we are sharing, yet again, our common fears and frustrations in a world that is going wrong. We have no stories, only f leeting moments, with which to fill our sinking hearts with hope in a near or distant future. Ours is a narrative of mounting challenges and doubts. Deep in our hearts, we know that our very survival on this fragile planet is under threat. Yet, we share no common vision and fail to think and act in concert and with faith. And so we find ourselves being overwhelmed by the forces that our irresponsible and discordant actions have unleashed. All that we have achieved individually, as nations, as regions and as a species, faces the threat of loss and reversal. As we argue and falter, the world we have built is falling apart. Climate is changing and ecosystems are dying.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Yes, I speak of a dream, but it is possible. As leaders and representatives of our peoples, we must dare to dream and find the courage and determination to pursue the highest of ideals. That is how happiness is to be fashioned. Blessings and good luck! My country prays for Members’ support to give Bhutan an opportunity to contribute to the realization of shared dreams. I wish participants happiness.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“For those reasons and out of a sense of duty and obligation, my country aspires to serve as a non-permanent member on the Security Council for the biennium 11-51185 36 2013-2014. Having been a member of the United Nations for 41 years and never having served on the Council, while having fully enjoyed the benefits of membership, we wish to contribute as a small State for small States. We believe that we can bring to the Security Council a fresh and holistic perspective on peace and security beyond its narrow confines and open it to new and innovative approaches to fulfilling its important mandate. My country is of the firm belief that maintaining peace and security is not only about preventing war. It is about recognizing and forging the will to deal with all forms of threat to the survival, progress and happiness of human society.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“My delegation remains fully committed to the promotion of a sustainable and progressive human civilization within a peaceful and secure environment. To that happy end, Bhutan is prepared to share its experience and the modest development achievements made with the support of our generous partners. Our attempts to promote equitable and sustainable social economic growth are bearing fruit within a rich biodiversity that includes a forest cover that has expanded from 64 per cent to 81 per cent in four decades. Today, Bhutan is the only country that has pledged to remain carbon neutral forever. Our social and cultural values remain vital, even as we embrace globalization and its many offerings. We have successfully and smoothly transited from an absolute monarchy to a fully fledged and vibrant democracy.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“It is about making true societal progress in ways that are meaningful, joyful and lasting. In that regard, I am happy to report that my Government, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, the Earth Institute of Columbia University and leading scientists and thinkers on the science and economics of happiness, are working in concert to prepare the panel discussion stipulated by the resolution. Proposed to be held in New York in the spring of 2012 before the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, the meeting will endeavour to present to Member States a set of policy recommendations in their pursuit of happiness as they work in harmonious collaboration with each other with a shared and clear sense of purpose. We look forward to Members’ participation in that meeting.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Through that resolution, Member States adopted a universal goal, while acknowledging the limitations of our conventional development processes. It commits our nations to creating the necessary political, social and economic conditions to enable the pursuit of happiness by citizens within a stable environment. My delegation is of the firm conviction that happiness or well-being, as it is promoted in my country, would be against a well-developed set of indices, a natural progression from the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to establish the minimum conditions for human survival and the basis for development. It is, indeed, a universal value that binds the rich and the poor, and the developed and the developing, and articulates the ultimate purpose of life.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“It is destroying our natural life- support systems and threatening our long-term survival. But that need not be so. Humankind is in need of a clear vision that transcends the diversity of our cultures, thoughts and circumstances and binds us to a common pursuit. We need a different development paradigm that is guided by a vision that is holistic, sustainable, inclusive and humane. Such a vision can take civilization forward and enable it to sustain the progress that it has created and must continue to make. It is therefore with a great sense of joy that my country welcomed resolution 65/309, entitled “Happiness: towards a holistic approach to development”. Introduced by Bhutan and sponsored by 68 Member States, it was adopted unanimously without a vote in July.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“For too long, we have refused to accept that economic models focused on gross domestic product have served their useful purpose and that we need to switch tracks. Guided by the misbelief that life satisfaction is about material pursuit and accumulation and that good economics is about limitless growth, our economic development processes have created the monster of a consumerist market economy. However, the market gives no satisfaction. It enslaves humanity and thrives on the insatiable nature of our greed. As slaves, our value as individuals and nations is measured by the extent of our economic productivity and consumption capacity. That sad transformation, from humans into voracious beasts, comes at the cost of our physical, psychological and spiritual well-being.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Lacking the political will and, indeed, clarity of vision, we deny with clever arguments what we know to be the cause of our predicaments. So we go on doing 35 11-51185 what is irrational. We continue to acquire arms to prevent war; answer climate change with more harmful emissions; race to extract, produce and consume more in the face of depleting resources; fuel faltering economies with debt and greed; and enable the wealthy to widen the deep crevasses that separate the rich from the poor. We idealize individualism as family and community crumble amid rising social dislocation, crime, mental illness, loneliness and suicide. For too long, we have ignored the truth that the causes of all those problems are interrelated and that durable remedies must be found through a rational and holistic approach.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Instead, what followed was a sense of betrayal and disillusionment, as the world became ever more divided and insecure. We gather before this high podium, year after year, and make of this annual gathering a mournful event. We speak of what ought to be, of promises broken and opportunities lost. We speak of endless conflicts within and among nations, of the failures of Governments, of frequent and devastating disasters, of diminishing resources and fierce competition for their control, of dying ecosystems and new threatening diseases and epidemics, and of financial calamities and economic ruin. We speak of rising unemployment, hopeless poverty, hunger and destitution. And of course, we talk of solutions.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“My country is most happy to welcome South Sudan as a member of the United Nations family. I now seek the permission of the Members to speak on the subject of happiness. Since joining the United Nations 41 years ago, Bhutan has always maintained a long-term and broad perspective on the purpose of this great Organization, which is to create a secure and harmonious society. But in the many times that I have participated in the United Nations General Assembly over the last 25 years, I cannot recall a session that gave me reason for hope for the future of humanity, except once. That was when the cold war came to a thundering halt, and a euphoric world saw it as the dawn of a new era. I was then a young ambassador excited by the prospects of peace dividends.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Since the 1970s we have never wavered from that path, thanks greatly to the generosity and support of our development partners. The former King never faltered, sacrificing his own 08-52272 26 reign to leave the legacy of a unique democracy and a country that is peaceful, progressive and happy. I urge the members of the Assembly to reflect on those and other considerations so that such crises as have now stricken us may never reappear, so that we can return each year to this Assembly and find reasons to smile and to be happy. To that end, Mr. President, please be assured of Bhutan’s fullest support for and cooperation with you and the Secretary-General.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“GNH is based on the belief that happiness is the single most important goal and purpose in life for every individual and that the end of development must be the promotion and enhancement of happiness. It must, therefore, we believe, be the responsibility of the State to create an enabling environment within which its citizens can pursue happiness. The concept emphasizes a balanced life, matching the material needs of the body with the spiritual, psychological and emotional needs of the mind. To that end, the Royal Government structured its development programmes around four broad themes, or pillars, that constitute a paradigm for holistic and sustainable development. These are: sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, not growth; environmental conservation; the promotion of culture; and good governance.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Can we conceptualize a holistic alternative paradigm for meaningful and sustainable development that places the well-being of the individual and community at the centre and gives cause for true happiness, as opposed to fleeting pleasures? I am pleased to submit that many academic institutions and researchers across the world are engaged in such a search and are making progress. The latest to join is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which has hosted a series of regional and world conferences to develop indicators to measure true human progress. My country, Bhutan, is one such entity. While being actively involved as a partner in the global efforts in this regard, we have pursued a unique development path, guided by our former King’s philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH), since the early 1970s.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“What are the foundations of our civilizations and the values that guide us? As we get richer and live by the terms that we have set for ourselves, are we truly becoming more civilized, or are we trapped in a downward spiral of de-civilization? I ask again: does economic growth translate as human development? Are we mutating to become senseless robots programmed to be materially productive, to earn more, to want more, to consume more and more of what we do not need and will ultimately destroy us? As human beings, should we not search for and be driven by higher values? Do we not have needs beyond material ones, beyond that of the body alone?”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Likewise, the pharmaceutical companies have convincing arguments to offer against lowering the cost of medicines. We need to wake up from our narcissistic slumber and self-indulgence and realize that economic well- being is not human well-being. We must break away from the shackles of the powerful forces of the market. For that matter, could the unravelling of the market- based economy, as evident in the financial crisis, be a glimpse of the truth that mindless and irresponsible economic growth and expansion cannot go on? It is neither sustainable nor fair to future generations. Above all, we could be condemning our own selves to an old age of burdensome debt and regret. That brings us to the question of whether our fundamentals are sound. Is the GDP-led growth that has served as our measure of progress good enough for the future?”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“These multiple crises bring into sharp focus the shameful inequities of our society, which fails to share and to distribute the enormous wealth it has created to satisfy man’s insatiable greed. People suffer from hunger, thirst and exposure to the elements and die without treatment not because we do not have enough food, water, clothes or medicine, but because we do not have the will to share and the care to distribute. Only yesterday, I was wondering how many tons of food and medicine must be taken off the shelves of Manhattan stores and put into the incinerator at the end of each day as they become stale or reach their date of expiry. On the other hand, even to this day, few developed countries have fulfilled their pledge to share less than 1 per cent of their gross national product (GNP) with developing countries.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Diseases abound and new epidemics threaten humanity, other life forms and crops even as medicine and technology combine to conspire against mortality. Are these not signals from a planet grossly abused? Could these not be pleas to mend our ways and to search for a more sustainable way of life? 25 08-52272 Deepening poverty, not unlike the food crisis, is also a sign of the disintegration of communities. As communities die, so does the spirit of sharing, borrowing and giving amid good neighbourliness in times of need, as opposed to competing and making gains at the cost of community, neighbour and even one’s own family. It is about the failure of human relationships, including between and among States. This, I believe, lies at the root of the poverty, hunger, instability and insecurity that plague much of the world today.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“As we go on expanding our economies by extracting natural resources, raising productivity, increasing consumption and discharging immeasurable volumes of polluting waste, the climate is changing. Striking unpredictably, unseasonably and with greater fury and frequency, natural disasters such as drought, cyclones, hurricanes, floods and landslides are destroying life, property and crops. Weather patterns have changed and continue to change, with far more profound implications for our civilization than we can fathom. We even wonder whether earthquakes and tsunamis may have something to do with climate change. Yesterday, we huddled together to find solutions to the food crisis and the danger of growing hunger in a world where already too many are starving.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“As for the financial crisis, it is becoming quite clear that its main cause lies in our culture of living beyond our means, of private profiteering, of socializing risks. Unfortunately, the possible solution seems to lie in transferring our debt to future generations, who are not here to argue against it. It is not difficult to see how all these crises are the result of a way of life that is dictated by the powerful ethics of consumerism in a world of finite resources. Our life is all about fear of not having enough, about wanting more and doing better than our dear neighbour and friend. We spend and consume far beyond our means and those of generations unborn.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Rather, we see them as directly interconnected symptoms of a larger and deeper malaise that threatens our collective well-being and survival. Responding to each of the challenges separately will most probably be useful in the short term, but piecemeal efforts will not lead to permanent solutions. We need to treat the disease beyond the symptoms. And the disease, we believe, has to do with our way of life, which is simply not rational and sustainable. One does not need to be an economist to understand that the oil crisis, soaring price of metals and diminishing water reserves have to do with the fact that for too long we have been exploiting and wasting our scarce natural resources. At the very least, these developments are market reactions and attempts to reflect the true value of these resources.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Natural disasters, food, fuel and financial crises, deepening poverty, failing States, dwindling water resources, diseases, human trafficking and even maritime lawlessness afflict our society. And then there is terrorism and extremism of the most barbaric and cowardly kind, using the weak and the deranged to kill and maim the innocent. All those challenges threaten to undermine what we have achieved collectively and as individual States. They directly thwart our slow progress in the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which I believe are among the most laudable consensual agreements achieved by this Assembly to bring about a more just and equitable world, indeed, a more civilized world. Bhutan does not look at those developments as separate, disconnected events.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The King has shown that, if leaders themselves are committed to democracy, the transition can be smooth and peaceful. Likewise, if leaders elected to govern believe in it, democracy provides the best means to serve the people. That is the conviction with which my Government will fulfil the powerful mandate that the people have given to us. As a representative of a country that is deeply committed to multilateralism and that believes firmly in the indispensability of the United Nations system, I seek the indulgence of the Assembly as I offer Bhutan’s perspective from the high Himalayas of our troubled world today. We are confronted with a host of serious challenges that are testing the relevance of the United Nations and the resolve of its Member States to work together.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“As the youngest democracy, having become one in April of this year, my country is honoured, and I am honoured, to have this opportunity to present ourselves before this great world body. In a country that has enjoyed continuous 08-52272 24 justice, stability and progress, democracy came not by the traditional way of struggle and violence, nor by the will of the people. Bhutan became a democracy by the persuasion and personal efforts of a King who worked consistently over 30 years to establish the prerequisites of a democratic culture and institutional arrangements. Having accomplished that noble task, and having set the polity on the final and irreversible path of democracy, our King abdicated the throne as a final mark of his confidence in democracy. He now lives in quiet retirement at the grand old age of 53.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)