YouSaid · the spoken record

Juan Manuel Santos Calderón

lines on the record: 117
first: 2010-09-24
most recent: 2017-09-24
sittings or episodes: 8
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 also enthusiastically support the Paris Climate Agreement, whose goals are a national commitment and should be for all if we want to preserve our common home — the Earth. Humankind cannot close its eyes in the face of the most pressing challenge of our times. In this, my last statement before the General Assembly, I want to offer the world — with humility and much gratitude — the example and model of peace that we are beginning to build in Colombia. And I want to reiterate our gratitude for the international community’s generous support. With the strength of love we can overcome fear. With the strength of life we can overcome the tyranny of violence and death. With the strength of unity we can make the world a decent place to live.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Those processes, along with the forced eradication we are promoting and the seizures, which have increased to unprecedented levels, will allow us to achieve results that are even more conclusive and long-term. But we must advance in this struggle with a more open mind. We have to be smarter and more innovative. We can say much the same about climate change. Colombia, the most biodiverse country in the world for its size, is also one of the most vulnerable to climate change. That is why we have been proactive on this matter. At the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development we pushed for the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, which the Assembly approved in 2015. Today we are pleased to see that those Goals are the backbone of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development promoted by the United Nations.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“It is time to accept realistically that as long as there is consumption there will be supply, and that consumption will not end. It is not a simplistic matter of pointing out who is solely responsible. We all are, under the principle of the common and shared responsibility that we assumed several decades ago. It is time to talk about responsible regulation by States, to seek ways to weaken the mafias and to confront consumption with more resources for prevention, care and reduction of damage to health and to the social fabric. Colombia will continue to fight this scourge decisively. For us it has been and continues to be a matter of national security. Peace has allowed us for the first time to initiate the process of voluntary substitution of coca crops.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“At the General Assembly’s thirtieth special session, on the world drug problem — which met last year at the initiative of Colombia — there was progress, such as the call for States to protect human rights in their drug policies. But we still have a great deal to do. We must reach consensus on central issues, such as not criminalizing addicts and understanding drug use as a matter of public health and not criminal policy. The war on drugs has claimed too many lives. We in Colombia have paid a very high price, perhaps the highest of any nation, and what we are seeing is that the remedy is often worse than the disease. Let us undertake a serious and rigorous follow-up of the regulatory experiences that have been implemented in different places and learn from both their successes and their difficulties.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We must understand this truth if we are to respect one another and respect life. We must fight terrorism forcefully — with military and police power, with intelligence and international cooperation. But we must also eradicate its roots, which are fear, exclusion and hatred, with the positive forces of love, compassion and respect for differences. In Colombia we are proving that it is possible; war can be overcome. Ancient enemies can speak and work together for a greater cause. If we are succeeding in Colombia, it can be done all over the world. I cannot conclude without addressing an issue that I have highlighted before at this rostrum: the world drug problem. I have said many times that the war on drugs has not been won and is not being won, that we need new approaches and new strategies.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Today I repeat my call on the Secretary-General and the entire international community to support the Venezuelan people in the search for a peaceful solution that will return them to the path of progress, democracy and freedom. We are also pained at the terrorist attacks carried out by intolerant fanatics, sowing fear and pain, and we condemn them. On that topic I would like to speak in two capacities: as President of the only country where instead of increasing weaponry we melt them to build monuments to harmony, and as the most recent Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Beyond the differences of race, religion and thought, human beings are actually one. What happens to one happens to us all. We have to understand that beyond divisions, beyond borders, our people is called the world. Our race is called humankind.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“But this time of hope in Colombia does not prevent us from viewing with concern the difficult situations for peace and democracy in other parts of the planet. We emphatically deplore and condemn the ballistic- missile launches and the nuclear tests of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Those actions are a threat to international peace and security. We are very concerned about the precarious situation in our sister and neighbour Republic of Venezuela, with which we share an immense border, a common history and human ties that do not allow us to be indifferent to its fate. Venezuela pains us. We are pained at the gradual destruction of its democracy. We are pained at the persecution of the political opposition and the systematic violation of the rights of Venezuelans.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“With innovative programmes in education, health, housing and infrastructure, we are beginning to close the deep social gaps of our society. The Economic Commission for Latin America has highlighted Colombia’s progress in reducing poverty and indigence. In seven years, more than 5 million Colombians overcame poverty — that is more than a tenth of our population. We have turned health into a fundamental right, and education has been our highest budgetary priority for the past four years, above security and defence. International organizations also highlight the soundness of our economic and social indicators in the face of fluctuations in the global economy. This is indeed a special moment for Colombia, and a special moment for the United Nations, which is successfully fulfilling, in our country, its main objective.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“In a few days, a second mission, authorized last week by the Security Council, will begin operations in our country. It will accompany the reintegration of guerrillas into civilian life and will help us to verify the safety of ex-combatants and the communities that have suffered from the armed conflict. And something very important: the United Nations will also verify compliance with the ceasefire and the temporary cessation of hostilities, which will begin 1 October, by the Ejército de Liberación Nacional, the other guerrilla group with which we are in negotiations to achieve a complete peace. Building peace is a long process with political, economic and social dimensions. It is a process in which, fortunately, we have already had positive results.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The ceasefire and cessation of hostilities were respected, and the FARC delivered to the United Nations more than 9,000 weapons that were stored in containers. Those weapons are being destroyed. The members of that former guerrilla group — without detriment to their responsibilities with regard to justice and to the victims — have now formed a political movement to defend their ideas and proposals in the forums of democracy. That is what a peace process is all about: replacing violence with reasoning, exchanging bullets for votes. Never again will arms be used as a means of political pressure. Now we are faced with the challenge of implementing what has been agreed and guaranteeing victims’ rights to truth, justice, reparations and non-repetition. In that regard, we can once again count on the friendly hand of the United Nations.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“However, we did it because we had the will and because we were aware of a fundamental premise: peace is a necessary condition for progress and the happiness of any society. I want to acknowledge and thank the United Nations, because it has fully fulfilled the mission for which it was created, which is none other than to end the scourge of war. On behalf of some 50 million Colombians, I want to thank the Secretary-General, the Security Council and the Assembly. A special mission set up by the Security Council was in charge of verifying and monitoring the FARC disarmament process and its compliance with the ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities between that group and the Colombian State. Today we can say, with immense satisfaction, that its mission has been fulfilled.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Today, seven years later, I feel very happy that the news I bring from Colombia does not have to do with death, but with life. Today I come to tell the Assembly that the peace process with the FARC culminated not only in an agreement, but with something bigger and more important: thousands and thousands of human lives saved. Therefore, the news today is not about death. It is about life, and we want that to be the news in the whole world. If in Colombia we were able to end an armed conflict that left hundreds of thousands dead and millions as victims and displaced persons, there is hope for the conflicts that still exist in the world. It was not easy. Ending a war, overcoming hatred and vanquishing fears involve a complex process of dialogue and compromise.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“This is the eighth and last time I address the General Assembly in my capacity as President of Colombia. A lot has happened since 24 September 2010, when I made my first speech (see A/65/PV.15). Colombia has been transformed positively, and the world has experienced progress and setbacks, of which we have all been witnesses, victims or protagonists. Here is a paradox: I did my first televised address to Colombians as their leader from New York in September 2010, one day before addressing the Assembly. What was the reason for that intervention? I announced to Colombia and to the international community that our armed forces had taken down the head of the guerrillas of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We do not want more wars, not in Colombia and not in the rest of the world. Today we have a reason for hope. There is one less war on the planet, and that is the war in Colombia.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“To that end we must first disarm spirits and language, because words can be as harmful as bombs. We have to take in and protect the victims and the most vulnerable, including the thousands of human beings that flee war to seek opportunities beyond their borders. Colombia is more than ready to continue supporting the raison d’être of the United Nations — the search for peace in the world. As President of Colombians, I am happy and humbly excited to announce to the Assembly the peace in Colombia. A conflict of over half a century — a conflict that left more than 220,000 people dead and claimed more than 8 million victims — has come to an end. The bells of peace are ringing in Colombia and their echo is heard by all the nations represented in this Hall. We do not want more war.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We thank the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, all of which supported this process. We are profoundly grateful to so many Governments, countries and organizations that have continuously expressed their solidarity and willingness to support Colombia in the challenging post-conflict phase that lies ahead of us. I can say today, in this historic Hall, that we have succeeded for Colombians and the world. Colombia is turning the page of war to start writing the chapter of peace. That is what we wish for the rest of the planet. Therefore, we offer our full solidarity to the nations that have suffered and continue to suffer from the scourge of global terrorism. The example of Colombia should give hope to the world that it is possible to achieve the dream of peace when there is will and commitment.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Today, on behalf of almost 50 million Colombians, I express our deepest gratitude to the international community for its ongoing and tireless support for peace in Colombia. We thank Cuba, the host of the dialogues, and Norway, which were guarantors of the peace negotiations, as well as Chile and Venezuela, which accompanied the entire process. I thank the United States, Germany and the European Union, which appointed special envoys to accompany the dialogues. We especially thank the United Nations, Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council, which established a political mission to lead the monitoring and verification of the ceasefire and the disarmament of the guerrillas. I had the opportunity to thank the Council personally a few moments ago (see S/PV.7773).”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“It is a Colombia full of hope, a Colombia that, without war, is ready to reach its highest potential and to be a positive factor in the global context. It is a Colombia where the resources that used to finance war will now be better used on education, health and security for its citizens. It is a Colombia that opens its arms to the world and welcomes investment, trade and tourism. The Sustainable Development Goals have already been adopted into law in our country. We were the first country to do so. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change is now before Congress to be enacted into law. Peace will undoubtedly allow us to achieve these transformative commitments with greater ease and effectiveness.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“A similar process will be take place with regard to the anti-personnel mines that have killed and mutilated so many soldiers, police officers, farmers and children. The State and FARC will work jointly to demine all of the national territory. That will also have significant environmental benefits not only for our country, but also for the planet. To the extent that illegal crops are replaced with legal ones, the deforestation caused by coca cultivation will stop. No longer will millions of barrels of oil spill into our rivers and oceans because of attacks on our oil infrastructure. We will be able to better take care of and preserve the natural lung that is the Amazon. A new Colombia greets the international community today.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“This has been positively highlighted by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and many other organizations and experts. We are sure that this model of justice, which is framed within a comprehensive system to guarantee the rights of the victims — as established by the Rome Statute — will be a useful precedent for future peace processes. I should like to highlight another aspect of the Agreement. We know that drug trafficking has fueled war in Colombia and around the world. Thanks to the Agreement, FARC is committed to severing all ties with this activity and to cooperating, through concrete actions, to combat this phenomenon. This is highly symbolic, as those who once protected illicit coca crops will now work with the State in eradicating them.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“A central aspect of this peace process is that it has focused on the protection and guarantee of the rights of the victims: the rights to truth, justice, reparations and non-repetition. To that end, we have agreed on such mechanisms as a truth commission, reparation and restoration measures, and a comprehensive transitional justice system. This is the first time in the history of the resolution of armed conflicts anywhere in the world that a Government and an illegal armed group — through an agreement and not through external imposition — have agreed on transitional justice. The perpetrators of international crimes and other serious crimes will be investigated, judged and punished.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The Americas — the two vast American continents with all of their islands, from Patagonia to Alaska — are now a region of peace. The Agreement that was reached after almost six years of public conversations is the best news for Colombia, Latin America and the world. What does the Agreement mean? Above all, it means that FARC will cease to exist as an armed group and reintegrate into society, and can become a political movement within our democracy. We have agreed on measures to guarantee its political participation, offer more assurances to the opposition and strengthen democracy and the electoral system in Colombia. We have also outlined programmes to improve the quality of life of rural inhabitants, who have been the most affected by the conflict, and to make land available to those who do not have it or who lost it because of the war.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The Agreement will be officially signed in Cartagena de Indias on 26 September. The people of Colombia will approve it through a plebiscite on 2 October. From that moment forward, the former members of the guerrilla group will go to different cantonment areas to begin surrendering their arms to the United Nations within a six-month period, and to begin their reintegration into society. Their weapons will be melted and will be made into three monuments to peace — one here in New York; one in Cuba, where the peace negotiations took place; and another one in Colombia. These monuments will remind us that the bullets are behind us and that the construction of a new and better country has begun. Joyfully, I reiterate that the last and oldest armed conflict in the western hemisphere has come to an end.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“A year ago, standing here before the Assembly (see A/70/PV.16), I said that I expected to return in 2016 as the President of a Colombia in peace — a reconciled Colombia. After more than half a century of internal armed conflict, I return to the United Nations today, on the International Day of Peace, to announce, with all the strength of my voice and heart, that the war in Colombia has ended. On 24 August in Havana, the negotiators declared that all provisions were complete and adopted the final text of the General Agreement for the Termination of the Conflict and the Construction of a Stable and Lasting Peace. Five days later, a bilateral and definitive ceasefire and cessation of hostilities took place. As a result, since then there has not been a single death, a single wound or a single bullet fired in the conflict with FARC.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“In 1981, today’s date, 21 September, was proclaimed as the International Day of Peace to promote a negotiated solution to armed conflicts throughout the world. Since 1982, one year later, Colombia has been on a long and difficult road to leave violence behind and attain peace. My predecessors pursued peace for Colombians, each in his own way. This is a task that I undertook on the first day of my Government in August 2010. I have come to speak to members of the Assembly on seven occasions on the progress and expectations of the peace process between the Government of Colombia and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group — the largest and oldest such group on the American continent.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“I hope that clocks around the world will be synchronized with our own to show the same time — a time for peace, a time for humankind.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Achieving peace will enable us to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, which are now enshrined in Colombian law and which we adopted in 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1). I now invite all Colombians, without exception, and all citizens of the world to pave the way for peace. The most worthwhile legacy we could leave to our children and to future generations is peace. Nothing could be more important or more urgent because peace is the supreme good of any society. It is the most sacred good and the very reason for the existence of the United Nations. Today, I am delighted to announce the good news that, in fewer than six months, bells will toll in Colombia to announce that the time for peace has come.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“As the Pope so eloquently said in this very Hall four days ago, “war is the negation of all rights and a dramatic assault on the environment” (A/70/PV.3, p. 5). A peaceful Colombia will also be a safer Colombia because the enormous energy and effort that today are dedicated to dealing with this domestic conflict will be focused on improving security and on fighting crime in the cities and villages of my country. Of course, it will be a Colombia with more opportunities for everyone where we will continue to reduce poverty and create jobs, as we have been doing at a rate that has made us the leader in Latin America in terms of social progress, 15-29431 31/51 A/70/PV.16 29/09/2015 in recent years.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Not only will we attack the mafias, whom we will pursue relentlessly, but we will also provide social and economic opportunities for farmers, ensure that the State and the justice system are ever-present, prevent drug use and treat it as a public health issue. If we end the conflict, the guerrilla forces that have been a negative factor in drug-trafficking will become, once they lay down their weapons, an ally in combating it. It will be extraordinarily symbolic when those who once protected these illicit crops will help us to eradicate them. In that way, Colombia wins and the entire world wins. We will begin to free ourselves from coca and, at the same time, to preserve and save millions of hectares of tropical forest.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The study was conducted and submitted by the Organization of American States two years ago. Now, we are preparing for the special session of the General Assembly on this issue to take place seven months from now. We continue to advocate a new global strategy based on scientific evidence that puts greater emphasis on health, education and tackling the social roots of this phenomenon and seeks to minimize the negative effects of drugs through the use of smarter, more effective and more humane strategies. In Colombia, we have gone even further. Last week, I presented a comprehensive crop-substitution plan based on that multifaceted approach.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“At the end of my term in office in 2018, I hope to have left behind protected areas in Colombia of approximately 20 million hectares, accounting for almost one-fifth of our landmass. We fully support the twenty-first session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is to be held at the end of this year in Paris, where we will commit to assisting in the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are also addressing the problem of illegal drug crops with a comprehensive strategy that we have proposed to the rest of the world. At the Summit of the Americas, held in Cartagena, Colombia, in 2012, I raised the need for an objective assessment of the outcome of the so-called war on drugs declared here more than 40 years ago, which has been so costly in human lives and resources.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“This is also an opportunity to thank the international community, on behalf of 48 million Colombians, for its support for our peace efforts and for its willingness to assist us in the post- conflict stage. A peaceful Colombia will be a positive factor for the world in several distinct but interrelated areas, such as combating climate change and illegal drugs, security and eradicating extreme poverty. Our country is proud to be the most biodiverse country in the world in relation to its size. However, we are also one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. That is why we insist on the environmental dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“It will be, at the very latest, 23 March 2016, in less than six months from now. On that date at the very latest, we shall bid a final farewell to the last and longest war not just in Colombia, but in the entire Western Hemisphere. In addition, we have also agreed that the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) will begin to lay down its weapons no later than 60 days following the signing of the final agreement. That means that next year, when I return to this Assembly, I will do so as President of a Colombia that is at peace and has achieved reconciliation. Our talks with the FARC guerrilla forces offer a glimmer of hope in a world overshadowed by war, violence and terrorism.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“And we are reaching our goal: the maximum degree of justice compatible with the attainment of peace. It is also the first time in the history of conflicts in the world that a Government and an illegal armed group — in a peace agreement, not as the result of something that was imposed later on — are creating a system of accountability in a domestic court for international crimes and other serious crimes. We are setting a precedent that could serve as a model for other armed conflicts in the world. The progress made is so important and significant that it has enabled us to take two additional steps, which is the best news that I could convey to this great forum of nations. We have agreed to a deadline for signing the final agreement that would put an end to our armed conflict.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Well, it is because less than a week ago in Havana, after almost three years of negotiations in which we made progress on most of the items on the agreed agenda, we reached an agreement on what was perhaps the major obstacle to peace. We reached an agreement on the most difficult element of any peace process — a system of transitional justice that ensures that there is no impunity for the most serious crimes committed during the conflict. In this agreement, which respects the norms and principles of international law and our own Constitution, we put the greatest emphasis on the right of victims to justice 30/51 15-29431 29/09/2015 A/70/PV.16 and on truth, reparations and the non-resumption of the conflict, placing them at the centre of the solution to an armed conflict.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“We have had more than 50 years of internal warfare in a country destined for progress and happiness, and we are determined to put an end to that conflict. Peace is a difficult goal to attain, but not an impossible one. Peace is something more than the fruit of a political, social or economic process. Peace, more than anything, is a great process of collective cultural transformation that begins with an individual spiritual change, and it requires that all individuals — each within himself or herself— open their minds, hearts and souls to reconciliation. Why do I say that today I come to this Assembly with greater optimism than ever before?”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“We will put an end to the longest and most recent armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere. Achieving peace — in Colombia or in any part of the world — is a responsibility that nobody must shirk. As Pope Francis said so well a few days ago in the Congress of the United States of America, “When countries which have been at odds resume the path of dialogue — a dialogue which may have been interrupted for the most legitimate of reasons — new opportunities open up for all. This has required, and requires, courage and daring, which is not the same as irresponsibility.” In Colombia we have tried to work with the courage, the audacity and also the sense of responsibility of which the Holy Father spoke, and we are beginning to see the fruits of our efforts.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“I would like to thank our Ambassador Maria Emma Mejía Vélez for giving me the floor. What a source of great pride it is for us that a Colombian woman is presiding over this meeting at this historic moment, when the General Assembly is considering the topic “The United Nations at 70: the road ahead for peace, security and human rights”, which is the road along which Colombia is travelling, now more successfully than ever before. I am therefore honoured to come to this Assembly to share some news which is also historic. Today, I proclaim to the entire world that one of the more than 20 armed conflicts taking place across the globe, which are causing so much pain, poverty and suffering, that of my country, Colombia, is finally nearing a genuine solution.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“To the international community, I make an impassioned appeal for us to put everything we can — everything — into ensuring that the sense of humanity overcomes war. We are losing our way when we look at the tragedies that humankind is suffering without being pained by them, without the world waking up and taking decisive action to address them. We cannot allow ourselves to lose the capacity to be shocked by war. It is time to wake up. It is time to act.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“I envisage the same things for Latin America and the Caribbean as I envisage for my country — that we can be a region at peace, with greater equality and better education; a region that makes the transition from resource-based economies to knowledge-based economies; a region in which entrepreneurship and innovation are the engines of development; a region with socially and environmentally responsible companies that transform our future. As I said in the Assembly in 2010 (see A/65/PV.15), this should be the decade of Latin America and the Caribbean. And now, before the world’s nations, I reiterate the call on my region, Latin America and the Caribbean, to remain true to that intention.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“At the same time, this vision also draws us towards the future sustainable development goals for the post-2015 period — ambitious goals that address humankind’s most pressing social, economic and environmental problems. The good economic climate that Colombia is experiencing, progress in the social indicators, particularly poverty reduction and job creation, and the peace process itself allow us to believe in the possibility of achieving this vision. It is this Colombia, the one that is overcoming poverty, has regained control of its territory, is growing at the world’s highest levels and has successful social equality policies in order to find more fairness, which is also searching for peace.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Colombia has promoted a serious, technical and objective discussion of the methods and results of the so-called war on drugs. This war has not been won, but we have had some success at the hemispheric level. Last week, at the Special General Assembly of the Organization of American States in Guatemala, we achieved hemispheric consensus on several positions and adopted a resolution that shows that we can move forward together on this issue. Those results will help us to be more prepared to be able to achieve progress at the United Nations special session on drugs that has been called for 2016. Last month, in the inaugural speech of my second mandate, I set out for Colombians the vision that will guide our actions. I want to make Colombia a country of peace, a country with equality, and the most educated country in Latin America by 2025.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Today, we must ask questions that are not only rhetorical but also true. Why are there people who stand against peace? Why do some see war as the only way out? Perhaps they do so because without war they would lose their power, accustomed as they are to making a living and profiting from it, and unable as they are to imagine life without it. We have to convince the promoters of war that this is not the way, and convert them into promoters of peace. We are doing just that in Colombia, and we must do the same in every corner of the planet. The United Nations was established precisely to prevent conflict and to seek peace. Undoubtedly, the drug trade and drug trafficking are fuelling the conflicts in Colombia and elsewhere in the world.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We are not indifferent to the suffering of the many families in Palestine and Israel who are victims of armed confrontations, or to the loss of life due to epidemics, such as Ebola in Africa. As we approach the Organization’s seventieth anniversary, we find ourselves at a defining moment in the consolidation of the international system embodied by the United Nations. Full respect for international law and the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter is essential to attaining lasting solutions to overcome conflict and achieve progress in fulfilling the legitimate aspirations of the people. In confrontations, we must restore the ethical principles that are fundamental to the human condition, and children, women and civilians must be spared such tragedies. Colombia favours negotiated political solutions.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We are sure that our case can become a model and a beacon of hope for the world’s other conflicts. In Colombia, we seek peace because the suffering of our fellow citizens pains us. We do not want any more victims, or women or children involved in war. We therefore understand the pain of and express our solidarity with the many nations that today are suffering from war and unutterable atrocities, due — it must be said — to the impotence of the international community We are not oblivious to the suffering of those who live in such countries such as Syria, Iraq, Libya and Ukraine and in regions like the Sahel. We condemn the ruthless terrorism of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“I take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the many nations and multilateral agencies — especially the United Nations — for their commitment to the peace process and their willingness to provide all manner of support, not only now but also in the future as we implement those agreements in the post-conflict stage. In my inaugural speech upon taking office for a second term as President of Colombia on 7 August, I stated the following, and repeat it today before the world’s nations. While conflicts rage around the world, Colombia aspires to bring the good news for humankind that the final armed conflict in the western hemisphere is coming to an end. If we are successful, as we truly expect to be, we will be ready to share our experience with other countries.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“This subcommittee is beginning to consider the details of a definitive bilateral ceasefire process, as well as the demobilization and disarmament of guerrillas upon signature of the final agreement. I can therefore now report to the international community that Colombia has made substantial progress in its effort to end the armed conflict that has affected us to such a great extent, and, inevitably, impacted the region and the world. When the post-conflict phase begins, we will face immense challenges in reintegrating those who have demobilized, ensuring a State presence in conflict- affected areas, and guaranteeing civic security. The support and contributions of the international community are key in that regard, and we call for that support.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Constanza Turbay, who represents the courage of our women and who lost most of her family at the hands of the guerrillas, had the opportunity to confront her victimizers, look them in the eye and to directly hear their expressions of sincere remorse. In her own words, Ms. Turbay stated that the victims are “replacing their pain with the hope of peace”. Another woman, Ms. Juanita Barragan, who spent several years of her youth within the ranks of the FARC, was able to tell her former leaders in Havana: “Please do not enlist more children to fight your war”. Today, Ms. Barragan wants to be a lawyer and to work for children. There are so many cases and so many voices that are finally being heard. We have also created a subcommittee that includes active military and police personnel.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We have already begun discussions on the last two substantive points of the plan: the victims and the end of the conflict. This war has left in its wake millions of victims who never had a voice before and who are now at the centre of the process. We are working to fulfil the rights of victims to justice, truth, reparations and non-recurrence. Above all, we are working to ensure that there are no more victims. In an act that I believe to be without precedent in the history of the world, representatives of the victims are explaining their situations, exposing their pain and setting out their expectations before the Government and guerrillas. The victims are the main protagonists and the main beneficiaries of the peace that we seek.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We want to broaden our democracy in order to build peace and promote citizen participation, and to forever sever the link between politics and arms. Regarding the illicit drug problem, we have agreed to continue dismantling the drug mafia structures, promote a national crop substitution and alternative development programme and address the issue of consumption from a public health perspective. The agreement also includes a commitment on the part of FARC to contributing effectively to a definitive solution to the illicit drug problem and to ending any relationship it may have had with it. A Colombia without coca and without conflict was an impossible dream just a few years or decades ago. Today, I can affirm that it is a real possibility.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)