YouSaid · the spoken record

Leonel Fernández Reyna,

lines on the record: 108
first: 1996-09-24
most recent: 2011-09-24
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

“Likewise, deposits on futures contracts should be raised, as a way to discourage speculative transactions that only contribute to price volatility and create uncertainty and a lack of market predictability. We believe that by adopting such a resolution we will take an important step towards solving a serious problem that has condemned a large part of humankind to hunger and destitution. In sum, the objective of this initiative is simple, just, and of far-reaching importance, namely, to persuade the Assembly General of the United Nations to declare, for the sake of the human race, that food cannot be considered a financial asset. Food must be used only to guarantee the survival of the human race on the face of the Earth.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“According to well-known international analysts, 30 to 40 per cent of the price increases for commodities or basic products can be ascribed to the impact or influence of financial speculation on futures contracts. In light of that situation, which has a daily impact on our food- and oil-importing people, the Dominican Republic has weighed the need to propose regulatory measures of international scope in order to guarantee market transparency and price stability. To that end, it is essential to limit the volume of transactions that may be executed by such futures market participants as insurance companies, investment banks, pension funds and equity funds, among others, which play no direct part in the physical production of the product.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“11-50871 12 Paradoxically, at the end of 2008, oil prices had dropped so precipitously that the new price on the international market was $37 a barrel. Who could possibly explain something as absurd as a price drop from $147 to $37 a barrel in just four months? It has been argued that, with regard to both food and oil, those exorbitant price increases can be explained by the growth of the world population, an increase in demand from emerging economies, especially China and India, the effects of climate change, and geo-political tensions in regions of the world affected by conflict. There can be no doubt that some of those factors have influenced prices to some extent, but there has also been a clear effort to downplay the importance of a new element in international markets: financial speculation in commodity futures.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“As a result, for the first time in the history of humankind, the total number of people who lack access to food surpassed 1 billion, which represents almost a sixth of the world population. With the recession that took place during the second half of 2008, food prices went down, and it was thought that we would return to a situation of accessible food prices and overall increased stability. However, with the slight upturn and reactivation of the world economy in 2010, prices went up again, and this year the ravages of inflation have been felt once again in different parts of the world. The same has happened with the price of oil. After falling to $12 a barrel in 1998, ten years later, in July 2008, two months before the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, it was priced at $147 a barrel.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Despite the wide range of global problems before us, I wish to address just one of them: financial speculation on the price of food and oil. The Dominican Republic will submit a draft resolution on the subject to this Assembly General. Since 2005 there has been a steady increase in the prices of food and oil, along with that of petroleum by-products. From 2006 to 2008, the price of soya beans has increased 107 per cent; the price of corn, 125 per cent; rice, 127 per cent; and wheat, 136 per cent. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), as a result of those price increases, 150 million people joined those around the world who already literally go hungry.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“As we know, not a cent from those deposits, which increase by more than 600 billion dollars every year, reaches the tax services of any Government. In the meantime, through our failure to tax international financial transactions and the deposits made in tax havens, the global financial and economic crisis continues, citizens become indignant as they see their standard of living erode, social demonstrations multiply, Governments are threatened by the lack of governance, chaos takes over societies, and uncertainty expands everywhere. In sum, we are forced to accept increasingly alarming levels of social injustice because of the undeniable and uncontrollable power held by a circle of the world’s economic elite.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“That would represent $20 billion per day, which, multiplied by five business days a week, would come to a total of $100 billion. If, in turn, we multiply that number by four weeks a month we would have monthly income of $400 billion. And those $400 billion monthly, multiplied by 12 months in a year, amount to an astronomical $4.8 trillion. That amount would not only resolve the problems of some countries’ sovereign debt but there would be enough fresh resources for investing, which would allow a rapid recovery from the current financial and economic world crisis. Nonetheless, were we to conclude that this was not an appropriate way for States to raise revenue, what about the more than 10 trillion dollars deposited in tax havens, according to reports by international advisory institutions?”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Although it might seem paradoxical, in some developed countries loss of popular support has caused Governments to fall, which, in echoes of coups d’état, have led to a new political phenomenon that might be called, for lack of a better word, market “coups”. What is strange about this situation is that what we need is resources to save the international financial system, stabilize the world economy and return us to our earlier levels of economic growth and prosperity — and those resources are at hand. For example, it is known that even though $4 trillion circulate every day around the world in the form of financial transactions in capital markets, no taxes are in place that would increase States’ fiscal resources. How much would Governments collect through a 5 per cent tax on the $4 trillion circulating daily around the world?”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Markets are currently putting pressure on States to pay sovereign debts that were themselves essentially the result of earlier initiatives by States to rescue banks that were either at risk or on the brink of bankruptcy. In order to avoid having to stop payments or defaulting and watching their economies crumble further, Governments have had to give in to the pressure of the markets by implementing severe austerity measures. Those policies have significantly decreased citizens’ quality of life, leading to social unrest and protest movements that erode Governments’ legitimacy and support base.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“That crisis has gone through several stages, but at this moment what is most worrisome is that it has caused a division among the most influential and powerful political and economic sectors in the world over strategies to fix it. While some think that what is needed at this time is public- spending stimulus policies to promote economic growth and job creation, others emphasize reducing fiscal deficits and paying off sovereign debt. How can international capital markets now demand that Governments pay a debt that was created, to a large extent, to save financial institutions from going under in the first place? Although incongruous, 11 11-50871 that is exactly what is taking place.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The lesson to be learned from these past 10 years is that there must be a collective effort to eliminate terrorism as an inhuman practice, to eliminate as well the economic, social, political, cultural, ideological and religious factors that fuel it, and to promote a world that is more open, more tolerant, more respectful and more willing to engage in dialogue and in the recognition of human dignity. Another event that has shaken the world during the past decade has been the global financial crisis, produced by a lack of clear rules in the international financial system, as well as by arrogance, greed and the unquenchable thirst for wealth.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The world has not been the same since then. In the interest of security, even in strong democracies where genuine rule of law prevails, some individual liberties, previously considered sacred and immutable, have been sacrificed. While the ashes were still smouldering and the rubble of the Twin Towers still lay where it fell, the war in Afghanistan was launched, which, although perhaps justified as a case of legitimate defence, has nevertheless produced more victims than the terrorist attacks themselves. Then came the occupation of Iraq, which spurred controversy in various circles of international public opinion but in any case certainly generated more violence, produced new victims and new waves of human suffering and caused more destruction of wealth.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We extend our warmest congratulations to the Ambassador from Qatar, Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, on his recent election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session. We welcome his intention to use this session to address pressing issues such as mediation and conflict resolution, the reform of the United Nations system, preventing and responding to natural disasters and sustainable development for global prosperity. Ten years ago, the dynamic and vibrant city of New York was shocked by something previously inconceivable: the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers. Thousands of innocent people died in horrific ways, leaving relatives and friends in a state of helplessness and sorrow. Echoes of that terror reverberated around the planet, leaving scars and a trail of pain to this day.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Likewise, with advisory assistance from the United Nations Development Programme and New York’s Columbia University, in October we will be meeting with the ministers responsible for social policy as well as the mayors of cities at greatest risk in order to review ongoing activities in the integration and planning of natural disaster risk management. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to suggest, as we did during a visit to L’Aquila, Italy, that 33 10-54833 the United Nations system create a world alliance of countries at risk in order to exchange experiences, knowledge and ideas, and to pass along best practices learned during catastrophes. We are convinced that this would be a major contribution to the design and implementation of measures that will help save lives and minimize material damage.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“There is much work to be done around the world to draw up and adopt policies and practices that will enable us to prevent the impact of natural disasters. In this context, it is crucial to incorporate risk management into development and land-use planning. We need to design and implement early warning systems in coastal areas, cities at risk, schools and hospitals. And we need urgently to re-equip critical infrastructure to ensure that it is adequate to withstand future catastrophes and to minimize human loss. Faced with this situation, the Dominican Republic intends to participate actively in the work of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, whose next meeting will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, in May 2011.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“In the case of Iceland, the volcano led to the most serious interruption of air traffic since the Second World War. In addition, we need to take into account the numerous cold snaps, avalanches and storms that have occurred and their resultant epidemics — foremost among them, cholera in Africa and dengue fever in Latin America and the Caribbean. As we can see, vulnerability to natural disasters around the world is on the rise, and development levels are falling quickly as a result. Most of these natural disasters are caused by climate change or global warming. It is therefore imperative that this world body adopt, as soon as possible, guidelines to regulate the emission of carbon dioxide and to protect the planet’s biodiversity.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“To date, we have seen 47 floods and landslides, affecting countries as far apart as India and Brazil, China and Colombia, Russia and Congo, Kazakhstan and countries of East Africa, Mexico and Central America, Pakistan, Yemen and the Sudan. To date, there have been 12 hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons, affecting countries such as Mexico, India, the Solomon Islands and Madagascar. To date, we have suffered eight serious droughts, followed by fires, in Bolivia, California, the Caribbean, China, Spain and Russia. To date, there have been seven earthquakes, from the tragedy in Haiti to China, from Tajikistan to Chile, and from Afghanistan to Mexico. That does not include the volcanic eruptions — these too made no distinction between rich and poor.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We hope that, in 2019, when the General Assembly convenes its member States to evaluate the outcome of its new 10-year Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem (see resolution 64/182), we will be in a position to say, for the sake of our families, our young people, our societies and, ultimately, of humanity as a whole, “We have prevailed. We have defeated the leading threat to the security our peoples at the beginning of the twenty- first century. We have beaten drugs.” It is important also to note that the human and material losses experienced as a result of natural disasters in 2010 are a great cause for concern.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“It is imperative that we curb indiscriminate gun sales and human trafficking. We need to implement exchange and cooperation policies among the narcotics producer, transit and consumer countries. We need to introduce new technologies, strengthen intelligence systems, better train and enhance the professionalism of those in charge of ensuring public safety, design prevention mechanisms, generate educational opportunities, reduce poverty and create jobs, and get communities involved in building protective networks against crime.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“10-54833 32 In the face of all of this, some people are right to wonder whether transnational organized crime and illegal international drug trafficking can be defeated. Is it really possible to tackle and defeat all that this form of international crime entails? Our response is: yes, it is possible. It is possible to take it on and to defeat it. It is possible to reduce it and to mitigate its harmful effects. However, to do so, several elements need to be in place. First, we need genuine commitment at the global level and authentic and genuine political will at the level of national Government. We also need a paradigm change or a new strategic vision that will focus our efforts to fight the problem, not only on the supply side, as has fundamentally been the case so far, but also on the demand and consumption side.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Drug trafficking uses kidnapping, contract killings, torture and beheadings both in battles between drug trafficking groups and against the people and institutions that confront them. Drug trafficking sows fear and terror. It executes public servants as well as ordinary citizens. It murders journalists, teachers, doctors, students and housewives. Drug trafficking knows no limits or borders; it knows only horror, barbarism, bloodshed and crime. It is so powerful that it influences and interferes in vital areas of government, such as the armed forces, the police, intelligence services and the justice system, in its attempt to make State institutions serve its macabre and sinister interests.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“That astronomical sum means that the global drug trade is worth more than the gross domestic product of 122 of the 184 countries that appear on the annual World Bank economic index. Every year, the global drug market generates more wealth than countries such as Chile, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Israel, South Africa and Portugal. But, at the same time, it is more economically powerful than many of the world’s leading petroleum producing countries such as Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. In pursuit of its goals of conquering markets and accumulating wealth, transnational organized crime has begun availing itself of a new type of unprecedented, inhumane and cruel violence.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Drug consumption is harmful to health, causing personality disorders that often lead to loss of will, apathy and the development of pathological behaviour. Furthermore, tens of thousands of people die every year as a direct result of drug consumption, while others, depending on the way these toxic substances are consumed, are affected by diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. Today, illegal drug trafficking constitutes a global black market, a kind of underground or hidden economy for the growth, manufacture, distribution and sale of this merchandise in the form of marijuana, opium, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines and other varieties of such substances and others. That market, which is ruled like any other by the laws of supply and demand, now amounts to the astronomical sum of approximately $400 billion a year.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“It was determined that a new 10-year plan was needed to cover the period until 2019, when the General Assembly will have once again to convene Member States in order to assess the outcome of measures implemented to eliminate the most serious threat to our citizens’ safety at the dawn of the twenty- first century: transnational organized crime and illegal drug trafficking. Today, almost 250 million people between the ages of 15 and 64 consume drugs worldwide. Although that consumption extends to many regions around the world, the highest concentration of users is found in areas with the most pronounced economic and social development, such as the United States, Western Europe and Central Asia.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Eight years after Switzerland became a full Member of the United Nations, we are delighted to see that the presidency of this General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session fell to the 2004 President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr. Joseph Deiss, to whom we wish the greatest success in his tenure. In 1998, the twentieth special session of the General Assembly was held to contribute to the elimination or substantial reduction of the illegal production of drugs and drug abuse by 2008. Ten years later, at a follow-up review meeting supported by this prestigious world body, the conclusion was reached that little progress had been made regarding the proposed goals and that there were therefore plenty of reasons for the international community to be concerned about the growing threat posed by the global drug problem.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“It is now to be hoped that we the representatives of the peoples gathered here at this world forum will be able to act with the same dignity, sense of responsibility and level of commitment when it comes to the supremacy of democracy, freedom and justice.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“The same attitude was adopted by the 09-52228 32 Organization of American States, the European Union, the African Union and by the League of Arab States. Despite the entire world’s condemnation of that assault on democracy, the de facto Government of Honduras has remained in power, thereby underscoring the weaknesses of the international community to take action. President José Manuel Zelaya — the sole legitimate President of Honduras, who was scheduled as the sixth speaker to take the floor in the General Assembly this afternoon — has, in a great display of personal courage and daring, preferred to return to his country.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Our only hope of changing the current situation of economic decline and social deterioration and the moral crisis that is shaking up the world lies in adopting brave, wise and timely decisions in this prestigious global forum. The peoples of the world are waiting for these decisions. They are aware that their right to a dignified, honourable and happy life depends upon that. We cannot let them down. We must act with justice courage, a sense of history and with a vision of the future. I cannot conclude this statement without touching upon the current prevailing situation in Honduras. The United Nations passed a resolution condemning the coup d’état which took place in this Central American nation in June of this year and called for the return of democratic order.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“OXFAM has indicated that more than $50 billion in fiscal income slips through the fingers of developing countries each year as a result of offshore banks and tax havens. The organization Christian Aid has also affirmed bleakly that tax evasion is responsible for the deaths of more than 5 million children between the year 2000 and 2015 — the years we set to meet the Millennium Development Goals. There are abundant resources in the world and what is happening is that they are unfairly and unequally distributed due, inter alia, to an existing global financial architecture marked by the lack of transparency, secrecy, money-laundering, evasion and fraud.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“In that regard, we suggest the creation of a working group to carry out professional, high-quality research and submit a report containing recommendations and a plan of action geared towards establishing a fine to benefit development on capital deposited in fiscal havens, offshore banks and international financial centres. Placing financial resources in such fiscal havens means that every year we witness tax evasion in a sum equivalent to $250 billion — a figure — according to the World Bank — equal to the total sum of external aid necessary to meet the Millennium Development Goals. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), some $7 trillion is currently deposited in tax havens which do not contribute one single cent towards fiscal income.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“We must set aside all individual interests, resistance and obstacles that stand in the way of the reform of the global financial system and the stock markets, in order to establish new mechanisms for regulation and supervision that will guarantee that no crisis such as this one will ever occur again. Because of the lack of compliance to date by the majority of developed countries with their commitments made during the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development to contribute to the development of the poorest and most vulnerable nations and due to the prevailing situation of the global recession, we draw the attention of the General Assembly to the possibility of finding new sources of financing for the Millennium Development Goals.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Looking ahead, the first thing to be considered is that with the forecasted end of the global economic recession and the resulting gradual recovery of economic growth, we must ensure that we never again witness such a sudden and abrupt increase in oil and food prices as a result of excessive speculation and the transactions of the futures market. We issue this warning because we have been observing with concern, an increase in milk prices over the past three weeks on the international market that have risen by more than $1,000 per ton without any valid justification.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“However, that reasoning encounters one obstacle — the fact that children, the poor and the women of the world cannot wait. The only real way to ensure fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals by the planned 2015 date, is for the General Assembly to work towards promoting true commitment among nations and governmental and non-governmental institutions to urgently assume their task to achieve economic and social development for all people affected by poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy. It cannot be argued that the resources available to address this urgent task are insufficient. We have seen in the diligent manner used to address the collapse of the international financial system that — as the saying goes — where there is the will there is a way.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“When facing the challenges to our efforts to meet the eight goals established in the year 2000 for improving the human dignity and living conditions of millions of people worldwide, it is possible to adopt different attitudes. We might consider that we have failed and that these goals can never be met; that they represent a new utopia and therefore the only path 31 09-52228 remaining is to abandon any effort to meet those goals. Clearly that would be a cowardly and irresponsible attitude — the worst possible decision. It would mean leaving all those in need of human solidarity and compassion out in the cold. A second attitude would be to reconsider the goals and then extend the timetable to fulfil them; that would seem logical and reasonable.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“By the time I conclude my statement this afternoon — my 15 minute statement — worldwide 270 children will have died, whose early deaths could have been avoided. Throughout the course of this year, 9 million children, which is equivalent to the entire population of my country, the Dominican Republic, will have lost their lives for no reason or justification. This represents a human tragedy of epic proportions, a true catastrophe. It is morally and politically unacceptable. For that reason, it is important to call upon the General Assembly to declare a state of emergency with regard to compliance with the Millennium Development Goals.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“But from then on, we witnessed the deluge of the global financial crisis. Since then, the storm has been so intense that it has created a widespread state of anxiety and fear at a global scale the likes of which has not been seen in many decades. According to the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, 400,000 more children and tens of thousands of women will die every year as a direct consequence of the global financial crisis. Today, while the meetings of the General Assembly of the most important global organization are being held, 25,000 children will die in various parts of the world. That is the equivalent of saying that a child will die every three seconds, or 18 children every minute.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Obviously, with the outbreak of these crises, which gravely affected the economies of developing countries, the resources needed to meet the objectives that had been set to cut by half the level of poverty worldwide would have to be increased significantly above the projected figures established by the World Bank. As one can see, the situation last year was already bleak at the time of submitting for analysis and evaluation the achievements that had been made and future challenges to meet in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. In spite of the dark clouds that were gathering on the global economic horizon, we still felt optimistic; we held the illusion that we might meet our targets. After all, we had made continuous progress towards meeting some of the Goals.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“When it comes to the second crisis, the food crisis, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations established that as a result of the food crisis, the number of people suffering from hunger worldwide rose by 150 million, which meant that for the first time in human history the total figure exceeded the number of 1 billion human beings. Before these two crises broke out, the World Bank had already indicated that in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals in the remaining seven years — that is, between 2008 and 2015 — $250 billion were still needed, or $50 billion every year.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Before this crisis occurred, however, the world, in particular the developing countries, was already affected by the impact of two other crises that had begun simultaneously: the crisis involving oil prices and that involving food prices. As a result of the first of these crises, that is, the oil crisis, vigorous and intense social protest broke out in various parts of the world. Suddenly, all products became more expensive. Governments were forced to use their currency reserves to pay their oil bills and were forced to allocate subsidies for the sake of maintaining civic peace and democratic governance.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“We convey our warmest congratulations to the renowned Libyan diplomat Mr. Ali Treki on his recent election to preside over the General Assembly at this sixty-fourth session, as well as for his call for a dialogue among civilizations, for interreligious understanding, for the promotion for peace and security and for closing the divide between rich and poor. Exactly one year ago, when we were taking stock of progress made towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals at the midterm point, something unexpected occurred: the collapse of some of the most emblematic investment banks, and with that the worsening of the global financial crisis.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“The world, in fact, has very simple aspirations: to live in conditions of social justice and equity, with the creation of opportunities so that every human being can develop his or her creative potential, both material and spiritual. For the achievement of such noble objectives, the States that have committed themselves to realizing the MDGs as an agenda of true and genuine social transformation turn to the United Nations system with optimism and hope that it can correct and make up for existing distortions. We trust that with so many intelligent persons meeting here, working towards a better life for all of humankind, important solutions will be brought to the table with the same speed, urgency and interest that are being shown in drawing up rescue plans for bankrupt banks during these turbulent times in the world of finance.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“In the past five years, the price of wheat has gone up by 177 per cent, soy by 196 per cent and corn by 214 per cent. Nevertheless, we must reiterate here that what has the greatest impact on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals is skyrocketing oil prices. In the Dominican Republic, our oil bill has risen from $1.667 billion in 2004 to a projected $6.5 billion this year. That represents a difference of almost 500 per cent. With that difference of $5 billion, the Dominican Republic could have financed every public investment laid out in the cost analyses of the Millennium Development Goals from 2008 to 2015. The world does not aspire to be a gambling den. The world does not want continuous manipulation or permanent fraud in regard to factors that have a decisive effect on the quality of life.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Is it that suddenly, in just one day, the whole world increased its demand so abruptly, or did the world’s oil wells unexpectedly disappear? In reality, there is but one explanation: excessive speculation in the futures markets. It is incomprehensible that some can sell something they do not have while others can buy what they do not expect to receive. However, that is what has been happening recently, in the clearest example of so-called casino capitalism. In just five years, hundreds of billions of dollars have entered the commodities futures markets, largely directed towards energy, while prices shot up by more than 200 per cent between July 2003 and July 2008. That has occurred not just with a few commodities, but with every single one of the 25 products on the world market index for commodities.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“We do not question the fact that, with respect to the determination of oil prices, supply has not increased significantly while demand has increased; that there has been insufficient investment in new refineries in recent years; that there are geopolitical tensions in various parts of the world, or that the United States dollar has decreased in value. All of that is true. What we do question, however, is the fact, that in just 12 months, the price of a barrel of oil rose from $70 to almost $150. In July, we were stupefied to see the price of a barrel of oil rise $10 in a single day. Just two days ago, while we were here in New York, we saw with great perplexity an increase of not just $10 but $25 per barrel in a single day. How can we explain that?”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“We would like to use this forum, however, to highlight other factors that hinder the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the progress of our nations. Such is the case, for example, of the unregulated speculation in the buying and selling of futures contracts for oil and food. There is no way to hide the fact that, without regulation, the futures markets are mechanisms that lend themselves through excessive speculation, fraud and manipulation to a distortion of the fundamental principles of economic activity.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The people of the world affected by hunger and misery are crying out to the international community to lend the same urgent attention to the resolution of their plight that has been given to efforts to rescue banking institutions on the brink of collapse. We cannot entertain the idea that rescuing the dignity of the world’s poor is less important or urgent as rescuing the institutions operating in the world’s most important financial centre. We would like it to be clear that we have not come here to condemn anyone. We have not come to point a finger at any friendly nation that is a Member of the United Nations family. Rather, we wish to sound the alarm and be a voice that troubles the conscience and calls for a solution to a problem that affects all 08-51749 22 poor nations and is socially unjust and ethically unacceptable.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“That is to say that achieving the goals of improving the quality of life and dignity in the living conditions of the poorest nations of the world would require an international economic financing plan as bold and as urgent as that currently being undertaken to save Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, AIG and other financial institutions. In other words, over the next seven years, until 2015, the date established for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, according to the criteria of the World Bank, we would need $350 billion of foreign aid. That represents half of the amount that is being debated at this very moment in the United States Congress to save from bankruptcy the financial businesses of Wall Street responsible for their own failures.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Only five of those nations — Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and Luxembourg — have honoured their commitments, making contributions equal to and in some cases greater than the 0.7 per cent of their gross national income established as appropriate by this world Organization. Nonetheless, we can be sure that, in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, we will now require a financial rescue plan from the international community — in a sort of bailout, as it is referred to nowadays. According to studies by the World Bank, a yearly average of approximately $50 billion in foreign aid would be needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“We now know that, unless an extraordinary effort is made from now on, instead of reaching the goal of reducing by half the proportion of children of low birth weight, their number will grow to over 30 million. We also know that in 2006, the number of deaths caused by AIDS rose to almost 3 million and that the preventive measures against that ominous pandemic remain grossly insufficient. Also disheartening is the fact that more than 600 million people will not have better health services than the ones they currently have access to. Now, at the same time that this is occurring, the richest nations, which committed to providing extraordinary official development assistance in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, have in general fallen short in carrying out their pledges.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“In the Dominican Republic, we have been able to achieve some progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Since 1991, we have reduced by more than half the percentage of five-year- old children who are underweight for their age. We have also made progress in achieving our goals related to health development and have the spread of HIV/AIDS under control. However, we now know that over and above the limited progress achieved, not just by the Dominican Republic but by developing countries on all continents, more than half a million women still die every year from complications of pregnancy and childbirth that could be treated and prevented.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)