YouSaid · the spoken record

Alar Karis

lines on the record: 35
first: 2022-09-24
most recent: 2023-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“States started to understand that their national interests are better served in times of peace than in times of war. Peace generated welfare. After the World Wars, the international community said “never again”. The United Nations was created to serve that exact purpose. The question we must ask ourselves is. do we need to create a new. better world order that is up to the task? Are we wise and willing enough to use international law to resolve conflicts to maintain peace and security? Are we heading towards dark days or glorious ones? That is entirely up to us. We are the ones who determine the future. We are the ones responsible for it. But let us start by fixing the Security Council.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“In situations in which the Security Council is unable to function as expected, it is definitely a positive development that the General Assembly has gained more prominence and influence in addressing issues related to peace and security. We saw that, for example, in the process of adopting resolutions on Ukraine and implementing the initiative concerning the right to the veto. We in the General Assembly should be able to collectively overcome the veto in the Security Council, if the situation requires. The concept of war and peace already started to change during the nineteenth century. War was gradually seen to be a state of confusion or disorientation of mind. It became clearer and clearer that nobody actually wins a war or gains anything from it.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Let us use it. As for the future composition of the Security Council, there should always be a fair distribution among continents and regions. Small, medium-sized and large States should all be represented. Only then will we have a balanced Council truly able to address the world. In addition, the Security Council should be more transparent and open, which will immensely increase its efficiency. Building on that, the belief that the Security Council is able to maintain international peace and security will be restored. The international community has a right to know what was discussed at the Council. If there were a clear solution on the table and there were a Member State that simply blocked it. and in doing so increased the suffering of people, then that should be stated publicly.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“The central issue is of course the exercise of the right to the veto. There should be no right to the veto if it is suspected that the country exercising it may have acted against international law. Estonia supports the proposal of the Accountability. Coherence and Transparency group to limit the right of the veto in cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. The Charter stipulates in Chapter V that a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting in the Security Council. We call on the Council to always implement that provision, as was done in the early decades of the United Nations. It is unacceptable for an aggressor to exercise the right of the veto, making it impossible for the Security Council to act. In fact, there is a way to prevent a Security Council member from abusing its right of the veto.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Tigray. Syria. Yemen and Ukraine. Whose children will be next? We need to stick together and protect international law. based on the Charter. If we cannot agree on all the ideas for reform, let us concentrate on commonalities. Let us take the small steps that we can already take today. We all need to show some flexibility. Both issues — the composition of the Security Council and its working methods — must be seriously addressed. It is time to abandon the well- known and documented group positions. We. as the united world community, need to start afresh. Let us turn a blank page and work closely together to strongly make the point that enough is enough. For the greater good, it would make perfect sense to take one step back from old positions in order to move three steps forward. Let us keep in mind what is at stake here.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“give hope for better days to those suffering under fear, oppression and violence. Those responsible for aggression and conflicts must face justice — even those that enjoy the right of the veto in the Security Council. In order to ensure that the Security Council can fulfil the tasks conferred upon it by the Charter, there is no alternative other than to adjust the Council’s structure and working methods. And yes. that is possible. We should rise up together and join voices in calling for Security Council reform. Of course, it is hard. We are different in our positions. Reform has already been on the table for many decades. But instead of complaining how impossible Security Council reform will be. let us make an extra effort towards it. We owe it to the starving, physically injured, mentally damaged and homeless boys and girls in Rakhine.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Now is the time, as the world is out of joint. Now is the time, as it has become more evident than ever. The Security Council is close to a dead end. unable to act and make decisions on the greatest conflict in the heart of Europe since the Second World War. That undermines the Charter. Maintaining international peace and security is the raison d’etre of the Security Council. But instead the Council is paralysed, which has numerous negative implications globally, including the inability to provide conflict resolution or solutions concerning migration and food security. That dangerous trend does not have its foundation in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, but it has crystallized because of that. The world needs a Security Council that is able to fulfil its tasks, live up to the expectations of its founding members and. above all.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“The fact that Russia is member of the Security Council does not legitimize its actions. A crime is a crime, no matter what. Therefore, a tribunal should be created, and should it be based on the authority of the General Assembly, it would have the desired international legitimacy. If we allow impunity to prevail, we put a question mark on our own virtues, values and moral norms. The whole concept of international adjudication and arbitration would be under threat, which would deeply undermine international law. That is why the international reaction and response to Russia’s crimes are of existential significance for us all. The situation calls on us to really use the tools at our disposal for protecting international law. based on the United Nations Charter. Therefore, we need to reform the Security Council.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“The answer is that Russia’s political and military leadership must bear individual criminal responsibility for planning, launching and waging the war of aggression against Ukraine. It is a crime against peace. It is a crime of aggression. It is a leadership crime. Russia abuses its authority in the Security Council and tries to convince the world that black is white. But it is not. A lie is always a lie. no matter how nice it sounds. The votes in the General Assembly have proven that there are fewer and fewer of those who tend to believe Russian lies. The Charter of the United Nations states that the purpose of the United Nations is to prevent and eradicate threats to peace and suppress of acts of aggression. Russia has continuously breached that core principle.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“We have to be very clear: Russia invaded another sovereign country, using a fabricated pretext. The real reason for the aggression against Ukraine lies in Russia’s neo-imperial and neocolonial aspirations. Russia wants to destroy Ukraine, occupy it and drain it of its resources to fuel the ideology of its greatness. What is there great about colonizing another country? The outcome of the war will greatly determine the future world in which we and our kids will live. Will it be dominated by the brutal use of violence by those who commit crimes and destroy others? Or will we live in a world in which law and order, justice and universally accepted rules will prevail? What kind of lessons will we have learned from Russia’s aggression? How will we be able to discredit that aggression as a tool for rogue statecraft for generations to come?”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Bombs were constantly falling, and one could only hope that the explosions would stop. Shelters were overcrowded with small babies, older men and women, cats and dogs. Everybody was nervous, and the shops were empty. With her daughter and cat. Anna decided to leave her hometown of Kyiv, which was in flames. Like the thousands of others running for their lives. Anna took the difficult journey and made it to Estonia. There she especially enjoys the sunsets and is amazed at how quiet it is. Sometimes when it thunders, she prays that it is just thunder. Russia escalated its aggression against Ukraine into a full-scale war more than a year and a half ago already. As we speak, a permanent member of the Security Council, the Russian Federation, is shamelessly destroying hospitals, kindergartens, grain storage facilities and schools.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“In Afghanistan, girls are denied their basic human right — education. Would anyone accept this faith for their daughter? The Iranian population has lived for decades with severe limitations of fundamental rights. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights stated last year that there are serious human rights violations against Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region, and there are massive restrictions of the fundamental rights of people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. These are not merely statistics or abstract passages in annual reports, but real and utterly tragic stories happening to our fellow citizens, to people like us. These are people like Anna, who worked in a shop in Kyiv. When war started, she remembers constant running to different shelters, schools, churches and nearby houses.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“We have been trying to build a world where the ones in need should be noticed and helped. We have learned to hear and accept various voices. We have been shaping a world that is based on freedom, justice and rules. But the world is in danger. Regrettably, we see attempts to bend the rules or even ignore and forget them. We have witnessed ethnic cleansing against the Tigrayan population in western Tigray. which resulted in many deaths, sexual violence, mass detention and the forced displacement of thousands. We have heard the painful stories of slavery and murder of Yazidi girls. Hundreds of thousands have been killed in the war in Yemen. The humanitarian crisis is devastating — famine and diseases are raging on. There are numerous violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Only nations with united effort, a shared vision, an urge to understand each other in our differences and a readiness to compromise will be able to tackle the great challenges of our time. We know that our world is facing diverse, intertwined crises reversing years of sustainable development gains. That is heartbreaking. As I had the privilege to address the Sustainable Development Goals Summit on Monday. I want to focus on other equally important topics today. We have learned from the past mistakes. We have seen horrors and grave human suffering. We do not want to end up in situations that rhyme with barbarity and cruelty. Humankind does not deserve war. death, aggression and suppression. That is why sovereign States gathered 78 years ago and formed the United Nations. The United Nations is really uniting nations.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“States and societies, but I am certain that some things are universal — like the simple wish for a better tomorrow or the sincere joy of doing good or feeling hope when offered a helping hand in the darkest moment and being told that it is going to be alright. We are all entitled to live with dignity. We are all equal. Recognizing and accepting that is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, as postulated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Those are the things that unite us. Those are the values upon which we must build our future. Our challenges are largely shared — ensuring sustainable peace and security, ending poverty, addressing climate change and finding the best sustainable use for new technologies.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Let me first express my deep condolences to the people of Morocco who lost their loved ones to the earthquake and the people of Libya for their loss due to the catastrophic flooding. The world is constantly changing. We are living through difficult times and glorious moments — as human beings, as States and societies, as humankind and as global brothers and sisters. On this path, called history, we have learned that moments and situations do not fully repeat themselves fully. Instead, they rhyme. Our ability to learn from the past, to read the rhythm and flow of the verses of time is the source of progress. That gives hope that future rhymes will be nicer and free from the mistakes we made before. We are different as humans.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Its relevance is being put to the test; we cannot fail. The United Nations must emerge from this watershed moment stronger, more united and more relevant than ever before.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“We give the most serious consideration to the establishment of an independent special court for crimes of aggression and a compensation mechanism for the damage caused by the aggression. We support all initiatives that seek to ensure accountability. In conclusion, the war in Ukraine affects us all. It is our common duty to push back the ugly manifestations of imperialism, colonialism and racism by Russia. Russia must understand that the path that it has taken is disastrous and that the war that it started cannot be won. If we stop caring and if we get tired and fall into indifference, the aggressors and criminals will only be empowered. That is not the world where we want to live nor the world that we want to leave to future generations. The United Nations is, and remains, the cornerstone of our multilateral rules-based world order.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Russia has demonstrated how State-provided malicious cybertools are used alongside conventional weapons. Russia’s cyberattack against Ukraine’s satellite communications on 23 February served to prepare and facilitate Russia’s invasion on the ground. It is our duty to ensure accountability and justice at all levels. Impunity breeds impunity and leads to new crimes being committed. It is of the utmost importance that there be independent and effective investigations into the atrocity crimes and crimes of aggression committed against Ukraine, as well as in Syria, Ethiopia and elsewhere. We must provide justice to victims and bring those responsible for atrocities and genocide to trial. Estonia fully supports the investigation led by the International Criminal Court.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Russia has occupied the plant and turned it into a combat zone. The risk of a nuclear disaster is very real. The power plant should be demilitarized without delay and full control of the plant returned to Ukraine. Moreover, it is essential to grant international experts ongoing and unfettered access to the facilities of the power plant. I regret that last month Russia also shamelessly blocked the consensus on the outcome document of the tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Estonia has been vocal in addressing the issues of cybersecurity at the United Nations. We continue such efforts to elevate cybersecurity as an essential component of the United Nations international peace and security agenda.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Yet Russia has no intention of ending the war. Instead, the Russian regime decided to escalate it. We find its cynical nuclear threat totally unacceptable; it is a threat to the global community. To alleviate the crisis, the European Union (EU) launched the EU-Ukraine solidarity lanes initiative, which has helped to export more than 6 million tonnes of predominantly agricultural goods from Ukraine. Estonia also welcomes the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which, brokered by the Secretary-General and the President of Tiirkiye, was signed in Istanbul on 22 July. We must keep up the international pressure on Russia to monitor Russia’s adherence to the deal and its extension. We are following with deep concern the situation at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, one of the world’s largest such plants.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Russia’s aggression also brings further pain to those already suffering from the impacts of the pandemic, conflicts, famine and climate change. Let me be very clear: that aggression has brought about high inflation and global food and energy crises. The head of the World Food Programme has warned that Russia’s aggression will lead to the worst food crisis since the Second World War. In physics and in life, the cause triggers a reaction. Russia’s aggression triggered the global food and inflation crisis. We have witnessed Russia’s occupying forces stealing Ukraine’s grain supplies, burning down warehouses and destroying grain fields. Market disruptions are not caused by sanctions. The global food and economic crises are being caused by the war that Russia started, and Russia can end all that by ending the war.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Respecting universal human rights is not a choice. Neither culture nor religion can be invoked to justify human rights violations. In the same vein, we welcome the release of the assessment report on the human rights situation in Xinjiang by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The report underscores the serious human rights violations occurring in Xinjiang, which may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity. That is extremely alarming, and it requires urgent attention by the international community. There remains little dispute over the existential crisis posed by climate change. We witnessed devastating flooding in Pakistan caused by erratic monsoon rains. In solidarity with the people of Pakistan, Estonia is providing help to those who are severely affected.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“War, conflict and a lack of openness bring about extreme violations of human rights. It must be clear that basic human rights are universal, are the same for all United Nations Members and cannot be ignored by any Government. Special attention should be devoted to ensuring gender equality and the right to education. The opportunity to study should not be a wish or a dream in the twenty-first century. Let me use this rostrum to praise the courageous women who are now at the forefront of the protest against the Taliban in Afghanistan to fight for their right to choose their own path and role in society. It is our profound duty to support their struggle. I call on the de facto leaders of Afghanistan to immediately stop harassing the Afghan female staff of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Estonia created 1,000 additional places in various education programmes for Ukrainian refugee children by opening a new school — the Freedom School. One day, its students will be the leaders and rebuilders of Ukraine. Estonian education technology companies are donating their solutions to support Ukrainian schools and pupils whose education has been disrupted by war. Why am I saying all this? I am saying it because our future depends on young people sitting in classrooms and on their education. We are made by history; we cannot let a lack of knowledge define our future. To avoid such brutality repeating itself we must raise awareness of the history of our nations. We need to evade confusion caused by active brainwashing and disinformation. We see how ignorance makes it easy for any aggressor to put forward its false narratives.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the total number of people worldwide who were forced to flee their homes due to conflicts and human rights violations was 89.3 million in 2021. The displacements were driven, for example, by the brutality of the Bashar Al-Assad regime, conflicts in the Tigray region and the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul. In 2022, that number has already exceeded the milestone of 100 million. The increase is caused by Russia's war of aggression. There are more than 7 million recorded Ukrainian refugees across Europe; another 7 million people were internally displaced. Estonia received nearly 55,000 refugees, which is 4 per cent of our country’s population. We ensure social services and basic education for refugees fleeing from war.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Russia’s aggression has led to an immense need for resources and aid. Nearly 18 million Ukrainians — 40 per cent of the country’s population — are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The international support for Ukraine has been heart-warming. The United Nations is busy helping Ukrainians who did not need our help before that aggression. To date, Estonia has sent more than €20 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine. We have seen unprecedented, massive support for Ukraine from the Estonian private sector, civil society and citizens. We continue to assist, and work on, the reconstruction of Ukraine; it needs to begin now. We call on others to join us in that. Conflicts created the immense refugee crisis.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“We deplore the Russian Federation’s failure to implement that resolution, as well as its failure to comply with the legally binding order of the International Court of Justice of 16 March, requiring Russia to immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine. Estonia has always been a strong proponent of curbing the absolute veto power, and even more so when it was used to cover up war crimes and crimes against humanity. I am glad that the General Assembly adopted by consensus the landmark resolution 76/262, the so- called veto initiative, which provides the General Assembly an opportunity to step in when the Security Council is unable to act. The question remains: how can we accept that the aggressor has a veto power in the Security Council? Conflicts and war bring about an enormous humanitarian crisis.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“It is shameful that, since 24 February, it has adopted only a presidential statement (S/PRST/2022/3) on Ukraine. How many devastating wars will it take to move forward the long- overdue Security Council reform? I am grateful that, while the Security Council remains paralysed on the issue of Russia’s aggression, the soul and the conscience of the United Nations, the General Assembly, has been active and decisive. I recall the overwhelming support for resolution ES-11/1, adopted on 2 March, which condemns Russia’s aggression and urges Russia to immediately and unconditionally withdraw all its troops from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“We grieve for the victims of Russia’s aggression, and we stand with Ukraine in ensuring a future for its people and nation. That brave nation is fighting for values set out in the United Nations Charter — the noble cause of freedom, democracy and human rights. In accordance with Article 51 of the Charter, helping Ukraine to protect its right to exist is our collective obligation. At the same time, it is disturbing that the Security Council, the organ that bears the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, has been paralysed and utterly unable to play its role. Russia has abused its veto power to block the Security Council from adopting any resolutions regarding the grave violation of the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. The Security Council lies at the heart of the United Nations.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“As of 22 August, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded over 13,000 civilian casualties in Ukraine, with approximately 6,000 people killed and nearly 8,000 injured. The actual numbers are significantly higher. Each murder is further proof of the grave violations of international law by the aggressor. We condemn in the strongest terms the war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. The Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights reported to the Security Council regarding credible allegations of forced transfers of unaccompanied children to Russian- occupied territory or to the Russian Federation (see S/PV.9126). We saw mass graves of tortured civilians. I wonder if we are living in the twenty-first century. I want to pay tribute to the immeasurable resilience of the people of Ukraine.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Standing in a grey zone encourages the aggressor, undermines this Organization and fuels human suffering. In recent years, we have witnessed devastating human suffering in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Yemen, Syria, the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, to name just a few places. Russia’s war of aggression makes finding solutions to those conflicts only more difficult, as it has increased food insecurity, adds pressure on the global humanitarian relief system and exacerbates the economic crisis. I visited Ukraine two months after the invasion began. The site was horrific. I lack words to describe the brutality of that scene. The face of war is the same everywhere. Its cruelty will never leave the people who must live through it. Wars and conflicts bring only horror and misery to humankind.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“The Russian invasion, including the illegal occupation of Crimea and Russia's prior land grabs in Georgia and Moldova, demonstrate Russia's total disrespect for international law and the rules-based international order and are an assault on the United Nations Charter and every value and principle for which the United Nations stands. That brutal and unjustified aggression is the most serious threat to global peace and security since the end of the Second World War and challenges the very foundation of the United Nations system, undermining the security of all members of the international community. Some colleagues are hesitant to take sides regarding the Russian aggression. Some argue that the war is between Russia and Ukraine. I see the aggressor and the victim. Legally, as well as morally, there is only one right side to take.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“The only standard that we must follow is the United Nations Charter — our unique common promise of peace for all nations, large and small, and a promise to advance fundamental human rights and the equal rights of men and women. It is not a choice; it is a collective responsibility to ensure that peace, justice and human rights prevail. On 24 February, the Russian Federation, a permanent member of the Security Council, attacked democratic and peaceful sovereign Ukraine. Russia started a war of aggression with the goal of ending the sovereignty of its neighbour, overthrowing its legitimate Government, exterminating the Ukrainian nation and implementing its abusive order, steeped in imperialism, self-interest and dominance.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“It is my honour to be here today, although I wish that the circumstances surrounding my first address were different. A year ago, the Secretary- General presented his inspiring report Our Common Agenda (A/75/982), which outlines his vision for the next 25 years of global cooperation, and initiated discussions on how to reinvigorate multilateralism and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. I support the goals of the report, and yet it is a Herculean task because the world is torn apart. We are witnessing the constant brutal violation of the core principles of the Charter of the United Nations on every continent. The United Nations itself has become a battlefield, where some States try to convince the world that the common values to which we all are obliged to adhere do not exist.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)