YouSaid · the spoken record

Toomas Hendrik Ilves

lines on the record: 176
first: 1999-09-24
most recent: 2016-09-24
sittings or episodes: 13
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

“Even the most successful nation’s reserves and capacities, however, have a limit. Therefore, it is only natural that every Member State carefully evaluate how it can be the most useful. It is equally important for Members to realistically assess how high a level of development they have achieved, and, when appropriate, to refrain from accepting aid in favour of those who need it the most. This is the flip side of development. As one rises out of poverty and underdevelopment, one should also grow up and become more responsible, acknowledging that obligations rise along with living standards. Last year, for example, Estonia decided to relinquish its right to pay reduced contributions to the peacekeeping budget.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Now, however, we must ask ourselves if there is some way that we can speed up and intensify these reforms so as to better deal with the urgency of the prevailing situation. In our new situation, I would bring forth three well-worn and proven principles that apply not only specifically to the United Nations, but to other aspects of international cooperation as well. First, we must once again ask ourselves how exactly each of us can make the most fruitful contribution. Secondly, what can we do to increase the efficiency of the Organization? And thirdly, I would like to stress the principle of openness. First of all, let us deal with the matter of every Member’s individual contribution. The United Nations brings together Member States with a wide range of resources and capabilities.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The international political atmosphere in Estonia’s immediate vicinity, the Baltic Sea region, is, I am glad to report, peaceful, which is conducive to stable development and good-neighbourly cooperation. Up to now, Estonians have hardly had to deal with the direct results of terrorism. But this fall’s terrorist attacks were aimed directly at international peace and stability. This means that now we, too, keenly sense the danger that faces us all. This places the United Nations, as the world Organization, at the centre of the ongoing struggle. The reform processes launched during the last few years to reorganize and reform the United Nations are also appropriate for dealing with current problems.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“With our neighbours Latvia and Lithuania, we have also formulated common measures for preventing possible terrorist attacks and for applying coordinated tactics in case we become the victims of terrorist activities. We have intensified international border controls and police cooperation. Many programmes that had been adopted earlier are now proving to be extremely useful in the struggle against terrorism. The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, for example, has given a high rating to Estonia’s anti-money-laundering legislation. A recent audit shows that Estonian banks have no contractual relations with any organization or individual alleged to be connected with international terrorism.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The ratification of those conventions and the enforcement of those sanctions by every United Nations Member State is, at this moment, one of those truly important tasks that it behoves all Members to carry out. I am glad to be able to confirm that Estonia has either already ratified, or is the middle of the parliamentary procedures for ratifying, all of the appropriate United Nations conventions. Estonia has taken all necessary steps to apply Security Council resolutions 1333 (2000) and 1373 (2001). Estonia has improved and intensified cooperation and the exchange of information with its neighbours and partners. We have expressed our solidarity and unreserved support to the United States in the fight against terrorism. We have aligned ourselves with the European Union’s 21 September anti-terrorist summit’s final document and action plan.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The United Nations Member States together have condemned the terrorist acts. It is of the utmost importance to maintain that unity and persistently to reinforce it with concrete actions. Terrorism is the ultimate challenge to our common values, and our struggle against that threat has only begun. The destruction and elimination of terrorist networks is a time-consuming task for which there are no instant solutions. The United Nations does, however, have effective measures at its disposal for fighting terrorism: the international conventions that the United Nations has adopted over the years and the sanctions that can be applied to hamper terrorist activities.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“First of all, allow me to congratulate Secretary-General Kofi Annan and all of my colleagues on having received the Nobel Peace Prize. There is no doubt that without the United Nations, our world would be much less secure, with far fewer prospects for resolving conflicts. I would also like to commend the efforts that have been made during the last few years to reform this Organization so that it can better deal with the new challenges it has to face. In addition, please allow me, Sir, to congratulate you on having been elected President of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly. After the terrorist attacks of 11 September, it became apparent that, when we are all confronted with a common threat, many existing disputes and 12 differences become insignificant.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“It need not follow that poor nations fall ever behind. Policies can be implemented, as we have discovered, that turn the “digital divide” into a “digital dividend”. We have seen this in my country firsthand through our Tiger Leap programme whereby every school in Estonia has, for some time now, been connected to the Internet. Even more clearly, we have witnessed how access to information technology has brought new possibilities to rural areas, the areas which often bear the brunt of change. This is why Estonia wholeheartedly endorses, and will actively participate in, the United Nations plans to assist all Members in making the information technology dream a reality.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“In his millennium report, the Secretary-General rightly stressed the need to ensure that the fruits of new technologies, especially information technology, are available to all. I personally took part in the High-level Panel of Experts on Information and Communication Technology, held here at the United Nations last April, because we have some experience in these matters. Estonia has the honour of finding itself among the 20 most computerized nations in the world. More importantly, we have done this not as a rich country, but as a nation with rather modest means. Among the Panel's most important findings was the undisputed, if not terribly original, conclusion that information technology programmes are, in fact, beneficial for development. Computer technology can be a wedge, or it can be a bridge.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“My third point focuses on the need to increase equality around the globe. In his millennium report, the Secretary-General called on all of us to focus on the eradication of poverty. We can go a long way towards levelling the playing field for all peoples by alleviating debt and allocating more resources for development assistance. It is not as simple as that, however. As my Prime Minister, Mart Laar, said here last week, these efforts must go hand in hand with good governance and open markets. Without a commitment to these two elements, no amount of aid or debt relief will bring us closer to our intended goal. The idea that open governments and open markets are a prerequisite for good economic performance leads me to my fourth and final point, namely, the role of information and communications technology in furthering development.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“This is because Estonia regards peacekeeping as being among the United Nations most crucial assignments in fulfilling its historical mandate of collective security. Security cannot be had at discount prices. That is why Estonia is willing to pay more for what we hope will be a better product. Paying our own way is not enough to raise the effectiveness of peacekeeping, however. What we require, as Prime Minister Tony Blair said here last week, is a far broader concept of security. The Security Council took an important step last week towards ensuring the security of people and frontiers with its unanimous resolution to overhaul United Nations peacekeeping operations. Those changes should create a more potent and better financed force that can react quickly where needed.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The guarantors of, and greatest contributors to, stability in the world have in the course of half a century changed fundamentally. We need not fear opening a discussion on whether the moral and legal reasoning underlying Security Council membership in the wake of the Second World War is still appropriate for the twenty-first century. If countries have fundamentally changed, so should, and so can, the United Nations. My second point regards peacekeeping. Earlier this year my Government decided to forgo the discount rate that meant paying only 20 per cent of our peacekeeping assessment. Instead, we voluntarily and unilaterally opted to shoulder 100 per cent of what is expected of us.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Because the Security Council derives its legitimacy from all Member States, it is the duty of the permanent members to exercise their veto power responsibly. The composition of the Council, which still reflects the power relationships current in 1945, is another issue that calls out for resolution. From the inception of the United Nations that year until just a decade ago the people of my country were afforded only rare glimpses of the goings-on at the United Nations through tears in the fabric of the Iron Curtain. When we finally re-established our independence, in 1991, we emerged onto the international arena only to 27 discover that the Security Council, judging by its composition, was still stuck back in 1945. This strikes Estonia as being anachronistic, if not wrongheaded.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The strong executive power vested in the Council was originally designed for the Council to provide a venue for speedy decisions and subsequent action. In practice, however, the Council is increasingly prone to indecisive waffling, which in turn undermines its own authority and credibility, and thus its effectiveness. In order to combat that effect, Estonia believes that the voting procedures and mechanisms governing the work of the United Nations most powerful body must be revamped. One such procedure that deserves our attention is the veto. Some permanent members of the Security Council have used the veto, or have threatened to do so, in order to advance their own domestic and foreign policy interests, irrelevant to the particular issue at hand.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Allow me to begin, Sir, by congratulating you on your election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session. I wish you all the best in carrying out your duties. I would also like to welcome the Republic of Tuvalu to the United Nations. Last week my Prime Minister, Mart Laar, spoke to the Millennium Summit on a number of issues Estonia sees as being especially salient to the United Nations this year. In my brief remarks today, I would like to underline four in particular: first, the need to reform the Security Council; secondly, efforts to raise the effectiveness of peacekeeping; thirdly, the importance of narrowing the global gap between rich and poor; and, fourthly, the role of information technology in furthering development. The first concerns efforts to reform the Security Council.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Let us adapt the Organization to reflect the realities of today. Let us make the United Nations an Organization that will continue to play a vital and prominent role far into the new millennium.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“At the same time, however, the fight against terrorism should not serve as a pretext for equally gross violations of human rights, forcible detention and the deportation of tens of thousands of innocent people all over a country without due process, simply because of the colour of their skin or their ethnic background. Allow me to conclude by saying a few words on the issue of financing. If the United Nations is to enter the twenty-first century as a serious and effective Organization, we must commit ourselves to economic realities. This means administrative reform, zero budget 2 growth and fiscal responsibility, combined with a firm commitment by all countries to pay their share. The gist of Estonia’s message is that the world has changed dramatically in the past half century.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“As the only truly global Organization, the United Nations should play a greater role in making sure that universal principles, enshrined in the United Nations Charter, are fairly and fully applied. To pursue this goal I call upon all countries to support wholeheartedly the activities of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Every year hundreds and thousands of innocent people perish as a result of brutal terrorist actions. The General Assembly has passed a number of resolutions on the fight against terrorism, and currently no fewer than 11 anti-terrorism conventions have been adopted. In the light of the recent terrorist attacks in Russia, we believe that the fight against terrorism should be pursued with even greater zeal. Terrorism of all kinds should be globally condemned and eradicated.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The United Nations should therefore concentrate more on preventive actions and on implementing well-planned, well-targeted and timely programmes with a clear exit strategy. That, in turn, will encourage success and positive development, not dependency. Estonia values the United Nations function as a normative Organization that sets international standards and universal principles for its Members. The gross violations of human rights witnessed this year, including killings and mass deportations reminiscent of those experienced by my country 50 years ago, show that it is more important than ever that countries adhere to common international norms and standards in the field of human rights.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Although these non-political activities have received less attention than efforts in the field of peacekeeping and diplomacy, they are no less important. Many countries, including mine, have benefited from United Nations assistance. We believe, however, that it is time to start to pay back. Providing development and humanitarian assistance is a logical and moral consequence of our membership of the international community. It should be the goal of every country. In this regard, I would like to observe that most United Nations activities, whether in the field of peacekeeping or economic assistance, almost invariably become permanent. Permanence, however, is not a sign of success; it is a sign of failure.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Many of these groups are based on a now irrelevant cold war ideological and geopolitical alignment. A decade after the end of the cold war the East-West divide has disappeared, and regional groups, such as the Eastern European Group, which were a product of that divide, simply no longer make sense. In order to make United Nations structures correspond to today’s realities, those regional groups should become truly geographic. Allow me now to turn to economic and social development. We can all agree that over the years the United Nations has been most successful in that area. The United Nations system has devoted more attention and resources to development than to any other international assistance effort.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Today we are already into the second decade of the post-cold-war order, two generations removed from the problems faced by our grandfathers. Why, then, should we be constrained by obsolescent structures still based on the power relationships of 1945? The guarantors of and greatest contributors to stability in the world have changed fundamentally in the course of half a century. We need not fear opening a discussion on whether the moral and legal reasoning underlying Security Council membership in the wake of the Second World War is still appropriate for the post-cold-war era. Following from this, another area where Estonia believes reforms are vitally needed is that of the informal regional groups that provide the basis for election procedures.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The key issue is voting practice, not the shopworn issue of non-permanent membership. The often irresponsible exercise of the veto, or even more often the threat of the veto, has paralysed the Security Council and undermined its legitimacy. More and more often we witness some permanent members taking actions to meet their domestic interests and foreign policy goals in areas irrelevant to the issue at hand. We as Member States have given the mandate to the Council. Even before we are able to carry out the reforms, we must entrust the permanent members to use the veto with utmost responsibility. As we look around this Hall, or at the globe, we can all observe that the world today is not what it was half a century ago — thank God. The United Nations was created to maintain peace in the wake of the turmoil of the Second World War.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The United Nations has a crucial role to play in combating these and other international threats. But before it can start to play a more active role in the post-cold-war international order, serious structural reforms are needed. Estonia believes that reforms should focus above all on the Security Council. Formally, the Council, originally intended to be the cornerstone of collective security, is vested with strong executive authority. Yet in practice its authority is challenged. Because of a recurring failure or inability to take action, countries in crisis situations look less and less to the Council. In order for the United Nations to avoid relegation to the status of a body that creates norms but cannot ensure their implementation, voting procedures and mechanisms in the United Nations most powerful body should be reformed.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The United Nations faces a vastly different set of international issues from those of fifty-four years ago, when the Organization was founded. Most threats to international security and stability are no longer State-driven but rather derive from the malfunction or dysfunction of States. The consequences of these threats, however, are just as severe as the erstwhile threats by States. Terrorism, corruption, economic collapse, nuclear meltdowns, mass migration and ethnic strife are but a few of the challenges that the world has had to face in recent years. The violent conflict in East Timor, “ethnic cleansing” in Kosovo, and the recent re-escalation of violence in Chechnya are but a few vivid examples of the new kinds of threats that we face today.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Let me begin by congratulating Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab on his election as President of this fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly. I wish him all the best in carrying out his duties. As the General Assembly convenes for the last time before the Millennium Assembly, I believe that it is appropriate to consider the United Nations future and how we can prepare our Organization for the twenty-first century. Fifty-four years after its founding, the United Nations remains the largest multi-purpose intergovernmental Organization in the world. Indeed, with 188 Members, the United Nations has become truly global. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga to the United Nations family.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)