YouSaid · the spoken record

Erkki Tuomioja

lines on the record: 41
first: 2001-09-24
most recent: 2013-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

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

“When implemented, the Treaty should also have a major impact on development, particularly in the least developed countries, where conflicts are a major obstacle to development. The success or failure of the United Nations ultimately depends upon us, the Member States. There is no alternative to the United Nations. Let us give it a chance. That is what our peoples expect from us.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“They never lost their faith and pushed Governments hard to achieve that result. But our work is not yet done. Together we must continue to secure the 50 ratifications needed and ensure more to support for the ATT. We must also persuade those countries that abstained in the voting to support a regulated arms trade and the Treaty so as to make it universal. Finland, as one of the seven co-authors, has from the beginning been and will in future be very much involved with the Arms Trade Treaty. This week, the co-authors organized a high-level event to promote the signing of the Treaty. We are also prepared to assist countries that have difficulties in ratifying and implementing the Treaty.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We hope and expect that the signing of the ATT by the United States will be followed by the signing of all other permanent members of the Security Council as well. I should also like to congratulate those countries that have already ratified the Treaty, thereby paving the way for its early entry into force. My own country, Finland, is well on its way to ratifying the ATT as soon as possible. Only when the Treaty enters into force and is implemented will it make a real difference in saving lives, minimizing human suffering and lessening criminality and threats to civilian populations by providing the highest common standards for the trade in arms, ammunition and components. Once again, I should like to thank and congratulate the non-governmental organization community for its dedication and tireless efforts in favour of the ATT.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I encourage all regional parties to continue to engage constructively with the facilitator and the four conveners, as well as with one another, to pave the way for a conference on the establishment of such a zone. All our failures and disappointments notwithstanding, there has also been one true success story for the United Nations this year. I am referring to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which was adopted in April after decades of effort. It was a success not only for the United Nations system but for the whole international community and the arms control regime. The importance of the Treaty has been confirmed by the growing number of signatories after 3 June, when the ATT was opened for signature.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Finland and Turkey continue to co-Chair the Group of Friends of Mediation and to work to strengthen preventive diplomacy, including mediation in the United Nations. Mediation can succeed only with political will from the parties and the international community. Successful mediation also calls for the full and equal participation of women at all stages. Women are certainly most often the victims of conflicts, but we should also understand that they are essential participants for any mediation efforts to bear long-lasting success. Efforts to promote peace and security in the Middle East should go in parallel with the pursuit of the long- time goal of the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction in that region.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The role of regional partners is crucial, and I welcome the efforts made by the League of Arab States in reviewing the Arab Peace Initiative. The situations in both Syria and the Middle East and between Israel and the Palestinians have been the subject of important mediation efforts. I call for stronger political will and determination to resolve those conflicts. The parties must work harder and the Security Council, especially its permanent members, must shoulder their responsibility. While those efforts have yet to meet with success, I believe that we also have ample evidence to show that mediation works. Measures under Chapter VI of the Charter of the United Nations deserve more attention, although sometimes action under Chapter VII is also needed.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Since the Oslo agreement 20 years ago, it has been clear that the best outcome for all the parties is a two-State solution, which can accomplish a reign of peace and security for the two peoples. We may still have at hand perhaps the last chance for such a resolution of the conflict. When I say “perhaps the last chance”, it is not because I think there may be more chances later, but rather it is because, at worst, the last chance may already have been missed. But it is our duty to make the effort to achieve a negotiated two-State solution. Finland commends Secretary Kerry’s dedication and the personal commitment demonstrated by the parties. The entire international community must lend all its support for the negotiations to succeed. That must be concrete and effective support.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We continue to support the initiative of the United States and Russia of proposing the “Geneva II” conference, as well as the mediation by the United Nations and Arab League Joint Special Representative, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi. All permanent members of the Security Council must shoulder their responsibility. The humanitarian suffering of the Syrian people continues. We all must intensify our work to help the refugees and support the neighbouring countries bearing the heaviest burdens. The United Nations will also need to have a strong presence in Syria after the arms have fallen silent. Finland stands ready to contribute to a possible United Nations peacekeeping operation to be established in Syria. The resumption of direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis is long-awaited and most welcome news.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The use of chemical weapons on 21 August near Damascus can be a turning point in the conflict: the universal condemnation of their use as a war crime for which those responsible must be brought to justice through referral to the International Criminal Court. Finland welcomes the agreement reached on a strongly worded Security Council resolution to collect and destroy chemical weapons in Syria under international control. There can be no impunity for the perpetrators of war crimes and other atrocities. The agreement has to be followed through with a political solution to the conflict. That is the only way to stop the violence. That means negotiations. The international community, the parties to the conflict and especially the Security Council must take responsibility for working towards political negotiations.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We, the States Members of the United Nations, are shouldering a great responsibility in that respect. We must be able to deliver as the United Nations. We also have more traditional security challenges at hand. The conflict in Syria has seriously undermined the authority and credibility of the United Nations. The United Nations has not been able to act in its core domain in maintaining peace and security. Both the Syrian Government and the international community have failed to implement their responsibility to protect. The situation in Syria started as a peaceful and justified call for reforms. The Government’s response then turned it into an increasingly violent conflict and a breeding ground for terrorist extremism. That has led to humanitarian suffering, which has already reached historic proportions.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The current proliferation of bilateral investment agreements, already numbering in the thousands, is not the best way to manage investment flows or set the rules they should follow. As part of our efforts to promote sustainable and fair financial governance, Finland supports efforts to create an international investment regime that is transparent, balanced and equitable. The sustainable development goals must be universal, and they must integrate different dimensions of development. Fears that sustainable development would challenge the traditional development agenda are unfounded. These agendas are not competing, but complement each other. We must do our utmost to agree on a new way to sustainable development in the very near future. Our planet and its citizens cannot wait.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I am convinced that sustainable development financing must be based on national resource mobilization and management. Nations should mobilize their own resources through inclusive economic action and through responsible international trade and investments. Developing national taxation systems and tax-revenue collection, as well as addressing unregulated capital flight and putting an end to illegal tax evasion and tax havens, should be central elements in sustainable development financing. Our own national experience shows that taxation is an effective means of addressing inequality. Direct foreign investment can be a driver for growth and development. Investment should be sustainable, accountable and adhere to norms of corporate social responsibility in creating economic and social development.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Poverty can be eradicated only within the context of sustainable development. Development must be ecologically, economically and socially sustainable. It must be firmly anchored in human rights and the values encapsulated in the Millennium Declaration. Peace and security are a precondition for sustainable development. The post-2015 process must also include a financing strategy for sustainable development. We are honoured, together with Nigeria, to be co-chairing the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing, mandated by the Rio+20 Summit. We will work hard to achieve a strategy proposal that is action-oriented and inclusive and covers a broad range of different aspects of development financing.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The consequences of climate change are already to be seen worldwide. The impacts are predicted to intensify in the coming years and decades. For instance, billions of people lack access to safe water sources and sanitation. Without radical reforms, that number is expected to rise dramatically. There is also significant potential for conflicts over water and other natural resources in the coming years. Considerable progress has been made in reducing extreme poverty. Millions of people have had a chance to lift themselves out of poverty. However, inequality still persists, and in many cases is increasing both within countries and between them. In several countries not a single Millennium Development Goal will be attained. More than 1 billion people still live in extreme poverty, and they are falling behind.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“That is another of the major challenges for the credibility of the United Nations. Let me elaborate on those challenges. With more than a threefold increase in the world’s population since the founding of the United Nations and with unprecedented technological progress and the ever-increasing exploitation of natural resources, the world has changed irrevocably. We must now arrange our existence with our natural environment in a new way. As the Secretary-General has said, sustainable development is the pathway to the future. Ecological sustainability — respecting the planetary boundaries — is the foundation for all development. The alarming trend in climate change underlines the urgent need to heed those limits. We must work together towards a comprehensive climate agreement by 2015.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“They have been a powerful tool to direct our action. In the near future, we are expected to agree on a new development agenda, a new set of goals that, in my view, could be called sustainable development goals. A green economy is not a luxury, but a prerequisite, for poverty reduction and sustainability. In short, the new agenda must be even bolder and more ambitious than the previous one. Its implementation will require action in all countries. Secondly, we are facing a failure of the United Nations to act in its core domain, that is, in maintaining peace and security. One hundred and ten thousand people have been killed and 2 million people have been forced to leave their homes in Syria, where a tragic civil war has been going on for more than two years. The United Nations has been unable to act to end that appalling bloodshed.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We have convened here in New York at a time that poses enormous challenges to the authority and credibility of the United Nations. First, we are at a crossroads where we have to decide the future course to attain sustainable development. Speaking for Finland at the Rio de Janeiro Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), I stressed that, faced with advancing climate change and the accelerating loss of biodiversity, we might, at best, have only a few decades in which to reach ecologically, socially and economically sustainable development. Decisive action based on a sense of urgency is needed to turn the tide globally before it is too late. Either we succeed in that together or we are going to perish together. This week, we have taken stock of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“It can increase individual freedom and make societies more open. But, on the other hand, it is incontestable that globalization has not benefited everybody or every country in an equal manner. Globalization can bring risks and threats to the environment, core labour standards and trade unions, and it can challenge national and minority cultures. It can also be socially damaging. On the whole, however, globalization is not only inevitable but also potentially positive. The United Nations has an important role in managing and harnessing globalization for the benefit of all. We the Member States must fully participate in that work.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“In a rapidly globalizing world, the need for keen international cooperation becomes all the more evident. Decisions taken in one part of the world have many effects elsewhere. This can quickly lead to an ever- widening gap and fragmentation between countries and within countries. Comprehensive implementation of the Millennium Declaration will make an important impact on narrowing that gap. A positive example of the means we can employ to meet the goals of the Declaration is the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which demonstrates the genuine desire of the African nations to take responsibility for their future. Finland attaches great importance to the implementation of NEPAD. Globalization has wealth-creating potential through the international division of labour and a more efficient use of resources.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“It is imperative that efforts to get Iraq to abide unconditionally with all the resolutions of the Security Council remain the responsibility of the United Nations. When the United Nations was founded, the world's population was 2.4 billion. Now we are more than 6 billion, and population growth, while slowly levelling off, will bring that number to at least 10 billion before stabilizing. This is a huge challenge for mankind. We have only a few decades, at most, to 26 bring our economic, production and societal models to conform to the exigencies of sustainable development. But this is not only an environmental challenge. Nations and peoples must learn to live and to act together in an ever-shrinking world where no one can manage on his own.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We support the Palestinian administration's effort at reform, which we have rightly demanded must be undertaken, and we expect a one- hundred-per-cent effort from it to stop all terrorist activities. At the same time, the Palestinians must be given the prospect of a clear commitment and a timetable for the creation of an independent and viable Palestinian State. The Palestinian administration has to be given the resources and conditions with which it can fulfil the requirements of what the international community demands of it and of what the Palestinian people have the right to expect. Without progress in the Middle East peace process, any military action in the region can have extremely dangerous and unforeseen consequences.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“A growing element in them is civilian crisis management. This should be further strengthened. Crisis management in its whole continuum should also be based on broad cooperation and compatibility. Present complex crises are often too demanding for any one organization to deal with. All regional organizations should work closely together with the United Nations and other organizations sharing the burden of maintaining international peace and security. The Middle East remains the region where our concerns are most concentrated. The conflict between Israel and Palestine has, if anything, worsened. We support all efforts of the “quartet” to get the peace process working again on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Global interests require global action. An undeniable success story in the history of the United Nations is the Organization's peacekeeping activities. Countless lives have been saved by United Nations peacekeeping operations. But we know, too, that possibly even more lives have been lost if and when the United Nations has not been able or allowed to operate. The reason has been the lack of political will or the prevalence of national interests in the Security Council. I would like to reiterate that the Security Council is mandated to act on behalf of all Member States. The concept of peacekeeping has evolved considerably during the existence of the United Nations from purely military operations into versatile, complex and continuous efforts that extend in some cases to nation-building.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“It is also evident that we cannot contain these threats through isolation or by acting unilaterally. The United Nations and its Security Council have global responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Human lives are equally valuable all over the world. People in crisis situations need the protection and the action of the international community. Individual and minor crises can turn into major threats to international peace and security. Member States must give the United Nations the wherewithal that is necessary for meaningful action in preventing crises, managing conflicts and building peace after conflicts. Action needs true commitment to multilateralism, which must exceed national interests and unilateralism. Multilateralism cannot be exercised à la carte whenever convenient.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“The ICC is a long-standing goal of Finland and the European Union, and we must not allow it to be undermined. The ICC must not become an issue of international dispute. We must safeguard it as an effective and independent judicial institution so that we can convince those States that remain outside it to join us in making it truly universal. Terrorism is only one of many new threats to our security that are no longer linked to the threat of traditional war between nation-States. In a world where our entire national defence policies and our efforts to build collective security have been based on the need to wage or deter traditional war, we now need new and fresh thinking. It is not only that military power has become partly impotent in delivering security.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Terrorism is a crime whose perpetrators must be brought to justice irrespective of their motives. It is vitally important to underline the need to strengthen the rule of law. When terrorists attack democracy, humanity and justice, we should not and cannot fight it with means that are in conflict with those basic values that the terrorists are attacking. It is time to review frankly the measures taken after 11 25 September and to rectify any excesses that are not acceptable in societies based on freedom and justice. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been in gestation for many years, and its creation can be regarded as one of the major achievements of the United Nations. It was not created primarily to deal with terrorism, but the importance of the ICC has obviously grown, not diminished, since 11 September.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Even where the use of military force is clearly necessary and justified, as it was against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, it is never an adequate answer. In Afghanistan we are now faced with the need to use a full range of civilian crisis management capabilities, as well as with the need for a long-term commitment to reconstruction and the development of a stable and drug-free economy, and to enable democracy and respect for human rights to take root in a country that has suffered from war and strife for decades. And Afghanistan is only one of many places in today's world where such a commitment from the international community is needed. We must also come to grips with conditions in which some people can regard even terrorism as justified. To say that does not imply any understanding for indiscriminate terrorism.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“One year after the terrible attacks of 11 September, we commemorate the innocent victims of those crimes. The best way we can honour their memory is by taking up and acting upon all the many-faceted challenges that terrorism and other threats pose to human security. The world has changed irrevocably, although we cannot as yet say exactly how. We do not even know if our immediate reaction a year ago has been successfully put to use to make the world a better and safer place in which to live. Afghanistan is no longer a base for global terrorism, and joint efforts to uproot terrorist networks are making progress, but the threat of new attacks has not been eliminated. At some stage we will also reach the limit of what can be done through military force and police action alone to stop terrorism.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“It poses a demand to develop strong, new, democratic policies and institutions for international and global governance. They must be developed in the United Nations, but also at the regional level, such as in the European Union. The Government of Finland recently prepared a study on Finnish policies on globalization. One of its main conclusions was that in resolving multinational crises created by globalization, the role of cooperation between national Governments will be growing, not diminishing. The United Nations is the most universal forum for intergovernmental cooperation. Finland supports the United Nations as one of the central actors in harnessing globalization at the universal level.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“I hope we can see improvement in this respect in coming summits and conferences. The moral and political commitment to the Declaration should lead to its effective implementation. The strong support for these common objectives and our determination to achieve them need much more action in order to become a reality. Such challenges as halving, by the year 2015, the proportion of people living in poverty should not be jeopardized by narrow national interests. Globalization and harnessing it to benefit all humankind remain one of the major challenges to the international community. A common approach is needed in this work too. We have to learn how to deal with the paradox of democracy spreading across the world, and there is much disillusionment about its workings. The key to explaining this paradox is globalization.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The Secretary-General’s road map gives us guidance on how to maintain the millennium momentum and how to proceed, although the onus is on the Member States. This year alone the United Nations has organized five conferences and special sessions and hundreds of other meetings that are an integral part of the follow-up and implementation of the Millennium Declaration. These processes should show the same kind of commitment as was encountered in the Summit. Unfortunately, I have to say that none of these recent conferences and special sessions has come close to reflecting the commitment that was so noticeable in the Millennium Summit. We need invigorated common efforts to genuinely implement the ambitious agenda adopted only a year ago and to uphold multilateralism.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The European Union has developed its civilian capabilities in four priority areas, namely civilian police, strengthening the rule of law, strengthening civilian administration and civil protection. In these areas, the European Union and the United Nations, as well as other international organizations, must also seek synergies and complementarity. The Millennium Summit and the Millennium Declaration are outstanding achievements in the history of the United Nations. The Declaration manifests a unique commitment to multilateralism by all the Member States of the United Nations. It sets an ambitious agenda and goals for the United Nations for years to come. However, without effective implementation it is only a piece of paper. Its implementation also requires common action and strengthened commitment to multilateralism.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“This cooperation focuses on conflict prevention, civilian and military aspects of crisis management and on regional crises like the ones in the western Balkans, the Middle East and Africa. There will be a wider and more concrete scope for cooperation within two years when the European Union achieves its military capability. At present, it is difficult to say what kind of operations the European 24 Union could or would execute and when it could do so. In Finland’s case, our law requires that either the United Nations or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe mandate such an operation. In today’s complex crises civilian aspects of crisis management have and will become all the more relevant in all organizations.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The European Union is in the process of developing its own crisis-management capability, in terms of both civilian and military capacities. In this work, Finland, just like the entire European Union, is committed to contributing to international peace and security, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter. The European Union has adopted conclusions on its cooperation in conflict prevention and crisis management with the United Nations. Areas and modalities for such cooperation have been identified in close cooperation with the United Nations. It will progress as the European Common Security and Defence Policy develops its focus on substantive issues and concrete needs in a pragmatic manner.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Finland supports increased focus on the part of the United Nations on crisis prevention and the root causes of conflicts. Promotion of democracy, human rights, the rule of law, increased equality and social development, as well as the prevention of environmental threats and the eradication of poverty, discrimination, racism and impunity, all point in the same direction. The complexity of current crises — be they in Afghanistan, the Middle East, the Balkans or Africa — and the limited resources available have made different organizations seek cooperation and complementarity in their actions. Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter puts strong emphasis on regional arrangements aimed at dealing with issues relating to international peace and security. The Security Council should utilize such regional arrangements for enforcement action.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The report of the Secretary-General on the prevention of armed conflicts and its recommendations are important contributions to the core activities of the United Nations. The Secretary-General’s call, reiterated by the Security Council, on the development of a comprehensive conflict-prevention strategy is timely and warranted. By the adoption of the Programme for the Prevention of Violent Conflicts, the European Union has underlined its political commitment to pursue conflict prevention as one of the main objectives in its external relations. This is also a good example of mutually supportive actions by the United Nations and the European Union. This is again an issue that requires a holistic view and a system-wide approach.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“This is particularly true of the Middle East, where a return to the peace process is an urgent necessity. To this end, we will have to pressure both parties, as well as those who can influence them. The complexity of international crises has required a close and comprehensive look by the United Nations at how to improve its performance in peace operations. The whole continuum that reaches from conflict prevention, through crisis management to post- conflict peace-building, with a strong emphasis on preventive action in every phase, requires a fresh approach, as proposed in the report of the Brahimi Panel and in the comprehensive review of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Finland supports the full implementation of such an approach.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The fight against terrorism and the Afghan situation are at the top of the United Nations agenda, but there are other issues and processes that require true cooperation in order to be successful. In this context, I would like to underline the establishment of the International Criminal Court and the world conferences on sustainable development, financing for development and children. One of our common responsibilities is the maintenance of international peace and security. This is one of the issues that unites us and is in everybody’s interest. The United Nations is the only international organization with global competence in the area of security policies. Ongoing crises are, however, so complex that they require united efforts and combined resources.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The rapidly changing world and the new threats require changed thinking in the international organizations. We must respond quickly and efficiently to the challenges of the real world. We cannot bury ourselves in old rhetoric and positions when people outside require concrete action and help. International cooperation, after all, benefits all States, big and small. 23 I hope that the unique coalition and cooperation against terrorism will be reflected on other issues of common concern to us. The statement in the Millennium Declaration that the United Nations is “the indispensable common house of the entire human family, through which we will seek to realize our universal aspirations for peace, cooperation and development” (resolution 55/2, para. 32) is now truer than ever.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“I appeal to everyone to quickly agree on the outstanding draft in question. These attacks have also profoundly affected our sense of security, both as Member States and as individuals. Fear and insecurity were globalized overnight. But democratic societies cannot be destroyed by such acts. When faced with threats our common values and democracy will only get stronger. Finland condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and whoever its victims may be. There is no justification for it. I extend, on behalf of the Government of Finland, our condolences to the families of the victims, to the citizens of New York and to all Americans, including President Bush. We have expressed our solidarity with the United States, as we would have done with any other country affected by such attacks.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The terrorist attacks of 11 September are going to thoroughly change the world, but we do not yet know how. The aftermath of these events has shown that there are more issues that unite us than issues that separate us. We also know that preventing terrorism and other global threats requires the broadest possible cooperation. The United Nations is the main forum for such cooperation. This was demonstrated immediately after the attacks, when both the General Assembly and the Security Council promptly condemned the terrorist attacks as threats to international peace and security and expressed their readiness to combat all forms of terrorism. Now it is extremely urgent to finalize the negotiations on a comprehensive convention on the suppression of international terrorism.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)