YouSaid · the spoken record

Dumas

lines on the record: 116
first: 1985-09-24
most recent: 1991-09-24
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

“Individuals are thirsting for justice. What do they do? They invoke the United Nations moral jurisdiction. Never have democracy and human rights - the former thought by some to have been superseded and the latter considered by others the product of an impoverished mind - constituted such important guidelines for a world urgently seeking peace and prosperity. Let us therefore prepare, clearly and with enthusiasm, for the great rendezvous of 1993s the World Conference on Human Rights, which will also be the rendezvous of democracy victorious. It is there that, half a century after the cataclysm that shook the world, and the long night that deprived too many peoples of the light of freedom, our generation will finally be able to say: We have been worthy of mankind.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“If tomorrow, in the conflict between Israel and the Arab countries, the United Nations were to give up its efforts to require compliance with the principles which have earned it its success, it would quickly lose in credibility what it has earned in prestige. The Organization is too much a grande dame now to tolerate disrespect. At a time when France holds the presidency of the Security Council, it is pleased and proud to contribute to the adoption of two important resolutions, which I hope will be adopted, on Yugoslavia and Cambodia. More than ever before, the values which underlie the principles of our Organization are a benchmark. New States have joined us and others will follow. National minorities are claiming the right to preserve what constitutes their identity and cohesion. What are they doing? They look to the United Nations.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The United Nations could not remain passive in the face of the tragedy which threatened the very existence of the Kurdish people. For the first time, through a Security Council resolution, the United Nations affirmed that the sufferings of a population justified immediate intervention. My country is proud to have proposed the adoption of resolution 688 (1991). Yet, as members are aware, none of this could be taken for granted. Today the foundations of a new legal order, a new humanitarian order, have been laid. Why not adopt a code of conduct affirming the right to humanitarian assistance every time the integrity and survival of a people is threatened? However, we must not lose sight of the fact that the progress that has been made is not sufficient to offset the reversals where these exist.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“With the backing of its Secretary-General and the determined support of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations has been a driving force. It has affirmed the law on numerous occasions and enforced compliance where necessary. The United Nations perseverance on behalf of human rights prompted South Africa to move towards abolishing apartheid. The efforts to help restore democracy in Haiti, the part played in the peace process in El Salvador, the Secretary-General's peace plan of 21 May for Afghanistan are all initiatives that have marked for history the growing role of the United Nations. But it is undoubtedly in regard to the Gulf crisis that the progress has been the most spectacular. The main point was to stop aggression and to lay the often innovative foundations for order through law.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“For while treaties prepare the way for security, it is confidence that creates it. There is no real confidence without control. The example of Iraq shows this only too well. Strict compliance with accords and monitoring are the keystones of disarmament, and it is, in my view, for the United Nations to promote accession to these treaties, to monitor their implementation and impose penalties, where necessary, when agreements are violated. Let us, therefore, give the United Nations the means to carry out this task. My concluding comments will concern strengthening the role of the United Nations. How can this be accomplished? Our Organisation, which is the universal expression of our solidarity, has done more in these past years than reflect our concerns. It has done more than it had done in past decades.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“France has asked that the four Powers concerned meet as early as possible to examine these problems together. On a more general note, France is in favour of global disarmament. In June 1991 it made public its plan encompassing all aspects of security. It announced its decision to adhere to the nuclear non-proliferation Treaty. My country will submit the instruments of accession before the year's end. Already, we are taking steps to exercise complete control over exports related to nuclear energy. France is in favour of finalising at an early date the convention on the final elimination of chemical weapons. It hopes that the convention will be signed next year. The treaty banning chemical weapons should be accompanied by appropriate means for monitoring compliance, without which its effectiveness will be compromised.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Prance is committed to this and hopes that all the signatories will proceed to ratification, thus making it possible to move on to a new phase in these negotiations. France duly welcomed the signing in Moscow of the strategic arms reduction Treaty - the START Treaty. The reduction of the strategic arsenals of the United States and the USSR, which will take several years, should be followed by new commitments now. France will join in the negotiations once those arsenals have been reduced to a level warranting our participation, under the terms set forth in this very Hall by the President of the French Republic in 1985. For Europeans, the existence and availability of nuclear armaments raise specific problems which have emerged with the changes in the Soviet Union.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The efforts to combat desertification, to preserve and harness the resources of the great forests and to protect the ozone layer, biological diversity and the seas and the oceans: these are subjects of pre-eminent interest to all mankind. It. would be pointless to speak of the future of mankind without referring to security. The end of the cold war provides an exceptional opportunity, so let us seize it by pursuing disarmament world wide. In that sphere my country's policy is consistent with a number of principles that I would like to enumerate briefly. The most important agreement on conventional arms reduction in Europe was signed at the Paris summit in 1990. Its ratification can wait no longer.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“This responds to the wishes of all those who desire to safeguard our common heritage, our planet. It should inspire other actions. I believe that everything I have said is of a conservative nature. Yet the exacerbation of risks and the emergence of new dangers require us to think on a new scale and give free rein to our ambition. Thus, we warmly welcome the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, which is to be held at Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and to which France is lending its assistance and support. That Conference will be preceded by the meeting in Paris at the end of the year, called by the President of the French Republic, which will be attended by all the non-governmental organisations concerned.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The franc zone, with its single currency, offers a favourable terrain for such a market. France, together with its European Economic Community partners, intends to support these efforts. It does not intend to render them useless by imposing requirements that go beyond what is reasonable. Lastly, one cannot speak of solidarity without mentioning the environment. The international community has already held debates on and carried out research into this important subject. It has launched significant concrete programs. France welcomes, for example, the success of the initiative on the decision to protect Antarctica, which it took in 1989 together with Australia, subsequently joined by Italy and Belgium. The Madrid protocol, which will be signed on 4 October 1991, declares Antarctica to be a "natural reserve devoted to peace and science".”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“It welcomes this especially as another danger is threatening the developing countries: the danger of a society exploding in response to excessive demands. It is appropriate, certainly, to ensure that the assistance to developing countries is well employed. That is the best way to generate official and private resources and to promote regional integration, which is still in its early stages. In this respect, the Treaty for the Constitution of the Common Market of the South - the MERCOSUR Treaty - signed in March 1991, which groups Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay in a common market, is a good example of what has to be done. It should not remain an isolated instance. I am thinking it particular of Africa, where plans to set up a large common agricultural market should be pursued.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Who can believe in a future in which less than one quarter of the world's population enjoys the benefits of progress while the remaining three quarters are abandoned to despair? In the course of the past five years, Africa's gross national product has grown less quickly than its population. Today's 500 million Africans will be 1.5 billion in the year 2025, while the sources of financing are drying up. Net capital input fell in real terms from 1986 to 1990. World Bank and International Monetary Fund transfers are currently negative, with African countries paying back far more than they receive. Without wishing to sound like an oracle, France has consistently spoken of this intolerable and inevitable trend in order to seek a greater effort of solidarity from the rich. My country senses it is being better heeded now, and I hope that is true.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“But none of this will be possible so long as the fighting persists. The conflagration is building and threatens to spread. Time is running out. Yugoslavia is heading deeper into an impasse. France believes it is incumbent on the United Nations to bring the parties to their senses by demanding compliance with the cease-fire, by showing them the way to dialogue and to negotiation that has been mapped out with their consent by the European Community, by saying to all that peace has its requirements, theirs and others'. France, which is the current President of the Security Council, will leave no stone unturned to achieve this end. Can I fail to refer to the solidarity between the North and the South? No. The planet is one.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“That is why we hope that the republics of the USSR succeed in exercising their new responsibilities and organising their relations as they intend to do, and succeed in defining, at the international level, as reason and the course of events dictate, the expression of their common interests and resolve. We hope they can do so with due respect for the principles and norms of security and stability accepted in Europe. Yugoslavia, which is being torn apart, represents the other example of a necessary transformation. May the legitimate aspirations for freedom which are being expressed there take into consideration the interests of all. May the rights of minorities be preserved and the advantages of a space shared by ill the peoples of Yugoslavia be maintained and guaranteed. That, it seems to me, is the road to peace and regained prosperity.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Of course not. Europe needs a new pact right now. Aware of the danger that still threatens it, can our continent - our ancient continent - rally to preserve the gains of the past few years and go forward? This is the essence of the confederation France has proposed. Our aim is to go beyond the logic of aid, which out of necessity has been the reason for most actions so far, in order to arrive at a real political, economic and social community on the continent, in the spirit of the founding fathers of a free Europe in the immediate post-war period. It would be a paradox if just as this Europe - which will become more and more confederal - was taking shape, a parallel but contrary movement towards dismemberment and break-up were to prevail elsewhere.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The European Community owes it to itself to continue to astonish the world by pursuing its integration, planned for the end of 1991. Strengthened by a Germany at last reunited, the European Economic Community will continue its progress towards unity. The new democracies of central and eastern Europe have understood this necessity of union and cooperation and have turned eagerly and hopefully to the Community. Within the Twelve, France in turn understands this request, this expectation, which it hopes will be answered as soon as possible by preparations for these countries' admission to the European Economic Community. This will of course take time. That is all the more reason to get down to the task right away. But are we to do nothing during this period, leaving these democracies, which are so close to us, uncertain as to their future?”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Let us spare ourselves a return to empires and opportunistic alliances in the twenty-first century. Let us note our regional complementarities, derive advantage from them and give them a context. Is this, after all, not the purpose of the Community construction in Europe so well described just a moment ago by my colleague Mr. Van Den Broek? Why have we spent 40 years building a European Community - first of six, then of nine, and now of 12? Because we were convinced that peace, prosperity and our identity would be established in a lasting manner only through the sharing of our national sovereignties. Those who had doubts must now bow to the evidence. The European Community has become a benchmark for some and for others a source of admiration.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“For self-determination is indivisible; and it cannot be an object of bargaining. Let us recall a few simple rules that may help these movements to mature in harmony: First, every people that wants it has the right to self-determination and sovereignty. Secondly, this presupposes a clear definition of the rights of minorities; we should think about the role the United Nations could play in this respect. Thirdly, it is essential to ensure respect for international treaties, and hence recognition of borders. Fourthly, borders may be changed only through dialogue or, failing that, through arbitration. Lastly, good neighbourly relations can be governed by freely accepted agreements. What France has proposed for Yugoslavia holds true in a general way for everyone.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Will the clash of interests take the place of ideological confrontations? Roads and struggles of this kind lead nowhere, as experience and history have taught us. Dictatorship, poverty, exodus and war are their end result. To avoid these dangers, we must devise formulas and solutions appropriate for our times. Let us begin by building new solidarities, and use the opportunity to turn towards the future. With regard to building new solidarities, let us first speak of Europe. It is experiencing on its own soil the world's last great phase of decolonisation. I wish to state here that France will be at one with all peoples which choose to make their voice heard on the international scene and which peacefully and democratically express their resolve to accede to independence.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Hai1 to the defenders of the White House of Moscow. In Kuwait, in the Soviet Union and in the Baltic countries, freedom is gaining ground everywhere and democracy is smiling on peoples. The points marked with a cross on the map of oppression and tutelage are gradually fading, and as they fade the old world order, with its compromises and deadlocks, is disappearing. This transformation is taking place before our very eyes. Let us look directly at it. Hope is replacing threat, dialogue is being set in train beyond all expectations, and the world rings with the sound of statues being toppled. But new clouds are already appearing on the horizon. Will we see those who are gaining their freedom and independence take the path of blind nationalism and make anachronistic territorial claims?”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Let it affirm its sovereignty over the whole of its national territory by the disarmament of militia forces, the withdrawal of foreign troops and the implementation of Security Council resolution 425 (1978), Let it boldly address its task of reconstruction and quickly return to the path of democracy by holding free elections. Those are France's wishes for Lebanon, which is so close to it in heart, in mind and in history. - Freedom too for Moscow, where democratic forces have swept away factions which thought they could use violence to impose the return of an order that had been driven from the scene but remains present in our memories, an order that has been overturned and condemned. Let us pay a tribute to those who threw up the barricades of freedom and confronted the threat so that the will of the people could prevail.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“- Freedom of choice offered to the peoples of Western Sahara through a referendum organised by the United Nations in accordance with the wish of all the parties concerned. - Hope in the Middle East. After so many years of conflict and absence of understanding, the prospect of the convening of a peace conference provides the opportunity for a settlement based on law and justice, a comprehensive peace settlement, it should be recalled, which should therefore enshrine the right of all to live in peace within secure and recognized borders, by giving the Palestinians a land and a state. Yes, freedom for the Palestinian people. - Freedom for Lebanon, which is dressing its wounds and putting an end to its strife.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“It has taken three years for the realities of the situation to prevail, three years of patient negotiations, three years of persistence; for the inevitability of discord seemed to impinge on the slightest progress. The convening of a conference on Cambodia will at last set the seal on a peace agreement. I should like to pay a tribute to Prince Sihanouk, President of the Supreme National Council, who is sitting in our midst at the head of the Cambodian delegation. His patience and sense of dialogue have once again revealed his qualities as a Head of State capable of reuniting a people and reconciling it with itself. I should like to wish a happy future to the people of Cambodia, whose suffering I shared and whose aspirations I hope to share.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“It will be based, members can be sure, on freedom, solidarity, security and the rule of law. In the course of the past year, freedom has continued to gain ground. Let us rejoice, for freedom is the sun that shines on our peoples: freedom for Kuwait, which was reinstated to sovereignty and independence - admittedly at the price of the use of force - thanks to the new capacity of the United Nations to further the rule of law; burgeoning freedom in South Africa, where the barriers of apartheid have at last been dismantled - may this impetus not be slowed; and hope of freedom and peace in Cambodia. Speaking from this rostrum in 1988, the President of the French Republic proposed an international conference to help this martyred country regain unity and peace.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Welcome to the great Korean people, heir to an ancient and distinguished civilisation, who come to the Organization through the separate admission of two States. We hope that they will thus find occasion for friendly dialogue, which will enable them to recover the unity to which they aspire. Welcome to the Marshall Islands and to Micronesia. These two States will bring to the Organization the benefits of the ancient wisdom of the Pacific Islands. The years 1989 and 1990 rang with the sounds of liberation - moments of historic happiness rarely encountered - and 1991 has seen the movement continue and amplify. History has suddenly accelerated. A real revolution has radically altered our points of reference and swept away old habits. A new world is emerging.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“I should like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly. Apart from being a tribute to you personally, to your diplomatic talent and your sense of reason, your election honours the representative of a country whose prominent role and place in the Arab world and on the international scene are known to all. May I also express our gratitude to the Secretary-General, Mr. Peres de Cuellar, whose indefatigable energy in the service of peace has given so many peoples grounds for hope, and which will have made its mark on our time. The Organisation is welcoming seven new Members. This is a momentous event, one which is cause for celebration. Welcome to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Their return to our midst redresses an injustice that had no equal and effaces the criminal act committed against these peoples.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“That is also why France has resolutely chosen, in the family of nations, to support the most impoverished and least favoured peoples. On the threshold of the year 2000, we are faced with and involved in fresh struggles. Let us wage them without beating around the bush and without asking futile questions. Future generations will judge us by the manner in which we have responded to the major challenges of the present, such as the threat to the environment, the crushing poverty of millions of human beings, and the violation of rights and freedoms. The key word in response to all these problems is .is solidarity. It is France's fervent hope that voices will speak out in unison from this prestigious forum to enjoin the international community to give fresh impetus everywhere to dialogue, development and peace.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Through its voice in international organizations and the presence and action of the "troika" when urgent issues arise, the Community sends out a message of peace from its own people to the other peoples of the world. I am happy to have been able to speak on behalf of Europe. Allow me, in conclusion, to say a few words on behalf of my own country. The ardent desire for peace, the aspiration for progress and the sacred defence of the law all represent, for every man and woman on our planet, the sum total of hope that no force on earth can ever stifle. That is the significance of the steps which France has taken in 1989, with the Conference on the prohibition of chemical weapons, action on human rights, action on behalf of Lebanon, and the Paris Conference on Cambodia.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“That is why our first concern is to see the efficiency of the United Nations enhanced and to learn about the initial results of the reforms undertaken for that purpose. This is the first time that it has fallen to France, which is the current President of the Council of the European Communities, to speak in this capacity before the Assembly on behalf of the Europe of the Twelve. I am conscious of the honour that has been done to me. In France's eyes, the European Community is a very great undertaking whose scope it readily adopts as its own. I hope that the Community's identity will grow stronger as it increasingly opens to the world.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Over and above the action being taken at the regional level, the Twelve consider that an effective solution to drug problems has to be sought in an international context involving producer countries, consumer countries and the countries of transit. It is with that in mind that the Twelve consider that the right forum for this purpose is the United Nations, with its Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control, and that they have contributed to the adoption of the new United Nations Convention against illicit drug trafficking, opened for signature on 20 December 1988. The Community attaches the utmost importance to the work of the United Nations, as demonstrated by its very active participation in peace-keeping operations.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“With the early prospect of the creation of a Community area without internal borders, there is increased collaboration between the agencies responsible for public order in the Twelve, which consider that, as the threat stands at present, there are no grounds for relaxing their vigilance. But there is another challenge to democratic values which cannot go un-mentioned: the scourge of drug abuse. The tragic events in Colombia last month, when the drug traffickers demonstrated their deadly power, have once again underscored the need to strengthen international cooperation in the fight against drugs. I wish to pay tribute to the authorities of Colombia for their coverage. The Community gives its full backing to them and to the measures taken by the President of the United States.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“These are the draft of the second optional protocol covering the abolition of the death penalty and the draft of a convention on the rights of the child. I hope that final consultations will permit the General Assembly to adopt these two drafts by consensus at this session. Respect for freedom cannot be dissociated from the rejection of terrorism. Resorting to the barbaric practices of terrorism is unwarranted, whatever the circumstances. All terrorists have to be brought to justice. That means that every country must adopt a very firm attitude and that there has to be a concerted response.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“The Assembly has been witness to the emergence of the most admirable legal instruments and high-minded resolutions, which every State has accepted. How can one not speak here of the emotion of people who are suffering and whose hopes have been suddenly dashed in the face of brute force and the abuse of authority or merely a lack of understanding at man's relentless and courageous march towards freedom? I should like to pay tribute to the Commission on Human Rights, which is striving with all its might to win respect for the values enshrined in the United Nations. This year the Commission has submitted two particularly important drafts to the Assembly, after some years spent on the difficult task of putting them together.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“It has to be asked whether the winds of change bluing over southern Africa as a whole will also have a positive impact in South Africa. The Twelve, which have constantly denounced the particularly odious apartheid regime, have taken note of the statements made by the South African leaders asserting their determination to embark on reforms. However, the twelve likewise note - and deplore - the extension of the state of emergency, the continuing ban on anti-apartheid organizations, the pursuit of repression and the continued detention of a large number of political prisoners, starting with Nelson Mandela. They will not let up the pressure until the aims being sought have been attained. Violations of human rights are the blight of international relations, the leprosy of modern times.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“We shall show vigilance, however, in the hope that the leaders of the People's Republic of China will eventually heed the appeals addressed to them by the entire international community. We also attach considerable importance to ensuring that China fully abides by the undertakings it has given in respect of the constitutional instruments for Hong Kong. The Twelve wish to launch a further appeal for the Burmese people to be allied freely to exercise its right of expression. Free elections have been held in Panama also. The Twelve are giving their support to the efforts of the Organization of American States to put forward a solution to the crisis, they reaffirm their reservations about the new regime currently in power, which does not enjoy any form of institutional legitimacy. I turn now to South Africa - yet again.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“We likewise cannot keep silent at the violations of mankind's most fundamental freedoms and rights. There are many such violations and they unfortunately continue to exist in too many countries on all the continents. The Twelve are constantly waging war on behalf of human rights, which are the foundation of the United Nations, for they cannot remain indifferent to the intolerable violations to which those rights are being subjected. It is not that they are trying to behave as a censor, rather their fight is inspired by the values which underpin the Community and have brought its member States together. The events of Tiananmen Square are still present in our memories, we may ask whether the European Community's relations with Beijing have been compromised for a long time to case. We sincerely hope that this will not be the case.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“The Community has already taken, or is about to take, a number of decisions having immediate effects the early implementation, and at a faster pace, of the Helsinki decisions on the eradication of chlorofluorocarbons; the launching of a programme of action on the greenhouse effect; accession to the Basle Convention on movements of dangerous waste; the creation of a European environmental agency and the drawing-up of a tropical forest assistance programme. These actions, coupled with support for the current international negotiations and with the integration of environmental issues into co-operation with the developing countries, are indicative of the Community's growing commitment to the preservation of our planetary environment. There are other threats that also call for our vigilance and decisive action.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“With that prospect in mind, the conference on the environment and development, which the United Nations Secretary-General is convening in 1992, will represent a major turning-point. Before then, the world climate conference which will take place in 1990 should afford an opportunity for making significant progress on the question of the greenhouse effect. The Community earnestly calls for the conclusion of an international agreement on climatic changes, and it would also like a dialogue to be started on ocean-bed mining.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“An effort by the industrialized countries to introduce new forms of co-operation and financing will make it easier for the individual countries in the world to take care of the environment and to manage their natural resources in a common endeavour. This must surely be one of the most necessary forms that international solidarity can take. Such solidarity is exemplary when it takes the form of protecting the tropical forests, helping Bangladesh to combat the incalculable consequences of flooding, or setting up an observatory in the Sahara. The planetary scale of the threat is such that international negotiations are needed to spell out the objectives of common interest.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Alongside these measures, official development assistance still represents a lifeline, and the Community is already making a considerable effort in that regard. The assistance proved by its member States taken together has been quite clearly moving in the direction of the 0.7 per cent target since the early 1980s. In the final analysis, however, economic development hinges on an unfailing international mobilization of forces to protect our environment. The heating up of the atmosphere, the deterioration of the ozone layer, the pollution of the oceans and freshwater resources and desertification - all pose a threat to our entire planet. Contending with this threat at an early date is a responsibility that is incumbent upon all of us. Many developing countries do not always have sufficient funds for that purpose.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“The Community has already, to a large extent, opened up its market to products from the developing countries, without awaiting the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, it has recently made significant improvements in the access of tropical products to its market. In the ongoing renegotiation of the Lome Convention, it will endeavour to improve further an arrangement that is already proving advantageous. Even so, for the vast majority of the developing countries, dependent as they are on a handful of export comities, access to the markets of the industrialized countries is not enough. The Common Fund for commodities, should now come into force. For its part, the Community plans to strengthen the STABEX and SYSMIN mechanisms for the stabilization of export earnings under the Lome Convention.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“At the same time, other countries which are certainly not as poor but which are grappling with a heavy burden of indebtedness to the banks are having to face difficult political and economic choices. This is particularly the case in Latin America where solving the debt problem should make it possible to consolidate and strengthen democracy in the region. Two countries, Mexico and the Philippines, have already successfully embarked on that path. But progress in coping with indebtedness cannot be sufficient in itself to ensure development, and fresh resources are necessary. Such resources must, in the first instance, be generated by trade.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“In this crucial area, the concerted and constructive approach that has prevailed has already made it possible to overcome the inhibiting factors and to record some measure of progress. Several of the Community's member States have taken additional steps in favour of the poorest countries by cancelling official development assistance loans. France, for its part, has announced through the President of the Republic an across-the-board cancellation of the debts accruing from development assistance in the case of 35 of the poorest African entries. This measure will come into force on 1 January 1990 and is - I must say here - free of any conditions.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Let us grasp the opportunity offered by these various occasions, for they will make it possible to take stock of what has been achieved and also to realize that we need to go further. Development depends to a large degree on the domestic strategies adopted by the countries concerned themselves. A large number of developing countries have embarked on a courageous adjustment process that is an essential requirement, even though it may sometimes give rise to problems from the social and political standpoints. I wish to pay tribute to their efforts which often demand heavy sacrifices. However, these efforts will be useful only if they are made in a favourable international environment. In the first place, it is absolutely essential to lighten the burden of excessive indebtedness which has now become intolerable.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Lastly, I should like to express my deep satisfaction at the improvement in the Community's trade relations with its main partners in the developed world, where willingness to negotiate is now the overriding consideration. This improvement in the climate is fragile, and our best chance of consolidating it is to complete the Uruguay Round negotiations by the date scheduled and to secure substantive results in all areas. In the coming months, North-South solidarity will be in the international headlines: the renewal of the lome Convention, the special session of the United Nations General Assembly on economic cooperation and development, the second international conference on the least developed countries in Paris, and the launching of the fourth development decade.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Discussions are proceeding with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council for the purpose of supplementing the Cooperation Agreed signed in 1988 by means Of a fresh trade agreement. In Asia, 1989 has been a year marked by new joint steps taken by the EEC and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN, in their bid to further industrial cooperation by stepping up investments. With its Latin American partners, the Community is pursuing its efforts to diversify cooperation and trade. in Central America, it is developing it cooperation under the San Jose Agreements, thereby enhancing the efforts being made by the countries of the isthmus.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Developments in this last-named country make it increasingly urgent to dispatch the aid that was decided on at the Summit of the Arch and accepted by 24 countries. We must force the pace to respond to the extent of the need. Negotiations are being conducted with the Soviet Union and Bulgaria, and are being envisaged with the German Democratic Republic. This is the basis on which the Community plans to engage in a variety of forms of co-operation to supplement that in which its member States are already engaging. The creation of the Arab Maghreb Union will enable the European Economic to step up and diversify the already very rewarding relations it maintains with those Mediterranean countries.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“The Co-unity reaffirms the undertakings it gave at the mid-term meeting of the Uruguay Round negotiations in April 1989. The efforts it is making are considerable, and I would recall that it remains the world's largest importer of agricultural products. In 1989 the Community has continued to strengthen its relations with all the regions of the world. First, it is making preparations with the European Free Trade Association for a renewed framework for dialogue and co-operation. Then, a series of agreements have been concluded with the countries of Eastern Europe: with Hungary, Czechoslovakia and, even more recently, with Poland, to which Commissioner Adriessen and myself paid a visit.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“The economic growth generated by the merger of 12 markets into a single market of 320 million consumers will work to the advantage of everybody when it is borne in mind that imports, which already account for one quarter of its gross domestic product, are expected to progress even further. In more specific areas, the efforts deployed by the Community at the internal level will also have positive effects for third countries. For instance, the progressive accomplishment of economic and monetary union - which will be one of our major priorities in the coming months - will be instrumental in contributing to the stability of the international monetary system. The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, on which work started five years ago, is continuing, it is contributing to the improvement of the world market situation.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Such growth is healthy and is the outcome of efforts of investment and modernization and the determined and convergent action of member States to hold down inflation and, above all, to finalize the establishment of the internal market by 1993. This internal market will not be self-contained. The Europe of 1993 will be a "Europe of partners". The programme for finalizing the creation of the internal market will not entail any weakening of the Community's international obligations. All its multilateral or bilateral commitments are and will be respected. It is in our very interest to preserve and encourage a free and open trading system. All Europe's partners will benefit from the single market of 1993 as a result of the dismantling of frontiers, the improvement of access procedures and the greater degree of transparency.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)