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

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  1. “As early as May 1985 the Prime Minister announced the Government's intention to take measures against Pretoria if significant progress was not made within a reasonable period of time. Because of the worsening situation resulting from the imposition of a state of emergency, France recalled its Ambassador and decided on the immediate suspension of any new investment in South Africa. It then won adoption in the Security Council of resolution 569 (1985) , which recommends that States take voluntary measures against South Africa in order to induce its Government to engage in dialog. Since yesterday all the members of the European Community are taking actions to that end. Since we took action other countries have joined us. That is what is most important. The freedom and dignity of a people are at stake.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  2. “How can I fail to mention under this heading one of the tragedies of our time - apartheid? The origin of the conflicts that are convulsing South African society is to be sought in that system, which is based on an odious doctrine and shameful practices. Responses to our many appeals have been announced by Pretoria; they are not enough. Only by the speedy and total elimination of apartheid will there be salvation for South Africa. The opening of genuine dialog between all the communities and recognition of the same civil and political rights for all South Africans constitute the only possible and acceptable basis for change. The current repression and violence can only lead to an impasse. Faced with the deteriorating situation, France felt the time had come to take concrete initiatives.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  3. “Certainly, Europe has escaped the wars that are devastating so many other parts of the world, and its borders have been respected, and that is the main thing. But economic co-operation, cultural exchanges and contacts between people have not developed as they should. Human rights are still all too often, sometimes seriously, violated or ignored. Much still remains to be done, therefore. Governments must win the confidence of their citizens. Let us earn that confidence by guaranteeing them the exercise of all their freedoms, without which there can be no genuine democracy. Let us reunite families. Let us allow people to move and ideas to circulate without hindrance. Let us guarantee free exchanges. Let us agree to live in the diversity of our cultures.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  4. “France will speak out against all attacks on liberty, on the physical and moral integrity of the individual and the dignity of the human person, and will act indefatigably wherever these values are threatened. We recently celebrated at Helsinki the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. That anniversary reminds us of the great ambitions we had at that time: to formulate for the old continent rules other than those imposed by threat, force or ideology, building not only between States but also between their citizens, new and peaceful relations based on the sovereignty and equality of each State and on the right of peoples to self-determination, with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Let us look back at the record of the past 10 years. It is mixed.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  5. “More generally, the deterioration of the security conditions in the world is a check to development when it does not wipe it out altogether. That is why we repeat that disarmament and development must be linked. The President of the French Republic made this point in 1983 from this very rostrum. France is ready to serve as host to an international conference on this subject in Paris. The recent work of the preparatory committee of the United Nations conference on the relationship between disarmament and development has confirmed during the course of the summer the readiness of everyone. X am therefore pleased to state again here France's offer. I come now to the second part of my statement.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  6. “In addition to threats of conventional conflicts, the specter of the use of chemical weapons has also resurfaced recently. I should like to repeat strongly ray country's condemnation of any violation of the Geneva Protocol of 1925, wherever it takes place. France supports and will continue to support the efforts of the international community and, in the first place, those of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to proceed without delay to an impartial establishment of the facts where allegations of the use of these weapons have been made. France has not hesitated to speak out in favor of the work of the Conference on Disarmament toward negotiating a convention banning the manufacture of chemical weapons and providing for the destruction of existing stockpiles under international supervision.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  7. “At every opportunity, France demonstrates its goodwill, but it will never compromise its security interests; nor will it renounce the legitimate exercise of its sovereignty, whatever the cost to it. Continuation of the tests is in fact necessary to maintain the credibility of its forces. The limitation of tests could only be understood and be meaningful in the context of an eventual deescalation by the most heavily armed Powers. But the debate on international security is not limited to the problems of nuclear disarmament. The Stockholm Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures and Disarmament in Europe is to cur mind very important. Thirty-five States are participating and are seeking to define concrete measures to establish confidence among all.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  8. “As of 1974 it ceased tests in the atmosphere. It takes every precaution in carrying out its tests, and this was confirmed, in particular, by the team of international experts that went to the site last year. No other nuclear Power did this before and none has done it since. Only recently, in Mururoa, the President of the Republic renewed the invitation he had extended to the countries of the South Pacific to see for themselves, at the actual site, the harmless nature of French nuclear tests. Though not bound by any negotiated agreement, France has reduced the power of its tests below the threshold of 150 kilotons, a figure that the Soviet Union and the United States have presented to this Assembly for the past 10 years as a step deserving of the highest praise.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  9. “As far as my country is concerned, the President of the French Republic defined in this very body two years ago the conditions in which France would be ready to participate in this undertaking. Our willingness on this score has not changed; it has not diminished. It is in the context of such a process that France judges it necessary to raise again the question of nuclear testing designed to modernize its defensive force. I know that many delegations consider this a painful problem for which a solution is long overdue. We respect their concern, but in the case of issues like this we cannot settle for fine words or an imprecise assessment. So let us examine the facts. To date, France has carried out less than one-tenth of the total number of nuclear tests carried out by the Soviets and the Americans.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  10. “It should also establish real confidence-building measures for space, strengthen the existing system of notification of launches of objects into space, and, lastly, extend to the satellites of other countries the bilateral commitments already made by the United States and the Soviet Union concerning the immunity of their observation satellites. Those proposals are intended to be constructive and realistic. They take into account both the destabilizing nature of certain military activities in space and the difficulty of verifying the dismantling of systems already in place. Let us therefore define the true nature of the challenge in space so as to avert the risk of a new arms race. But, in so doing, let us not forget the main objective: the reduction of the offensive nuclear weapons systems of the two most heavily armed countries.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  11. “But, on the other hand, let us acknowledge that the deployment of new types of anti-missile or anti-satellite weapons on earth or in space would lead to a new race, with its risk of destabilizing effects. We see that possession of anti-missile and anti-satellite operational devices by one of the two super-Powers is viewed as justification for the other's efforts. It is high time that the two super-Powers agreed not to continue in this direction, they should distinguish very well between research, testing and development. During the same time, the Conference on Disarmament should in our view set forth the rules limiting anti-satellite systems.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  12. “At the Geneva Conference on Disarmament in June 1984, and then again this year, France made two proposals: first, that the two super-Powers limit the military uses of space at the same time as they reduce their offensive nuclear systems; and, secondly, that multilateral negotiations strengthen the international administration of the organization of space for peaceful uses. The use of devices in space to see, listen and communicate contributes to security; satellites already constitute guarantees for peace and could fill this function even better if the international satellite monitoring agency my country proposed more than seven years ago were established.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  13. “Mikhail Gorbachev, is to visit Paris shortly. New technologies have led some people to think that we could be turning a page of the nuclear era in 10 or 20 years, at the end of some ill-defined transitional period. This idea, which is attractive at first sight, merely reopens an old debate which has nurtured an illusion in mankind - the illusion that security can be achieved through invulnerability. Have we realized the extent to which a would-be aggressor could turn this risky situation to his own account?”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  14. “With respect to security, the power of the atom is the dominating factor. Peace through deterrence has so far prevented East-West conflicts from taking the form of direct confrontations between nuclear Powers. Maintenance of the balance of forces - nuclear as well as conventional - is of vital importance. This armed peace must be maintained for the future at a verifiable level of arms at the lowest possible level. " , The Soviet-American talks in Geneva on nuclear arms and space should lead the two countries directly concerned to proceed to deep cuts in their most destabilizing offensive weapons while maintaining strategic equilibrium. France welcomed the resumption of contacts between East and West and is particularly pleased that the General-Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mr.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  15. “I should also like to express here the respect that France has for the courage and dignity shown by the Government and people of Mexico in the face of their terrible ordeal. The catastrophe there reminds us that the happiness of men is uncertain and their destiny precarious. May they by their actions avoid compounding the suffering caused by nature. This session of the General Assembly marks the fortieth anniversary of our Organization. It is the age of maturity, a time for reflection and for taking stock. Speaking on behalf of France, a Founding Member of the United Nations and permanent member of the Security Council, I should like to refer to the three main ideals of this Organization which are the reason for its existence, namely, security, freedom and development.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

  16. “I should like first to congratulate the President on his election. I see it as a tribute not only to him personally but also to his country which holds a distinguished place in international co-operation. Everyone knows how much Spain means to France. In the very near future, our peoples will be together in the European Community. I am pleased that a common future now stands before them. I should also like, before beginning my address proper, to add my expressions of sympathy to those already voiced by numerous speakers before me regarding the tragic events that have just occurred in Mexico. The international community quickly demonstrated its solidarity, and my country joined in this widespread movement.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)