YouSaid · the spoken record

Jack Straw

lines on the record

68

first

2001-09-24

most recent

2005-09-24

sittings or episodes

5

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

1. “As we found in Afghanistan, when we deal with failing States, we have to tackle the second challenge to international law and justice — that of global terrorism — as well. All the nations of the world, and all its people — black, white, Buddhist, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh — have a common interest in defeating terrorism. There must be no hiding places for terrorism or for terrorists; no hiding places for their money; and no semantic hiding places either. The distinction some claim between terrorists and freedom-fighters is false and dangerous. Their victims enjoy no such distinction. There must be no such distinctions either in international law. Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) created new obligations on all of us. The United Kingdom has been honoured to chair the Counter-Terrorism Committee.”

   2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)

2. “Together with the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO), we have within our grasp a new era of sustainable economic growth and prosperity, a stable political future for the developing world and a much more secure global environment. But people cannot be freed from poverty unless they are also free from fear. Security is not an option; it is a necessity. Three years ago over half of Sierra Leone was under the control of rebels; over half the population was displaced; countless civilians had been murdered, abducted or horribly mutilated; a spiral of sickness and hunger was taking over. Now, thanks to United Nations and British intervention to end that decade-long civil war, people are returning home and rebuilding their shattered lives. But long-term commitment is necessary in situations like that.”

   2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)

3. “The United Kingdom's own experience in Afghanistan, as the International Security Assistance 12 Force (ISAF) lead nation, working with the United Nations, shows what can be done; but we all know that much more needs to be done. We need a much more structured and methodical approach to this growing problem of failed and failing States. But the tools are there. At Monterrey in March and at Johannesburg earlier this month, the world community has built on the Millennium Development Goals to reduce poverty among the world's most disadvantaged people. We are backing this commitment with action. Between 1996 and 2006 the United Kingdom will have doubled its development assistance.”

   2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)

4. “The world saw in Afghanistan the graphic dangers of State failure, where order breaks down, law is undermined and anarchy takes over. We in the international community must accept our share of the blame for allowing that country to disintegrate. Al Qaeda and their evil creed were only too willing to take advantage. But we delude ourselves if we believe that the chaos in Afghanistan over much of the last decade is unique. In too many areas of the world, our fellow citizens are forced to live under the rule of gangs, without the security and freedoms which we all should be able to take for granted. If we are serious about the concept of an international community, then, as Members of the United Nations, we must accept our responsibility to help prevent States from failing and to restore order where States have already collapsed.”

   2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)

5. “Kennedy predicted a world in which 25 States would have nuclear weapons. But the Non- Proliferation Treaty, supported by international safeguards, has ensured that this nightmare scenario has failed to materialize. All this should serve to remind us of the critical role which the United Nations has to play in world affairs, under its excellent Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. It is the responsibility of all of us here in the Assembly to ensure that the legitimacy, the authority and the capacity of the United Nations to preserve peace and to help build prosperity is strengthened and not undermined. Today, alongside the traditional threats to global peace and security, the United Nations and the world community face three rising challenges: failing States, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.”

   2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)

6. “In an imperfect world, our citizens need the United Nations as they have never needed it before. The United Nations has not resolved all conflicts by peaceful means, nor could it. The authority of the United Nations has to be underpinned by the force of arms. But the remarkable achievement of this body has been to make the fine language of its Charter a force for good beyond just words; by this the United Nations has raised the bar against the illegitimate use of violence, by States and now by terrorists. In doing so, the United Nations has saved lives by the million and saved millions more from fear, poverty and tyranny. Without the United Nations, there could have been no salvation for the people of East Timor, no prospect of lasting peace in Sierra Leone, no one to help rebuild Afghanistan. Forty years ago, President John F.”

   2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)

7. “My hope is that our children and our grandchildren will look back on this period with no less pride, and that future generations will be able to say that we here faced up to a great evil; we did not duck the decisions we had to take; we established peace in Afghanistan, constructive coexistence in the Middle East and sustained development in Africa. We made the necessary endeavour in the finest tradition of the United Nations. The United Nations stands for everything the terrorist seeks to destroy. My hope is that our successors will look back on this era and say that we saved succeeding generations from the scourge of terrorism as well as from the scourge of war.”

   2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

8. “Against that chaos we must set our vision of peaceful cooperation among stable nations. Achieving that vision has now taken on a new urgency. Indeed, we are at a moment of strategic opportunity, which comes no more than once to any generation. We owe it to those who founded the international community to seize this moment. Most of all, we owe it to those who will come after us. Today we remember with sorrow the sacrifices that earlier generations made. We remember with pride the brave decisions that they took to build a better world for us, and we salute the reconciliation and recovery that followed.”

   2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

9. “And we must take not only military action, but also diplomatic action to reduce tensions that terrorists exploit. Nowhere are those tensions greater than in the Middle East. The path to a settlement there is plain. It has to be based on a political process that implements United Nations resolutions. It must deliver security for Israel within recognized borders while at the same time creating a viable Palestinian State. We should give the parties every help to reach a settlement. But our efforts will be wasted unless the parties themselves show the political will to bring violence to a halt, and the political courage to make a deal. We have seen, in the most graphic and brutal way possible, that chaos in one part of the world can undermine security in all parts of the world.”

   2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

10. “As we meet here in New York, our colleagues at the World Trade Organization meeting in Doha have the opportunity to begin to put these injustices right. Launching a new trade round would be the clearest possible signal of the world’s determination to spread the benefits of wealth and of prosperity more fairly. 22 Our predecessors gave us the United Nations. In the succeeding years, it developed expertise in peacekeeping, in conflict prevention, in human rights and in reconstruction, to consolidate the gains of 1945. My message today is that our generation faces as daunting a task, but a different one. That task is to defeat international terrorism. But to do that we have to combine the agenda of 10 September with the agenda of 11 September, as the Secretary-General emphasized in his powerful speech yesterday.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

11. “But we should not delude ourselves about the scale of the task that remains in Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa average income today is much lower than it was 30 years ago. The New Partnership for African Development therefore requires the support of the whole community of nations. Africa deserves the same opportunities that we in the West take for granted. We in the West must acknowledge that while removing barriers to global trade and to finance, we have not always dismantled barriers to dignity and equality. In theory, global free trade should have created the conditions for every economy to exploit its comparative advantage in the world marketplace. In practice, protectionist barriers still survive, especially against trade in agriculture, damaging Africa’s interests today, and all our interests tomorrow.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

12. “Individuals’ rights, especially women’s rights, are ignored with impunity, and then the very structure of communities collapses. Where this happens, where societies disintegrate or States fail, we put at risk the basis of global society itself. If 11 September teaches us anything, it is surely this: that if we ignore our moral responsibilities to each other, we will be forced later to face painful consequences. Nowhere is the need for action now more obvious than in Africa. Yes, there has been some progress there. International work on the ground to resolve conflict has brought hope to Sierra Leone and to the Great Lakes region. Responsible Governments working across the continent in partnership with effective international donors have succeeded in reducing poverty.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

13. “We know that the one institution in the world which can deliver this better future is here now: the United Nations. We should all give Ambassador Brahimi every support in planning a future that leads to Afghanistan retaking its place as a fully fledged member of the international community, able to protect and promote the interests of all of its people. That nations have come so closely together to fight terrorism shows how the world is changing. However, we have to build a deeper and wider consensus to tackle the other great issues which we face. It is not just the Afghan people who have been excluded from the values on which the United Nations was founded. Conflict, poverty, discrimination and injustice still blight the lives of millions in every part of the globe.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

14. “In five years, their society has been systematically destroyed by one of the most brutal regimes the world has ever known. But at last today, the international community is united in its efforts to feed and shelter the millions of refugees through this harsh winter, and it is determined to help build a new Afghanistan. For the first time in decades, there is consensus in the Security Council as a whole, and among Afghanistan’s neighbours, that there should be a broad- based government in Kabul, reflecting Afghanistan’s rich ethnic diversity, and that the future of Afghanistan must be put into the hands of the Afghan people. There must be no more Great Games with Afghan people as the pawns, and no more regional rivalries, with Afghan people as the victims.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

15. “Thus our first duty, to our citizens and to each other, is to defend ourselves against that threat. When the nations of the world agreed the United Nations Charter, they recognized the right of self- defence in Article 51. It is in exercise of this right that the military coalition is now engaged in action against Al Qaeda and the Taliban regime which harbours them. Taking military action is always a tough decision. But here it truly was unavoidable, and we all owe a debt of gratitude to President Bush for the steadfast and careful manner in which the United States proceeded. But in defending the world from terror, we have to do our utmost to spare innocent Afghan people further suffering. For decades, the Afghans have seen their country exploited by outside powers and riven by conflict.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

16. “We showed our joint resolve, in the Security Council and in the General Assembly, when we adopted resolutions demanding that terrorists and those who harbour them be held to account for their evil actions. I applaud Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), which established the Counter-terrorism Committee and which requires all Member States to respond to the global terrorist threat. 21 We do surely have to take every effective measure against international terrorist networks, whose malign influence is felt in every part of the globe, not least by adopting a comprehensive convention on terrorism and the draft Nuclear Terrorism Convention. We also have to confront an unpalatable truth: that we still face a real and immediate danger. The murderous groups who plotted the terrible events of 11 September could strike again at any time.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

17. “With these words, they founded the international community. For some of us, the subsequent half-century has been the most peaceful era of our history. Yet we know that no one’s freedom can be secure while others suffer. On this Remembrance Day, we remember something else — the thousands who died just two months ago, on 11 September. A third of the nations represented here in the General Assembly lost citizens at the World Trade Center. But just as our predecessors saw hope in the midst of despair, so we now face the task of building a new and better world. It is fitting that it was here at the United Nations, on 12 September, that the world began to fight back against the terrorist threat.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

18. “Please allow me warmly to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly. This day, 11 November, is the anniversary of the Armistice which ended the slaughter of the First World War and is a day of remembrance here in the United States, in the United Kingdom and across much of the world. It is a day when all of us remember the sacrifice of those who, over the last century, gave their lives that others might live in freedom. For our parents and grandparents, the end of the Second World War stood as a turning point, a moment to establish a new world order. Their vision was inscribed at the very beginning of the Charter of the United Nations: “We the peoples of the United Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)