YouSaid · the spoken record

ASAMOAH

lines on the record: 293
first: 1982-09-24
most recent: 1995-09-24
sittings or episodes: 11
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

“The collapse of the cold war must make us more vigilant against any attempt to turn the United Nations into an instrument of the foreign policy of any one country or group of countries. When that happens, regional and subregional organizations will be tempted to question and/or disobey the decisions of the United Nations. This will be a tragic development that must be avoided at all costs. That is why Ghana, like other members of the OAU, calls upon the Security Council to lift the sanctions imposed unjustifiably on Libya and seek a peaceful solution to the Lockerbie affair and other related matters. We must of course forever maintain an uncompromising resolve to fight mindless terrorism. Let me conclude by reaffirming Ghana’s commitment to the United Nations as the best hope for peace and international cooperation.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Let it not appear that the international community deliberately wishes to marginalize the African continent. The problem of poverty of the African continent, if not tackled seriously, could pose grave dangers to international peace and security. Many conflicts in Africa are occasioned by the strains of development and they could easily take on international dimensions. As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, let us seek to fight against the arrogance of power and the return to the habits of colonialism as exhibited in the unjustified economic blockade against Cuba and the sanctions imposed on Libya. Such actions, particularly when sponsored by the United Nations, will serve to undermine the integrity of this Organization.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“While not down-playing the assistance Africa has received in the past few years, I must register the profound disappointment of many of us on the continent that the expected volume of assistance has never been forthcoming. Moreover, the requisite action on the debt and aid fronts, which would have completed the picture, has also not been adequate. This is all the more regrettable because of the profound political risks that many Governments in Africa have run by faithfully implementing painful structural adjustment programmes that have had a severe impact on their peoples. It is also unfortunate because Africa has seen a tremendous upsurge of popular empowerment which has found expression in the establishment of constitutional rule in country after country.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Allow me to state that some of us are beginning to wonder about the seriousness of the international community in helping Africa help itself. Conference after conference and seminar after seminar have been held in the past few years on this issue. Study after study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and numerous other institutions and distinguished personalities have been published, dissecting every dimension of the continent’s problems. African countries have committed themselves repeatedly to carry out far-reaching economic and institutional reforms, on the express understanding that their efforts would be fully complemented by the requisite material support of the international community, particularly the advanced countries.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“On Rwanda, Ghana has again demonstrated the depth of its commitment to the maintenance of international peace and security by sending troops to the front line. Our actions speak louder than words. Liberia and Rwanda are the latest in a long history of Ghanaian participation in peace-keeping operations. We will continue to make a contribution whenever and wherever we are called upon to assist. That is why Ghana sponsored the preparation of the Anglo-French glossary of peace-keeping terms, which provides precise terminology for vital words regularly used in the actual theatre of 14 operations. Our gratitude goes to the British, French and Senegalese Governments, who all helped make the exercise a success. Africa’s economic problems are too well known for me to recount.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“That will require a considerable increase in troop strength, logistics for ECOMOG and for the encampment, disarmament and resettlement of rival forces engaged in the civil war. International assistance is greatly needed to meet these objectives. It is hoped that a ready response will be forthcoming at the pledging conference envisaged for later this month. What ECOMOG has done in Liberia is a good example of how subregional and regional organizations should support the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security. But the United Nations will need to overcome doctrinal obstacles and to develop principles that will facilitate hybrid operations involving subregional initiatives and United Nations financing in whole or in part.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We urge that every effort be made to resolve this matter as speedily as possible. Of course, it will help greatly if Member States in arrears in their contributions honour their obligations and pay up. We urge them to do so without further delay. While on the subject of peace-keeping, may I say a few words about what we in West Africa have tried to do in Liberia. In the spirit of the relevant provisions of the United Nations Charter and the Treaty setting up the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), ECOWAS countries took the initiative to set up the cease-fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) to stop the bloodshed in Liberia. Today we are pleased to see that the Abuja and earlier agreements have made possible the restoration of relative peace in that country. The challenge now is to see through the implementation process.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“United Nations peace-keeping continues to assume great prominence in the range of United Nations activities. This has been in clear response to urgent needs in various parts of the world, and we in Ghana continue to try to make a modest contribution through participation in such missions as that in Rwanda. We are pleased to note that a lot of thinking is going on about how to improve and strengthen the United Nations peace-keeping role. We will continue to take an active part in these discussions and we hope it will be possible to agree on new arrangements that will be to the benefit of us all. Allow me, on this issue, to express my delegation’s profound regret at the delay of the United Nations in reimbursing troop- contributing countries, such as mine, for expenditures incurred in United Nations peace-keeping operations.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We note with regret that, so soon after the indefinite extension of the NPT, the very fears which made some of us question the wisdom of an indefinite extension have been fulfilled by the resumption of nuclear testing in the Pacific. We had argued that an indefinite extension would leave the nuclear Powers with no real incentive to make further progress on the arms control agenda. We must condemn in no uncertain terms the breach of the underlying implications of the consensus reached on the indefinite extension of the NPT. Let us hope that lessons will be learned from the almost universal condemnation of the French tests and that there will be movement towards a rapid conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban treaty and action on the other major issues in the area of disarmament.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“In this context, we appreciate the limited success of the important global conferences of the past year, especially that on population and development in Cairo, the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen and, last but not least, the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. The very fact that the international community has been able to improve and agree on a set of guidelines for future action in each of these vitally important social areas is in itself a remarkable achievement. We trust that the necessary political will to implement what has been agreed upon will be exercised by all. Allow me to say a few words about last April’s review and extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“No conflict can be resolved without the willingness of the parties to be reasonable and ready for compromise. 13 The Afghans, the Somalis and others stand in danger of neglect and they must wake up to this reality. The leaders of the warring parties in these countries must appreciate the enormous responsibility on their shoulders not to condemn their compatriots to senseless slaughter in perpetuity. The developing countries generally find themselves in difficult economic circumstances as a result of an unfavourable international economic climate. The need for concerted international action to restructure the international economy in order to meet the challenges of absolute poverty, malnutrition, disease and illiteracy, among others, in the developing countries cannot be overemphasized.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“This fiftieth anniversary is the appropriate occasion for all States to ponder carefully how these problems can be effectively contained. We are encouraged by recent events to hope that the ugly conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina can and will be solved, and we must pay tribute to the United States for this development. We also note with appreciation the recent Israeli- Palestinian accords signed in Washington as another milestone in the progress towards genuine peace in the Middle East. We would, however, urge all parties to show more flexibility and understanding in ensuring a comprehensive solution to the Middle East problem, which, inter alia, would include full self-determination for the Palestinian people and the restoration of occupied Arab lands.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“This is precisely the rationale for setting up this forum. It is only through such a process that diverse views can be harmonized and compromises struck. But even the sceptic will admit that the United Nations has an appreciable record of humanitarian and social improvement throughout the globe, in decolonization and in the settlement of disputes and conflicts. Our hope that the end of the cold war would bring in its train a new era of enduring peace and international harmony has been rudely dispelled. Much has indeed changed but much remains the same. The perennial conflicts of the past are taking new and troubling dimensions with “ethnic cleansing”, genocide and strident forms of nationalism threatening international tranquillity.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“I recall that only four African countries were Members of the United Nations at its inception. Today, the United Nations comprises 185 Member States, of which, perhaps, Africa is the continent with the largest representation. The very fact that the United Nations has grown in the past 50 years to encompass in its membership almost all sovereign States of the international community indicates a positive development. This is important because of the growing interdependence of States and the common interest of the international community in the solution of the complex and myriad issues of contemporary life. To those who criticize the United Nations and the General Assembly in particular as a mere talking shop, I would say that the tradition of discussion and debate, of listening to and appreciating the views of others is of great value.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Boutros Boutros-Ghali, we say a special word of thanks and appreciation for his indefatigable energy, his remarkable commitment to the independence of the United Nations and his steadfast resolve to help carry the Organization forward on a sounder footing. Fifty years of life, be it of a person or an institution, is an appropriate occasion for celebration and we are all looking forward to the festivities planned for the latter part of this month in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. It must also, however, be an occasion for a sober assessment of success and progress attained, as well as an in-depth analysis of the shortcomings experienced and how best to overcome them. In 1945, 51 States, by signing the United Nations Charter and setting up the Organization, ushered in a new era in international affairs.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We are very pleased that Mr. Freitas do Amaral is presiding over this important occasion, not only because of our confidence in his sterling qualities and acknowledged capabilities, but also because of the long historic links between Portugal and Ghana — links going back 500 years. We wish him every success in conducting the affairs of this fiftieth session of the General Assembly. To his predecessor, my brother and colleague from Côte d’Ivoire, we say “thank you” for a job well done. He led us through very complicated and difficult issues, such as the restructuring and reform of the United Nations, particularly the enlargement of the Security Council. The patience, equanimity and skill which he displayed throughout his presidency won the admiration of us all. To Mr.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The consolidation of the internal oversight mechanisms into the Office of Internal Oversight Services, together with the existing external oversight mechanisms, should help reduce waste and ensure accountability. Ghana reiterates its belief in the unity of the purposes of the Charter and wishes to stress the need for the Organization to address global development issues 12 with the same vigour as that with which it has approached the issues of global peace and security. It is the hope and expectation of Ghana that this forty-ninth session will mark the beginning of the renaissance of the United Nations, ready to demonstrate, more in action than in words, its determination to maintain peace and promote prosperity on the basis of justice, law and respect for the dignity and worth of the human person.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“However, a lot of work remains to be done. We hope that by its fiftieth anniversary the United Nations will be sufficiently reformed and revitalized to command universal respect and cooperation. In the final analysis, however, resources — financial and otherwise — will determine the effectiveness of the Organization. The financial situation of the Organization remains a source of concern. Members of the Organization should redouble their efforts to ensure its solvency so that the Secretary-General can effectively implement the mandates of the legislative bodies. The Members, for their part, expect prudence and discipline in the application of the resources made available to the Organization.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Reasonable proposals for an end to these problems have been made which we hope will find general acceptance. The United Nations, particularly the Security Council, needs to be restructured in order to reduce the vulnerability of small nations to big-Power pressure and to reflect their increased roles, particularly in the area of peace-keeping, as well as the realities of power today. The increased role of the United Nations in peace-keeping has called for the establishment of machinery within the Secretariat to improve efficiency. In response to the proposal contained in the Secretary-General’s report, “An Agenda for Peace”, the General Assembly and the Security Council have adopted a number of measures and decisions which should enhance the Organization’s ability to maintain international peace and security.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We must not undermine the validity of the basic principles of the Organization, such as the sovereign equality of States and non-intervention in the internal affairs of other States. Not even the current preoccupation with democracy and human rights should be allowed to erode these principles any more than is absolutely essential. And we must avoid allowing the Security Council to become the instrument for the foreign policy objectives of certain Powers. We must fight neo-colonialist tendencies exemplified in the economic blockade of Cuba and the questionable imposition of sanctions against the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. There is no basis in international law for these actions, which result in misery for the ordinary people of these countries and restrain intercourse between nations.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We recognize the increasingly evident correlation between the advancement of women and economic development and social stability. We hope the Conference will help accelerate the removal of obstacles to women’s full and equal participation in all spheres of life and enable them to play an active role in the global restructuring of economic, political, social and cultural relations as we approach the twenty-first century. The increased responsibilities of the United Nations in peace-keeping, the expansion of the Organization and the demise of the Soviet Union as a super-Power have highlighted the need for the Organization’s restructuring. In this exercise we must keep two things in mind.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Because of our conviction that the underlying socio-economic factors of the threat to peace and security should be seriously addressed by the international community, the Government of Ghana strongly supports the holding of the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 6-12 March 1995. However, it should not be an occasion for an attempt to impose a set of social values on the international community, nor should it be an opportunity to malign the cultural practices of any group of people. It should be an occasion for mutual understanding to pave the way for a charter for social progress. Ghana also attaches great importance to the forthcoming Fourth World Conference on Women, scheduled to take place in Beijing in September 1995, as part of the process of furthering peace and security.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The international community is yet to discharge its obligations under the international accord. No agreement has been reached on the modalities for the creation of a diversification fund for Africa as called for by the various studies initiated by well-known bodies of the United Nations. This is regrettable. The conclusion of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations was no doubt a historic achievement. It holds prospects of opening up possibilities of trade liberalization and long-term growth. It is, however, equally true — and probably more significant — to note that trade is possible only after production. A lot of factors constrain the ability and capacity of developing countries, particularly in Africa, to take advantage of international arrangements such as those concluded under the Uruguay Round.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The vast majority of lower-income countries which owe debts totalling $1.3 trillion are in sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-saharan Africa alone is overburdened with debt servicing to the tune of $200 billion representing 10 per cent of the total national income of the 43 countries involved. It is not sheer coincidence that Africa plays host to a sizeable number of United Nations peace-keeping operations. The scale of Africa’s debt and the effect it has produced in our economies requires action by the international community. The international accord embodied in the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa, which contains a strategy to relaunch African economies on the path of growth and 11 recovery, has hardly had any noticeable effect a year after its adoption.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“It is no accident that conflicts abound in the developing world and the economically backward areas of Europe. At the root of all these conflict situations and the threats to peace and security are economic deprivation and abject poverty. It is not necessary to restate the gruesome statistics of the conditions of the poor — the high mortality rates, the malnutrition, the inadequate health facilities, ignorance and poor housing. These conditions are compounded by a seriously inequitable system of international trade with its attendant problems, including the debt burden. Unequal access to knowledge, technology and resources has accentuated the already unacceptable socio-economic inequalities both within and among nations. The issue of external debt is primary in its constraining effects on economic growth in Africa.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“From the international community, we will appreciate moral, material and diplomatic support and an understanding of the complexities of the problem. Peace-keeping is crowding the international agenda to such a degree that we seem to be losing our ability to focus on the unfinished business of disarmament. The proliferation of conflicts generates insecurity and compounds the disarmament problem. Both problems, however, must be resolved simultaneously. The process of eliminating nuclear weapons needs to be speeded up to make the extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) an attractive proposition for non-nuclear Powers. Bilateral efforts at disarmament, such as those under way between the United States of America and the Russian Federation, need to be situated in the general context of multilateral diplomacy.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“With President Rawlings’s assumption of the chairmanship of ECOWAS Ghana is directly face to face with the ambitions, rivalries, prejudices, misconceptions and lack of common purpose even within ECOWAS and with the misrepresentations that have made the solution of this problem elusive. We must pay a tribute to our predecessors as Chairmen of ECOWAS who have had to grapple with the problem. We have recently gathered the warring factions in Akosombo to push the peace process forward. We have taken note of the misconceptions and attempts to undermine this latest effort. However, with persistence, patience, firmness and transparency, we hope we can make significant progress in the coming year. What we ask of the Liberians is sincerity and the spirit of compromise.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We are willing to continue to discharge our responsibilities if adequate material support can be forthcoming from the international community, particularly, its wealthy members. Given the unwillingness of many nations to get involved in conflicts far from their shores and in respect of which their national interests are not manifest to their electorate, the option for the international community is to support countries such as Ghana and regional organizations such as ECOWAS and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to defend the ideals of the United Nations.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“In such situations success depends largely upon support from the more endowed members of the international community, either through the United Nations or on a direct bilateral basis. In Liberia, Ghana and a few other countries members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are groaning under the burden of helping the Liberians maintain a nation. In Rwanda, in the heat of battle Ghana and Canada were left alone to grapple with a horror situation without adequate material support. Even after the international community was shamed into action, logistic support has not been particularly prompt or adequate. Ghana takes pride in its peace-keeping role. From the Congo crisis in the early 1960s up until now it has demonstrated the will and readiness to come to the help of nations in distress.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The contribution of the United Nations in the solution of these conflicts is immense, but one must also recognize that no progress would have been possible without the exemplary statesmanship of the leaders involved in their solution. 10 The end of the cold war, coupled with the strains of nation-building, have produced new threats to peace in parts of the former Soviet Union, in Yugoslavia and in Africa. Horror stories have emerged from Bosnia, Liberia, Rwanda and Somalia. Some of the problems seem to have no immediate prospect of solution. Somalia and Liberia are coming close to being written off as Afghanistan has been. To an increasing degree regional organizations and small States like Ghana are being called upon to bear the burden of securing a peaceful world, a burden far above their means.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The Angolan problem appears to be nearing a solution. At long last, UNITA is getting the message that the international community abhors its commitment to militarism and appreciates the political maturity and spirit of compromise of the Angolan Government. Although certain cold-war-era conflicts such as Cyprus, Korea and Afghanistan are proving difficult to solve, one must take comfort in the fact that the Koreas are agreed on the basis of reunification of their country and that, after decades of conflict and anxiety, South Africa is now a non-racial, democratic country. We take this opportunity to welcome its delegation into our midst.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Exploitation of the inherent weaknesses of the Charter, lack of good faith, greed and the quest for domination characterized the era of the cold war which, happily, appears to be coming to an end. However, conflicts that threaten international peace and security exist and are multiplying; some are legacies of the cold war and others the result of the failure of the international community to create the economic and social conditions for international peace and security. Other contributing factors include inordinate personal ambition, ethnicity, nationalism, religious intolerance and political adventurism. Thanks to the end of the cold war, the political landscape in Europe has changed and has impacted positively, if only with partial success, on Cambodia, Mozambique and, most important of all, the Middle East.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“His ability to navigate the General Assembly through the difficult discussions on the restructuring and revitalization of the Organization — particularly those on the reform of the Security Council — and the skill that he demonstrated during the world hearings on the proposed Agenda for Development are indelible marks of his stewardship. The Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, has continued to remain on top of his very challenging and delicate task as the chief executive of the Organization. His abilities and skills as a thinker, administrator and accomplished diplomat have been assets to the United Nations. The dedication and commitment of his staff have been equally noteworthy. In discharging its primary responsibility to promote international peace and security the United Nations has had successes and disappointments.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“On behalf of the Ghana delegation, I have the honour and pleasure of conveying to you, Sir, our congratulations on your election, by acclamation, as President of the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session. Your election is an honour not only to you personally but also to your country, Côte d’Ivoire, with which Ghana shares a common destiny and, happily, enjoys very warm, cordial and special relations. You will no doubt be equal to the task, given your disposition and your record of distinguished service to your Government and country and to the international community. Allow me also to place on record our appreciation of the effective leadership that your predecessor as President, His Excellency Mr. Samuel Insanally of Guyana, provided for the Organization during his stewardship.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“It is to be hoped that in the years to come the United States, which pays a substantial portion of the United Nations budget, regular and peace-keeping, will continue to abide by this commitment and also address the question of outstanding contributions to the regular budget. It is the hope of Ghana that this session will mark the beginning of the renaissance of the United Nations, ready to collectively commit itself to the pursuit of the objectives of our Organization as reflected in the principles and purposes of the Charter.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Suffice it to say that, whatever the final form of a restructured Security Council, it is clear that its reform should be based on the principle of the sovereign equality of Member States and the clear 24 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session recognition that the Security Council acts on behalf of the Members of the Organization and should reflect the universality of our Organization. The Ghana delegation is ready to participate in the search for a more legitimate and effective Security Council. We welcome the commitment made by President Clinton to ensure the payment of contributions due from the United States in respect of peace-keeping operations.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Such transparency will obviously enhance the legitimacy of its decisions and, equally importantly, reflect the fact that it is the Members of the Organization which, under Article 24, confer on the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and that in discharging its functions the Security Council acts on their behalf. My delegation sees no need to go over the case, which has already been well established, for the reform of the Security Council.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The democratization process, which is part of the effort to promote and uphold human rights, should not be limited to the national level. The full implementation of the principles of democracy within the family of nations should also be one of our central concerns. It is in this context that we seek the revitalization of the General Assembly, where the sovereign equality of Member States finds full expression. We look forward to the General Assembly’s playing its full role in the maintenance of international peace and security as required by the Charter. We also welcome the initiative of the Security Council to make its work, including its decision-making process, more transparent.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“We wish to add that the United Nations must now also place upon its active agenda the question of development and tackle it with the seriousness it deserves. We have striven in this Organization to link the environment, human rights, democracy and humanitarian relief with development. It is time we realized that peace-keeping and peacemaking can be carried out efficiently, and the problems that generate conflicts can be resolved, only if we promote the issue of development with vigour. And this can be done if the United Nations insists on a more just, equitable and transparent world economic system that will confer the means for development on all nations. The task of eradicating global poverty must receive the same attention, concentration and energetic action as are given to peace-keeping and peacemaking.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“So many of us cannot provide adequate social services in the form of schools, clinics or clean water for our people. In many instances, bowing to the conditions set for the loans we contract to expand our export base, we have to lay off workers and thus consign thousands or even millions of families to indigence as the small pay check that puts a meal on the table, buys medicine when the child is sick, or provides the uniform for the new school-goer in the family, is no longer forthcoming. The United Nations has been advised, correctly in our view, to run efficient peace-keeping operations, to refurbish itself administratively and to upgrade its skills in all the spheres of its endeavours.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“We have spoken regularly about the unacceptable levels of resource flow from the poor nations to the rich. We have drawn regular attention to the unequal terms of trade, protectionist barriers and a disastrous global pricing system that does not pay us adequately for the fruits of our labour, whether we produce coffee, cocoa or copper. It is time the United Nations placed development and the crucial need for restructuring the world economy on its priority list side-by-side with, if not above, its peace-keeping and peacemaking agenda. The United Nations must defend each nation’s right to earn its way by being an equal participant in the global market place. Many of us have undertaken structural adjustments. Yet the returns of the great sacrifices we have made remain low.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“It is often the poorest countries or countries where economic decline has been steep that relapse into savage violence. We have also said that the source of the condition of underdevelopment can be largely traced to a global economic system that has been inimical to the interests of developing and poor countries. Forty-eighth session - 30 September l993 23 It is time the United Nations, in its effort to construct peace and keep the peace, addressed some of the fundamental economic issues that hamper all efforts to eradicate global poverty. In this connection, the perennial problems that plague the economies of the South must now be fully tackled as part of the energetic search for world peace. We have said in almost all United Nations forums, including the Assembly, that the debt burden cripples our economies.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“It is noteworthy that many of the conflicts plaguing us are in the developing countries. We hope the call for limiting the peace-keeping role of the United Nations is not an attempt to shirk the burden of engaging in solving the political problems in these countries in the same way as the fundamental economic concerns of these countries have been marginalized. As we concern ourselves with the resolution of these sometimes malignant conflicts, let us not forget to address the fundamental factors that generate many of them. We know that a great proportion of these problems can be traced to economic deprivation and underdevelopment. My delegation has stressed time and again in this Assembly and elsewhere that underdevelopment and conflicts have a link.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“In this respect, we must encourage the Inkatha Freedom Party and other right-wing groups to join the process of negotiations in South Africa, and we should condemn in no uncertain terms the treachery of UNITA and the attitude of some of the Somali warlords. Whatever mistakes the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) may have made, it is grotesque for any Somali leader to seek to be a hero by engaging the United Nations in combat. Such a show of ingratitude may have long-term damaging consequences in terms of the willingness of Member States to undertake humanitarian missions. And what would be the consequences for the Somali people should the United Nations decide to abort UNOSOM? Any leader who has the interest of his people at heart needs to reflect on that.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“It would be a sad day indeed if all these laudable initiatives were abandoned on the grounds of well-reasoned arguments pleading lack of funds or of the will to help these nations enjoy the peace that has eluded them for years. In recognition of the fact that the United Nations cannot undertake too many initiatives, it should devise mechanisms for shoring up regional efforts at conflict resolution, such as in Liberia. We also wish to stress that the internal parties to the various conflicts which the United Nations is striving so hard to resolve have a moral responsibility to play their part in accelerating the process towards peace. Human decency and the sanctity of human life impose this duty on them.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The unity of the purposes of the Charter and the universality of our Organization compel us to recognize that a threat to peace anywhere is a threat to peace everywhere. But even if the suggestions have merit, either on the grounds of lack of funds, constraints in logistics or the United Nations inability to heal all the world’s wounds, my delegation wants to stress the need for the United Nations to see all the peace-keeping assignments it is engaged in through to their logical conclusion. The United Nations cannot, at this juncture, turn its back on South Africa, Liberia, Rwanda, Angola, Mozambique, Haiti, Somalia or the former Yugoslavia.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“In the light of the call for a more prudent use of the resources available to the United Nations, it is imperative that the task of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) be completed rapidly, to the full satisfaction of all concerned, particularly the Sahraoui people. The new impetus for peacemaking and peace-keeping represents a major advance in our collective engagement in the task of seeking and creating a peaceful and safe world. In this Assembly it has been suggested that the United Nations should limit its commitments, that it should not take on every conflict. But which conflicts must it address, and which ones should it decline to get involved in? That is the crucial question.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“We welcome the progress that has been made in the negotiations in South Africa. However, the international community needs to remind itself that apartheid is far from being completely eradicated. The process of democratization in that country must be completed so that all its citizens may be enabled to exercise their voting rights. The world community has a responsibility to maintain its vigilance regarding South Africa until the election on 27 April 1994, which will put in place an acceptable constitutional programme for a transitional Government based, for the first time in the history of that country, on universal adult suffrage. Of equal concern is the impasse over Western Sahara. The United Nations peace plan must be allowed to work, and the timetable set for the holding of elections must be respected by all.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The situation in Sudan, equally, cries out for a peaceful solution and for greater United Nations involvement as a contribution to the search for an enduring settlement to an essentially political problem that has brought such suffering to the people and has created an unbearable refugee problem for neighbouring States. Our Organization has recorded laudable success in its implementation of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) on the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to 22 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session Colonial Countries and Peoples. The independence of Namibia is the latest of the success stories of decolonization. However, the Territories and peoples that remain under colonial rule demand our active and sustained attention and render premature any conclusion that the decolonization process has been completed.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“They usher in the beginning of the end of decades of war, mistrust, violence, destruction and wanton killing and suffering that the Arab-Israeli conflict has brought to the people of the Middle East. They lay a solid foundation for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East. We therefore urge the entire international community to support them. From the new dawn of relations in the Middle East emerges a powerful, compelling and inspiring truth - that there is no conflict that is not capable of solution. That is why we consider that the "no war, no peace" situation in Cyprus should not be permitted to lure this Organization into complacency. The search for a settlement should be accelerated. To this end, the recent decision to maintain the United Nations presence in Cyprus should encourage all the parties involved.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)