YouSaid · the spoken record

Dora BAKOYANNIS

lines on the record: 30
first: 2006-09-24
most recent: 2008-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
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

“We believe that a viable solution can be achieved by the Cypriots themselves through negotiations between the two communities without artificial deadlines and arbitration. We shall continue to do everything possible to facilitate a settlement, and we hope that Turkey will also demonstrate flexibility and goodwill towards that end. As is obvious to all of us, the United Nations is once again beset by a host of troubles that will require the patience of Job to endure and the strength of Hercules to confront. As individual States, we have no hope of marshalling the strength to contemplate, let alone battle, the dangers facing us. But together, through the United Nations, we can find the resolve not only to confront those awesome challenges but to subdue the threat that they pose for humankind.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“That unacceptable situation is a flagrant violation of international law, a threat to the security and welfare of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots alike, and a serious obstacle to the stabilization of the region. Greece has consistently supported Cyprus in its natural and justified desire to see the withdrawal of all occupation forces as part of a settlement for its reunification as a bizonal, bicommunal federation with intercommunal equality, a single sovereignty, a single citizenship and a single international persona. Relevant United Nations resolutions and principles exist to provide the framework for a mutually acceptable solution. We thus welcomed the recent decision by Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat to resume negotiations under the auspices of the Secretary-General.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Beyond the Western Balkans, Greece continues taking fruitful initiatives in the spirit of international law and the United Nations Charter to broaden and strengthen cooperation with Turkey. We are convinced that modern Turkey, with a clear European orientation, will add to the stability of our region. We therefore support the European aspirations of Turkey as it moves to meet the prerequisites set out in the negotiating framework of the European Union. But words must be matched with deeds. The principles of good- neighbourly relations and peaceful settlement of disputes with other nations are essential preconditions. Yet 34 years after the 1974 invasion of Cyprus, a sovereign United Nations and European Union member State, Turkey continues to occupy over one third of the island’s territory with nearly 40,000 troops.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Greece will continue to be guided by the letter and the spirit of Security Council resolutions 817 (1993) and 845 (1993) on that issue, and I want to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy, Mr. Matthew Nimetz, for their commitment and their tireless efforts to settle the dispute. The new reality of Kosovo requires continued attention from the international community. The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo has done a good job providing security for Kosovo’s population, and its successor, the European Union Rule of Law Mission Kosovo, should assume its responsibilities as soon as possible.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected, in conformity with the relevant Security Council resolutions. Turning to our immediate neighbourhood, Greece is committed to a South-Eastern Europe where all countries belong to the European and Euro-Atlantic families. We were as pleased to welcome Croatia and Albania to NATO a few months ago as we were to welcome Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union last year. We have been encouraged also by the recent developments in Serbia, a country which grows closer to Europe every day. In the same spirit, we agree with our NATO allies and European Union partners that invitations to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia should be extended when a mutually acceptable solution is reached on the name issue.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“In both the European Union (EU) and NATO, we supported the six-point agreement that helped end conflict in the area, but we are anxious to see measures that will alleviate the anger and mistrust that now pervade the region. In the broader Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the root of most of the problems, and the region requires a comprehensive and lasting solution. I think that we all agree that the peace process relaunched last year at the Annapolis conference has the potential to achieve tangible results and merits the strong support of all of us. In Lebanon, we welcome the presidential election, the formation of the National Unity 4 3 23 08-53129 Government and the resumption of the national dialogue.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The OSCE — the world’s largest regional security organization — can be a forum for frank and fruitful talks on security issues and can contribute effectively to such crucial concerns as early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post- conflict rehabilitation. Finland, the current Chair, has made a major effort to promote positive discussions among the OSCE States, and Greece intends to continue that policy and try to resolve outstanding issues. The crisis in South Ossetia has created a volatile situation that affects stability in all the South Caucasus and has exacerbated international tension. Greece’s position on that crisis is rooted in the principles that have always guided our foreign policy — peaceful settlement of disputes and respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of States.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Along with protecting the weak and vulnerable, the United Nations has the responsibility to act forcefully and to protect the world from the kind of fanaticism and extremism that cripples any social programme. Terrorism poses a major threat to the security of our countries, to the stability of our democratic societies and to the rights and freedoms of our citizens. Around the world, whether in Afghanistan or Pakistan, Iraq or Yemen, the international community must show its strong commitment to combating terrorism while protecting human rights and the rule of law. On regional security, Greece is preparing to assume the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) next January.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“By hosting the third Global Forum on Migration and Development in the fall of 2009, Greece aims to provide a platform on which to explore solutions and initiatives for the benefit of all countries and especially for the immigrants themselves. As heartbreaking as the suffering of immigrants and refugees often is, nothing can compare to the misery involved in human trafficking. Young women who leave their homes in search of a better livelihood are exploited, brutalized and forced into a life of unspeakable depravity by the traffickers in human misery who are involved in the international sex trade. I say it is time for the international community to say “Enough!” I urge all the members of the United Nations to begin working together forcefully to put an end to this blight on human dignity.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“It is an unjust reality that those that are least to blame for the creation of the problem are to suffer most. Greece is moving to face this challenge. We have signed, this week in New York, agreements with the African Union and the Caribbean Community for the funding of adaptation projects, and we plan to do the same with the Alliance of Small Island States, providing a total of €20 million for the next four years. One might argue that this is just a drop in the adaptation bucket. It is, however, a drop in an empty bucket. Migration is a critical element in the development of neglected regions, and the United Nations High- level Dialogue on International Migration and Development has taken the lead in dramatizing the link.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“As the French social theorist Charles Fourier said more than 200 years ago, “The extension of women’s rights is the basic principle of all social progress.” The challenge of climate change, if not addressed, threatens not only the MDGs but also the economic and social stability of our world. We have to achieve, in 2009, a new, truly global agreement with ambitious, binding mitigation targets. We also need a much stronger effort on adaptation, where there is a huge deficit between the needs and the actual financing provided. That deficit is exacerbated by the fact that no matter what we do, we are locked in for significant climate change in the next three to four decades, which is going to especially affect the less developed countries.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“In 2000, we agreed on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), probably the most ambitious development project ever undertaken by man. In terms of time, we are halfway there. Yet a lot remains to be done. The progress achieved so far is jeopardized by higher prices, particularly for food and oil, and the global economic slowdown. Our success will be judged primarily in Africa. We believe that one way to help jumpstart development in Africa is to involve women in the economy more extensively. Providing entrepreneurial 08-53129 22 opportunities to women at local, national and regional levels will allow them to strengthen their role in society, increase their involvement in education and ultimately allow them to play a more active part in decision-making.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“We hope that, starting at this session, today, concrete measures will be adopted to reach our objective. (spoke in English) This year we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Unfortunately, gross violations of human rights persist throughout the world, and we Member States need to redouble our efforts to reduce them. The Human Rights Council could be a powerful force in that struggle, and Greece has decided to become a candidate for membership for the term beginning in 2012. We ask for the Assembly’s support and trust. Along with protecting human rights, the United Nations must strengthen its efforts to alleviate the bitter poverty that still grips many parts of the world. We need to increase trade for development, and we regret the lack of progress in the Doha Round.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“More recently, we have lived through several wars, poverty and deprivation. Nevertheless, we endured, and we have been able once again to grab hold of the ideas that we were the first to profess. We have not forgotten, however, what it is like to feel fear and need. This is why we will continue to work closely with all States, organizations and institutions to ensure that all people can live in security and can prosper and thrive. The United Nations must be at the helm of this effort. In order to play its role efficiently, the United Nations needs increased support from us all, particularly in its efforts to develop and improve. Discussions about Security Council reforms and the need to breathe new life into the General Assembly have been going on for far too long.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“As the poet Yeats described, we live in a world where (spoke in English) “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” (spoke in French) During this critical period, every country must make a choice: either to focus solely on its own limited interests and promote nationalistic ends in order to distract people’s attention from danger throughout the world, or to look outwards, to open its mind and borders and to commit to warning people that the only way to face threats successfully is to do so together. The history of Greece and the character of the Greek people are such that we have chosen the second path. It was in ancient Greece that society for the first time developed those ideals that are cherished today by free people throughout the world: democracy, equality and individual rights.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Sophocles said that all mankind is subject to error. We are gathered here in this Assembly in order to limit the scope of those errors and to ensure respect for the mandate of the United Nations. My Government fully agrees with the objectives and ideas expressed by President Nicolas Sarkozy as President of the European Union (see ). There is much that remains to be done and many obstacles to be overcome: armed conflict, hunger, poverty, environmental degradation, terrorism, organized crime, human trafficking, lack of respect for human rights and the abuse of power. All these things threaten what we wish to build in the United Nations: a community of States that enjoys progress, peace and prosperity. Add the economic crisis the world faces now to those scourges, and it becomes difficult not to see the future as dark and menacing.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“European integration is the bright promise on the horizon for the entire region of South-Eastern Europe — a future which will encompass greater cooperation and interaction among all the countries in the area and at long last heal the wounds of the past century. We live in a troubled world, and the United Nations is always enmeshed in the worst of the troubles so that it sometimes seems that it is not accomplishing much. We must not forget, however, the conflicts it has resolved, the misery it has diminished, the suffering it has relieved and the pain it has eased all over the world in its brief lifetime. “Man feeds on dreams of hope”, Aeschylus wrote. For men, women and children everywhere, the United Nations remains the best hope there is.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“Greece’s foreign and security policy is based on the principles enshrined in the Charter, especially those relating to the peaceful settlement of disputes and good-neighbourly relations. This basic framework is also reflected in my country’s continuing efforts to further improve relations with Turkey and to consolidate mutual understanding and cooperation. For our part, we are trying to overcome the remaining difficulties and are continuing to take initiatives to widen and deepen cooperation in all fields so that the relationship with Turkey becomes a win-win situation for both countries. In this context, we are hopeful that Turkey will reciprocate so that our countries can solidify good-neighbourly relations.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“For all 32 years of the military occupation of one third of the territory of Cyprus by well over 40,000 Turkish troops, Greece has strongly 23 06-53323 supported every United Nations initiative aimed at the achievement of a comprehensive solution. We are committed to doing everything possible to achieve a just and viable solution, on the basis of the pertinent Security Council resolutions and of EU principles and values. We strive for a bizonal, bicommunal federation that will bring peace and prosperity to the island. Our goal remains a solution agreed between the two communities without arbitration and tight timetables, to be approved subsequently by referendums. To those efforts we are prepared to lend our wholehearted support.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“We endured a century of bitter ethnic, religious and ideological conflicts, up to very recent times. We are moving rapidly, however, to disown that label for the sake of our own peoples and of the new Europe we are building. Some trouble spots remain, but we are trying to deal with them in a new spirit of cooperation and tolerance. Kosovo is one issue that still needs attention. The status talks are under way, and we hope that they will produce a viable settlement that will strengthen the security and stability of the entire region. Right now, this appears difficult. To overcome the impasse will require patient and careful diplomacy. Our goal in reaching a viable long-term solution should not be compromised by setting an artificial deadline. I deeply regret the fact that the Cyprus problem remains unresolved.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“We understand the difficulties before us, but we must push ahead resolutely, because determination and tenacity are essential to tackling long-standing issues in volatile regions. The continued violence and instability in Iraq are a cause of great concern for all of us. It is critical that every possible effort be made to bring order and unity to that troubled country. Deaths, especially of civilians, have reached terrifying levels, with no end in sight to the slaughter. All who have any influence with the warring factions in Iraq must try to make them see what pain and suffering they have inflicted on their own people and what yet worse horrors they will unleash on their land if they continue to drift towards a devastating civil war. Our own region, the Balkans, was once known as history’s cauldron.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“The Road Map offers the strategic plan for a solution based on the principle of land for peace, especially since basic elements of it are well known and generally accepted by the international community. The Road Map is in essence a performance-driven guide to a settlement based on all relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), and on the conclusions of the Madrid Conference and the Beirut Arab Summit. We must all make every effort to see that they are implemented. On Lebanon, strict implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) provides the blueprint for resolving the basic problems that led to the recent crisis.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“Another urgent need is to act effectively and speedily to put an end to the suffering of the populations of these countries, so that we no longer see babies dying of AIDS when a few dollars’ worth of medicines can save them. (spoke in English) The tensions in the Middle East demand equal attention. The Middle East is the region that will test the mettle of this Organization as a force for peace in the immediate future. If we fail in that test, all of us stand to pay a heavy price. During the past several months, we all witnessed unforgettable images of suffering and destruction in that part of the world. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the root of most problems in the region, and it is obvious that it should be at the top of the list of our priorities if peace and stability are to return to that area.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“They need to undertaken reforms that will encourage growth, and they need to finally improve governance by creating institutions that are accountable and operate with complete transparency. It is only together, through collective action, that we will be able to correct the inequalities that are at the root of many of the conflicts in the world. Allow me to stress in this respect that Africa must be the highest of our priorities. We must pay heed to the dormant conflicts in West Africa, East Africa and Central Africa if we want to avoid the kinds of crises being played out in the Sudan and other countries on the continent. The African Union is best placed to put an end to these conflicts, and we must help it by finding lasting solutions to the problems that make life so cruel in very many of these regions.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“The winners will be the developing countries — but also the developed countries. Equally important is the need to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in line with the agenda established by heads of State or Government at the Summits of 2000 and 2005. Among our objectives, clearly, is to reach the critical threshold of 0.7 per cent of gross national income to be allocated for official development assistance to the countries most seriously affected by economic difficulties. That is the keystone of a global partnership for development, which we are committed to forging as soon as possible. Developing countries, for their part, need to follow sensible economic policies.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“In the light of what I have said, and bearing in mind the General Assembly’s main theme for this year — to create a global partnership for development — this is both timely and appropriate. Translating this vision into fact must happen at the global level, and for this we need significant participation by all countries in the economic and financial decision-making process. The International Monetary Fund’s recent decision to increase the voting rights of countries such as China and India is an important step in the right direction. The news coming from the Doha round, however, is not encouraging. The clock is ticking; and each day it becomes even more important for all parties to put their shoulders to the wheel to reach an agreement, with the objective of creating an effective multilateral 06-53323 22 trading system.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“It is a blind evil that takes no account of our religion, our race or our gender. This danger must be confronted collectively. It is neither possible nor desirable to confront it alone. We will firmly support the efforts undertaken by the Security Council’s Counter- Terrorism Committee, and we are prepared to provide it with all necessary assistance. Finally, we would like to support the counter-terrorism policy that the Secretary-General will soon be presenting to the General Assembly. The best way to confront terrorism is to promote peace, tolerance, the acceptance of others and, above all, development: no longer to abandon anyone by the wayside and to give everyone the opportunity to access what is essential for life.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“In order to understand the full extent of these calamities, we must identify and understand, and then deal with, their roots, which have been formed over the centuries. We have to unite the force of our ideas and resources and mobilize what we have in common — that is, our humanity. As taught to us by the philosopher Isocrates, the condition for peace is not money, which buys men, or force, which subjugates them; it is the all-encompassing power of goodwill. The United Nations is a unique forum, the place where, as individuals and as nations, we offer the best of ourselves. We need this Organization to be strong and productive. We draw from it the strength that frees us from mistrust to overcome conflicts, the strength that allows us to move forwards towards greater understanding and tolerance. Terrorism is the scourge of our times.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“I want to express the appreciation of my Government for all his efforts to maintain and strengthen the prestige and moral authority of the Organization. I would also like to welcome Montenegro to the family of States. (spoke in French) Greece fully aligns itself with the statement made by the President of Finland on behalf of the European Union (EU). We would also like to express our views on the major questions that the United Nations will be dealing with in the session that is now opening. It is just the beginning of the twenty-first century, and the future looks threatening: we see poverty, war, humanitarian crises, refugee flows, terrorism, arms proliferation, human trafficking, drugs, sectarian violence, environmental degradation and natural disasters.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“Allow me, Madam, to add my heartiest congratulations to you on being the third woman in the history of the United Nations to be elected President of the General Assembly, particularly at such a critical moment. Your election is an inspiration for women everywhere who are struggling to achieve equality and opportunity. You illustrate the truth that, as Plato wrote 2,400 years ago, any society that does not exploit the talents of its women is wasting half of its resources. I also wish to congratulate and thank your predecessor, my friend and colleague Jan Eliasson, for all he worked so hard to achieve during his term. While we are recognizing service to the United Nations, we would be remiss if we did not extend our appreciation to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)