YouSaid · the spoken record

Bharrat Jagdeo

lines on the record: 96
first: 1999-09-24
most recent: 2011-09-24
sittings or episodes: 6
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

“However, it would be fair to say that it has progressed slowly and its results have been few and difficult to observe. I believe that the reforms must be pursued along certain predefined principles. First, the institutions must have new mandates that are relevant to the current circumstances, and they must have at their disposal tools to discharge those mandates effectively. Secondly, the institutions must have legitimacy and reflect an equitable representation of their membership. Thirdly, in the discharge of their functions, they must demonstrate flexibility and responsiveness. Fourthly, they must display the highest standards of accountability and transparency.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“What is particularly irksome is that we are incessantly lectured by the same group of countries to the effect that national consultations and working with civil society are essential hallmarks of good governance. Yet when the same civil society opposes the economic partnership agreement on the grounds that it is not sufficiently developmental in nature, we are told to ignore them — they are complainers. I wonder if the leaders of those countries know, or care, what is being done in their names. Even at this late hour, I wish to plead with the EU leaders to review those agreements before they irretrievably harm the good historic relations that have existed between the ACP and the EU. That brings me to the matter of the much-needed reform of our multilateral institutions, which has been on the agenda for some time.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The European Commission has threatened to impose tariffs on our exports under the Generalized System of Preferences if we do not sign agreements that reflect the EU’s model of WTO compatibility, even though the model includes issues that have been removed from the WTO agenda — the so-called Singapore issues. Those agreements will also seriously prejudice our negotiations with other countries and may jeopardize the future of our integration movement. The exploitation of the EU’s superior negotiating strength and the use of threats to get countries to sign are, ironically, how the EU hopes to start this partnership under the economic partnership agreement.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“As part of that, we are ready to discuss placing almost our entire rainforest in the service of the world if the right economic incentives are created and if that can be done in a way that neither trades sovereignty over our forest nor restricts the legitimate development aspirations of our people. The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are currently negotiating an economic partnership agreement with the European Union (EU). That agreement may fundamentally affect development in our societies and jeopardize our future negotiating positions at the World Trade Organization (WTO).”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“08-51606 24 Specifically, those of us who are leaders of rainforest countries need to understand that we provide services that are vital to the health of our planet and that, when we seek capital flows to compensate for that, we are not merely acting as passive poor countries looking for aid: we are providing a critical component of the climate solution and we should be leading the design of mechanisms as we forge a post-Kyoto climate agreement. In Guyana, despite the fact that 85 per cent of our people live below sea level and are already suffering from changing weather patterns and rising water levels, we do not want to just complain about climate change. Instead, we want to partner with others to create a solution.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“As leaders, we must set a clear direction for our negotiators as we send them to agree a post-Kyoto climate agreement, one that asserts a sense of proportionality in addressing the causes of climate change and ensures that all major mitigation options are pursued. We must also break the false debate that suggests that countries must choose between combating climate change and supporting national development. Instead, we need to forge new high- growth, low-carbon economies and make national development supportive of progress towards global emissions targets.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“But although common sense dictates that those financial flows should be proportional to the problem being addressed, the bulk of that money stays within the developed world. As a rainforest country, Guyana is particularly aware that there is virtually no capital flowing to address tropical deforestation — despite the fact that it causes 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions and, as analyses done by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Nicholas Stern and others have highlighted, doing so is the most cost-effective abatement solution. That is because the Kyoto Protocol contains no significant incentives to slow the rate of tropical deforestation.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“But future generations demand that that concern be translated into rapid action. The climate change challenge will not slow down to meet the pace set by the United Nations. Our response must speed up to meet the pace of climate change. The facts are straightforward. If we are to avoid catastrophic climate breakdown, we need to stabilize annual greenhouse gas emissions at about the equivalent of 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide per capita by 2050. Therefore, let the debate move on to how we make that happen, and not stagnate on a paralysing fear born from the magnitude of the problem. There are some promising signs. The Kyoto Protocol has resulted in the emergence of a $60 billion carbon market, which is a welcome start.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Agriculture must therefore be given high priority in the international agenda as well as in national budgets. It is also urgently necessary for large developed countries to re-examine ways in which current inefficient and distortionary trade policies, in particular subsidies that support inefficient domestic production and tariffs that protect against more competitive imports, can be restructured to reduce distortions in the global marketplace. Given the impact that persistently high food prices into the future will have on the poor, the global community must commit itself to designing and funding appropriate safety nets to ensure improved access to food and the maintenance of basic nutrition. In recent times, the Assembly has been deeply concerned about the consequences of climate change, and rightly so.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“While there have been some signs in recent weeks of those increases tapering off, and in some cases reversing marginally, the outlook clearly suggests that high prices for energy and food are here to stay. Without a doubt, increased food prices provide an important opportunity and incentive to farmers and agricultural economies to increase production. However, they also present grave implications for access to food, in particular by the poor and, by extension, for key nutrition and health indicators among our populations. The 2007 World Development Report shows that growth generated by agriculture can be up to four times more effective in reducing poverty than growth in other sectors. Yet the share of agriculture in official development assistance fell from 17 per cent in 1980 to just 2.9 per cent in 2006.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Even if they are not fully integrated into the global financial system, small vulnerable economies such as Guyana will bear the full effect of those developments as demand for exports tightens, the cost of capital rises, foreign direct investment becomes scarce and tourist arrivals and migrant remittances decline. In short, economic growth and poverty reduction efforts will suffer a severe setback and the Millennium Development Goals will become even more elusive. At the same time, crude oil prices rose by 148 per cent during the 18 months preceding July of this year. In turn, that has contributed to increasing prices for food commodities — in particular for such staples as cereals — rising in some cases by more than 200 per cent during the same period.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Indeed, I would urge that the theme of the next General Assembly should emphasize accountability and coherence of action on the part of the developed world in matters related to aid, trade and development. Often, when taken together, the policies of those countries result in a significant net loss of welfare in the developing world and run counter to their declared intentions — for example, the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. 23 08-51606 An episode that manifested itself merely two years ago as a moderate decline in the housing market in some parts of the United States, and that evolved into difficulties for that country’s sub-prime mortgage market, has now grown into a rapidly deepening systemic financial crisis of global proportions.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Given the gravity and urgency of the issues before us, we must be careful not to conduct this year’s debate in the customary rhetorical manner. Instead, we must resolve to translate the detailed analysis, lofty statements and good intentions for which the Assembly has become well known into concrete actions that the current circumstances demand of us, and on which history will judge us. We must each, as countries approaching the podium to speak, be prepared to account for the pledges we have previously made. We must also be bold enough to embark on a project to achieve real change in the multilateral system. That change must be based on mandates that are relevant, institutions that are accountable and a context that is increasingly reflective of integration and interconnectedness.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“I join with those who have spoken before me in congratulating General Assembly President d’Escoto-Brockmann on his election to guide the work of the Assembly at its sixty-third session. As we meet this week, the global financial system is confronting its sternest test in recent memory. The current crisis is systemic in nature, historic in scale and global in reach. It comes at a time when the world economy is still wrestling with the most rapid escalation, and the highest real levels ever recorded, in the prices for fuel and food commodities. Together with the world’s belated attention to the devastating economic and social implications of climate change, those developments define the agenda before global institutions and national leaders today. They make the theme for this year’s debate both timely and necessary.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The world in which we now live calls for greater international solidarity and cooperation, not less. We must therefore ensure that those ideals are at the forefront of our deliberations at the General Assembly and that we take practical steps to ensure and strengthen our common home, the United Nations.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“That expansion will no doubt enable it to better cope with the challenges that conflicts, both old and new, pose to global peace and development. Neither the many speeches that we make nor the several strategies that we occasionally devise in the hope of building global peace and development will ever accomplish much unless they are followed up by appropriate action. Sad to say, our frequent declarations of intent are not matched by deeds, a failure that can be explained only by the lack of serious purpose on the part of many Member States. We have yet to transcend selfish national interests to reach a higher plane of interdependence and multilateralism. I urge the international community to rethink its policies and to seriously consider the advantages of a more balanced and equitable system of relations.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Only through dialogue and negotiation, bolstered by social justice, can lasting solutions to those problems be found. It is therefore imperative that the United Nations, the multilateral Organization to which we all belong, be strengthened to effectively promote peace and development. It is time that the United Nations Security Council, which has the primary responsibility under the Charter for international peace and security, be made more representative of the wider international community. The Council must be expanded, and the role of developing countries in that body appropriately strengthened. To that end, Guyana is prepared to support the candidacies of Brazil, India and an African country for permanent seats on the Council, as well as a suitable number of non-permanent seats for other developing countries.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The urgency of the campaign appears to have diminished, however, even though the threat of further calamity remains. Attempts to strengthen the role of the United Nations in the development process now lag behind, denying our countries a greater say in the decision-making process pertaining to issues that affect our welfare. Nor have we been able to develop an effective security system to protect countries, particularly the weak and small, from encroachments on their sovereignty and territorial integrity. Our world continues to be subject to a wide array of threats to international peace and security. We recently witnessed a series of terrible human tragedies. Many thousands have died as a result. If there is one lesson to be learned, it is that violence accomplishes nothing.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The success of international cooperation, and indeed of the United Nations system, will be determined by how well they respond to the interests and concerns of not only the powerful but also the powerless, and not only of the rich but, most urgently, of the poor. If truth be told, their record thus far leaves much to be desired. It is therefore imperative that a credible and effective system of global governance be established as quickly as possible. That will require a more fundamental reform of the United Nations, and indeed of the entire multilateral system, than we have seen so far. After several crises in the decade of the 1990s, there was a strong call for reform of the international 5 financial architecture to provide greater macroeconomic stability.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Especially disconcerting is the practice by some countries and international financial institutions to rely on anecdotal or partial information often from questionable sources to assess the performance of a given country. Needless to say, that can be very damaging to the particular economy concerned, as it effectively deters further aid and investment. Similarly, we are concerned by the inordinate delay in the release of development funds. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative, which was conceived as a means of assisting seriously indebted poor countries, has been unconscionably delayed. Meanwhile, the poor of our countries must face continuing hardship and suffering. They cannot be held hostage for much longer.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The process of globalization has made us acutely aware of the need for greater interdependence and international cooperation if we are to survive the many threats to our welfare. That interdependence is the basis for multilateralism and for the United Nations. The Charter of the Organization reflects our collective commitment to cooperate to promote peace and development. However, we have yet to fully honour that commitment. Regrettably, the world in which we live now, while placing a high premium on democracy at the national level, fails to live up to that ideal in the international councils that shape our common destiny. We are concerned at that double standard, as the aspirations of humankind for peace, security and development cannot be fulfilled without the effective participation of all States in global affairs.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“We now look to the future with the renewed hope that we will be able to overcome the many challenges to our political, economic and social progress. However, in the face of a persistent debt burden, drastically reduced development assistance and ever present protectionist barriers, and in the prevailing climate of international tension and uncertainty, many developing countries, Guyana included, are made more vulnerable, and prospects for growth are severely impaired. The failure of the recently concluded Cancun Conference does not make us sanguine about the future. The international community is now hardly likely to reach the Millennium Declaration targets that were set by this Assembly three years ago. The fate of nations, especially of those as small as ours, lies not in our hands alone.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In further consolidation of the democratic process, my Government has embarked upon a programme to reform the justice and security systems in our society by building capacity for the prevention, investigation and resolution of crime and for the improvement of the administration of justice. Much has been accomplished in that area, but much more remains to be done. At the same time, we have taken several development initiatives that will ultimately lead to a better life for all our people. Among them are the national development strategy and the poverty reduction strategy. We have worked hard to provide better housing, health and education facilities for our people and have managed to make signal progress in reducing poverty. And by stimulating investment, we are creating new opportunities for development.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Through the recent reform of the Constitution, provisions have been made to enhance fiscal transparency, provide greater inclusiveness and guarantee the fundamental rights of our people. Those measures include six independent commissions on human rights, ethnic relations, women and gender equity, indigenous peoples, the rights of the child and public procurement. Moreover, in an effort to foster greater social cohesion in Guyana, we recently invited the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Racism to visit and engage the various sectors of Guyanese society so that the international community can be informed of the broad perspectives of our multicultural society and of the several measures which the Government has put in place to promote interracial harmony.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Today, 50 years later, my country has learned, through the painful experience of misrule and mismanagement, the vital importance of democracy to our future as a nation. We recognize that to foster development, reduce poverty and safeguard human dignity, democracy must be allowed to grow and take root. Having laid the basic foundation for good governance through free and fair elections, we now face the task of building a more prosperous and just society. 4 To that end, my Government has embarked on a process of consultation and collaboration with all sectors of our population, including political parties, the private sector and non-governmental organizations.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“It is a great pleasure for me to address the General Assembly under the presidency of a fellow citizen of our Caribbean Community. Allow me to extend our warmest congratulations and good wishes to you, Sir, as you discharge the functions of your high office. I offer our esteemed Secretary-General our appreciation for his astute and steadfast leadership in these times of great challenge to the Organization. I would also like to pay tribute to his dedicated staff, many of whom have lost their lives in service to the United Nations. In 1953, the people of Guyana were allowed for the first time to exercise their democratic franchise under universal adult suffrage to elect the Government of their choice.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“We will therefore seek at this session to advance it for further consideration. Although much is being made of the dawning of the millennium, it is obviously too much to expect that it will bring solutions to all of the world's problems. It can provide, however, an auspicious opportunity for the international community to reflect upon the past achievements, its present challenges and future aspirations. With a firm sense of purpose and resolve, let us use this occasion to create a brave new world in which all our peoples may hope to live in peace — free from fear, poverty and want.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Speaking for Guyana, I wish to reaffirm our Government's intention to continue working for the creation of a new global human order aimed at the eradication of poverty and the establishment of a just and more humane system of international relations. Conceived by our late President Cheddi Jagan, whose entire life was dedicated to empowering the poor and the weak — not only in his native Guyana, but throughout the world — the outlines of this new order have been presented at major international forums, including the World Summit for Social Development, which was held in 1995 in Denmark. All 14 heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), along with other world leaders and eminent personalities, have declared their full support for the proposal and their commitment to its widest promulgation.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“In Havana we hope to have in attendance our developed partners, which significantly, are usually present at all of our important deliberations as observers. Also expected to participate in the event are other key players in the development process, such as our non-governmental organizations and representatives of the private sector. Together, through an interactive dialogue, we hope to forge a programme of action which will serve as a catalyst for the development of our countries and our peoples. Indeed, if given the chance, the South summit, I dare say, will prove to be an inspiration for the Millennium Assembly and for a new compact on human development for the twenty-first century.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“We have also agreed to devote our attention to the promulgation of knowledge and technology in order, hopefully, to achieve a quantum leap towards our development. This, after all, is an area in which the South can boast of remarkable advances and of many centres of excellence that can be utilized for the dissemination of skills and technology among the countries of the Group of 77. The North can, of course, do much to facilitate these exchanges by providing requisite financing and supplying appropriate technology and knowledge that would make the developing countries more self-reliant and at the same time more competitive in the world economy. Coming, as it does, in the early months of the new millennium, the South summit will certainly provide an indication of the direction for the future.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Even before the conference on financing for development, we shall meet in Havana, Cuba, next year for the first ever South summit. The Summit is a long-cherished idea whose time has finally come. It will allow the South a special opportunity to examine the impact which globalization continues to have on developing countries, as well as the policies and strategies needed to harness the process and make it more amenable to control. In this context, North-South relations must be reviewed to see how they may be enhanced and put on a new basis for mutual trust and advantage. Understandably, the central focus of the South Summit must be the strengthening of the unity and solidarity of the Group of 77 and the identification of concrete initiatives to promote practical cooperation between members.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Crucial to the successful outcome of the conference, however, is a general acceptance of a more enlightened approach to international development cooperation based on a genuine concept of interdependence and partnership. Indeed, there is an acute need for a new global agenda with the objective of putting a human face on the marketplace. Policies aimed merely at creating unsustainable social safety nets are hardly lasting solutions. The root causes of the structural and endemic problems of the developing countries, which ultimately lead to global instability, must be addressed. For their part, the developing countries which constitute the Group of 77 are committed to the search for ways and means by which we can accelerate the development process.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The situation of many low-income countries has been made even more acute by the rapid decline of official development assistance in the wake of globalization's spread and over reliance on the market to promote development. The financing of development must therefore be placed on a more sound and predictable basis. The Group of 77 therefore attaches the greatest importance to the 13 holding of a high-level conference by the year 2001 to address this pressing issue. We believe that if Member States can address all aspects of the problem — particularly those identified in the Secretary-General's report on financing for development — we may yet find solutions that are acceptable and effective.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Indeed, low levels of health have inhibited the achievement of socially and economically productive lives, not to mention the devastating social and economic impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as malaria, on a number of developing countries, particularly in Africa. The Cologne initiative to expand the scope and provision of relief for the heavily indebted poor countries was a welcome step forward. Unfortunately, however, it does not go far enough to alleviate the debt burden which the developing countries still bear. Nothing short of the cancellation of some of these countries' debts will be sufficient to improve their circumstances to the point where they can be active participants in the world economy.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“This new approach should be based on an international consensus on development and on the rights and obligations of the partners. As the preparations undertaken this year for the review of the summits held in Beijing, Cairo and Copenhagen have shown, there is an increasing number of people, the majority of them women and children, living under adverse conditions caused by poverty. Despite great strides in the fields of health and education in the developed world, many developing countries continue to be plagued by unequal and inadequate access to education and health care, high infant and maternal mortality, as well as lack of access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The special session to review the Programme of Action with regard to the sustainable development of small island developing States, which will be held here in just a matter of days, and the summit of the least developed countries scheduled for the year 2001 should serve to generate new initiatives to help these vulnerable States. However, to benefit from the international trading system developing countries must receive significant debt relief and the necessary official development assistance to boost the overall productive capability. Consequently, in the face of rampant globalization, it is imperative that the international community should come together to create a modern development vision and strategy aimed at bridging the dangerous division which now separates the prosperous from the poor nations.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Equally important, given the vast disparity which exists in the economic capacities of countries, special and differential treatment should be granted to developing countries in accordance with the principles outlined in part IV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the GATT legislative clause of 1971. Special consideration will have to be given to Africa, the least developed countries and structurally weak economies, in particular the small island developing States, which are seriously disadvantaged in the area of trade.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Yet the developing countries are being urged to enter into a new round of negotiations, the millennium round, the result of which is likely to be no different from that of the past unless its agenda is balanced by issues of concern to the developing countries. To be able to enter the global marketplace, developing countries should be assisted in the strengthening of their productive capacities and in widening their access to export markets. They need to be assured of stabilization in the international financial and monetary system in order to avoid the hazards of currency fluctuations.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“However, since they are for the most part too weak to take advantage of the new opportunities, they run the risk of greater marginalization and, indeed, elimination from the market place. Fear of this eventuality is based not on uninformed speculation, but on the harsh reality of experience. Past negotiating rounds have yielded significant concessions to developed economies, while offering relatively little to developing countries in terms of opening up markets for their own products. At bottom, the problem is one of an imbalance in negotiating strength of its contracting parties, resulting in more favourable outcomes for the strongest.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Economic and social misery have followed in its wake, exposing the 12 particular vulnerabilities of small developing countries, many of which are dependent on a single agricultural crop — like bananas or sugar — for the livelihood of their peoples. At the regional meetings which have been held thus far in preparation for the tenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD X) caution has been sounded against the worst excesses of trade liberalization. Having benefited from the Tokyo and Uruguay Rounds, the industrialized countries are anxious to hold further negotiations — the mother of all rounds — for free trade in the next millennium. Theoretically, developing countries can also gain from increased liberalization.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Only then can the United Nations, using the instruments provided by its Charter, serve to facilitate negotiations for a satisfactory outcome. Accompanying these threats to international security and stability are strong economic and social forces which impact negatively on our countries. While globalization and trade liberalization have benefited strong economies, they have also exposed weaker States to marginalization from the world economy. By opening the floodgates of trade and finance, globalization has invariably wrought havoc on small and weak economies, which can do precious little to withstand its impact.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The time may have come to revisit the United Nations Agenda for Peace, as well as its Agenda for Development, to see where deficiencies lie and what could be done to remedy them. The time has also come to strengthen the Security Council, the organ primarily responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security, so that it may become more democratic, representative and credible. Of course, the United Nations cannot do what the parties to conflict are not prepared to do. Without a true commitment to peace by all involved there can be scant prospect of any lasting settlement. As we have seen from recent developments in the Middle East, the parties involved must show a strong will to resolve the conflict through peaceful means.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Without a clear strategy, the United Nations can do no more than muddle through these crises in the hope that the warring factions will eventually see the virtues of peace. In these distressing circumstances, it is not only the parties to the conflict that are losers but also the international community. As a result of the increasing claims for peacemaking and peacekeeping operations, developing countries are deprived of much needed development resources and are politically weakened. Gradually the United Nations must move forward into the area of peace-building to obviate recidivism and to reconstruct shattered societies. By helping to strengthen democracy, government institutions and the rule of law, as well as rebuilding the foundations for long-term development, the Organization can help post-conflict States to rebuild themselves.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The challenges we must address this year are formidable. Our world continues to be plagued by a multiplicity of conflicts, both old and new, inter-State and intra-State, that have not only imperilled global peace and security but also sap our economic and social vitality. Whether in Afghanistan, Kosovo, the Middle East or the Great Lakes region of Africa — to name just a few conflict zones — a heavy toll is being exacted on human life and development. Equally disturbing is the apparent inability of the world community to contain this increase in tensions and conflicts. The world Organization is continuously challenged by the outbreak of internecine strife in one country after another.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“President, you have given long and distinguished service to your country, which, after a bitter struggle against apartheid rule, stands as an independent and proud member of the family of nations. On behalf of the Group of 77, I salute Namibia and offer to you personally our warmest congratulations and good wishes for a successful Assembly. To your predecessor, Mr. Didier Opertti of Uruguay, we offer our sincere appreciation for the guidance provided to the Assembly over the past year. A warm welcome is also extended to the three new members of the United Nations — the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga. And to our Secretary-General I wish to convey our gratitude for his sustained stewardship of the Secretariat, and more particularly for his report on the Organization's work.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“I am pleased to have this opportunity, the first since my assumption of the presidency of Guyana, to share with the Assembly some issues of interest and concern to the Group of 77, which Guyana now has the honour to chair. A mere three months remain before mankind enters a new millennium filled with great hopes. Whether those hopes are realized will depend largely on the decisions we take, as an organization of united peoples, on how we collectively face the future. This fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly therefore represents a crucial turning point where we can follow either the high road to enlightened multilateralism or the low road leading to narrow self-interest. I am confident that the Assembly will not fail to take the right direction. As the Foreign Minister of Namibia, Mr.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)