YouSaid · the spoken record

BARRY

lines on the record: 220
first: 1983-09-24
most recent: 1986-09-24
sittings or episodes: 4
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

“I have listed some of the statistics already. But the knowledge of these facts and concern about their implications are not confined just to Governments and military experts. Increasingly, all around the world, ordinary people, and especially young people, are aware of the extent to which Governments get in the way of their dreams. But more than that, they are demanding that Governments should work and be seen to work to translate the most basic dream of all into reality. Peace and the hope for a secure future for this and succeeding generations are at once the most legitimate aspiration of all peoples and the most important duty of those of us who exercise the responsibilities of Government. 77. How can Governments work to realize these dreams?”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The vast majority of the States present here, including my own, are not involved directly or indirectly in these negotiations, but no Member State can be indifferent to their outcome. The Secretary-General, in his report on the work of the Organization, has said that the prevention of nuclear war is the unique challenge of our time. He has pointed out that the key to the solution of this vital problem is in the hands of the two major nuclear Powers. We share the Secretary-General's concern at the failure so far to achieve substantial progress in the bilateral negotiations at Geneva. We would also emphasize the need for renewed determination on the part of both sides to move these talks forward. 76. The facts about the relentless growth of military expenditure and of nuclear stockpiles are well known.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“I welcome the endorsement this weekend by the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization of the decision taken earlier by that agency's Council in this regard. 74. One consequence of the Korean airliner disaster— which underlines the political significance of this incident and its aftermath—is the absence from the General Assembly of Foreign Minister Gromyko. This absence is regrettable; but it may serve to emphasize something which I stressed at the outset of my address—the indispensable function of dialogue between the super-Powers. Political dialogue at the highest levels can play a vital part in facilitating progress and breaking stalemates in diplomatic relations. 75. I have already mentioned the crucial arms control and disarmament negotiations taking place at Geneva.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“I should like in this national statement to set out more fully the position of the Irish Government on some of the more important issues before us. 73. Confidence in relations between States was badly shaken recently when the air force of the Soviet Union shot down an unarmed civilian airliner with great loss of life. This callous act and the attitude subsequently adopted by the Soviet authorities in seeking to justify it called forth widespread anger and condemnation. The fate of the Korean airliner and its passengers has highlighted the need to devise means which will guarantee the safety of international civil aviation and help avert a repetition of this shameful episode.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“One of the practical instruments which the United Nations has successfully evolved is the deployment of peace-keeping forces and observers. Ireland attaches great importance to these functions, and we have contributed to many such operations over the years. We see these operations as a practical way in which Member States, even the smallest, can contribute effectively to the collective task of peace-keeping and peace-making. 72. Over the coming months the General Assembly will debate a comprehensive agenda of issues of concern to the international community. The views of the 10 members of the European Community, to which Ireland belongs, have already been stated in this debate by the Foreign Minister of Greece.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“In such conditions there is a clear necessity for the major Powers to work towards the peaceful resolution of regional disputes, to resist the temptation to exploit them for strategic gain and to co-operate in using the peace-making and peace-keeping machinery available to the Security Council. 70. I believe these steps could help repair some of the recent damage to the fabric of international life and restore some confidence in the international system of which the United Nations is a central part. But the responsibility in this regard does not lie solely with the major Powers. There is a concomitant need for the other Members of the United Nations to use the framework, structures and procedures offered by the Organization to resolve the conflicts and disputes which form a large part of the Assembly's agenda. 71.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“It would be wrong to suggest that contemporary tensions between East and West are responsible for disputes many of which have roots deep in local and regional history, in conflicts of rights, in territorial claims, in historic animosities, in religious and racial hatreds, in economic and social injustice. None the less, it is evident that the political and military support which the super-Powers and their allies may lend to one side or another can exacerbate local and regional rivalries, sustain them and complicate the process of their peaceful resolution. Moreover, the involvement of outside Powers, particularly the major Powers, in such disputes not only has a destabilizing effect on international relations generally but also holds the danger that a regional dispute may escalate into a wider international conflict.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“But the success of these negotiations would, I believe, also have a positive impact on other arms control and disarmament negotiations in which there has been scant progress in recent years, in particular those under way in the United Nations framework on such issues as a comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty and a treaty on chemical weapons. Comprehensive negotiations should also begin urgently to prevent the extension of military competition into yet another arena through the militarization of outer space. 69. Thirdly, we need active super-Power co-operation in resolving regional disputes which, although indigenous in origin, have acquired an East-West dimension.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“In this connection, a well-prepared summit meeting between the leaders of the two most powerful nations on Earth could set in motion such a process. The detente process of the 1960s and early 1970s, despite its shortcomings, showed what could be achieved when East and West acknowledged their mutual interdependence and their common interest in preserving world peace. 68. A second requirement, linked to the first, is early progress in the strategic arms reduction talks and intermediate-range nuclear force negotiations. Reductions in strategic and intermediate-range nuclear weapons are clearly indispensable.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“First, a fundamental prerequisite for the effective functioning of the Organization is co-operation between the major Powers. This was true in 1945 when the United Nations was born out of the wartime alliance of the great Powers; it is equally true today. From this it follows that a major requirement for an improvement in the effectiveness of the United Nations is an improvement in relations between the super-Powers. It must be plainly said that there is an overriding and an urgent need for the United States and the Soviet Union to halt the deterioration in their political relationship and to replace the current mood of challenge and confrontation by a process of dialogue leading to agreement.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The President of the United States of America, speaking from this rostrum a week ago, stated the truth about the present condition of the Organization simply and eloquently when he suggested that the reason why the United Nations had fallen short of the aspirations of its founders was because, as President Reagan put it, "Governments got in the way of the dreams of the people. Dreams became issues of East versus West". If this is the case, and I believe it is so, then certain conclusions can be drawn about the future of the United Nations and its capacity to discharge its most basic responsibility to the peoples, in the words of the Preamble to the Charter, to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war". 67.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“From the outset Ireland welcomed and supported these proposals, but frankly we must admit disappointment at the lack of real progress in implementing them over the past year. 65. However imaginative, clear-sighted and courageous the Secretary-General's prescriptions are, something more is needed if the United Nations is to help heal the ills of contemporary international life. A necessary condition for the success of the Organization is a will and a capacity on the part of the major Powers, in particular those Powers that are assigned special rights and primary responsibilities under the Charter, to co-operate. By the same token, the inability of these same Powers to work together is all too often sufficient to prevent the United Nations from fulfilling its primary functions. 66.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The principles and purposes of the Charter remain as valid now as they were 40 years ago, and the mechanisms provided by the Charter and developed by the United Nations in the intervening years remain capable, if used, of achieving their primary objective of preventing aggression and stopping wars. Moreover, the Organization has produced an abundance of ideas, analyses and detailed plans to help resolve the major political and economic problems of our time. Indeed, the Secretary-General in his reports has set out a series of measures designed to reconstruct the Charter concept of collective action for peace and security and thus render the United Nations more capable of discharging its primary function.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“It also imposes an awesome task on this Organization, In a world in which some States possess the power to destroy life completely and in which local or regional disputes threaten to escalate into confrontation between the super-Powers there is an evident need for a universal organization with a code for the conduct of inter-State relations and a forum for the resolution of conflict. 64. The United Nations possesses these characteristics. Why then has it apparently failed to halt the deterioration of the fabric of international life? The answer to this question is complex. Nevertheless, one point is clear: the failure lies neither in the conceptual basis nor the institutional framework of the Organization.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Surely that knowledge, gained at the expense of so much suffering over the past 80 years, should strengthen our resolve not to repeat the tragic errors of the early and middle years of this century. Moreover, we know that the death and destruction which would result from similar errors now would be far in excess of anything mankind has ever experienced, for we know that there exist sufficient nuclear weapons to bring about the end of life on our planet. There can be no winner in a nuclear war. 63. This knowledge, which is the fruit of historical experience and scientific enquiry, imposes a singular responsibility on the present generation of international leaders.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Even this brief extract from the catalogue of human folly discloses a frightening weakness in the international political system and reveals a trend which, if left unchecked, could vitiate the concept of collective security which lies at the heart of the Charter of the United Nations. States seem to be less willing to accept the rule of international law and to seek a resolution of their disputes by peaceful means. Instead, they are turning once more to ideas of military superiority, rearmament, the threat of force or the actual use of force to promote their national interests, to vindicate their rights or to seek unilateral advantage. 62. We know where such ideas can lead.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Thus by a strange perversion of values is man's distinctive genius—his capacity for scientific thought and technological progress—directed towards destructive rather than constructive ends. 58. The world stockpile of nuclear weapons exceeds 50,000, and unless present trends can be reversed through serious negotiation and agreement on arms control and disarmament, it seems set to increase even further. 59. Basic human rights continue to be disregarded and fundamental freedoms continue to be denied in many countries throughout the world. 60. Over one billion people, a quarter of the population of our planet, live in conditions of extreme poverty and must suffer hunger, malnutrition and ill health. 61.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Over 65 major wars have been fought in the past 20 years, with a total loss of life in excess of ten million people. 55. At present, over 40 major and minor armed conflicts are in progress. The loss of life, the injuries and the destruction in the past weeks in Lebanon are the most recent and dramatic reminder of man's barbarism and his innate capacity for violence. 56. World military expenditure, already at record levels, is increasing at a rate of four per cent each year. Put more concretely, over $1 million are expended world-wide every minute for military purposes. 57. One quarter of all spending on research and development is in the military sector.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Born out of the most destructive war in human history, it represented a second attempt in this century to impose order and stability on the essential anarchy of inter-State relations. For the peoples of our fragile planet who had suffered greatly in two world wars and numerous other conflicts during the previous 50 years, the United Nations offered a hope that at last mankind had found a method of collective security which would replace conflict with co-operation, which would substitute negotiations for the use of force, which would defend the weak and deter aggression. 52. How has the Organization fared? Has it met the high hopes of its founders and the high expectations of our peoples? 53. The record gives little cause for satisfaction. Look at the facts. 54.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“48. Mr. President, I wish to join in congratulating you on your election to the presidency of this session of the General Assembly. Your wide experience of international affairs and of the United Nations in particular makes you especially qualified to guide the Assembly in its deliberations. 49. I should also like to thank your predecessor, Mr. Imre Hollai, for the efficient manner in which he presided over the last session. 50. I should also like to extend a warm welcome to our newest Member State, Saint Christopher and Nevis. 51. The United Nations was founded almost 40 years ago to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations, to foster economic and social progress and to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)