YouSaid · the spoken record

De Michelis

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS DE MICHELIS

lines on the record: 95
first: 1989-09-24
most recent: 1991-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

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“We should like this to be one of the messages sent by the General Assembly at its present session.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“But we believe that the task must have seemed just as daunting to those who, nearly half a century ago, defined the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and participation, not entirely free of illusions, at the end of the two conflicts that have divided the world during this century. Today, international realities and the expectation they generate give us a similar mandate, at the conclusion of a third world war, which was incomparably less bloody than those that had preceded it but which has left us a legacy of risks and dangers no less serious. We would be remiss in our duty if we continued to apply the same rules and used the same tools as before. If there » to be a renewal, the United Nations must be overhauled.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“This is not a problem to be dealt with now, but a distant prospect that cannot be overlooked if we are to take more timely and effective decisions. Various proposals have also been made on this point in the past, and they could be usefully studied. On questions regarding the removal of references to "enemy States", the expansion of the Security Council and the revision of the Charter, Italy will be submitting some written comments in the course of this session, as a contribution to our joint deliberations. We realize how difficult it is simply to contemplate the changes I have just outlined. I know it means retreating from established positions, giving up some prerogatives, and undertaking a redistribution of international power to reflect the changes that have taken place in the world in recent years, particularly since 1989.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Since then, the membership has risen from 113 to 166 - a 50 per cent increase. This factor is in itself sufficient to warrant - and indeed to make necessary - an expansion of this decision-making body of the Organization. Since it is required to make choices of major importance, the Security Council must fully reflect developments in international society; A third goal should be the revision of some Chapters of the Charter, such as Chapter VII. Here, too, on the basis of recent experience ranging from the Persian Gulf to Yugoslavia, and with the emergence of the principle of active intervention for humanitarian purposes that I referred to earlier, there is ample scope for innovation; A fourth goal should be the introduction of a system of weighted voting, in both the General Assembly and the Security Council.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“I have in mind the references to the so-called "enemy States", which means those that were defeated at that time. We intend to launch a specific initiative in that connection, in consultation with the countries concerned, at the earliest opportunity; A second goal should be the expansion of the Security Council, with the increase in the number of both permanent and non-permanent members, which would not necessarily entail extending the right of veto to all the new permanent members. We propose that the selection of the latter should be made on the basis of objective criteria, such as the size of the country's population and its gross national product. The Security Council was first expanded in 1963 to take into account the increase in the number of Member States.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“These ideas could provide the basis for a possible reorganization of the United Nations, which should be gradual in nature but entail changes in certain important provisions currently in force. As structured at present, the United Nations affords a guarantee of, but sometimes imposes limits on, the governability of the world. An initial partial contribution is already contained in some proposals presented informally by a group of countries, which we appreciate. But we clearly need to go further. Italy, in pursuance of some earlier suggestions, considers that the following major goals should be sought. One should be the elimination of all discriminatory language from the Charter, especially that deriving from the Second World War, which seems even less acceptable now that the cold war is over.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Such new forms of supranationality as the European Community are emerging; a country such as the Soviet Union, which will also become one of the supporting structures of the new order, is being radically transformed; Fourth, the need to involve in our collective responsibility countries that have hitherto played a role not commensurate with their importance, and that are now acquiring a new political and economic dimension and a new awareness of their tasks; Fifth, the need to ensure that no single country or small group of countries can assume responsibility for constituting a sort of military arm of the new international order; Sixth, the dissemination of rules and principles that are finally gaining universal acceptance and could be enforced at a level above national sovereignties; Seventh, the transition to the globality of a world system governable only by a renovated United Rations, complemented by other groups of limited geographical dimensions, which will help to apply the same principles and rules.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Of course, this is not the first time the question has been raised, but now discussion of it has become inevitable in the light of the following considerations: First, the end of East-West rivalry, which paralyzed the Organization's activities, and the risk, instead, of a more explosive North-South confrontation; Second, the achievement of universality by the United Nations, enhanced by the most recent admissions of new Members; Third, the restructuring of the international community.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The European Community la asking its own original contribution to this process and is bent on consolidating and improving the effectiveness of its own organization. If one half of Europe, committed to adopting a democratic political structure and a market economy is redesigned, the other half cannot maintain the same old balances and preserve the institutions of the past. The time has come also to adjust the structures and tasks of the United Nations.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Intervention that is primarily aimed at securing protection of human rights and respect for the basic principles of peaceful coexistence, is a prerogative of the international community, which must have the power to suspend sovereignty whenever it is exercised in a criminal manner. The international community must be on the side both of democratically elected parliaments and of oppressed nationalities, whether those emerging within the new Europe, or the Kurds. It would be both understandable and useful if this process first occurred in a smaller geographical area, among more homogeneous countries, such as those belonging to the European Community and those participating in the CSCE. There is no conflict here. In fact, this regional approach and the global approach represented by the United Nations are complementary.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“We are gradually moving from guarantees within the State to guarantees against the State, overcoming the discrepancy, too frequently encountered in the past, between promises and fulfillment. This objective is being attained at the regional level, and Indeed is being effectively achieved in the European context, but it is increasingly becoming the stain task of the United Nations. As we have seen in the aftermath of the Gulf war, the right to intervene for humanitarian ends and for the protection of human rights is gaining ground. This type of intervention has become an idea-force, and the most truly innovative concept of the remaining decade of this century. This must be the focal point of our efforts through the United Nations, which is also the main forum of the new world order.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The successful achievement of integration will be contingent on the acceptance of rules and principles and the existence of institutions capable, not only of establishing them, but also of enforcing them. This is the constructive innovation that has been made possible precisely by the changes in Europe and other parts of the world. The prospect of universality supporting the United Nations is based on the affirmation of a new scale of common values, the first prerequisite of a democratic world order. We are witnessing the application, also in inter-State relations, of that freedom defined by Kant as the option not to obey any laws other than those to which one has freely consented.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“It also completes, in an exemplary manner, a process that is clearly indicative of the growing complementarity of the various organizational levels at which international decision-making is conducted. First proposed by the Twelve, subsequently endorsed by 35 States participating in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) and further developed with the involvement of the Western European Union, the initiative to promote peace in Yugoslavia is now enriched by the very important contribution of the Security Council, and there is no doubt that with this development the international community's desire to see the Yugoslav crisis channeled into paths of peace will have been fully satisfied.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The same obviously applies to the European Community, which Immediately realized the risks arising from the Yugoslav crisis, and from the very outset has been seeking a peaceful solution in the framework of the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and developed in the Charter of Paris, namely, the right to self-determination, the preservation of territorial integrity, and the protection of the rights of minorities. The adoption of resolution 713 (1991) by the Security Council reflects the broad international consensus on the need to try all possible means of containing the Yugoslav crisis and encouraging the search for political means of settling it.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The involvement of the Security Council and the Secretary-General in the management of the Yugoslav crisis is in itself a sign of the new times we are living in and of the need for a dynamic interpretation of the role of the United Nations in situations which depart from the classical pattern of inter-State conflicts. The way in which the leading world Organization handles the crisis will test the United Nations capacity to play a peacemaking role even in such complex cases as that of Yugoslavia.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“If the current round of negotiations is not completed by the end of this year, the door will be open to all kinds of protectionist and autarchic schemes, somewhat tempered by fragile bilateral agreements that are subject to revision whenever there is a change in the economic situation. In a climate of protectionism it would be even more difficult, if not impossible, to undertake any major effort to integrate the third-world countries into the world economy or to give the newly emerging Eastern democracies easier access to free markets. The sacrifices demanded of these countries would appear even more unfair when compared with the selfish rivalries between the rich of this world.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Any resolution that equates the quest for a homeland, an aspiration common to many European cultures undergoing a Risorgimento of their own, with an act of genocide is, to our way of thinking, an aberration. We must ensure that this outrage is expunged from the annals of our Organization. We, for our part, are committed to seeing that this happens during the present session. Protectionism is the other grave danger threatening our future. If the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade were to fail, regionalism would prevail over multilateralism, reducing trade to bilateral relations that could marginalize the poorer countries completely.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“This feeling produces a siege mentality, fear of the outside world and the idea that evil is embodied in a single clearly identifiable enemy - either the State of Israel or the West as a whole. Racism as a statutory norm will disappear with the demise of apartheid. But it poses a continuing threat to society, including our Western societies that are receiving a host of new immigrants flocking to our cities in search of refuge, protection and hope. The pronouncement once made by the United Nations equating Zionism with racism is particularly unacceptable at this juncture. It was made at a time when our Organization was dominated by automatic, Manichean majorities, hostile in principle to the State of Israel.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Within our own borders, and specifically in Alto Adige, Italy has constructed a model of autonomy which will be completed in the next few weeks, hopefully even before the end of this session. The Gulf war has revealed another possible source of fragmentation and discord between the West and the Arab world. We are not yet free of the danger of new holy wars and new types of intolerance on the part of fundamentalists using religion as a political means. Here, too, we must make a distinction between a justifiable need for an identity, which serves a unifying function, and the belief that one is a besieged minority holding the only key to enlightenment.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“In Europe nationalism has caused bloodshed and destruction in the past, partly because there was no political or moral authority capable of arbitrating conflicts. Today the situation is different. He have the United Nations, the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Community and the Council of Europe, which are capable of reconciling solidarity with independence and integration with respect for national identities, and which, as in the case of the Twelve, serve as a model for new federations. We must support those who are trying to form associations or confederations of free nations. Within individual countries, respect for the rights of minorities will assume a central role in synthesizing the demands of self-determination and the needs of integration.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“First there is the problem of nationalism, which could plunge the restructuring of Europe - from the Soviet Union to Yugoslavia - into chaos. Europe is particularly vulnerable, as it is haunted by historical memories, verging at times on the obsessive. These memories make the very principle of self-determination hard to administer and harmonize with other equally important principles. Everything was simpler in the days of the balance of nuclear power, and everything becomes more complex in the transition from detente to integration. When the central authority of a totalitarian party collapses, local nationalism and ethnic conflicts resurface, and they threaten to make society ungovernable.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“This flow, spurred by uncertain economic prospects or uncontrolled demographic growth, would upset social balances that are fragile and promote hostility among the poor and egotism among the rich. The Europe that has emerged from the cold war has sufficient resources to help build a credible order capable of providing an acceptable life, in their country of origin, for the multitudes who are massing on its borders. If we hesitate we could witness the emergence of an international coexistence that is even harsher and more pitiless than that experienced during the cold war years. He could also fail to attain our objective of an integrated system to replace the tragic divisions of the past. The trends towards fragmentation which we see around us are numerous and dangerous. Indeed, we are only too familiar with them.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“We West Europeans must first make available the wealth of experience and material resources we have accumulated over the years. It would be inappropriate for us, as countries committed to liberal and social democracy, to erect a new wall to keep out others. We must be prepared for substantial financial sacrifices, whose dimensions Italy has repeatedly tried to quantify. The main danger facing the new world order is, in fact, the creation of an impassable gulf between rich and poor countries, between the northern and the southern hemispheres. A truly new order must come to grips with the poverty and underdevelopment that lie at the root of the disarray we see in the world today. Otherwise, the flow of poverty-stricken masses towards the industrialized world, from both the East and the South, will become unstoppable.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The choice of disintegration may be justified in the light of reactions inspired by fear and insecurity in the wake of the collapse of the old order, while the new one that will succeed it is still uncertain. Ha see the two philosophies of integration and disintegration confronting each other in the very center of Europe, where structures are foiling apart, and trying to reorganize on the basis of new rules and principles. In Eastern Europe millions of people are paying dearly for the disastrous consequences of false myths and ideologies. It would be an illusion to think that mere reversion to democracy and a market economy can lead to rapid recovery in those countries, as long as their society is in a state of dissolution.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“We are keenly aware that we cannot shirk our responsibility in this regard, and also realize that we have reached a point where, for the first time in the history of mankind, the problems of our planet can be tackled only on a global scale. The new order is inevitable, because the old one is gone. This new order will have to be based on rules, principles and institutions accepted by all, and capable of ensuring the protection of fundamental human rights, the development of democracy, the peaceful settlement of disputes, united opposition to aggression, the reduction of armaments, and freedom and justice for all peoples. In other words, the new order must reflect the logic of integration as against the logic of disintegration, dissension and intolerance.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“A constructive attitude on the matter of settlements in the occupied territories would be an important step too. In turn, the Arabs will have to terminate the campaign aimed at Israel's liquidation. The territories are not an Israeli conquest but the outcome of aggression perpetrated against Israel. They are its ultimate defense. They can, however, be replaced by other guarantees. The war waged by the Arabs against the Jews must end in a draw, an6 agreements must be stipulated which the peoples can accept and respect in the interest of peace and security. It is to be hoped that no one will want to take responsibility for undermining the efforts of President Bush and my colleague. Secretary of State Baker. Those efforts must be supported until they achieve the success that has eluded previous attempts. The new order still has to be built.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“There is still a long way to go, but clearly the next step is the conference on "territory-for-peace", a phrase which represents the only possible outcome if due account is to be taken, inter alia, of the need to affirm, in this case as in others - and giving equal weight to other principles at issue - the right to self-determination, to which we Europeans are particularly sensitive. It would be a pity if the two sides persisted in maintaining dogmatic positions now rendered obsolete by reality. The wrongs suffered by the Palestinians must not be a pretext for violence, while the violence endured by the Jews throughout so much of their history should be a prelude only to peace. Israel's task will be to take the first step towards normalizing relations with surrounding countries.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“We also hope to derive from this experience the incentive for a more generalized control over the transfer and proliferation of sophisticated weaponry and weapons of mass destruction. In the case of regional crises such as Cambodia, a solution is in sight, while the situations in Cyprus and Afghanistan remain difficult. And the moment of truth has arrived for the parties involved in the Middle East. The Arab-Israeli conflict, revolving around the question of Palestine, continues to be a central issue, both politically and strategically. Forty years of refusals and denials on both sides have erected a barrier that cannot be torn down overnight.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The Gulf war defeated the strategy of Saddam Hussein, based on the stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction and on aggression. The success of the coalition and the action undertaken by the United Nations justified the difficult choice we all made. Failure to confront the Iraqi dictator would have merely encouraged him to embark on new adventures. The United Nations conferred the seal of legitimacy on the international coalition and provided the instruments of an embargo and an ultimatum. To the Organisation we entrust the implementation of measures to eliminate completely a military Power capable of inflicting further destruction and committing new acts of aggression.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“A massive political and institutional restructuring is now in progress, and it will have profound repercussions in the economic field as well. The threat of nuclear holocaust that overshadowed our planet has now abated. Armaments are no longer the main point of reference in relations among States. The ideological struggle - the competition for world supremacy - which fostered the arms race has ceased to exist. This bears out the truth of the ancient maxim, not always heeded, that weapons in themselves are not the cause of wars and tensions; rather they are a reflection of our ambitions and our fears. Recent events in the Soviet Union mark an irreversible step forward on the road to democracy and new-found unity in Europe. They open up a new era in global cooperation and creative friendship among peoples.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“We therefore warmly welcome the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. Permit me also to express my deepest appreciation to the Secretary-General, Mr. Peres de Cuellar, for the continuous efforts he has made during the past year, as in the preceding nine years, to promote international peace and justice and the principles of the United Nations. During the year that has elapsed since the last General Assembly session, the changes set in motion by the welcome development of the reunification of Germany have been further consolidated and amplified. The collapse of communism has been reshaping Europe.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Allow me first of all. Sir, to extend to you the warmest congratulations of the Italian Government on your election as President of the Assembly, which reflects the international prestige enjoyed by your country, with which Italy has close and long-standing ties of friendship. Your personal qualities and experience augur well for the progress of work at this session of the General Assembly, which will have to deal with matters of pressing concern to the international community. I would also like to offer our most sincere good wishes to the seven new Member States, whose admission promotes the principle of universality of the United Nations, to which Italy completely subscribes.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Moreover, considering the progress so far achieved in European integration, thought should also be given, in my view, to institutional adjustments, within the United Nations, capable of granting a more visible role to an entity like the European Community, which Italy wants to see endowed with supranational structures for conducting foreign policy, in the interests of the United Nations and in the interests of peace in the world.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Today, the outlines of a possible new scenario are emerging, with the United Nations as the focal point in a world at last free of the nightmare of a nuclear holocaust. This compels us, as well, to review the way the United Nations operates at a time not just no longer that of the immediate post-war period - and I am thinking, inter alia, of the reference to the status of the former enemy Powers - but no longer- even that of the cold war.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The European Community wishes to mobilise the growing cohesion between its members and the whole weight of its moral, political and economic force to support the United Nations with a view to achieving these objectives. I have so far expressed the views of the Community and its member States. Let me now conclude my intervention by adding a few remarks on behalf of my own country. One further lesson of this crisis and the conclusion that we draw from the end of the post-cold war period prompt us to reflect on the need to adjust the structure and the functioning of the United Nations to the new reality of the international scene. Is the past, the abuse of the exercise of the right of veto has too often paralysed the capacity of the United Nations to put an end to the gravest crises.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Other barriers are falling, with peace-bringing, innovative effects - beginning with that most odious barrier that has so far denied the majority of the population in South Africa their rights and dignity. The Community offers its support to all those, regardless of their colour, who are joining forces to build a new South Africa free of apartheid and of all other forms of discrimination. We are following this process very attentively, with a view to adjusting the Community’s stand with regard to its developments, and we shall continue to spare no effort to contribute to its successful conclusion. Nothing convinces us more than do the latest events of the role that the United Nation· is increasingly called upon to play in favour of justice and freedom.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The opportunity must be seized to apply in full the principles of the Charter to the peaceful settlement of other unsolved problems, such as that of Cyprus. The principle of universality is of the utmost importance. For instance, the absence of the two Koreas is a vestige of the confrontation of yesteryear. We must prepare to welcome both, particularly as they wish to start off on a new footing in their mutual relations. The United Nations is the first major attempt to democratise the international system - that is to say, to apply to relations between sovereign States the principles on which the rule of law is based. Those principles, whose solemn rebirth Europe has witnessed in the last year, are now gaining ground in all societies.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“It is henceforward possible to perceive coexistence no longer hampered by the shackles of the cold war. A form of world management, at least of the crises most likely to have destabilising effects, is taking shape. The consensus reached to counter the Iraqi aggression must be preserved to take up other challenges. The spirit of this approach is already being put to use in the possible settlement of other conflicts, such as that in Cambodia. The agreement between the opposing parties on a transitional administrative arrangement, an end to hostilities, and free and fair elections within the framework agreed by the five permanent members of the Security Council will have the political and material support of the Community.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The problem of the middle-income countries, particularly those facing severe economic-reconstruction programmes, must be tackled with special attention. Thought must be given to a now range of options in the framework of the Paris Club. The Community considers that the strengthening of the multilateral trade system provides the best guarantee of international equilibrium and of sustainable development. The successful conclusion, before the end of the year, of the Uruguay Sound is all the more important against the background of the present crisis. It is a unique opportunity to achieve balanced and substantial progress in all fields of the ongoing negotiations. The United Nations has granted legitimacy to an unprecedented joint intervention.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Development and environmental protection appear increasingly to be a facet of the world's interdependence. We cannot expect four fifths of humanity to go on living in the present conditions and at the same time hope that this will not have intolerable repercussions on man's capacity to live in harmony with nature. We cannot worry about tropical forests and look on impassively as many countries come to grips with a debt that precludes any possibility of development. In this connection, the conclusions at which Mr. Bettino Craxi has arrived in the work with which he was entrusted by the Secretary-General of the United Nations provide many lessons. Many countries in the Community have already granted substantial reductions in debt, but this is not enough.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The Community intends neither to withdraw into its own well-being, which is based on openness to other economies, nor to reduce its commitment towards the countries in the third world on account of its co-operation with Eastern Europe. The Community will encourage regional integration, in particular within the framework of its reviewed Mediterranean policy. We are also convinced that it is for us to create a macro-economic context favourable to growth and development through enhanced devolution of resources, which, however, must go hand in hand with domestic policies capable of promoting, alongside State initiatives, not only individual initiative but also respect for human rights. No external assistance may, in fact, compensate for ineffective national policies, as has been shown by the experience of the last decade.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The Community intends to step up international co-operation on this problem. It will assist in the joint strategy, under the aegis of the United Nations, to control drugs production, manufacturing and trafficking, as well as the use to which the profits are put, by involving the banking system. Demand reduction is a main objective of the European Community and its member States. In the same vein, the emergence of intolerant forms of religious fanaticism and the uncontrolled flows of migrants, which affect industrial societies, stem essentially from conditions that deprive a large proportion of mankind of tine cultural and material resources needed for a decent life. The problem off development will inevitably weigh increasingly on a world witnessing the disappearance of the most manifest and dangerous confrontation of the poet-war period.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The first test has shown that the new world order works positively, but the serious problem of a social and economic order that threaten international stability are far from being resolved, and in some cases are even more disturbing, they require the momentum that can gather only within the United Nations, since of all problems they are most universal in origin and most widespread. We are witnessing the war that ell countries, but nest especially certain Latin American States, are waging against drugs. This problem threatens our societies and our younger generations, and creates spontaneous solidarity between Governments. The history of mankind knows no other scourge that has so permeated all regions of the world - affecting rich and poor countries alike, and overwhelming both the wealthy and the underprivileged.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“In other words, without wishing to transfer the model of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCB) - which has shown itself to be so effective in our continent - in toto across the Mediterranean, we consider that it would be worth endeavouring to introduce in that area principles and measures capable of reducing military imbalances, which are in general the prelude to other military adventures, curbing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, encouraging economic and social progress, and fostering the peaceful coexistence of different cultures and civilisations.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Lebanon, until recently one of the most successful models of religious tolerance in the Middle East, continues to tear itself apart. The European Community considers that only the implementation of the Taif agreements can help in the process of national reconciliation. Over and above these present grave crises, the time has also come to begin reflecting on the introduction in the Middle East of a collective system capable of guaranteeing stability, security, economic and social development, and recognition of the rights of all peoples. In Helsinki Presidents Bush and Gorbachev raised the possibility of а new order of peace, a commitment to work together with the countries in the area end outside to develop regional-security structures and measures to encourage stability and peace.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“That is and continues to be our policy, unwavering in recognising that the solution lies in the right of the Palestinians to self-determination and in that of the State of Israel to exist within secure, guaranteed borders. Just as action was being stepped up to initiate dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians, and as the international community was becoming increasingly alarmed at the intolerable situation in the occupied territories, the Iraqi aggression took place and has delayed the search for a solution. The Community's policy nevertheless remains the same and it will not be diverted by the present crisis from the search for a just, lasting and comprehensive solution based on the aforementioned principles.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The military units deployed in the Saudi Arabian desert and the warships patrolling the Gulf are an effective response, but they cannot replace a policy of reducing more general tensions and instability, h solution of the current crisis that is not followed up by the drafting of guidelines for future political and economic action in the Middle East could be letters drawn in the sand, soon to be blown away and forgotten. The European Community has been firm and consistent in its contribution to the search for a solution to the conflict in the Middle East on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“He has ripped apart the fragile fraternity of the Arab world. He has made more difficult the search, which we must continue tenaciously, for a historic understanding between the Arabs and the West, between the Islamic and the Western worlds. However, the Middle East goes on in a desperately precarious state. One cannot put out one fire that has broken out, however threatening and serious it is, and let the other blaze away in the occupied territories and in Lebanon.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Our intention was thereby to introduce an innovation into international practice that would not be without consequences. With the precedent of Nuremberg particularly in mind, we thus reinforced the idea of individual responsibility in international affairs. We must prepare ourselves for a siege, which could be lengthy, to achieve the objectives of forcing Iraq to withdraw to its own borders, obtaining the release of all the hostages and restoring Kuwait's independence. The consensus that has arisen in respect of this serious and dramatic act of aggression must provide an impetus for resolving other crises and must confirm our commitment to eliminate other political injustices and promote the economic well-being of the region. Saddam Hussein has brought his country to the brink of disaster after bleeding it white in eight years of war.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Only firmness can open the way to such a settlement and prevent the start of a devastating conflagration. Remarking on the Munich Conference, Winston Churchill observed bitterly that the democracies had chosen dishonour to avoid war and in the end they had both war and honour. The lesson is still true. Today too firmness and dissuasive action are necessary to force the aggressor to back down and to prevent an armed conflict. They are also necessary when a dictator tries to shield himself with innocent hostages to stay our hand. The Foreign Ministers of the Twelve pointed out clearly that each member State would consider all Community nationals detained in Iraq and Kuwait as its own citizens, and stated that they held the Iraqis individually responsible for their safety.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)