YouSaid · the spoken record

Orette Bruce Golding

lines on the record: 41
first: 2008-09-24
most recent: 2010-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Into our hands has been entrusted the responsibility to make this world a better place for all of mankind to live, prosper and enjoy happiness. That is what they expect of us. That is what they deserve, and that is what we must do everything in our power to deliver.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“CARICOM States are therefore pleased that our initiative to have erected a permanent memorial to honour the victims of slavery has won the support of the United Nations community, in keeping with the mandate of the 2001 World Conference against Racism. We commend UNESCO for its decision to 19 10-55122 launch an international competition for the design of this monument. Jamaica reaffirms its confidence in the United Nations as the indispensable forum for our collective deliberations aimed at addressing the major challenges confronting our world. We must take pride in our achievements, but we must always be mindful that our mission is not yet accomplished. We must never tire, even when burdened with frustration. Our impatience must be turned into renewed energy.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“In this context, we laud the establishment of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), and we congratulate former President of Chile Mrs. Michelle Bachelet on her appointment as head of UN Women. I am confident that under her leadership significant progress will be made to achieve the goals of gender equality and to meet the special needs of women and girls worldwide. We must not allow ourselves to be imprisoned by our past but even as we look to the future we dare not ignore the experiences that have shaped our present condition. The transatlantic slave trade to which millions of Africans fell victim was one such epoch.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“International institutions cannot retain their legitimacy if they do not adapt to changing times and the new configuration of the international community. The United Nations Security Council cannot be exempt from that process. Fundamental reform is required to address the existing imbalances in the current power structure of the Council and to secure expansion in both categories of membership in order to correctly reflect the contemporary global realities. In advancing the discussions on system-wide coherence, we support the need to improve the operations of the United Nations at the country level to ensure that the system can appropriately respond to the needs of recipient countries and to prevent the unnecessary imposition of undue conditionalities.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The transnational nature of organized crime requires cross- border collaboration at the bilateral, regional and international levels if we are to combat the illegal trade and to tackle with equal vigour the supply, transit and demand sides of the international drug trade. The recent high-level meeting on transnational organized crime and the Fourth Biennial Meeting of States on Small Arms and Light Weapons were instrumental in reinforcing the need for the implementation of measures to curtail the growing threat. Those efforts would be strengthened by the conclusion of a legally binding instrument to curtail the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and ammunition, and we urge the United Nations to approach this troubling issue with the urgency that it deserves.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Latin America and the Caribbean are faced with the twin menace of the illicit trade in narcotic drugs and small arms. The open borders in the Caribbean make us an easy conduit for trans-shipment between the major sources and destinations of illicit drugs. The attendant crime and violence constitute a major threat to national development because they create instability and compel us to divert scarce resources to tackle this scourge. Jamaica has adopted a multifaceted approach to tackle crime and violence, relying not only on law enforcement but on strategic social intervention and social transformation initiatives to create new opportunities and inspire hope, especially among our young people, who are vulnerable to being recruited or conscripted into criminal enterprises. However, we cannot do it alone.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We have no doubt that the new START treaty, signed between Russia and the United States of America in April of this year, was a contributing factor. We look forward to the ratification and entry into force of that treaty between those two States, which together possess more than 90 per cent of the world’s nuclear arsenal. Their faithful compliance with the treaty and their commitment to greater transparency in achieving further reductions will secure our hope for eventual nuclear disarmament. We are also encouraged by the resumption of talks between Israel and Palestine. It offers renewed hope for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, one that guarantees the security of Israel and the unquestioned recognition of a Palestinian State. We urge both sides to ensure that this renewed hope does not turn into despair.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The Haitian people have suffered too much for too long. We have a 10-55122 18 duty to help them to make a fresh start and to embark on the journey of lasting progress and development. We underscore the important role of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti in helping to foster the environment necessary to ensure a sustainable future for the Haitian people. The danger to international peace and security of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism must remain at the top of the international security agenda. We are encouraged by the 2010 Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty in June, which elaborated on measures toward a nuclear-weapon-free world and the strengthening of the nuclear non-proliferation regime.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The catastrophic earthquake in Haiti in January of this year and the recent disastrous floods in Pakistan are stark reminders of the increasing vulnerability of many countries and regions to natural disasters. We were shocked by the immensity of the impact of those disasters and saddened by the loss of life, the suffering and the destruction of property and infrastructure. We express our solidarity with the Governments and people of both Haiti and Pakistan. The reconstruction of Haiti is CARICOM’s most urgent priority. We commend the international community for committing almost $10 billion from 57 donor countries and organizations. However, we impress upon them the urgency with which actions must follow those commitments, especially in strengthening the institutional capacity of Haiti to undertake the mammoth task at hand.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The 2°C threshold being advanced by some would be catastrophic for countries in our region and low-lying small island States in general, and we appeal to all our partners to coalesce around a temperature threshold that would preserve the viability of the most vulnerable countries — as was underscored a few days ago during the high-level five-year review of the Mauritius Strategy. The commitment by developed countries to provide $30 billion in new funding to assist developing countries to improve mitigation and adaptation strategies over the next two years offers an opportunity to prove the cynics wrong, to demonstrate that when we speak, we say what we mean and mean what we say.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We are hopeful that the Cancún meeting in November and December will further advance the process that will eventually lead to a legally binding and comprehensive agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Bali Road Map. With member countries that are among the most vulnerable to global warming, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and its partners in the Alliance of Small Island States will continue to defend the long-term stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations with a cap of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Bold new thinking is required, thinking that places development as the primary focus of multilateral intervention. We know we must make sacrifices, but let those sacrifices be an investment for our future, not just a tourniquet for our immediate dilemma. We too are disappointed that the climate change summit in Copenhagen failed to reach consensus on mitigation and adaptation strategies. While the Copenhagen Accord did not deliver the comprehensive agreement we had hoped for, it nonetheless provided political impetus for negotiations towards a binding agreement for the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“It is also important to establish a close working relationship with the United Nations to ensure complementarity with the role of the United Nations in economic development as mandated under its Charter. We urge also that the multilateral agencies move beyond what is now the paramount objective: to ensure that the international payments system is secure. The financial assistance provided to many countries during this time of stress, necessary and welcome though it is, is rooted in policies that are contractionary, designed to consolidate and stabilize even at the cost of increasing poverty and social dislocation. We have hardly learned from the experiences of the past. The gains made towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals are being eroded and our ability to recover from the global shocks is being stymied.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The global financial crisis exposed weaknesses in governance of the international financial system, weaknesses that have become more acute with changes in the global landscape and shifts in the centre of gravity of the world’s economy. We endorse the need for reform of the international financial institutions, in order to improve standards of efficiency and accountability, and the creation of a more democratic structure, one that will allow developing countries a greater voice. In the same vein, while we welcome the establishment of the Group of 20 as the locus of global economic policymaking, we urge that it institute a mechanism to engage the views of the wider, developing world.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We insist that Doha must include a development dimension to build competitiveness and capacity in weak exporting countries, as well as special and differential treatment calibrated to our differing levels 17 10-55122 of development, economic size and vulnerabilities. That offers a win-win situation: more exports from developing countries mean that there will be more jobs for their people and more demand for imports from other countries. We urge that every effort be made to conclude the Doha Round in that spirit, and we urge, further, that the gains already accrued to developing countries in earlier negotiations not be unravelled.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“For almost a decade we have been trying to conclude the Doha Round in order to put in place a regime that facilitates the expansion of trade, which is so vital to increasing global prosperity. Redressing the lopsidedness in international trade is necessary if we are to restore and sustain global economic growth. It is just common sense that if one part of the world is not able to export more to the rest of the world, it will not be able to import more from that other part of the world. It may do so for a time by borrowing from that other part of the world in order to pay for its imports, but that is a bubble that will eventually burst. Many countries have seen that bubble burst in the recent global crisis.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“President Obama was right when he declared at the High-level Plenary Meeting last Wednesday (see ) that each of us must assume leadership of our own transformation even while requiring the support of the international community. The existing international financial system and multilateral trading arrangements will not enable us to redress those imbalances. They have not done so up to now, and they are unlikely to do so in the future. Market forces and competitiveness are indispensable for economic development, but the new millennium cannot be defined by the survival of the fittest. We must make it our business to assist the weak to become fit in order not just to survive but to prosper.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“It is easy to blame that on the injustices of the distant past, the neo-colonialism of the more recent past or the Washington consensus of the present. That is only part of the story. Developing countries struggling with poverty and underdevelopment must accept our share of the blame. We must recognize that there is a lot that we can and must do for ourselves. Each of us must adopt and pursue with fixity of purpose the appropriate economic and social policies and good governance practices. We must be prepared to take the tough decisions that are so often necessary to secure the advancement of our people, and we must never squander the sacrifices we call on them to make.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Now global warming, terrorism and transnational organized crime pose new threats to the peace, security and progress of the world. The heavy agenda set for the sixty-fifth session reflects the scope and complexity of the issues that confront us. Each of us approaches that agenda with a different set of priorities. Yet there are some issues that are so broad in their implications that they demand from us special and urgent attention. They manifest themselves in the stark reality of our existence: 20 per cent of the world’s population enjoys 75 per cent of the world’s income, and 15 per cent of the world’s population lives on less than 1 per cent of the world’s income. We come here as equals, but when we go back home some are vastly more equal than others.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“And we recognize our weaknesses, our failure so often to raise our lowest common denominator to a level where consensus can more readily be found and action galvanized. We cannot afford to ignore the cynics who feel that we should have done more, for there is more that needs to be done. Some age-old problems still remain, and new challenges have emerged that threaten to undermine the achievements we have already made. We refuse to accept that after 65 years of our existence, 1.5 billion people — 1.5 billion — should have to live in poverty and more than 1 billion suffer the pangs of hunger. The playing field of the world is still not level, because the equality of our sovereignty has not been matched by the equality of opportunity.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The financial crisis on Wall Street did not disrupt just the American economy; it ricocheted across the world, affecting millions of people who do not even know where Wall Street is. Communications technology has rendered us neighbours in the same village, for no matter how vast the oceans that separate us or the continents over which we are scattered, we are affected or influenced for good or bad by each other. It is in that in mutuality, that interconnectedness and interdependency, with all our commonality and diversity, that we find both our strengths and our weaknesses. We have seen those strengths at work and what they can accomplish, the positive difference we can make when we surmount our differences and find common purpose in preventing wars and securing peace, in safeguarding human rights and promoting human development.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“As leaders, we are privileged to be the custodians of the world, mandated to secure for its people a just and peaceful existence and to enable them to achieve happiness and prosperity. We come with differing perspectives, shaped by our own experiences and the peculiar challenges we face. But we have long recognized that however unique our individual circumstances may appear, they are all affected by our interdependence. The impact of climate change shows that we all live under the same canopy. Diseases that can devastate whole populations know no boundaries and require no 10-55122 16 entry permit. Natural disasters are indiscriminate in the selection of their targets.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“I would like to congratulate Mr. Deiss again on his assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly at the sixty-fifth session and, on behalf of the Jamaican delegation, to assure him of our full cooperation in the ambitious undertaking on which he has embarked. I extend Jamaica’s appreciation to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Ali Treki, for so ably guiding the proceedings of the sixty-fourth session of the Assembly. We come to the Hall of this great institution as partners. It is the only organization of its kind, where countries of the world, no matter how rich or poor, big or small, powerful or weak, sit at the same table, joined together by the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“I also thank Member States that have made or pledged contributions. We invite other States to do likewise. Six decades ago, the founding fathers of the United Nations agreed that the Organization should be a mechanism for harmonizing the actions of nations in the achievement of our common goals: peace and prosperity throughout the world, respect and tolerance among the powerful and support for the weak and vulnerable. That remains our mandate, our unfinished business. Fulfilling that mandate and advancing that mission will require a more proactive United Nations, one that is more responsive to the needs of Member States and gives equal attention to issues of peace, security and development. The hopes of people everywhere in the world depend on us, the leadership that we provide and the will that we exert for the times in which we live.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“We therefore welcome the unanimous adoption of decision 62/557, contained in paragraph 23 of document A/62/47, which, we hope, will provide resolve for the early commencement of intergovernmental negotiations within a specified time frame and in the context of an informal plenary meeting of the General Assembly. The sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights serves to remind us of the central role of the United Nations in promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms. Those are essential components of the environment required for sustained development. It was consistent with that principle that we launched the initiative to erect a monument to honour the victims of slavery. I thank the Secretary-General and the members of the committee for their support and assistance.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“But we have contributed to that cynicism, so often bending the facts to suit our own design, breaking the rules to secure a particular advantage and making commitments without the will to honour them. Reform of the structure and procedures of the United Nations is an imperative whose time has long come. Let us not bury it in procrastination and incessant squabbling. It is time for constructive, consensus-building dialogue. The need for changes in the structure and scope of the Security Council has been under discussion for almost 15 years, bogged down in polarized, adversarial positions. We have a compelling duty to put in place systems that can secure peace and prosperity for the future.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The devastation wrought in Haiti by recent hurricanes has aggravated the already harsh conditions under which the Haitian people are forced to live. Much more needs to be done not only in providing emergency relief, but also in addressing the long-term social, economic and development needs of that country, as a sustainable solution to the fragile humanitarian situation that exists there. Haiti needs and deserves the support of the entire international community. We are gathered here this week as Members of that union we call the United Nations. What is the state of that union? We must not ignore the cynicism that exists in some quarters about the continued value of the United Nations. Those cynics have not bothered to contemplate what the world would be like if the United Nations did not exist.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“We urge all parties to desist from actions that could deepen the crisis, jeopardize the safety of the civilian population and of United Nations personnel and prevent access to humanitarian relief. Jamaica remains irrevocably committed to finding a just, lasting and peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict — a solution that must ensure the security of Israel and the establishment of a viable Palestinian State. The United Nations must continue to play a pivotal role through its peacekeeping missions in the creation of sustainable peace in post-conflict situations. Jamaica will use its membership in the Peacebuilding Commission to underscore the importance of sustained, long-term economic development in rebuilding and 23 08-52272 transforming countries that have been wracked by conflict.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Our intense focus on combating terrorism and transnational organized crime, and eliminating nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction must not, however, marginalize the need for decisive action to curb the illicit trade in small arms, which facilitate internal violence in many of our countries and result in high levels of homicide. Jamaica supports the establishment of an arms trade treaty to impose strict controls on the illegal trade in small arms and ammunition. The persistent humanitarian crisis in Darfur continues to be a matter of serious concern to all of us. We are disappointed that the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur is not yet fully operational.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The impact of climate change on agricultural output, and the frequency and intensity of natural disasters to which countries like Jamaica are particularly vulnerable, point to the need for a global environment management structure that establishes clear standards and enforces compliance. Jamaica is concerned that political instability in many parts of the world, often fuelled by extremism and intolerance, continues to threaten regional and international peace and security. They are neither limited in scope nor confined to national borders. Resolving those conflicts requires effective diplomacy and global cooperation, and the United Nations must continue to use its good offices to secure just and peaceful settlements.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The need for more concerted action on global warming is impatient of debate. Developing countries are the most vulnerable, but they are also the least capable of mitigation measures. Countries that are the major pollutants must bear the major share of the responsibility for corrective action. They must make binding commitments to fulfil that responsibility. The purchase of carbon credits, especially from developing countries, must not exculpate them from that responsibility. Jamaica calls for a fair, equitable and balanced long-term scheme to bind emission caps within a new international framework beyond 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol expires.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“It represents the failure on the part of the international financial system to facilitate the flow of resources into areas where they can produce real wealth, not paper wealth. The world is not short of capital. What it lacks are the mechanisms to ensure the efficient utilization of that capital. I want to suggest that another urgent task is the creation of a viable and equitable international trading system. Jamaica is deeply disappointed that the Doha Development Round has failed to deliver on the promise of an open, fair and predictable multilateral trading system. We urge all parties to resolve the outstanding differences, particularly on the removal of trade-distorting agricultural subsidies, and to address the need for special safeguard mechanisms for economically challenged countries.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Jamaica supports the call for reform of the existing financial infrastructure to reflect the new global realities and make it more proactive and responsive to the needs of the entire world community. I want to suggest, however, that it must involve more than merely expanding the membership of an exclusive club. It must be development-driven, recognizing that poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity elsewhere. It must include mechanisms to detect signs of global crises and must be able to institute preventive measures. The crisis currently rocking the world’s financial markets reflects the inadequacy of the regulatory structures that are essential to the effective functioning of any market. But it is more than that.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Because of those factors and because of our exposure to frequent natural disasters, which in the matter of a few hours can reverse gains that took years to accomplish, Jamaica and its Caribbean Community (CARICOM) partners are proposing the international recognition of CARICOM States as a special category of small vulnerable and highly indebted middle-income countries. 08-52272 22 The international financial system, designed more than 60 years ago in the context of those times, has undergone very little change in its governance, structure and practices. However, the world has changed and that requires a re-engineering of the global financial system.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“That classification deprives them of access to concessionary financing and creative measures to reduce the crippling debt burden that afflicts so many of them. If we are to reduce poverty, the peculiar circumstances of those countries cannot be ignored since that is where more than one third of the world’s poor are to be found. We call on the international community to devise strategic programmes to address the peculiar needs of middle-income countries with deep pockets of poverty.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“We must all pull up our socks if we are to reverse the slippage we have suffered. Developing countries must ensure that their priorities are properly structured. Developed countries must live up to their commitment to devote 0.7 per cent of their gross national income to official development assistance. That is a modest amount, yet only five countries have so far done so. The focus of development cooperation cannot, I submit, be too narrowly defined. The varied economic and social profiles of developing countries require a more flexible response that recognizes investment in human capital, infrastructure and the transfer of technology as critical elements in reducing poverty in a sustained way. That is particularly important to developing countries that are classified, based on per capita income, as middle-income countries.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“We must therefore commit ourselves to creating a world in which not everyone may be rich, but no one has to be poor. In 2001, we committed ourselves to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. We are now at the halfway mark and we are behind schedule. It is time to take stock to see where we are, who is falling behind, and what must be done to make up lost ground. A critical success factor must be the partnership between developed and developing countries as defined in the 2002 Monterrey Consensus on financing for development, integrating aid, debt relief, market access, good governance and foreign direct investment. Those initiatives were carefully calibrated. Proceeding with some elements without the others will not achieve the goals we have set. Indeed, it might make it worse.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“It is the interdependency that we share and that is manifested in so many other areas, from climate change to global epidemics, organized crime and human trafficking. Solving the problem of developing countries requires more than mere liberalization of trade, more than mere privatization of the economy and more than the mere free flow of capital. It requires a sincere and sustained effort that focuses on the limitations that bedevil developing countries. Global development, not just global markets, must be at the centre of our priorities. Poverty and wealth should not have to coexist. Poverty can be eradicated. The tools of development exist and are capable of transforming the world, empowering the poor and enabling them to rise from their poverty.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Countries like Jamaica are called upon to respond within our limited capacity to protect the most vulnerable. In the long term, however, our hopes for survival will require huge investments, improved productivity, better access to the world’s markets and human capacity-building. Developing countries cannot be left to find their own solutions. The situation requires a collaborative, coordinated and global response. That is not mere altruism. It is an indisputable truth that, if developed countries assist developing countries to improve their economies, their productive capacity and the purchasing power of their people, they will expand the markets for their own goods and services.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“21 08-52272 We have convened amid worrying global developments. The hopes of the new millennium are in danger of fading as the ideals of international harmony and shared global prosperity remain elusive. Globalization, despite its promise of expanded production and trade, has been uneven in the spread of its benefits and, for many countries, marginal in its impact. Indeed, the gap between rich and poor has widened within and among countries. The global economy now appears to be headed for a severe downturn. Developments in the global financial system, the painful increase in oil and commodity prices and the escalating food crisis threaten to plunge vast sections of the world’s population deeper into poverty. Fiscal challenges and the crippling burden of debt render many countries incapable of responding to the crisis.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“It is perhaps fortuitous that my own Deputy Prime Minister happens to be presiding over the Assembly at the time when I address the Assembly for the very first time. But it is not true, as someone suggested to me just before I came to the rostrum, that we have come to the sixty-third session of the General Assembly believing that we are still at the Olympics in Beijing. Neither is it true that my name is Usain Bolt. My name is Bruce Golding. I offer Mr. D’Escoto Brockmann my congratulations on his presidency and I ask you, Mr. Vice-President, to convey those congratulations to him. He has assumed that office at a time when the world faces challenges of crisis proportions. Much will be demanded of his leadership, and I want you, Sir, to assure him of Jamaica’s full support and cooperation in all of his endeavours.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)