YouSaid · the spoken record

Rita KIEBER-BECK

lines on the record: 43
first: 2005-09-24
most recent: 2008-09-24
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

“We hope that this session will allow us to take a step in that direction.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“All those challenges hit particularly hard those who already live in poverty, and they also threaten to undermine the effectiveness of our development cooperation. We therefore need a consensus on financing for development that builds on the Monterrey Consensus. Such an agreement will require significant sacrifices and compromises on all sides, and it is sorely needed to strengthen the development pillar of multilateral cooperation. Let me say in conclusion that we have always stood and fought for a strong General Assembly. By that, we do not mean an Assembly that develops an antagonistic relationship with other organs of the United Nations. We want an Assembly that is a forum for meaningful and focused discussions on topics of high relevance, followed by clear decisions and their implementation.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Still, we are struggling with the challenge to make the concept widely understood and to apply it in practice. The responsibility to protect is a narrow concept that is limited to clearly defined cases of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. It is based on the sovereign responsibility of States to protect their own populations as well as the United Nations Charter. We must maintain that conceptual clarity and provide for consistent implementation of the Summit decision. In spite of the lofty aspirations expressed at the 2005 World Summit, we are still far from taking a common approach to the development agenda, and the challenges are growing rapidly. Climate change, the food crisis, the energy crisis and the faltering international financial system are just a few examples.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“If we want to win that fight, we must show resolve by supporting the Court. Years ago, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and the International Criminal Court was given jurisdiction over that crime 50 years later. The Convention was born of the desire to prevent the recurrence of genocide, yet it failed to achieve that purpose on several occasions following its adoption. The rallying cry “Never Again!” can be used only so often before it loses credibility. In that spirit, all of us agreed to the concept of the responsibility to protect when we met at the summit level three years ago. For us and for many others, that was one of the most significant gains achieved in the 2005 World Summit Outcome, which was otherwise a mixed bag.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Since the 1990s, the Council has adopted a number of landmark decisions to enforce international criminal law, including the decision to establish international and mixed tribunals. The Council also has an important role to play in connection with the International Criminal Court, which deals with the most serious crimes under international law. The Council did so in adopting resolution 1593 (2005), and it is essential that it continue to exercise responsibly its powers under the Rome Statute. Mr. Stratan (Republic of Moldova), Vice- President, took the Chair. The International Criminal Court is the most important achievement in decades in the area of international law. Now we must make it work in practice and give it the necessary political support. The success of the Court will be the yardstick in the fight against impunity.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“There should be no doubt that we fully support the sanctions regimes, which constitute powerful tools for the maintenance of international peace and security, but we also believe that the procedures applied must be in accordance with basic international standards of due process. Recent court decisions indicate that our reservations are well founded, and we hope that our proposals will contribute to the improvement of the system. We must avoid the impression that decisions of the Security Council might be in violation of human rights standards. All of our countries, and the Security Council in particular, are also called to task in the fight against 9 08-53135 impunity.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“The rule of law has gained much prominence in the work of the United Nations over the past few years, but it has yet to take the central place that is its due. The most precious asset of this Organization remains the legitimacy that it lends to decisions of the international community. In fact, the United Nations symbolizes the rule of law in international relations. We must preserve that strength and therefore also promote the rule of law within United Nations organs, including the Security Council, and their decision- making. Together with other countries, we have expressed long-standing concerns about the current practice of the Security Council regarding sanctions listing and delisting, in particular in the area of counter-terrorism.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Others have yet to be the subject of extremely difficult negotiations. We believe that quick progress is necessary on a number of management reform issues, from human resource management to accountability and internal justice. We will also continue our work to achieve a more legitimate and more effective Security Council. To that end, we will step up our efforts to enhance the involvement and access of those who are not members of the Council. Liechtenstein is a strong believer in multilateralism and in a rule-based international system. Our national sovereignty is grounded in international law and its observance, and we are therefore strongly committed to the rule of law. Those principles were chief among our motivations for joining the United Nations 18 years ago, and they have been high among our priorities as a Member ever since.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Core activities, such as conflict prevention, the promotion of human rights and the rule of law, humanitarian assistance and support for economic and social development, are subject to an artificial policy of zero budget growth and must be financed largely through voluntary contributions. At the same time, States have come to routinely accept massive increases in peacekeeping bills. It is high time that we shift our focus from fighting fires to preventing their outbreak. We therefore fully support the efforts of the Secretary- General to enhance the conflict prevention and mediation capacities of the Secretariat. The session just concluded brought about a sobering realization that some of the reform processes initiated at the 2005 World Summit have effectively come to a halt.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Today, the world is a different place, and yet we must keep turning to the United Nations to solve our problems together and to protect those most in need and danger. We applaud the Secretary-General and the dedicated United Nations personnel for their hard work. Nevertheless, the Organization is sometimes mired in bureaucracy, inefficiency and political infighting. But the blame falls mainly on us, the Member States. It is our responsibility to adapt the United Nations to today’s challenges and to make it the best possible organization to that end. We must equip the Organization with the resources it needs and make the necessary adjustments in its structure. In recent years, the regular budget of the Organization has grown in a completely lopsided way.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Since we gathered here a year ago, the world has experienced many serious challenges. Natural disasters, climate change, violent conflicts, terrorism, human rights violations, rising food and energy prices and financial turmoil have affected the lives of people worldwide. Dealing with crisis after crisis is a daunting task. Without the United Nations, it would in many respects be a hopeless one. Indeed, it is the United Nations that gives hope to people around the world and it is the United Nations that gives political leaders a unique tool to solve problems and to settle conflicts. It was created more than sixty years ago, under the still-fresh impression of the horrors of the Second World War and with a strong focus on matters of peace and security.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“That message, however, needs to be backed up by enforcement action, in particular by the arrest of all indictees sought by the Court. We therefore call on all States and the United Nations to cooperate with the ICC to that end. We will continue to take great interest in the work of the Security Council. At the same time, of course, we will focus our energy on making the General Assembly a more relevant and more essential part of the United Nations system. In that regard, my delegation looks forward to the President’s leadership and to closely cooperating with him on the priority issues he has identified.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Quite to the contrary, there have been concerted, and ultimately unsuccessful, attacks on the importance of the rule of law in international relations. Nevertheless, we have achieved very significant progress in some areas, in particular in the area of international criminal justice. The Security Council has led the way through the establishment of international and hybrid tribunals. But the crowning success, of course, was the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The referral of the situation in Darfur to the Court was a landmark decision, both legally and politically. It was a strong message by the Security Council that the international community does not accept impunity for the most serious crimes under international law.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“We believe that the legitimacy of the Council’s actions has a number of sources, the most important of which are the quality of its decisions and the extent to which they reflect international law. In addition, the decisions of the Council have the necessary legitimacy if they are genuinely taken on behalf of the membership as a whole, and therefore also on behalf of the vast majority of States that do not serve on the Council. That can be achieved through greater involvement by non-member States, in particular if and when their interests are directly affected. Finally, of course, the membership of the Council must be more representative of the overall membership of the Organization, and of the developing world in particular. The past few years have not brought about the era of the rule of law that some had hoped for.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“The United Nations and its organs must always be seen as the guardians of international law. Given its central place in the institutional architecture of the Organization, that applies in particular to the Security Council. The current practice of the Council with respect to the listing and de-listing of individuals targeted by sanctions is therefore a cause for concern. We believe that disregarding international standards of due process does nothing to improve the effectiveness of sanctions regimes, but much to undermine the authority of the Council itself. Long years and much energy have been spent on the reform of the Security Council. It would appear today that we are as far from a solution as ever.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“All the strengthening of the operational and managerial capabilities of the United Nations will not change the fact that, operationally and financially, this is not a powerful Organization. Its budget will always pale in comparison to what a number of States spend on their defence budgets, to cite an obvious example. The genuine power and strength of the Organization lies in its foundation in international law. The Charter itself can be regarded as the greatest achievement in the history of international law. More important, though, the United Nations has the unique ability to bestow legitimacy and legality on international action. In the eyes of the world, the United Nations symbolizes the rule of law in international relations. That is a tremendous asset that we must cherish and promote wherever possible.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“That attests to the faith placed in the United Nations, but it also makes the deficiencies in the management of the Organization a more pressing issue. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was therefore right to propose changes to strengthen institutional support for the Organization’s field activities. We look forward to further progress in that respect, in particular in the area of procurement. We are not convinced that the lessons from the oil-for-food scandal, which has done great damage to the United Nations, have been fully absorbed, let alone fully translated into concrete action. We must also credibly improve the financial efficiency and accountability of the Organization. That will, in turn, allow us to present to our domestic constituencies the ever-increasing bills for peacekeeping operations.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“We yet have to achieve certain institutional reforms, and the principle of the responsibility to protect must be translated into concrete action, such as in the case of the oppressive policies of the regime in Myanmar against its own population. Of course, however, reform of an organization with tasks as diverse and daunting as the United Nations is never concluded. We must always be prepared to make the adjustments that are necessary to improve its impact, its legitimacy and its efficiency. Today, such adjustments require a two-fold approach. On the one hand, we must strengthen its operational parts and, on the other hand, we must ground the work of the Organization more firmly in its origins, namely, the Charter of the United Nations. The demands in the area of peacekeeping are greater than ever before.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Climate change is but one of the areas of concern to the international community, where it is absolutely clear that the United Nations is today more than ever an indispensable Organization. It appears indeed that its unique nature and potential are more widely recognized and accepted today than they were until even very recently. In the words of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the pendulum is swinging back in our favour. As a strong believer in multilateralism, we welcome that development. However, as true friends of the United Nations, we must also continue to question the ability of the Organization to fully use its potential and to fulfil the purposes and principles of its Charter. Our record in the area of reform, two years after the 2005 World Summit, is mixed.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Climate change, at the centre of the high-level event a week ago, constitutes one of the greatest challenges of our generation. It puts to the test our ability to create the collective political will necessary to counter a phenomenon of potentially disastrous socio-economic consequences. It also offers a great opportunity to make the best use of the unique framework that this Organization provides. The Bali meeting must bring about a long-term commitment by all States to launching an ambitious and practical road map towards a gradually decarbonized global economy. We can reach that goal if we translate today’s political momentum into concrete action that goes beyond tomorrow’s activities.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“The Assembly must, therefore, address in parallel, and make progress on, the development agenda in all its aspects, system-wide coherence, disarmament, Security Council reform and other priority areas of the work of the organization. A better division of work between the two most important organs will make the Organization as a whole more effective and more efficient. It is, therefore, in the common interest of all States to make the General Assembly the central policymaking body it was designed to be by the founding fathers.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“The United Nations, in spite of its shortcomings, remains the only such Organization of global reach and is uniquely placed to address the complex challenges the world is facing today. However, it will be capable of living up to this role only if we re-establish the institutional balance within the system. In particular, the General Assembly must reassert its role as a central policymaking body and work on a par with the Security Council. The most prominent topics for the Organization in the coming weeks are clear: the situation in Darfur, the Middle East, the nuclear programme of Iran and the appointment of a new Secretary-General. All these topics are dealt with in the Security Council, while the General Assembly plays at best a secondary role.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“On the one hand, I expressed disappointment at the vagueness or even complete absence of some aspects of United Nations reform, but I also warmly welcomed some real advances. The recognition of the responsibility to protect constituted such an advance; indeed, it was a real milestone in the Outcome Document. Today, we must acknowledge that the international community has not followed up the commitment it made at the World Summit with concrete action. The situation in Darfur, irrespective of the definition of the crime in question, clearly falls within the scope of the responsibility to protect, but we have yet to see the action necessary in accordance with our common commitment to protect civilian populations.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“We have put forward our ideas in this respect and hope that they can help in reaching an agreement, which is long overdue. Secondly, it must be clear that the fight against terrorism and the observance of human rights and international humanitarian law are complementary and mutually reinforcing. Human rights are at the core of the value system of the international community, as we all recognized at the Summit last year. Curtailing them in the name of the fight against terrorism would therefore play into the hands of terrorists, who fight this very system with fanatic zeal. Last but not least, the United Nations, and the Security Council in particular, must lead by example in upholding due process and the rights of individuals. When I spoke in this Hall last year, I presented a mixed assessment of the outcome of the World Summit.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“The Court is now seized of three situations, one of which was referred to it by the Security Council, and more than 100 States have become parties to the Rome Statute. This very strong momentum can be maintained only if States and, indeed, the Organization lend their active support to a judicial institution which fully relies on such cooperation in gathering evidence and arresting indictees. Most importantly, we must realize that peace and justice are, in the long run, complementary concepts, and we must uphold the principle that there can be no amnesty for the worst crimes under international law. The international fight against terrorism poses a particularly complex challenge in the area of the rule of law. First, we must complement the existing international legal framework by adopting a comprehensive convention against terrorism.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“On the contrary, we have witnessed a dangerous erosion of international law, in particular international humanitarian law, and we must urgently find ways to place the issue of the rule of law high on the agenda of the Organization. We will work with others to ensure that the General Assembly makes concrete progress on this matter during this session. While there are negative trends in the area of respect for international law, we have made some significant advances, in particular in the area of international justice. It is now commonly understood that there can be no impunity for international crimes and that no one who has committed them is immune. This is a historic development which has found its most powerful expression in the establishment of the International Criminal Court.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“Like many before me, I would like to applaud Secretary-General Kofi Annan for his outstanding tenure at the helm of the Organization. One key element of his legacy is the high priority he has attached to the rule of law. We agree that the core strength of the United Nations is its solid grounding in international law, its proud track record in promoting international law, and the unique legitimacy it can provide in making decisions. In our globalized world, 06-53317 32 in which non-State actors play an ever-increasing role, clear rules are needed which are applied equally to everyone, in a transparent manner. However, we have yet to witness the advent of an era of the rule of law, as called for by the Secretary- General.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“A better representation of the views of the general membership is therefore essential for its effectiveness and credibility, in particular through a stronger involvement on the part of non- members of the Council that have a particular interest in, or expertise on, a given subject. We are satisfied to see that the Council has taken a step in the right direction in that regard, and we will remain committed to helping to improve its working methods. Working methods and enlargement are clearly complementary elements of Security Council reform. It would appear that, after a pause of more than a year, it is time to try our hand again at expanding the Council, preferably through a sober approach that takes into account the experiences gained in 2005.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“Here again, we are of the view that structural change is needed but that it is not sufficient in itself. On the one hand, the Council must be given a new structure and a different composition in order to maintain its credibility worldwide. It must better reflect the geopolitical realities of the twenty- first century, which are fundamentally different from those that prevailed at the time of the creation of the Organization. But we must also address the equally urgent necessity to improve the way in which the Council goes about its daily business. Time and again we have witnessed occasions on which the Council did not live up to its mandate, as enshrined in the Charter, to act on behalf of the membership as a whole.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“No structural change, however skilfully crafted, can bring about substantive change in and of itself. In the area of human rights in particular, we must increase our efforts in order to create the truly new international discourse that is needed, based on cooperation and the even-handed implementation of international standards. Only a new partnership in the field of human rights, with the full participation of all stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector, can ensure that people worldwide enjoy all the human rights to which they are entitled. It is only through such a new partnership that we will be able to make the quantum leap towards an era of implementation. One of the major issues that we did not resolve following the World Summit in September 2005 is Security Council reform.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“Madam President, let me first of all express my happiness at seeing you preside over the General Assembly. Your election sends a clear signal concerning the ever- stronger participation of women in decision-making processes worldwide. We value your impressive track record on women’s rights in particular, and we will assist you in every possible way in the fulfilment of your difficult task. We can take pride in the many accomplishments achieved during the past session, most prominently the establishment of the Human Rights Council and of the Peacebuilding Commission. These are important institutional advances which offer us a real opportunity to do things differently and to do them better. They do not, however, automatically guarantee the results that we had in mind when we made the decision that new institutions were needed.”
2006-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 61 (2006)
“In this way, we can make the summit a turning point in the history of the United Nations. Two years ago, the Secretary-General said that we had reached a fork in the road; that observation was repeated many times during the process leading up to the summit. So where are we today? Looking back at what we have achieved, it seems that we have taken the advice of Yogi Berra, one of the great legends of the City of New York, who said: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it!””
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“While it may be premature to pronounce a final judgement on the value of the outcome document, one thing can be said with certainty: that document is a reflection of what is agreeable five years after the Millennium Summit. It is remarkable how uneven progress has been in several areas. Major advances, such as the decision to fill an institutional void by creating a Peacebuilding Commission, are accompanied by major failures, such as the absence of any agreement in the area of disarmament and non- proliferation. We have no choice but to build on the positive elements of the Summit Outcome and to find early solutions to institutional questions, in particular. Progress in those areas should help us to intensify our work and eventually to find agreement on unresolved questions in vital areas such as disarmament and non- proliferation.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Our achievement in the Summit Outcome on the “responsibility to protect” stands in stark contrast to our silence on the importance of fighting impunity for the worst crimes of international concern. More progress has been made in this area in the past few years than in almost any other area of international relations. Transitional justice is now an inevitable element of any serious effort to help societies in post- conflict situations. There is now a close and well- established relationship between the International Criminal Court and the United Nations, in particular after the Security Council decision to mandate the Court to investigate the crimes in Darfur. We trust that efforts to fight impunity will remain a high priority for the Organization, recognizing the central role of the International Criminal Court in that respect.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We consider the recognition of the “responsibility to protect” as one of the most positive elements in the outcome document. The main obligation for its implementation naturally falls to the Security Council. The Council has to ensure that disgraceful inaction, such as in the case of the genocide in Rwanda, cannot ever occur again. When the lives of innocent civilians are at stake, such a responsibility must not be compromised by political considerations. Collective 16 action to prevent and respond to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes must, therefore, not be made impossible by a veto or threat of veto by one of the permanent members of the Council. We hope that the Council will stand up to the challenge raised by the summit. The membership as a whole clearly has a shared obligation in this respect.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Like others, we were disappointed at the meagre substance on this topic that found its way into the outcome document. The Organization needs a standing body that effectively promotes human rights worldwide, swiftly responds to gross and systematic violations of human rights and reflects the importance of human rights for this Organization. Close cooperation with a strengthened Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will be essential. The Council must not duplicate the work carried out by other bodies, in particular the General Assembly. It must, therefore, not be a remake of the Commission on Human Rights with a new label. We look forward to working with the presidency towards an early solution that would add concrete value for the protection and promotion of human rights. Mr. Loizaga (Paraguay), Vice-President, took the Chair.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“It appears to us, however, that the most essential efforts to revitalize the General Assembly do not come from measures contained in General Assembly resolutions. Rather, Member States must ensure that the Assembly is seized with truly relevant topics that are treated efficiently and effectively. We may deplore the migration of topics to the Security Council that we think should be dealt with instead by the General Assembly. This trend, however, will continue unabated unless the Assembly proves to be a central decision-making body that takes its responsibilities seriously. The Assembly is what we, as Member States, want it to be. A genuine and sustained effort is, therefore, required from all of us. We continue to fully support the early establishment of a Human Rights Council to replace the Commission on Human Rights.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Enlargement and a more representative Council are clear necessities, and we will do our part to achieve an early solution, with the strongest possible political support. In addition, and not less importantly, we must also improve the working methods of the Security Council, as stated in the World Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1). Transparency, accountability and stronger involvement of States that are not members of the Council are of decisive importance to enable it to truly act on behalf of the membership, as mandated by the Charter. We will work hard for early and concrete results, since effective changes in the daily workings of the Council would benefit the entire membership. We routinely repeat our annual call for a stronger General Assembly. Small steps are taken every year, and all of them are important.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“On the one hand, many countries increasingly feel a lack of ownership of the Organization, although collective ownership based on the principle of sovereign equality is one of the cornerstones of the Organization. On the other hand, the Security Council is at risk of being paralysed by the sheer amount of issues on its agenda. The answer to this challenge is clear: we need a stronger General Assembly that asserts its central role and carries out its functions effectively. In parallel, the Security Council must become more transparent and accountable in order to truly carry out its functions on behalf of the entire membership. The lack of a solution to the complex issue of Security Council reform is a disappointment to many.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“No bureaucracy can be changed overnight, as we all know from our national experience; but it is clear that only a more accountable Secretariat, one that works without undue pressure from us, the Member States, can restore the confidence of the peoples it is meant to serve. Accountability must also be a key principle for the intergovernmental bodies and thus guide us in our work on the relevant reforms. We are concerned at the increasingly skewed institutional balance within the Organization. The Security Council has clearly taken on a role that goes far beyond the central place it was given under the Charter. Indeed, its activities are increasingly venturing into the domains reserved for the General Assembly, in particular. This entails a twofold risk.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“The reputation and the worldwide image of the United Nations is clearly not what it used to be — the oil-for-food scandal, cases of sexual exploitation by United Nations peacekeepers, inaction in the face of mass crimes and humanitarian crises have overshadowed the many success stories that this Organization has to tell. 15 It is important to move on from the oil-for-food scandal. Moving on, however, must not mean that we ignore, yet again, the fact that the massive abuse and mismanagement revealed in the Volcker reports are but one expression of what is a systemic problem. Too much went wrong in the oil-for-food programme, and everybody involved failed in their responsibilities in one way or another, including the Security Council.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Institutional change must be the focus of our attention over the next few months, both through the creation of new bodies and the adaptation of existing ones. We will give particular attention to the Human Rights Council, the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Secretariat. We shared the general relief at the last-minute agreement on the outcome document, since a lack of such agreement would have been disastrous. We had created expectations that were much higher than what we could have possibly achieved, at a time when the United Nations seemed more in need of reform than ever before.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“One week ago, the world summit sent a message of hope for peace, development and human rights for all, and took a number of steps towards institutional reform at the United Nations. The summit meeting has achieved much. It has also left a lot undone and has not met our expectations in several areas. We agree with the General Assembly President’s assessment that only the work we do over the next few months will allow us a final assessment of the value of the outcome document. The summit certainly did not achieve the comprehensive breakthrough we had hoped for. We therefore look forward to working under the President’s guidance on the follow-up and implementation and welcome the fact that he has started this process immediately.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)