YouSaid · the spoken record

Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga

lines on the record: 52
first: 1998-09-24
most recent: 2005-09-24
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

“Let us resolve to commit ourselves collectively, on this solemn occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the Organization, to act together in the interest of humankind in order that we may strive to eliminate the three scourges of poverty, disease and terrorism.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We acknowledge with appreciation the valuable contribution made by the Secretary-General and his team to the ongoing reform process, which made possible the adoption of the outcome document (resolution 60/1) at the recent summit of the Organization. We urge all Member States to work together to build on that framework in order to operationalize what has been agreed and to work further on what remains to be achieved. Recovery after the tsunami disaster taught us the value and potential of humanity acting in unison when fellow human beings are in distress. We now hope that the same human spirit and common interests will continue to prevail in addressing the socio-economic and security challenges we face.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“In the face of unparalleled advances, both in technology and in human mobility, it is unconscionable to let some in our nations suffer from diseases that can be controlled, if not eliminated. In my view, there are three evils plaguing our world today that can have no place in the modern globalizing era of the twenty-first century: poverty, disease and terrorism. Today, these evils affect the social, cultural and economic well-being of a majority of humankind. No country can deal with them on its own. International cooperation is in our self-interest and needs to be mustered. We share the strong belief that the United Nations, on the occasion of its sixtieth anniversary, should seriously undertake comprehensive reforms so that the Organization is fully equipped to 4 meet new challenges, taking into account the current global realities.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“If we look at the current world health situation, although smallpox has been eradicated and polio is on the verge of being eliminated, there are other diseases ó often associated with poverty - that continue to take a heavy human toll, especially in developing countries. Every year, 6 million children die from malnutrition before their fifth birthday. More than 50 per cent of people in Africa suffer from water- related diseases such as cholera. HIV/AIDS kills 6,000 people every day. Each year, more than 300 million people are infected with malaria. New challenges, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome and avian influenza, indicate that national borders offer little protection against such proliferating pandemics.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Our National Child Protection Authority implements many programmes to eliminate abuse and violence against children and to ensure their protection as well as their right to freely enjoy life's most precious gift, childhood. Our success is due to the outcome of sustained efforts in policy planning and implementation. Those benchmarks and other indicators manifesting the high physical quality of life enjoyed by our people will be further elevated as we strive to meet the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. However, poverty remains a major challenge for us. To eradicate this scourge, we are now taking further steps through the adoption of economic and social programmes, in cooperation with our bilateral and multilateral development partners.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We earnestly hope that at this session it will be possible to conclude work on the comprehensive convention on international terrorism, in order to complete and strengthen the international legal framework to combat terrorism through collective measures. Sri Lanka will continue to provide its contribution to facilitate a consensus in its capacity as Chair of the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee on this subject. Sri Lanka has pledged to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015. We have already achieved the targeted goals in primary education and in infant and maternal mortality. We are committed to further promoting the political and economic empowerment of women so that gender equality becomes a matter of human rights and social justice.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“The restoration of democracy, the creation of space for dissent and the promotion of human rights in the affected areas in the north and the east of our country are now essential prerequisites for a successful and meaningful peace process in Sri Lanka. A lasting political solution can come to fruition only when the rebel group becomes a democratic civilian organization. That deserves the fullest support of the international community. As we have been for many long years, Sri Lanka remains firmly committed to the global endeavour to fight terrorism in all its aspects. No cause justifies the indiscriminate unleashing of terror upon the innocent. Sri Lanka has accordingly signed and ratified all United Nations conventions aimed at combating terrorism.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We continue to do all that is required by a democratic Government to ensure that we do not return to armed conflict, fulfilling the wishes of all our people. A peace process cannot, and does not, operate in a vacuum. People demand that a process of peace should include the commitment and good conduct of all parties to a conflict. When a belligerent group - a non-State actor - exploits the unique position offered to it by a peace process to utilize the freedom guaranteed under a democratic system of governance to strengthen itself through infiltration and the coercion of civilians, organizations and political parties, that impinges seriously on the ability of an elected Government to move forward effectively in its efforts at reconciliation and peace.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“In February 2002, the Government entered into a ceasefire agreement with the rebel group and began talks, with the facilitation of the Government of Norway. However, two and a half years ago, the LTTE walked away from the peace talks for the sixth time in 18 years. All efforts to have the talks renewed have so far failed. As a measure of good will after the tsunami disaster struck us, I agreed to an arrangement with the rebels for joint action in tsunami reconstruction work. That was yet another measure in a long series of efforts to engage and work with the rebels, particularly in humanitarian ventures, despite their obdurate insistence to remain armed and remain uncontested by any other democratic Tamil political party. 3 My Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire and the peace talks.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Targeted sanctions such as those proposed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his report to the Security Council should be imposed on those armed groups that undermine national and international peace and violate human rights. I firmly believe that terrorism cannot be eliminated through military suppression by State machinery. The socio-economic and cultural roots of a conflict must be sought and effectively redressed. We recognize that a lasting solution to ethnic issues and to terrorism in my country, or anywhere else, can only be found through negotiation and dialogue. Accordingly, my Government was the first, in 1994, to offer a negotiated settlement in place of an armed conflict, as well as an extensive devolution of power instead of a separate State.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Disregarding the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, that group continues to engage in numerous illegal and terrorist activities. Those include the conscription of children as soldiers - in callous disregard for promises given to many, including the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict - and the assassination of democratic opponents, as part of their policy of eliminating Tamil political leaders and human rights activists, with disdain for all international law and practice and despite sustained efforts by my Government and Norwegian facilitators. I tend to doubt that the Security Councilís recent identification of that group in connection with child conscription would suffice to deter such activities.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“One more hero who fought relentlessly for freedom and justice has been felled by the enemies of peace and unity. As Foreign Minister, the late Mr. Kadirgamar argued powerfully and worked tirelessly against extremist racist ideologies that employ violence to gain their divisive objectives. He was bold enough to expose to the world the true face of terrorism inflicted upon my country. For 11 long years, from this very podium, Mr. Kadirgamar warned the Assembly about the threat posed by terrorism to the democratic way of life, not only in Sri Lanka but across the world. For over two decades, Sri Lanka has been under sustained assault by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an armed group that employs brutal methods and suicide bombings in its campaign of terror to obtain a separate State.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“On behalf of my people and my Government, I wish to convey my profound appreciation and gratitude to all those who assisted and sympathized with us and contributed generously to rebuild our country. Let me take this opportunity to extend a special word of thanks to President Clinton, the United Nations Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, for his commitment and leadership in coordinating the ongoing international effort for sustainable recovery. Just as my country was in national distress in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster, we are now in distress in the face of an ominous renewal of terror on our soil. One month ago, my dear colleague Lakshman Kadirgamar, the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, was assassinated by a calculated and barbaric act of terrorism.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Towering tsunami waves struck two thirds of the coastal areas of our island nation, leaving in its wake death and destruction on a scale hitherto unknown by the world. Moved by the enormous scale of that calamity, Governments, the United Nations and other international organizations, civil society organizations and countless well-wishers across the world rushed to help my country and its people to recover, rehabilitate and rebuild. It was a magnificent gesture of human solidarity. Citizens of the world reached out beyond the confines of geopolitical and other man-made barriers in one magnificent gesture of human generosity. That rekindled in us new confidence in the power of peoples acting in unison across the world to move Governments to act in the best interests of humankind for a new and better world.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“42) Five decades on, I have the pleasure to say that my country has kept that promise by regularly contributing to consensus-building in the Organization in areas ranging from the law of the sea to disarmament and from human rights to the issue of terrorism. We remain fully committed to the United Nations. We continue to believe that the collective moral force of this Organization is indispensable for a secure, peaceful and humane world. We are convinced that such a world can be realized through the honest commitment of every Member State to its individual 2 and collective responsibilities. Our peoples live in the hope and expectation that we shall deliver. On the morning of 26 December 2004, Sri Lanka and several other countries around the Indian Ocean region woke up to a natural disaster of unprecedented magnitude.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Prime Minister Bandaranaike, representing Sri Lanka, said on that occasion: "This is an Organization which expresses itself most effectively by bringing to bear a certain moral force - the collective moral force and decency of human beings. That is a task in which the weak as well as the strong can render a useful service, and I give the Assembly the assurance, on behalf of my country, that as far as we are concerned, every endeavour that we can make in all sincerity to assist in the achievements of those noble ideals for which this Organization stands will always be forthcoming in the fullest measure." (Official Records of the General Assembly, Eleventh Session, Plenary Meetings, 590th meeting, para.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“I extend to you, Sir, our warmest congratulations as you assume the high office of the President of the General Assembly at its sixtieth session. We wish you all the best and assure you of Sri Lankaís support and cooperation in your work. I convey gratitude to Mr. Jean Ping for his astute leadership of the fifty-ninth session. This sixtieth landmark session of the General Assembly is doubly significant for Sri Lanka, as this year we mark the fiftieth anniversary of our membership in the United Nations. As a small nation that has kept the flame of democracy burning through many tribulations, we take modest pride in the fact that what we said at the first session of the General Assembly we addressed can still be recalled with undiminished relevance.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We want it to be a strong, principled and effective body, the common inheritance of all mankind, not the preserve of a few wealthy and powerful States, but the guardian of all, especially the poor, the weak and the defenceless.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“That is a task in which the weak as well as the strong can render a useful service, and I give the Assembly the assurance, on behalf of my country, that as far as we are 27 concerned, every endeavour that we can make in all sincerity to assist in the achievements of those noble ideals for which this Organization stands will always be forthcoming in the fullest measure.” (A/PV.590, para. 42) Addressing this Assembly 42 years later, I make bold to say that Sri Lanka remains a loyal and dedicated Member of this Organization. We have made a contribution to the quality of its deliberations and to the implementation of its programmes. We are deeply committed to the principles of the Charter. We believe in the United Nations.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, my late father, addressing this Assembly at its eleventh session, in 1956, spoke as follows: “In an Organization such as this, the service that a country can render ... is not to be measured alone by the size of that country, its population, its power or its strength. This is an Organization which expresses itself most effectively by bringing to bear a certain moral force — the collective moral force and decency of human beings.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The United Nations General Assembly is the supreme parliament of mankind. Today the era of the cold war is over. Economic globalization is breaking down national boundaries to an extent that would have been unimaginable a few decades ago. The world is truly on the threshold of a new order which surely cannot be driven any more by the narrow national concerns that have paralysed the imagination of mankind for so long. Never before in human history have we been presented with the stupendous possibilities that surround us today of breaking the mundane bonds that bind us to banality and triviality. When the unconquered, unconquerable spirit of mankind is allowed to soar to its full potential we will achieve a world in which truth and justice prevail, a world which we can proudly bequeath to the unborn generations of our peoples.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“If the United Nations is to continue on its voyage into the twenty-first century with renewed vigour, to achieve its objectives of peace, security, economic development and social reform, all its Members must be empowered to participate meaningfully and at every level of the decision-making process. To this end, two important reforms must be placed on our agenda. First, the enlargement of the Security Council so that it will more fully represent two thirds of the world populace is an indispensable requirement. The developing nations and the regions of the world in which they predominate must have permanent representation on the Security Council. Secondly, the crucial role of the General Assembly in the decision-making process of the United Nations must be recognized and guaranteed.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“In the closing years of the present millennium, the world is a far more complex place than it was when the United Nations Charter was adopted. The range and ramifications of the issues with which the Organization must contend have dramatically increased. Change in the orientation of the United Nations must keep pace with new realities. The Secretary-General’s Programme for Reform is a step in the right direction. Yet nothing will contribute more to the success of the United Nations than the extent of Member States’ commitment to the Organization’s decisions. The credibility and strength of those decisions will itself depend on the transparency of the decision- making process and on how closely Member States identify with those decisions.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Last year was designated the year of United Nations reform, and we are happy that a major portion of the reforms introduced have been implemented. Some others require further study. We are aware of the financial crisis the United Nations is facing due to the default of certain Member States in paying their contributions. We urge them to pay their dues fully, without conditions and on time. We are disappointed that agreement has not been reached over the reconstitution of the Security Council to reflect better the generality of United Nations membership. The Council should be more representative, and its deliberations more transparent and democratic, thus responding to the concerns of all and shedding its image, not entirely inaccurate, of largely serving the interests of the major Powers.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar it is because I am personally aware of the loneliness, the anguish, the difficulties and dangers that a woman leader faces in political life. The people of Sri Lanka and the people of Myanmar and their Governments have been friends over many centuries. Our peoples share an invaluable heritage — the timeless message of the Buddha, the enlightened one who taught the world the meaning of compassion, tolerance and understanding. This message moves me to express the hope that political issues in Myanmar may be approached in a spirit of conciliation and tolerance. In all this, a catalytic role can and must be played by the United Nations system. The United Nations has passed its half-century mark. The Secretary-General has described the United Nations as “a noble experiment in human cooperation”.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Laws must be effectively implemented. Only by such concerted action shall we be able to ensure that terrorists are compelled to renounce violence and enter the democratic process. Here I would like to thank India and the United States of America, in particular, for having recognized and declared the LTTE to be the terrorist organization that it is, as well as for encouraging my Government to settle this problem by political means. I would like to add 26 here that this is an internal problem that Sri Lanka is fully able and ready to resolve, with the full support of its peoples. We will not tolerate any outside interference, while we appreciate all the support given us by our friends abroad in resolving this conflict. If at this stage I mention Mrs.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Sri Lanka is hopeful that all States will speedily take steps to implement the necessary domestic legislation, aimed at giving effect to the commitments made in the Convention, to ensure that terrorists are neither provided safe haven nor permitted to raise funds within the borders of one State to sustain terrorist activities in another State. While we enact legislation, we must also be eternally vigilant to ensure that terrorists do not find loopholes in our laws to circumvent the emerging international consensus against terrorism. We are particularly conscious of the capacity of terrorist groups to resort to the strategy of using front organizations for raising funds which end up in the LTTE war chest to contribute towards murdering and brutalizing our people. Moral and legal sanctions against terrorists are not enough.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Addressing the United Nations fiftieth anniversary celebrations in New York three years ago, I observed: “Concerted international action is essential to combat terrorism and to compel the terrorists to renounce violence and enter the democratic process. Unfortunately, effective action to that end has been frustrated through sterile philosophical debate about the nature of terrorism.” (A/50/PV.35, p. 9) I am happy to note that since then significant measures have been taken. The adoption of the United Nations International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings earlier this year has been a considerable moral victory for the international community in its fight against terrorism.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Our reasoning has been that a group like the ruthless LTTE, which continues to frustrate every effort at finding a negotiated political settlement to our ethnic problem, has found sustenance in the liberal asylum policies that prevail in some countries. This group, which recruits children as young as 10 years, indiscriminately targets innocent civilians, assassinates the elected representatives of the people, including Tamil political and human rights leaders, destroys places of religious worship and assassinates foreign heads of Government on their soil, is permitted to operate freely in many countries. It maintains an international network which engages in fund-raising, narcotics trafficking, trade in illicit arms, the smuggling of illegal immigrants and, in more recent times, maritime and cyber-terrorism.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“By contrast, in Palestine, Chairman Arafat pursues what he calls “the peace of the brave”, confident not only of the justice of his cause, but also of the strength of support freely given by the Palestinian people to achieve their inalienable right in Palestine. During the SAARC summit, we expressed growing concern at numerous setbacks affecting the peace process in the Middle East, including illegal attempts to change the jurisdiction and the borders of Jerusalem. Over the past few years the Government of Sri Lanka has in various international forums strongly advocated the need for collective international action in order to overcome the scourge of terrorism.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The LTTE claims to be a “liberation organization” while it murders hundreds upon hundreds of the Tamil people it claims to liberate when they disagree with the LTTE’s terror politics. Several Tamil leaders of democratic political parties, including members of parliament and two mayors, as well as Tamil human rights activists, have been brutally murdered by the LTTE. Its claim to be a “liberation organization” is negated by its unilateral resort to violence and its constant refusal to put its claims to the true test — that of participating in an open, democratic, peaceful process of consultation with the people.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The Nation’s need today is so great and urgent that it permits space only for largesse of heart and mind, which will supersede in the national interest all that is irrelevant and small.” My Government is firmly committed to redressing ethnic grievances peacefully through political discussion. We have presented a comprehensive proposal for addressing the ethnic grievances through a wide devolution of political power. The vast majority of our people, of all communities, have welcomed these proposals. Only the LTTE chooses to prowl the path of violence, resorting to terror to achieve goals which it alone espouses. However, we have kept the doors open to the LTTE to join other Sri Lankans in negotiating a settlement of all outstanding ethnic issues if it eschews terrorism and its bloody call for a separate State.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“I said that the golden jubilee of independence was an occasion for reflection, as well as the renewal of hopes and aspirations. It was an occasion to savour applause for our achievements and also to rue the consequences of failure. I said: “We must also with humility examine our failures. We have failed in the essential task of nation- building. We have meandered and faltered along that path, whilst among our neighbours in Asia and in many other countries, peoples of various racial, religious and linguistic communities live in harmony. The causes of this failure will be judged by history. Others will apportion and assign blame. 25 “Let us, those of us who have undertaken the responsibility to guide and govern the Nation, march towards the future in unison, putting behind us mean desires for petty personal or political gain.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“A particularly cruel offence against the innocence of children is their forced recruitment by a terrorist group in Sri Lanka to serve as suicide killers in the name of a cause they are too young even to comprehend. This is just one sordid aspect of the activities of a terrorist group known as the Tamil Tigers — or the LTTE. They seek to dismember Sri Lanka, with the objective of creating in our land a monoethnic and racist entity — an objective totally unacceptable to the overwhelming majority in the country and even to the very community whose cause the LTTE claims to represent. We believe that ethnic grievances exist in Sri Lanka. I said so in my address to the nation at the fiftieth anniversary celebrations of our independence this year.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“With regard to children, my Government has recently passed legislation to set up a National Child Protection Authority directly under my supervision. This Authority deals with such issues as child employment, the sexual exploitation of children, education, health and the plight of children trapped in armed conflict. We have formulated a “Children’s Charter” and a National Plan of Action to provide for the safety and protection of our children. While we are conscious of the tragic incidence of child prostitution and pornography in our country, we have also traced the insidious international linkages which aggravate the problem further. We urge the international community to tighten laws and enforcement mechanisms to ensure that those responsible for such heinous crimes will not receive refuge anywhere.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“In Colombo, the SAARC States finalized the draft text of a regional convention on combating the crime of trafficking in women and children for prostitution, which will be signed at the next summit in Nepal. Within Sri Lanka, my Government has adopted a national plan of action based on the relevant conclusions of the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, and on the specifics of our own national situation. The Constitution of Sri Lanka enshrines the fundamental right of equality between the sexes. We have ratified International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions guaranteeing equal remuneration and other benefits to women. We have strengthened legal provisions against harassment and sexual abuse of women.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The countries of SAARC agreed at Colombo that to complement economic progress, a Social Charter should be drawn up for the benefit of our peoples in South Asia. This would focus on determining practical, basic norms in the areas of poverty eradication, the empowerment of women, the mobilization of youth, the promotion of health and nutrition, and the protection of children. We must make a special effort to dissipate the effects of the discriminatory, social and psychological perceptions that affect the status of women. The SAARC heads of State or Government condemned violence against women as well as acts of discrimination and humiliation which further depress the dignity of women. There was particular concern over the plight of women and girl children caught in situations of armed conflict.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“I appeal to the assembled nations not to allow ourselves to be beguiled or dazzled by the explosion of exciting new technologies, the seductive blandishments of global trade and high finance to the extent that the poor, the deprived, the desperate fall away from our agenda into the limbo of forgotten things. We must not forget that the least developed countries have special problems that cry out for attention. We must strive mightily, relentlessly, to banish these problems in the next century. The G-77 has proposed that a third world summit be held in the year 2000 to mark the dawn of the new century. Sri Lanka supports the proposal as an opportunity for developing countries to chart their own agenda for development in the new era.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The United Nations Agenda for Development, which was launched with great expectations, seems to be losing momentum. Its implementation should not be delayed. Development is not merely a matter of economic growth and financial enrichment, to be measured in statistics, which can sometimes be misleading and illusory. The totality of the human condition must be enhanced and improved. Our commitment and 24 responsibility towards economic and social development should not be minimized and made secondary to other issues which, though important, do not touch on the well- being of humanity. It is a grievous indictment on us that the age-old problems of grinding poverty and starvation still exist in today’s world.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“A constructive dialogue between developed and developing countries must be pursued on the basis of mutual benefit and shared responsibilities. Closer consultation should be promoted between groups like the Group of 7, the G-77 and the G-15. Institutions such as the World Trade Organization must live up to their declared aims and genuinely facilitate a transparent, rule-based trading system that would permit stable growth. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) should not be neglected. It should be strengthened as the focal point in the United Nations family for the integrated consideration of issues of trade, finance, technology and investment. More funds for development activity need to be diverted from the United Nations administrative budget.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“I wish to propose three areas of action that merit serious consideration: first, that a “lender of last resort” facility must be formulated to meet the problems of volatile capital movements; secondly, that effective international surveillance devices must be designed to anticipate problems before the demolition squads of speculators move in; and thirdly, that the resumption of the Special Drawing Rights of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) be a vital requirement of the proposed restructuring. The major voting Powers of the IMF, as well as the developing nations, will have to consider larger allocations than are now contemplated. In the meantime, we should beware of attempts to liberalize capital accounts before the modernization of national financial structures and the reforms of the international monetary system are in place.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The maladies that spring from economic globalization require remedies which are global in scope, remedies which must take account of the ailments of all States and not be based solely on the prescriptions advanced by those who may seem to be secure. United Nations bodies must play a critical role in all this, particularly by facilitating and fostering international cooperation for equitable development that could resist the economic contagion that now afflicts us. The international monetary mechanism has proved desperately inadequate in handling the recent crises. We now have to think in terms of a new financial architecture to obtain radical reforms of the international monetary system. This should aim at achieving a balance between the adjustments demanded as against available financing.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“SAARC too, like the Non-Aligned Movement, recognizes that the twin currents of globalization and liberalization which are swirling around us contain both the potential for prosperity as well as the seed of a dangerous new process of uneven development. It must be remembered that developing countries need special consideration in regard to the problems they face in globalizing their economies. However, what is abundantly clear is that not a single State, not even the most powerful, can hope to remain immune from economic disease and contagion. Ripples have spread widely from the economic upheavals of East Asia and Russia.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We are determined to put aside the political differences that bedevil relations among some of us, in a common and united effort to improve the quality of life of our peoples. The message I bring from the Colombo Summit is that the prospects for enhanced economic, technological, social and scientific cooperation in our region are exceedingly bright. It is the will of our leaders, as vigorously manifested at the Colombo Summit. I am deeply indebted to my fellow Heads of State and Government for their invaluable advice and cooperation, and especially to the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan for the magnificent spirit of friendship and understanding they showed for the collective regional interests and concerns.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“23 Today I have the honour and privilege of addressing the Assembly as the newly appointed chairperson of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which met in Colombo a few months ago. SAARC represents one fifth of humanity. South Asia is heir to a rich and complex plurality of cultural and religious traditions of great antiquity. Like any other association of sovereign States, we have our share of problems. But I wish to convey my confident belief that our summit meetings last year and this year have marked a turning point in the life of our association. Our leaders are aware of the awesome obligations that we jointly owe to the hundreds of millions of people who inhabit our region.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“37-39) At the recently concluded Non-Aligned Movement Summit, held in South Africa under the chairmanship of President Nelson Mandela, the Movement once again expressed its preoccupation with the issue of global nuclear disarmament. In the years ahead the clamour for disarmament among the great majority of nations will grow in volume. The Non-Aligned Movement has consistently called for the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament to establish, as the highest priority, an ad hoc committee to commence negotiations on a programme for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons within a time-bound framework. In addition, there is also a proposal for a nuclear weapons convention. We have to address these challenges as we approach the new millennium. The longer we shirk our responsibility, the greater the danger that looms ahead.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“It is, indeed, a sad reflection on the moral and intellectual standards of the twentieth century and of its values and priorities that so much of the world’s resources, which might have been devoted to the eradication of poverty, ignorance, disease and hunger, are being [wasted on] the production of monstrous weapons ... “[We] do not accept the thesis that disarmament is the special preserve of Powers that possess the paraphernalia of war. Every nation and every individual has a right to peace, and just as peace is indivisible so is the responsibility for its preservation. Hence the call of the non-aligned nations for a special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament and agreement for a world conference.” (A/31/PV.11, paras.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Bandaranaike, addressing the Assembly as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and chairperson of the Movement of Non- Aligned Countries, spoke of disarmament in the following words: “General and complete disarmament has been a declared objective of the United Nations and of the international community for nearly three decades. “Despite many initiatives taken by this Organization ... the world has witnessed not even the semblance of disarmament but a race for supremacy in destructive power, based on the myth that peace can be preserved only by strident and single-minded preparations for war and the refinement and sophistication of its techniques.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Members of the nuclear club that possess these weapons show no inclination to dismantle them even though the cold war has ended and conflicts between States have lessened. The United Nations has the responsibility to redouble its efforts to achieve global disarmament. That is a duty we owe to mankind, to unborn generations. We do not accept the thesis that these weapons are safe in the hands of some. The Movement of Non-Aligned Countries has been demanding for a long time that the Conference on Disarmament should establish, as its highest priority, a committee to commence negotiations on a programme for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons within a time bound framework. In 1976 my mother, Mrs. Sirimavo R. D.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“They pledged to establish an environment in which international law and treaty obligations would be observed, and to promote the economic and social progress of all peoples. The United Nations has succeeded in keeping its basic promise of saving the world from the holocaust of a global conflict. But more than 50 years after the Charter was written, we cannot conclude that the world today is a safer place than it was when the United Nations was founded. Global nuclear disarmament remains a distant dream. Nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction have proliferated with no concern for the safety of humankind despite the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)