YouSaid · the spoken record

Ranil Wickremesinghe

lines on the record: 49
first: 2002-09-24
most recent: 2023-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
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 who have not been able to find a solution to the Palestinian question must now be able at least to find a solution to the questions that threaten the existence of the global community. That can be achieved through the willingness of the permanent members to work together in solidarity with the developing world. They must show the way.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“We need to halt the momentum whereby this and other big-Power tensions are spilling over into established areas of international rules-based cooperation forged over decades of multilateral negotiation, ranging from international trade to ocean governance. The international system is today undergoing vast changes. At the same time, it is being confronted with unprecedented challenges. We come to the United Nations to demonstrate solidarity in arriving at common solutions. What is at stake is not the future of the United Nations, but the future of our planet as a whole. Member States will need to find new ways of working together despite the increasing mistrust that has permeated international relations.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“In keeping with Sri Lanka’s long-standing position in support of the disarmament of weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons, this year Sri Lanka ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Yesterday we acceded to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The war in Ukraine has far-reaching and severe financial and humanitarian repercussions on food, hunger and debt in all parts of the world, including Sri Lanka. It is recalled that the Charter of the United Nations vests powerful States in the Security Council with the responsibility to maintain international peace and security and to de-escalate rather than ignite conflict.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“I repeat — we are asking that the permanent members engage in a credible dialogue that would lead to a unified approach to combat those threats ahead of the coming sessions. While we seek solidarity and financing to alleviate poverty and climate challenges, global military expenditures have risen today to record levels reaching $2.24 trillion. That reflects the strategic trust deficit among the powerful. Key arms control frameworks that were instrumental in maintaining system stability in the past have collapsed, and nuclear conflict is once again under open discussion, potentially and apocalyptically triggered by autonomous control. We urge restraint in the increase of military expenditure, which leads to escalation of conflict. Developing countries have been the voice of sanity and reason in that regard for decades.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“The survival of the planet must be our priority; we cannot afford to go into this war with a divided high command. The future of all species on the globe is dependent on our ability to set aside our rivalries until the crisis is resolved. The multilateral machinery, which reflects the world of the past century, needs to be reformed to meet the challenges of the present and the future. That machinery has failed to find a solution to the longstanding Palestine question. The composition of the Security Council must be expanded to be representative of current global diversity and decision-making. In parallel, the role of the General Assembly must be strengthened. We are asking that the permanent members engage in a credible dialogue that would lead to a unified approach to combat those threats ahead of the coming sessions.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“At the same time, the Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact will come up with the funding requirements. Therefore, the Summit of the Future should not craft new programmes, but restructure the present financial architecture to suit the needs created by climate change and sustainable development. That must be the priority of the General Assembly. We cannot afford to allow divisions to drive focus away from the crisis. While key issues such as the Bridgetown Initiative and the necessity to address the debt of low-income countries are being discussed in the Assembly, it is not commanding the attention it deserves. Unfortunately, the Security Council has failed to give priority to the connected issues of climate change, debt relief and sustainable development. That impacts the future of humankind.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Recent studies in the United States have stated that the impact of the pandemic on the United States economy from 2020 to 2024 would reach $14 trillion. Those numbers would more than double if the rest of the global economy were added. We have not faced an economic crisis of this magnitude any time before in our modern history. The cost of the Second World War in today’s United States dollars would amount to only $4 trillion and the Marshall Plan would cost $150 billion. That illustrates the magnitude of the challenge before us. If we are unable to restructure the global fiscal order, then certainly we will fail in the struggle to reverse climate change and achieve the SDG goals. There is still time for course correction, as the crisis has not reached its peak.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“National efforts alone will not suffice to ensure the success of the SDGs and reverse climate change. The need for global solidarity to restructure the international financial architecture is paramount. That is articulated loud and clear in multiple global forums, including at the G20 and the BRICS. The Secretary-General’s SDG stimulus highlights the interconnections between the achievement of the SDGs. combatting climate change and the concrete interventions required by creditors sovereign and private, as well as by the international financial institutions, including to mitigate the debt crisis. It is an accepted estimate that the 2008 financial crisis cost the United States economy $4 trillion.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“In parallel, last month in Sri Lanka we were grappling with the driest weather spell seen in recent years, followed by torrential rainfalls. Adverse climate outcomes are spilling over into our tight fiscal space just as we begin to stabilize from last year’s economic crisis. As Sri Lanka is a climate-vulnerable developing country in debt crisis, the urgent need to mobilize climate finance is greater today than it ever was before. However, despite promises made to which we were all witness, the rich countries are not delivering to expectation. Developed countries must do their part and fulfil what they have agreed to. assume their share of the common but differentiated responsibility, and provide assistance for mitigation, adaptation and compensation for loss and damage.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“We said that by 2030. we would have 70 per cent renewable energy in electricity generation, increase forest cover by 32 per cent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 14.5 per cent. We will phase out coal by 2040 and reach net zero by 2050. Our low- carbon development trajectory has given us one of the lowest per capita carbon emission rates of any lower middle-income country. This year, as a result of exogenous shocks and debt, the incremental progress we were proud to have achieved has been reversed. Food inflation costs put significant pressure on food security amongst vulnerable communities. At the same time, children’s education and nutrition have suffered due to the pandemic and the economic crisis.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“The cross-border financial impacts of crises, such as climate change and the pandemic, are impeding the ability of smaller indebted countries, such as mine, to make progress on the SDGs and climate adaptation and mitigation. Conflicts and tensions among big Powers are complicating the policy environment for the rest by adding uncertainty to economic and macro-financial stability, disrupting supply chains and causing inflation, as well as food and energy insecurity. Long before the SDGs. Sri Lanka had achieved high human and social development indicators that ranked us in a category well above other middle-income countries. Sri Lanka has not shirked its responsibility to the planet. Last year, at the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, we outlined our climate ambition plan.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“It is an appropriate reflection of the current global predicament that the theme of this year’s general debate is “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress, and sustainability for all” . This year, in parallel with the General Assembly, we have participated in three interrelated summits dealing with accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). financing for development and climate ambition, at which we agreed that international solidarity and collective action are needed to address those simultaneously.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Neutral, non-aligned countries of the global South such as Sri Lanka are once again constrained between new global power configurations, facing those who do not respect the sovereignty of our nations. In numerous recent declarations at the United Nations and beyond — including at the Group of 20 (G20) in Delhi, at the Pretoria meeting of the BRICS countries Brazil. Russia. India. China and South Africa, and at the Group of Seven in Hiroshima — we have agreed that our challenges are interconnected across borders and all other divides. We must grasp the opportunity to unite in order to build an inclusive future for future generations.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Accompanying that systemic change are. on the one hand, great expectations of development and human progress, with millions of people rising out of poverty to prosperity. On the other hand, we see a world where former big- Power rivalries and geopolitical tensions have reignited in open war. overlapping with new theatres of conflict and tension on land and in the oceans. Security alliances have expanded, and recent arrangements have been formed to deal with strategic threat perceptions in old and new theatres of conflict. North-South divisions are widening with the digital divide, the financial and debt crisis and the energy transition. Contrary to the promise of 2030. today we are seeing levels of poverty and hunger not witnessed in decades.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Sri Lankans are already witnessing the positive outcomes of those measures in their daily lives and the revival of confidence internally and externally in the progress of the country. It is my intention to lead the country towards sustainable and stable recovery and growth, which will benefit all segments of Sri Lankan society in all parts of the country, ensuring a future of peace, prosperity and reconciliation for present and future generations of women and men. In reaching that goal, we will be accompanied by the support, trust and solidarity of our own people and of the international community. As we turn the corner towards the eightieth anniversary of the United Nations and prepare for the Summit of the Future in 2024. we see the fragmented geopolitical landscape of a multipolar world where new centres of global power have emerged.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Even our democratic traditions were threatened by attempts to occupy our Parliament and bring it to a halt. Nevertheless, we succeeded in bringing about a democratic political transition, due to our deeply entrenched and resilient democratic traditions. The restoration of Sri Lanka’s economy, coupled with a gift of fertilizer from the United States Government that led to a bumper harvest, assisted us in ensuring stability during that period. The reforms I have since initiated in the economic, financial, institutional and reconciliation fronts have been directed, on the one hand, towards rebuilding trust and confidence between the people and the Government and. on the other, towards laying the foundation for economic stabilization and recovery.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“I congratulate Mr. Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session. I extend my sincere condolences to the victims and families of the natural disasters that hit Morocco and Libya in recent days. We stand in solidarity with our Moroccan and Libyan friends during this difficult time. “Rebuilding trust and reigniting solidarity” is an appropriate point of departure not only for reflecting on the challenges before the multilateral system today, but also for reviewing developments in my own country. Sri Lanka, over the past year. At this time last year, amidst multiple global crises. Sri Lanka was experiencing its most challenging period in recent times, socially, economically and politically, which had a devastating impact on people’s lives.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“We have before us a historic opportunity to build a United Nations worthy of the people whom we have the honour to represent a United Nations where honesty is not clouded by diplomacy, where realism replaces rhetoric, and where action supplants treaties.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“All this was completed in just 10 months. I, for one, would like to suggest that the Secretary- General and a carefully selected group of political leaders themselves come up with recommendations for United Nations reform. Their recommendations could be placed before a special session of the General Assembly, at which heads of State or Government would be present. I suggest that the time frame for this need not be any longer than at the inception of the United Nations, 58 years ago. In conclusion, let us remind ourselves that 11 September was a tragic wake-up call for all of us. The 19th of August was a tragic wake-up call for the United Nations.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“While many have urged a radical reform of the structure of the United Nations so as to make it able to respond to the challenges that confront multilateralism at the present time, most have been hesitant to suggest ideas that are both practical and doable. I believe that the time has come for all of us who accept in principle the value of this institution, the United Nations, and the objective it stands for to think out of the box to think creatively, imaginatively and unconventionally. If I were to hazard an approach, it would be along the lines of going back to our roots. The outline of the United Nations prepared at Dumbarton Oaks in August and September 1944 was agreed to at Yalta in February 1945 at the level of head of Government. The Charter was signed at the final meeting in San Francisco, in June 1945.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Recent experience under the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) process at Cancun further illustrates the problems that face us. No one expected an agreed formula to come out of Cancun. On the other hand, it need not have ended in collapse. The Secretary-General's report has identified many of the defects of the system that need to be addressed. Other speakers, too, have made proposals in this regard. At this stage, I should like to mention that, in our view, any expansion of the Security Council as a result of reforms must involve a manageable number, and Asia must be given its due. This was ignored in 1945.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“I refer to this session of the General Assembly, the gathering of the Finance Ministers at the Bretton Woods institutions, and the discussions at Cancun on the reordering of the world trade regime. At all three meetings, the call for structural reform was insistent and compelling. All three the United Nations, the Bretton Woods Twins and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) were born out of the trauma and dislocation of the Second World War. For over 50 years they have served our many causes in varying ways, at times with limited success, at times with despair at their inability to effectively deal with the fundamental problems of the day. After the Asian crisis, the Bretton Wood institutions came under close scrutiny, and today we are discussing how the developing countries can have greater say in their decision-making.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Frantic activity is not a substitute for concerted action, and the adoption of resolutions does not make a tangible difference in the day-to-day lives of our peoples. Above all, let us recall that inaction in itself is a deliberate and a considered decision to do nothing. We should not rival the League of Nations' impotence on Abyssinia. The problems we are encountering at the present time compel us courageously and resolutely to address and overcome the fundamental inadequacies that afflict our international institutions and processes. This year has seen the propitious coming together of three events which have framed thus far the political, financial and economic ordering of our world.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The attack on United Nations headquarters in Baghdad not only deprived the world community of some of its most devoted and talented servants but raised to the fore issues relating to the mandates entrusted to the United Nations by its Member States. It represents, undoubtedly, a direct challenge a challenge which must be met. Any reform must be radical, so that in this changed world so different from the one it was called upon to serve in 1945 the United Nations can have the capacity to cope with war, poverty, human rights, 14 terrorism and a dramatically changed environment in which weapons of mass destruction have become so potent a symbol. We have to move beyond rhetoric and from cosmetic change to major surgery if we are to overcome the challenge ahead. Rhetoric is not a substitute for decisive action.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“There are members in the Hall today who believe passionately that the United States and its allies were wrong to intervene in Iraq. Then there are those of us who feel that the United States and its allies had no choice but to intervene, that the failure of the United Nations had created the need for a world policeman, however reluctant it might be. But Iraq is more than a divergence of views on a major issue. It shows the inadequacies of the present collective security system, a decision-making system which grappled with the issue of Iraq for over a decade without a solution and created a deadlock at a most critical time. The United Nations has already paid a dreadful price.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“But the United Nations is under enormous stress. That strain comes from the structure of the Organization itself. As a result, the adequacy and effectiveness of the rules and instruments devised over 50 years ago to bring order and reason to the post-Second-World-War international scene are being questioned. The apparent irrelevance of the current multilateral rules and institutions to deal with the manifold problems of today compel our urgent attention. In the words of the Secretary-General, it challenges our ability to deal with the least difficult issues and to do so effectively'. Hence the rationale for reform which is insistent, compelling and radical cannot be averted; for words without action are meaningless, as we in Sri Lanka have learned at a bitter cost. Take for example the profound issues surrounding Iraq.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“President Roosevelt, in his 1943 Christmas Eve radio talk, said that as long as Britain, Russia, China and the United States stuck together in determination to keep the peace, there was no possibility of an aggressor nation arising to start another world war. But the world that the United Nations is called upon to represent today is an immeasurably changed world. Today's problems, as the Secretary-General has reminded us, are problems that respect no borders and no laws. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, environmental degradation, alienation and exclusion, conflict, global terrorism, disease and endemic poverty are foremost among those problems. Inescapably, the United Nations remains the central, indispensable forum in which we can collectively and democratically respond to the challenges that we face in common.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Meanwhile, our collective efforts, which have been handsomely supported by the international community and multilateral agencies, at providing relief, rehabilitation and development to the conflict- affected areas of the country are proceeding apace. Economic growth is marching ahead, from a growth rate of -1 per cent in the year 2001 to possibly 6 per cent this year. And tourism is booming. That has thus far been the story of Sri Lanka. In the recent past there have indeed also been some success stories in the United Nations: in Haiti, Somalia, Angola, Kosovo and East Timor. But they are not enough. The United Nations represents a unique concept for international order formulated by the Allied Powers to address challenges to peace and security and to development and democracy in the aftermath of the Second World War.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“I must, however, inform the Assembly that, like in all negotiations in a peace process, we find ourselves today at a temporary impasse in the talks. Within the next few weeks we should know the results of a comprehensive review undertaken by the LTTE in response to our earlier proposals regarding an interim administrative arrangement for the north and east of our country. That they should take so much time and effort can be seen as a positive sign. We in turn will look positively at the proposals put forward by the LTTE, and will do everything in our power to keep the peace process moving forward to a successful conclusion.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Last November at Oslo, our international partners endorsed and underwrote a paradigm shift in policy when the Government and the LTTE accepted that the 13 future political order in Sri Lanka would include moving towards a federal polity where the unity and territorial integrity of the country would be ensured. Again, in June of this year at Tokyo, 52 nations and 21 multilateral agencies, many of them of the United Nations system, pledged their support to Sri Lanka's peace efforts, rehabilitation and development programmes. The massive and unparalleled financial contributions alone totalled $4.5 billion over a four-year period. Those are indeed landmark events underlining the value and strength of international action.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The facilitation provided by Norway has had the result of bringing the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) together in several rounds of negotiation. President Chandrika Kumaratunga's continuing declaration of commitment to a political solution has been invaluable. The moral and material support that our other frontline sponsors India, the European Union, Japan, Canada and the United States, along with the multilateral institutions of the United Nations and the rest of the international community have given, and continue to give to us, has guaranteed that our efforts to consolidate and maintain the peace will strengthen and develop.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In moving from conflict to peace in Sri Lanka we initiated fundamental change in policy and strategy. We shifted from confrontation to negotiation, identifying and recognizing the root causes of the conflict. The success story that Sri Lanka is fast becoming also demonstrates the value of the support of the international community acting in concert. That the global community, moving with a common purpose, can succeed in re-establishing peace, democracy and prosperity has been amply demonstrated in the Sri Lankan experience. After 20 years of conflict, our people are now enjoying the fruits of 20 months of peace. The role of the international community in enabling us to move from war to peace has been outstanding.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Allow me to extend my congratulations to the President on his unanimous and well-deserved election as President of the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly. This is a difficult period for any person to preside over the General Assembly, and I wish him every success. I also wish to thank Mr. Jan Kavan of the Czech Republic for his exemplary work as the outgoing President. Last year, while addressing the General Assembly, I referred to the commencement of the peace process in Sri Lanka and promised to report on its progress. Progress in the peace process in Sri Lanka is due to the fact that we stopped talking about talking to each other and actually began to talk. We have been lucky, because the international community did not simply talk about helping us, it actually did so.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Across Sri Lanka, the people continue to build the only true peace we can hope for. Without fanfare, without politicians or media, they are quietly going about their business, finding old friends and building new relationships. Mistrust and suspicion are slowly melting away as people talk and share past experiences. The hatred in some hearts will take a little longer to dispel. But even that will be overcome in time by the deep desire for weapons to be destroyed, mines to be cleared and the sound of laughter to be heard once again. Trusting the people, whether it be for the consolidation of peace or the pursuit of development, is the best policy. We are beholden to the people we work for, whether they be clients or customers or shareholders or voters.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“In Sri Lanka, we intend to re-establish an investment-friendly country with an efficient bureaucracy and a thriving private sector. On this visit to the United States, I have brought a team from my industrial sector to talk to United States businessmen. We are grateful to the United Nations for helping my Government to organize an investment promotion forum in the United States tomorrow with the 4 participation of members of our private sector, who will interact with their counterparts here. Those “close encounters of the business kind” will provide insight into the opportunities for collaborative economic and development ventures in Sri Lanka as we move forward on the peace front. Investment in peace makes sound political and economic sense for both Sri Lanka and its partners abroad. Growth in Sri Lanka will be good for everyone.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“It is the forum in which there is an opportunity for interaction and possible reconciliation among complex, competing and even confrontational concerns. Under the Secretary-General's initiative of the Global Compact, it provides for the launching and navigation of positive partnerships between the corporate and State sectors. We also look forward to the implementation of decisions taken at the International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Monterrey. We welcome the Millennium Challenge Account as an outcome of that Conference to assist countries committed to democratic norms and good governance, to the engagement of the private sector and to the involvement of the people in the process of development.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“No cause justifies the killing of innocent people. Global terrorism must be eradicated, whatever its manifestation and wherever it occurs. We support a comprehensive approach to international terrorism through the General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee on Terrorism. Terrorism has affected virtually all the countries of South Asia. A meeting in Sri Lanka will soon draft an additional protocol to the Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. The protocol would update the Convention, inter alia to meet the obligations devolving on member States in respect of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. The United Nations has been a source of good since its inception.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Regaining Sri Lanka is much more than a slogan, it is a practical, doable strategy, in which we invite the international community to participate. While seeking a negotiated solution to our own conflict, Sri Lanka strongly supports negotiating a settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict. We have long supported a responsible peace process which would lead to the acceptance of two States, Israel and Palestine, prospering in conditions of peace and security, as neighbours, within secure and recognized borders. We urge the resumption of a serious dialogue between Israel and Palestine as a prelude to sustained negotiations. In Sri Lanka, dialogue and negotiations are turning around a long, drawn-out conflict. With respect to those who were responsible for 11 September, the approach needs to be different.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Quickening the pace of peace and having its dividends credited directly and urgently to the people are imperative. We are grateful to all those who are assisting us in Quick Impact Projects. The implementation of those projects without delay will help peace take root, involve people in the affected areas in their economic and social recovery and ease the way for higher stages of development. Throughout its long history, there have been flattering descriptions of Sri Lanka — centuries before our Tourist Board promoted the serenity of the island. The ancient Arabs and mediaeval Europeans called our island paradise. If in the course of our recent conflict some of the quality of paradise has been lost, then surely paradise must be regained.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Sri Lanka has a high rating on the Human Development Index of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Our per capita income figures and our life expectancy and our literacy rates are among the highest in the region. Peace will further enhance all that, but its dividend must be credited to all the shareholders in Sri Lanka's future. Sri Lanka welcomes the support that our peace process has received from members of the international community and from the United Nations. On a request made by me to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a United Nations inter-agency needs assessment team visited Sri Lanka in April and May of this year. The team completed a strategic overview of the current situation, which can guide immediate and mid- to long-term action by United Nations agencies in Sri Lanka. We thank the Secretary-General for his efforts.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Hundreds of thousands of mines need to be removed from tracts of land to make them safe and arable in order for the internally displaced persons to return to their homes and their farms. Sri Lanka is reviewing its position on the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines with a view to becoming a party to it as confidence in peace grows. We are grateful for the help we are receiving from the United Nations, members of the international community and non- 3 governmental organizations in our demining programme. My Government is resolved to ensure that the people of the north and east of our Republic should also enjoy the same security and the same quality of life, democratic governance and human rights which people in other parts of the country enjoy.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We believe that the way forward is through a clearly representative interim administration within a united Sri Lanka in which the rights of all communities, Tamil, Muslim and Sinhalese, are safeguarded. That will allow us to carry forward an initiative to empower local people by decentralizing governmental authority and by establishing five regional economic development zones. Through such initiatives, we intend to encourage local people to be responsible for driving economic growth in their own regions. Those measures, along with the liberalization and deregulation of our economy, will generate wealth. Meanwhile, there is a pressing, immediate security issue.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“The people want to see normalcy restored, not tomorrow but today. The farmers want their damaged irrigation canals repaired today; their harvest cannot be delayed until a final agreement is reached. This imperative is driven even more by young people among the Sri Lankan armed forces and the cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, whose weapons lie silent. Without international support and help with resources to build a peace dividend, the gloss on peace can be dulled. With the recreation of opportunities for people and for growth, politicians and negotiators will be driven even harder to stabilize, advance and sustain the peace. From there, we can approach the complex constitutional issues. Those questions will take time.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Exchange visits between school children and other groups from the south and from the north have revealed to many that the other side is not so different after all. Last week our capital, Colombo, came to a standstill as people from all over the country, from every religion and every ethnic group in society, flocked to a peace rally. Those are all encouraging signs. But with them comes a risk. The imperative of peace is growing. The people demand peace, and the politicians and negotiators on both sides had better deliver. Peace is people-driven. The conflict had dragged our economy to near bankruptcy, and last year, for the first time in independent Sri Lanka, we recorded negative growth. Resources must flow into developing the areas ravaged by war. Opportunities must be created. The momentum of growth must be re-established.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Economic reconstruction and development of the affected areas will be a deciding factor in sustaining the momentum of political negotiations. Development is part of the healing process in a wounded, divided society. The pressing day-to-day problems of the people need to be settled as soon as possible. Indeed, at the discussions in Thailand, there was strong endorsement of the urgent need for resources to ensure the early dividends of the peace process. The role played by Norway in facilitating that process and, most recently, at the peace talks is deeply appreciated. I extend my sincere thanks to Norway for all its efforts. Already, following the ceasefire, there are signs of people enjoying their rediscovered freedom. The people want more.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Confidence-building measures have encouraged the free movement of people throughout the country and have revived economic activity. Peace talks with the LTTE, facilitated by Norway, began two days ago in Sattahip, Thailand. The Sri Lanka Government has unilaterally suspended the proscription of the LTTE in order to facilitate the talks, to give peace a chance, and to give the LTTE a chance for peace. A flexible approach is necessary in the negotiations, combining a warm heart with a cool head. An understanding of the other side, their aspirations and their concerns, is essential. Negotiations are complex and will take time. In the early stages of our talks with the LTTE, we are trying to resolve some of the immediate practical needs of the people in order to bring relief and normalcy to our society.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Tragic stories abound: children who will never see their fathers return home; mothers who have lost their sons; and children who, even today, innocently step on anti-personnel 2 mines. I have talked to the disabled soldiers and the dispossessed, the people who have no homes, and those who return to the north-east of our country to find war- torn ruins and once productive fields sown with land mines. The election victory last December of the Government I represent was a clear national mandate to end the conflict in the north-east. The Government has since moved swiftly towards the fulfilment of that mandate. A ceasefire with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was signed on 22 February this year. The ceasefire has held.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“It is with such thoughts in my mind that I recall the horrendous events of 11 September 2001, which claimed the lives of so many Americans and people of other nationalities from all over the world. As we are only too painfully aware, they are not the only victims of terror. The attack confirmed what we in Sri Lanka have long known: terrorism has long been globalized. As President Bush acknowledged on 11 March 2002, “September 11 was not the beginning of global terror, but it was the beginning of the world's concerted response.” We in Sri Lanka perhaps know better than most the tragedies that conflict and terrorism create. My own country has been ravaged by a 20-year conflict, which has caused more than 65,000 deaths. Eight hundred thousand people are internally displaced.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Let me begin by conveying, on behalf of the Sri Lanka delegation, our sincere felicitations to Mr. Jan Kavan on his election as President of this fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly and our assurances of our fullest cooperation. I would also like to express appreciation for the exemplary manner in which Mr. Han Seung-soo, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, guided the work of the fifty-sixth session. We also warmly welcome Switzerland as a new Member of the Organization, and look forward also to welcoming East Timor. Our discussions and debates in this Assembly often reach great heights and seek grand objectives, but ultimately they are about the future lives, well-being and security of the people we are privileged to represent.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)