YouSaid · the spoken record

Rabenoro

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS RABENORO

lines on the record: 45
first: 1991-09-24
most recent: 1992-09-24
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

“However, the fact that we are gathered here bears witness to our readiness and determination to turn towards the United Nations in order to draw renewed certainty from it. This is not a risk-free undertaking, since it reveals our weaknesses and shortcomings. It is, however, worth making the effort in order to enable us to adjust our commitment to the challenges that continually assail us. Let us hope that it will lead to a renewal which is beneficial to the Organization and which in the final analysis will help us to keep the promises we have made to our peoples.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“We have not always managed to avoid recrimination and confrontation, but over four decades which will soon be five we have constantly sought the best ways and means of promoting and perfecting cooperation between our peoples and between our States. With this cooperation we have everything to gain; without it we have everything to lose. This certainty could have been a valid guide for us in our common quest for more peace, more justice and more progress in a word, for bringing about a more humane world. We could have succeeded long ago had the course of events been more in our favour and had we agreed together to turn our visions into reality. General instability led us to doubt ourselves and also one another.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“Madagascar welcomes the convening in 1993 of the World Conference on Human Rights, in 1994 of the International Conference on Population and Development, and in 1995 of the World Summit for Social Development. The holding of those conferences reassures us in our determination to establish a society based upon social justice and true democracy, as reflected in the Constitution recently adopted by the people of Madagascar. We wish to express our gratitude to the Secretary-General and to the institutions and the friendly countries which have supported us in this process. New prospects for action are opening before us in the political, economic and social spheres. We have discussed them, reflected on them, and compared and contrasted our ideas regarding them.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“We believe that initiatives must be reviewed and expanded to ensure the resumption of development and growth. To be complete, these initiatives must include additional resources, whether these come from official aid, the "peace dividend" or transfers in the form of investment. In that context, we hope an international conference on development financing will take place and will respond to our difficulties in implementing the various programmes and plans of action that have been adopted for the development of the countries of the South. Environmental protection and the promotion of sustainable development are the great challenges of the 1990s and beyond. We must therefore ensure the swift implementation of Agenda 21. Though an ambitious programme, it is commensurate with our respective responsibilities.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“How can we ignore the fact that by the end of the century, although we expect 400 million fewer impoverished people in the world as a whole, there will be 100 million more in Africa? We are sometimes criticized for self-pity and for not making the efforts necessary to eliminate poverty in our countries. We are not immune to such criticism, but is it not true also that poverty will be eradicated only if the pace of economic growth is accelerated and if together we can solve the problems that are the underlying causes of underdevelopment? Give us the tools for action, quickly and under tolerable terms. In that context, I want to stress the urgency of reconsidering the question of our external debt; initiatives taken thus far have had no significant impact, despite the best intentions and despite a number of generous gestures made.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“On the institutional level, we note a willingness to create controls and the beginnings of that process although unequal means do not always favour consensus among the bodies concerned. Then there is poverty. It is unbearable for its victims; it is unacceptable in a world that espouses solidarity. It has always been the lot of Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, where economically fragile, poorly integrated, dislocated, marginalized societies barely survive, side by side with pockets of prosperity. I want to make special reference to my own continent of Africa, where poverty and its attendant disease, natural disasters and social conflicts have devastating, degrading effects.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“This awareness is reflected also in an acknowledgement that stress must be placed on the role of the United Nations as the only forum in which we can deal with these problems in an integrated manner. We must draw up universally accepted principles and rules; ensure coordination among the various development forums; harmonize the modalities for action by financial, monetary and trading institutions; and above all be aware of the political dimension of the decisions we shall have to make at all levels. That is the role of the Economic and Social Council; we must streamline and consolidate its functions in analysis and orientation to make it more effective system-wide.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“We lay stress on the same principles when we address the problems of development, for we are convinced that their solution depends in large part on the status of international peace and security. So long as the international political situation is under a burden, the search for a solution to the development crisis will be in vain. The Organization indeed, the entire United Nations system is working along those lines, and we are glad that debate both at the eighth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development was marked by strengthened international cooperation for development. This theme reappeared at the high-level discussions in the Economic and Social Council.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“In that context, we want to state our appreciation for the Secretary-General's report "An Agenda for Peace". Despite the rigid framework within which that study was carried out, its vision is stimulating, its analyses relevant and its recommendations acceptable. We hope it will help shed new light on the concept of responsibility free from hegemony, so that this notion will attract more open, unambiguous support. I felt it necessary to stress the democratization of international relations because the strengthening of the Organization depends on it. Only an organization whose central role is set out in the documents, practice and acceptance of its members can guarantee the establishment and maintenance of relations among nations based on trust, equity and equal participation.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“It will still be necessary for the five permanent members to agree as a whole to renounce their implicit veto right when it comes time for ratifying whatever changes the sovereign Assembly may adopt. That is the only way for us to overcome the impasse. It is necessary at the same time to define more rigorously the concept of international security not to abridge the authority of the Security Council but to strengthen that of other bodies. Political or strategic circumstances and considerations have given that concept political, economic, social, humanitarian, ecological and even legal ramifications. It is thus possible, invoking jurisprudence, to recommend measures against a State or a regime in unexpected spheres, arbitrarily chosen on the basis of defence considerations or the promotion of special national or regional interests.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“Meanwhile, newly independent States and new Member States have called for participation on a more responsible basis and a more equitable allocation of what they see as privileges in fact, the implementation of democratic rules within the Organization. It is therefore not astonishing to hear speak at one point of expanding the Security Council, at another of eliminating the veto right, or at another still of extending or modifying the exercise of that right. One fact remains: the right of veto, as envisioned in the 1945 Charter, is challenged by everyone throughout the world except those who have it. Let us apply the rules of the democratic game, and concede at least one point: the 1945 Charter can and must be revised.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“Since people continue to call for a comprehensive approach to problems in order to achieve integrated solutions, it is important to take a new, pragmatic look ever respectful of the spirit of the Charter at certain provisions of the Charter. Let us take the special responsibilities of the permanent members of the Security Council: Exercised on behalf of the entire Organization, they arose in the situation that obtained immediately upon the Second World War. Now, the alliance has not survived the victory over totalitarianism. The cold war, which in some sense crystallized and distorted the use of the veto, is now part of history. The same applies to the concept of "enemy".”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“That is why the Non-Aligned Movement again took up this theme from a fresh but not unprecedented perspective, so as to apply it to the democratization of international relations and the development of solidarity and equality, not forgetting the promotion of legality. One criticism of the 1945 Charter is that it does not take sufficiently into account the desirable balance between the main bodies of the Organization the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat. To each body its own responsibilities and attributes! Each historical era has its own limitations and its own imperatives.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“This finding, whose particular bitterness pains us, should not inhibit our ability to reflect and to judge. Nor can anyone say that we are entitled to hide behind the sense of malaise indignation, even in order to refuse to seek joint solutions, however imperfect, to the problems that we have often created for ourselves. As a Member of the United Nations, and above and beyond any considerations of national interest or ideological affinity inasmuch as ideologies still exist - it is up to us to affirm and constantly reaffirm the central role of our Organization in establishing peace and security, prerequisites for progress and social justice. That is the essence of the 1945 Charter. These will remain the goals of the charter that will need to replace it.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“There are instability, human tragedy, and political chaos in many countries; the eruption of a nation and the threat of an entire people's disappearance in Somalia; violence and massacres in the Balkans; floods of refugees in Africa, especially, in Asia, and even in Europe; deadlock in Cyprus; foot-dragging in Western Sahara; human rights trampled by hatred, intolerance, and xenophobia; monetary and financial crisis in the industrialized countries; and mounting poverty in third world countries. This record, though incomplete, is not very encouraging. In any event, it hardly lends itself to prognostications on what the new world order is to be. We will indeed be able to discourse validly on the subject once we have mastered disorder and political, economic, and social insecurity on the national, regional, and international levels.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“Indeed, before we talk of order, let us try to look within ourselves and around us! Rare are the developments that cause us satisfaction. To be sure, work on the chemical weapons convention has finally been concluded; the operation in Cambodia seems to be supported by the parties; the international peace conference on the Middle East has shown signs of rather positive developments, in spite of some understandable hesitancy; in South Africa, the recent agreement between De Klerk and Mandela should pick up the broken thread of negotiations in the Convention for a Democratic South Africa; the political situation in Angola, Mozambique, and El Salvador is brightening; democracy is regaining stature and acceptability everywhere; and the Earth Summit in Rio unfolded in the best possible conditions. However, shadows persist.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“I will not repeat my conclusion, especially since the declarations adopted by the recent Summit Conference of the non-aligned countries have reinforced the sense that my suggestion, as daring as it may have been, only reflects the aspirations of a fairly significant sector of humanity. I realize nevertheless, in the light of the events of these past 12 months, that it might not seem timely not because it in any way disturbs the conservatives, but because we are unfortunately compelled to yield to the vagaries of the international situation. And we ask ourselves: At what point can we truly speak of the new world order? Shall we call it the new order, the new world order, or the new international order? Are we sure of winning consensus around a concept that can only be the fruit of joint efforts?”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“He is certainly aware of the great regard in which he is held in Madagascar, and we know that his experience, his sense of duty and his humanism are all guarantees of the success of our Organization. In this time of profound change, requiring the involvement of all, we again express our support for and confidence in him. Finally, we address our best wishes to, and welcome, the 13 new Members: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, San Marino, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. We are pleased to be able to count upon their invaluable cooperation and to offer them our own in return. When I spoke at last year's session, I mentioned the need for a new charter in referring to the prospects of what was being offered us as the "new world order".”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“The General Assembly's choice of Mr. Ganev to lead the work of its forty-seventh session is a worthy tribute to his outstanding qualities and to the role his country, Bulgaria, has always played in international relations. I convey the congratulations of the Republic of Madagascar to him, and on behalf of my delegation assure him of our cooperation. We are grateful to his predecessor, Mr. Samir Shihabi, for having accorded the strengthening of the General Assembly's authority the highest priority among his concerns although this did not keep him from discharging his other responsibilities with grace, competence and skill, even in the most sensitive of circumstances. I turn now to our Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a member of our National Academy.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“Before I conclude and before I thank my distinguished audience, I should like to quote two Malagasy proverbs appropriate to our circumstances: "Crossing a long plain gives one time to meditate"; and "A house is built by several people, not by just one individual".”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Nor is it normal that in a world committed to pragmatism we refuse to draw conclusions from the political, economic and social upheavals that affect all societies without differentiation. In short, we need a new Charter! A shocking conclusion to be sure, but let us recognize that in the end the revision of our Charter, in particular Chapters VII to XIII, will be only a temporary measure, soon to be overtaken by events. We do not intend to open a discussion on this subject at this stage, but we call on all members to give serious thought to this possibility and to start the necessary consultations. This will be a long endeavour, but let us be like the medieval cathedral-builders of Europe, always inspired by unfaltering faith.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Peoples were given to understand - peoples whose aspirations have scarcely changed - that it sufficed to respect the principles of the Charter and to seek to achieve its stated objectives to guarantee the advent of a new era. We know what the situation is, and it is not appropriate for me to return to the recriminations resulting from injustices of all kinds. However, the new era that has been so widely proclaimed continues to be a Utopian ideal; we are still awaiting it. It is not normal that from one decade to the next we blindly advocate a new order. It is not normal either for us to hide behind the universality of Charter principles to proclaim its inviolability.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“On bearing and reading the words of the heads of delegation that preceded me, I believe that there might be a consensus on the ideas of peace, progress and social justice, on the role of the United Nations in promoting these principles, and on equal, universal participation in international relations. It could not be otherwise, in fact, because we are condemned to our dreams - that is to say, to hope that there will be no more ideological confrontation, that solidarity will stave off any risk of domination and hegemony and that all nations will enjoy an equal right to well-being and security. Forty-six years ago the problem was posed in the same terms.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The complexity of the problems I have mentioned requires that multilateral economic cooperation be strengthened: North-South, South-South and sub-regional cooperation, such as what we are already doing in the framework of the Committee on the Indian Ocean, which is to regroup the islands in the south-western part of that Ocean. The Declaration adopted by the General Assembly at its eighteenth special session and the new international strategy for development are the logical framework for such action. It is appropriate, then, to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations to deal effectively with all economic problems. A role of coordination and orientation should be given to the Economic and Social Council, which in future should be called the "Council for Economic Security" if we wish to see more just and equitable economic relations.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“That is why we support the idea of convening an international conference on development financing, because it is time to consider all initiatives on ways to release additional resources and to take steps to allocate to development a reasonable portion of the "peace dividend", estimated at almost $120 billion a year. In addition, we are convinced that the protection of the environment, far from being a marginal activity, must be considered an integral part of any development effort, with the support of the international community. Any solution proposed in this area must preserve our development priorities and guarantee the principle of proportionality as regards contributions and responsibility.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“In order to resolve this crisis we need an international debt strategy containing long-term relief measures and greater debt-reduction compatible with the debtor countries' real ability to pay, taking into account their growth prospects and development. Thus, to free us from the constraints resulting from successive rescheduling, we reiterate the appeal for a fundamental re-adaptation of the existing mechanisms. Similarly, the resources available to finance development, already inadequate, are in effect being diverted in order to satisfy other needs born of the integration of the Eastern European countries or the rebuilding o£ countries the victims of the Gulf war.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“We speak of the globalization of the world economy, while what we are witnessing is fragmentation among the various interested parties, skewed methods of resolving key issues, a regionalization of economic activities among the industrialized countries and a weakening of discipline in financial, monetary and trade policies. Such a situation is not conducive to any new policy one might want to institute on a world-wide scale and prevents us from resolving problems inherited from a system that is being carefully kept in obsolescence in order to draw iniquitous profits from it. Thus, despite the various initiatives and proposals, some of which have begun to be implemented and which may be useful for future reference, the foreign-debt crisis only gets worse.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Yet Africa remains ready to renew its commitment to implement the needed transformational policies, as is evidenced, inter alia, in the adoption of the African Charter for the peoples' participation in development and the proposals put forward following the final evaluation of the Programme. But the new framework for cooperation must be able to guarantee us sufficient resources, reduction and cancellation of debt, and adoption of lasting solutions to the problem of commodities, all in the hope that the pact thus concluded will enjoy the real support of Africa's partners. But Africa is not the only continent in the third world, and it is our duty to echo the concerns felt in other regions with regard to our collective participation in world economic management.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Aware of this situation, the United Nations adopted the Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development. Five years after the adoption of that Programme of Action, its goals have not yet been attained. The response we were awaiting from the developed countries and international economic and financial institutions has not been commensurate with their commitments, whereas the majority of African countries have agreed to make the reforms that were imposed on them - and I use the word "imposed" advisedly. The economic, social and political costs of that operation have been high, and we shall continue to suffer from them without being able to set any limits.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“We often say that international security, if it is to be credible, must also extend to the economic field. I shall not go into all the problems of the developing countries or into the challenges they must face, nor shall I dwell on the responsibilities of the developed countries in this respect. We have discussed this here and in other forums and I shall confine myself today to the case of Africa, which could also be that of other regions of the world. The prime victim of the collapse of primary-commodity prices, crushed under the weight of foreign debt, suffering from major handicaps with regard to infrastructure, haunted by the spectre of famine, malnutrition and endemic disease, struck by various natural disasters - Africa has become the poorest region of the world, with a constantly increasing negative growth rate.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Clearly, a concerted and coherent approach is needed, for general and complete disarmament under international control, which is the ultimate goal of all our efforts, can be brought about only within a multilateral context. The Charter confers upon the United Nations a central role and a primary responsibility in the field of disarmament. Member States solemnly reaffirmed this in the Final Document of the first special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament. We must recreate the consensus we enjoyed then and again place our trust in the United Nations, which so recently demonstrated its ability in such complex areas of disarmament as the drawing up of a draft convention on chemical weapons, the Special Commission set up under Security Council resolution 687 (1991), and the embargoes established by the Security Council.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Conditions have never been so propitious for achieving that purpose set out in the first words of the Charter. A military alliance has been dissolved, and Europe, meeting at Paris in November 1990, took concrete steps to reduce its immense concentration of armed forces. At the same time, the two nuclear super-Powers have begun destruction of types of weapons described in the various agreements in force; they have finally exchanged instruments of ratification for the threshold Treaty and the partial test-ban Treaty, and they have concluded the much-awaited Treaty on strategic arms limitation, the so-called START Treaty. The initiative taken by President Bush on 27 September has now - and we welcome this - been added to the many disarmament proposals advanced by others.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“In order for our Organisation to live up to the promises made to the peoples of the world, the following elements must be combined the mandate of the principal organs must be re-examined, bearing in mind interdependence and the global nature of the problems dealt with; coordination among those bodies must be strengthened to ensure improved harmonisation and greater cooperation; there must be a collective commitment to the Organisation's restructuring. In any event, the active participation of all will help us better to meet the challenges - and I use that word advisedly - posed by the pressing need for democratisation. Thus revitalised, our Organization must commit itself as a matter of priority to preserving future generations from the scourge of war.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“This framework document would define their criteria and functions in order to forestall any violation of Charter purposes and principles to suit the special interests of an individual State or group of States. There will be no legitimate collective action without majority support, and we would be imperilling the democratic principle of our Organization were we, under cover of pragmatism or emergency, imprudently to set aside universally acknowledged norms in favour of theories that are far from being unanimously accepted.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“We are thinking in particular of the opportunities offered by the Charter in the field of preventive diplomacy. Other not incompatible paths also deserve exploration - establishing a system of evaluation, prevention, management and solution of crises and conflicts, and providing the Secretary-General with a suitable structure. Such measures would, we believe, help to strengthen the credibility and effectiveness of the United Nations. Similarly, it is high time to provide the various peace-keeping operations with an official legal framework. Forged through practice, those operations have proved to be a new and more effective procedure, better adapted to present-day realities.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The era of bipolarisation is over - it is now a mere historical curiosity in East-Meat relations - whereas North-South contradictions still exist despite protestations of solidarity and interdependence. Notwithstanding that, the vision of a more just world has not been abandoned. And in this inevitable transitional period, which is so full of promise and uncertainty, we recognise that public opinion is right to pin its hopes on our Organisation, whose principles remain universally accepted and respected. This consensus has enabled us to make better and fuller use of the machinery envisaged in the Charter with regard to the maintenance of international peace and security. However, we believe that many of the provisions relating to collective security have never been given optimal effect.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“So that the Organization may consistently struggle against apartheid, it must be there to guarantee and satisfy the aspirations of the majority; it must offer its good offices, mediation and even its arbitration to all parties to guarantee a political presence and in order to prevent the risk of a breakdown in the current negotiations. That is the least we can do now that the role of the Organization in the maintenance of peace and international security has evolved in such a marked way. Because, by definition, the settlement of the situation in South Africa will have an influence on peace, regional security and cooperation - and my country is concerned in this - and also, by definition, the absence of this settlement will once again lead to threats to the peace and to international security.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“It will not be said that the tribute that my delegation has just paid to the Secretary-General is intended to pass over in silence the questions of concern to our Organisation, that is, the questions of political and economic security. However, before touching on that I wish to turn again to the situation in southern Africa. We take note of the measures taken by the South African Government to dismantle the legal bases of apartheid while hoping for a more honest initiative to eradicate the very spirit that promoted the birth and maintenance of apartheid. Within the United Nations we must define another strategy to speed up the process already started and shoulder our responsibilities in a specific manner for the advent of a new South Africa, a non-racial and democratic South Africa.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“It is true that the questions of Cyprus, the Middle East and South Africa remain outstanding but we know the interest that he has in them and it is no mere chance that in Cyprus the parties there have renewed their commitment to continue their discussions; that the peace conference on the Middle East is in hand; and that, finally, a peace agreement has been signed between the parties concerned in South Africa to put an end to violence. A tribute is due to the devotion of the Secretary-General, to his ability to look ahead and to act and particularly his concern to preserve the prestige and effectiveness of the Organization in all circumstances.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“However these were 10 years during which quietly and patiently he has seen to it that the Organization has a new confidence in itself; 10 years of rehabilitation and revitalization. The work will never be done but it will be recalled that it was under his mandate that the Organization lived through its finest hours, illustrated by the peace-keeping operations that won us the Nobel Prize in 1988; the accession of Namibia to independence; the end of the war between Iraq and Iran; the normalization of the situation in Afghanistan; the entry into force of the cease-fire in Western Sahara; the comprehensive political settlement in Cambodia; the mediation and observer missions in Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador and Angola; the role the United Nations played after the Gulf War; and, recently, the release of the hostages in Lebanon.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The subject is too important to be skimmed over in an obviously limited statement, but right now we have to define our positions in the context of a situation that we cannot ignore any further. In the meantime, allow me to tie Ariadne's thread and turn to more prosaic considerations, that is to say to the activities of our Organization. The Secretary-General has accustomed us to a relationship in which he agreed to share with us his hopes and his disillusionment, his satisfaction at certain positive trends and his concerns about the obligations of Member States. Again this year he has continued in that tradition although we are somewhat disappointed because as a "gentleman", in the classic meaning of the word, he has refused to give an assessment of his mandate.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Our situation was certainly an awkward one because we were convinced that we were siding with reason while at the same time we felt that we had no grip on reality. From one frustration to another we gave less importance to the right to participate, and universality gradually gave way to antagonism or, even worse, to indifference. But times have changed. The march of history has speeded up and not a month, a week or a day passes without our being assailed by events that are difficult to analyse or react to immediately and whose significance is realized by us through the effects that inevitably follow in other places and in other fields. In a word, the frenetic and intense pace of events that we are witnessing leads us to believe that we are experiencing a world revolution affecting all human activities.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“People often talk of the universal acceptance of the principles of the Charter and of certain values, and when we admitted to membership the seven new Members that I have just mentioned it really is the universality of our Organisation that we are proclaiming even if the end of the cold war, as in the past the end of the colonial era, promoted expanded participation in international life. We believe that this participation is essential if we wish to counteract marginalization and hegemony. So long as there was confrontation or rivalry we sought to have recourse to solutions always based on commonly acknowledged, albeit rarely applied, principles, when the time came to take a decision.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Finally, my delegation bids welcome to the delegations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Korea, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia. We will always be ready to seek and develop with them the common good in solidarity and understanding. We are particularly happy that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea now have an opportunity to work within the Organization for the independent, peaceful reunification of their country, without foreign interference. Universality is once again on our agenda.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“In transmitting the sincere congratulations of the Government of Madagascar, allow us to echo the words that have been expressed since the Assembly elected you to conduct the business of its forty-sixth session. You are a man of experience, dialogue and conviction, and we know that you will place these qualities at the service of the Organisation and of international cooperation. The same concern guided your predecessor. Ambassador Guido de Marco. Right to the end of his mandate, he constantly took the initiative to strengthen the role of the General Assembly to represent us where events were important, thus committing us to greater responsibility. He did not disappoint the trust that we placed in him, and we are grateful to him.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)