YouSaid · the spoken record

Joseph Muscat

lines on the record: 108
first: 2013-09-24
most recent: 2019-09-24
sittings or episodes: 7
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

“Despite the difficult debates, discussions, stumbling blocks and widely divergent viewpoints, it is encouraging to see how far we have come and how much we have found that truly unites us, underpinned by the most fundamental principles of saving lives and upholding human dignity. Nevertheless, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I must confess I am still concerned that all the soft words we have heard will be undermined by hard facts. Despite this, we owe it to everyone to give it a try. We need to respond to this challenge, not with fear, not with dread, not by enclosing ourselves within walls, but with tenacity, conviction and compassion. This is what drives my country, time and again, to push for migration to be high on our agenda.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Allow me to join my colleagues in expressing my country’s deepest gratitude and appreciation to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his sterling work. This seventy-first session of the General Assembly is marked primarily by the high-level meeting on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants. The outcome document of this meeting, the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants (resolution 71/1), will spur us to work further to address the enormous movement of people, the likes of which we have not seen since the Second World War. Last year, this gathering considered that migration had reached crisis levels. Today, we are increasingly realizing that this phenomenon is set to become a new normal that needs to be managed.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We now aspire to being one facilitator among others in securing an equitable deal. I am of the firm conviction that what binds us together is stronger than what divides us. The challenges we face should unite us as we need to, and indeed we must, face them together. As standard bearers of optimism, we respond to the day’s great problems with even greater resolve. Malta will play its part.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“In seeking to reach an ambitious, fair, balanced and legally binding agreement, we must be principled and practical in our approach. Malta believes that climate change is a decisive challenge, which if not urgently managed will put at risk not only the environment but also the world’s economic prosperity, development and, more broadly, stability and security. In 1988, our former President, the late Mr. Vincent Tabone, proposed a resolution that called for the world’s climate to be declared the common heritage of humankind (resolution 43/53). The impact of climate change requires a global and coordinated response. Malta was the first to alert the international community to the need to address the warnings on human-induced climate change by the scientific community.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Malta is confident that the Commonwealth can also provide added value to the international debate on climate change, particularly since that gathering will take place on the eve of the twenty-first Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21). Climate action will be prominently featured on the summit agenda. Noting that the Commonwealth gathers disparate countries from all continents and from vulnerable island States, as well as the Group of 20 economies, the summit will play an important role in strengthening regional and international cooperation and providing support for the successful outcome of COP21. We now look forward to the successful conclusion to the United Nations Paris summit on climate change in December.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“In organizing the event and our assumption of the chairmanship of the Commonwealth, we plan to address issues of common concern, including global political and security challenges, the most urgent of which is the unprecedented increase in extremism and radicalization, as well as to assess the state of development in the wake of the adoption of the post-2015 agenda and related financing for the development process, with particular attention to practical steps that Commonwealth Governments might take to accelerate the implementation of the outcomes of key global processes.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“For the second time in 10 years, we will very soon host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The summit, guided by the theme “The Commonwealth: Adding Global Value”, will be the culmination of a number of activities and forums, namely, the people’s forum, the youth forum, the business forum and, for the first time, the women’s forum.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The major challenge ahead, especially in neighbouring countries such as ours, is to ensure that the implementation of the agreement is put into effect. All Libyan actors in that process must realize that it is their homeland that needs to be saved, and that all hostilities and violent disputes must cease immediately. The actors must continue to engage actively in an inclusive political dialogue for national reconciliation. And we must be very sincere. If a complete agreement proves elusive again, it is high time that the United Nations and the global community back those people of good will on both sides of the divide who are willing to reach an agreement, and sideline those on both sides who are simply wasting their people’s future. This is an important year for my country.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The conflict 48/54 15-29562 30/09/2015 A/70/PV.19 is providing all the necessary space for criminals to smuggle people and take control of significant parts of the country. Malta strongly supports the indefatigable efforts of the United Nations to launch a national dialogue for a reconciliation process and the formation of a national unity Government in Libya. Malta recognized and welcomed the initialling of the United Nations-led draft agreement in Morocco last July. The agreement’s initialling was the result of ongoing United Nations-facilitated consultations among various Libyan rival parties. Hopefully, we will witness an all-inclusive peace agreement. We have to acknowledge the political will and courage demonstrated by those who initialled the draft agreement, which seeks to resolve Libya’s institutional and security crises.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“We now need a Bretton Woods of migration: rules and institutions that ensure that all the members of the international community, not just the few, share and shoulder the phenomenon of mass migration, with both legal channels and instruments to deal with crises. In other words, a European quota alone should not exist, but a global quota system for migrants, for not only this, but all crises. I urge that such a discussion begin. Let us not allow people smugglers, the criminals, decide for us. Let us read the writing on the wall and lay the foundations for that new system. On a related subject, in our immediate neighbourhood in the Mediterranean, the escalation in Libya proceeded at such a fast pace that the United Nations responded by taking the lead role to resolve that conflict.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Can anyone mention to me any other group of nations that has gone so far as to agreeing, albeit with considerable birth pangs and bruises, to such a system? There is none. Only Europe has done so to date. Therefore I ask, “Where is everyone else”? We made a first step. Now the global community has to follow. The United Nations is the apposite forum. At the end of the Second World War, nation States realized that their financial system was broken, that they could no longer operate in a vacuum. The Bretton Woods Agreement laid the basis for rules and institutions to tackle the new reality.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“At a time when the world is getting smaller, mothers and fathers, such as ourselves, will set out, believing, rightly or wrongly, that they will secure a better future for their children. We therefore need tools and institutions to establish rules and tackle the phenomenon permanently, not simply as a humanitarian effort, but they should comprise an economic, social and environmental framework to anticipate and manage those flows. I come from a family of nations that has been very much in the news for failing to agree unanimously on a mandatory distribution system for refugees. I was one of the most vociferous critics in Europe, indicating our failures. Nevertheless, I stand in front of the Assembly today as a proud European.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“It is not just Malta’s or Europe’s problem. It is everyone’s problem. The United Nations needs to act, as it is morally bound to do. Yes, we have to tackle the war in Syria. But it is a delusion to think that solving Syria will in itself solve the migration phenomenon. What about Somalia, Eritrea and the whole list of forgotten conflicts generating the mass displacement of people? What about climate change, which is expected to displace so many people? Even in the best-case scenario, we live in a world where the mass displacement of people will be a key feature. That is because we need to recognize that not only desperation makes people move, but also aspiration. People aspire to a better life for themselves and their families.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Through the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, agreed to in July, as well as the post- 2015 development agenda, which we welcomed just a few days ago, we are called upon to respond in a transformative manner to the fundamental challenges facing the world today: eradicating poverty, achieving inclusive and sustainable development for present and future generations and ensuring the promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental values as the basis for peaceful and prosperous societies. However, we should all be starkly aware that that is only the first step of a process that can be successful only if we are truly fully committed to its implementation. However, all of those efforts will be futile unless we clearly and determinedly address the long-standing conflicts in the countries of origin and transit.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“We have to continue doing our best to give shelter to those fleeing from war and those qualifying for asylum. But it must also be clear that a free-for-all policy is not on the table. People who do not qualify for asylum should be returned. Safe countries of origin that do not help in returns should face sanctions. Those that collaborate should be rewarded with further aid and access to markets. Nevertheless, tackling the root causes of migration is the only real long-term solution. There are several causes. Starting with development, 2015 is a pivotal year for global sustainable development and poverty eradication.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“When it comes to those criminals, we are dealing with individuals 15-29562 47/54 A/70/PV.19 30/09/2015 who feed on the desperation of innocent people. In the process, they are making a fortune — and the money is also being used to finance other criminal activities, probably even including terrorism. Those people must be held accountable for their crimes and brought to justice. Efforts to combat those networks must, in the first instance, be stepped up nationally and regionally. Closer cooperation is essential, most of all among the countries of origin, transit and destination, including through better intelligence-sharing and joint criminal investigations. Improved implementation of national enforcement policies and stronger penalties to punish smugglers are also essential measures to effectively address that challenge.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“It is expected to build and strengthen the present frameworks of action in the field of migration in an effort to address the phenomenon in a more holistic manner and in order to take advantage of the opportunities presented while dealing with the challenge of forced displacement. The first priority must remain the saving of lives. This is our moral duty as human beings. Europe intensified the search and rescue operations in an attempt to reduce the loss of lives. We are also providing assistance and refuge to those who qualify. Nevertheless, an important and necessary part of the European Union effort requires greater commitment to taking on the smugglers before they can put the lives of more innocent people at risk. The international community should be under no illusion.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“We see it happening in the Mediterranean Sea, and now we see it happening across the Balkans. This proves that it not a Mediterranean problem, nor is it European problem. It is a global phenomenon that needs global responses. Malta has been highlighting this situation for years and years now in the General Assembly. In November, we will host a summit bringing together the leaders of the European Union and key African nations. The Valletta Summit will be an opportunity to enhance our dialogue and improve our understanding in an attempt to address this issue comprehensively, in a spirit of partnership and cooperation with all the countries involved.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Last April, we witnessed the funeral of 24 migrants who perished together with 800 others in what is probably the worst-ever-recorded capsizing of a boat laden with migrants in the Mediterranean. Those unnamed individuals were mourned by all of us. Sadly, however, that was not the last tragedy. While many have been rescued through the concerted efforts of European countries, several thousand others have continued to lose their lives on this perilous journey, a journey which they are sometimes forced to take at gunpoint by unscrupulous people smugglers. So far, this year has broken all records in terms of desperate people attempting to flee from persecution and hopelessness in search of a better life and to attain the right to live in peace, free from anxiety, poverty and persecution.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“New and profound challenges have emerged, many of which are global in nature and which therefore require global solutions. Last year (see A/69/PV.12), I stressed that more attention needed to be focused on the plight of migrants in the Mediterranean, the cradle of civilization that has now sadly been turned into a graveyard. My country finds itself at the crossroads between the Middle East, Europe and Africa. The tragedy that is occurring so close to home is starkly evident and of immense concern to us. We are the only country in Europe, and probably the only country around the world, that dedicates 100 per cent of its limited military resources to saving people at sea each and every day.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The Millennium Development Goals spurred us on in our commitment to seek a better life for the poor and the malnourished, and we have now adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (resolution 70/1). If proof were needed that the United Nations can actually make a difference, we have seen it. Indeed, if we reflect over the last 70 years, I believe there is much to be proud of. The question that needs to be addressed, however, is not whether the United Nations has been a force for good — which it very obviously has — but whether in today’s vastly different world, it is still capable of meeting the challenges it faces. The Organization is, I believe, still a work in progress. We continue to live in a vastly uneven world plagued by conflict, inequality and injustice.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Indeed, the problems are many, but the world has never experienced such a degree of commitment by global citizens who are looking beyond the notion of the traditional nation State and come together as a global community. The United Nations has contributed significantly to transforming our world into a safer and more just place for humankind. It has contributed to the eradication of disease, the promotion of justice, freedom and human rights, the attainment of peace in different parts of the world, and to stemming the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Its efforts at mediation and the peacebuilding and peacekeeping successes shepherded by the United Nations have resulted in more people being able to determine their destiny.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“As we all know, this year constitutes a landmark year for our Organization as we celebrate its seventieth anniversary. The Organization’s founding fathers wanted to turn the ashes of the Second World War into a new order that would secure peace, advance global prosperity, alleviate poverty and promote human rights worldwide. They wanted to 46/54 15-29562 30/09/2015 A/70/PV.19 create what they termed a strong United Nations and a better world. As we commemorate this seventieth anniversary, let us pause and ask whether today’s world is really a better one. In an era of negativity and media onslaught with respect to global problems, it would be easy to answer “no”, and there are valid reasons to do so. But our duty is, as the standard bearers of optimism, to defy the logic of pessimism and answer “yes”.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Fifty years may seem like a long time, but I can affirm that 50 years from now my country will remain steadfast in its ambitions and in our determination in favour of peace and prosperity. Malta will remain a proud Member of the United Nations and a beacon of stability in the Mediterranean.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We are also fully engaged within the Commonwealth, which brings together a third of the world population, in order to help achieve convergence on some of the challenges that lie ahead, including the sustainable development goals and climate change. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that will take place in Malta next year will serve as an ideal platform for the discussion of such issues, especially ahead of the Paris summit on climate change. Those are some of the ways in which a small country in Europe at the centre of the Mediterranean, such as Malta, will continue to contribute to the fostering of peace and security in our region and in the world.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“I take pride in noting that only a few months ago, Malta, together with Algeria, France, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, jointly launched the International Institute for Justice and Rule of Law, hosted by my country. The Institute will collaborate with the United Nations and other international and non-governmental organizations to provide training to lawmakers, police, prosecutors, judges and prison officials to deal with terrorism and transnational crime, with a general emphasis on the rule of law. We hope that such work will eventually serve as a best practice for the benefit of the wider global community.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We can address them if we truly believe in acting as the United Nations. A year from now, we will analyse the Millennium Development Goals and will, hopefully, agree on sustainable development goals for the twenty-first century. With an effective development agenda, we can address the causes of conflict in a sustainable manner and can overcome the poverty that contributes to illegal migration. But we need to be ambitious. Over the past 50 years, my country has shown that it has been and can be ambitious in favour of peace, progress and prosperity. It has promoted and will continue to promote the broadest possible dialogue among the countries of our region.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“I reiterate my strong conviction that the Mediterranean Basin needs to be given our immediate attention in order to once again become the home of great civilizations that it is and a cross-cultural haven where women and men of different beliefs and traditions work, trade and mingle in tolerance and tranquillity. It has always been our belief that there cannot be peace in Europe without peace in the Mediterranean. Today’s unprecedented levels of interconnectivity lead us to believe that peace in the Mediterranean is a prerequisite for global stability. Malta will continue to serve as a voice of reason, while striving to unite the Mediterranean. Our only weapon is our historical and natural vocation for peace. Our resolve grows only stronger in such testing times. The challenges that we face cannot stop us in our tracks.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Better governance, better resources and better development policies are needed. We need better enforcement mechanisms and stronger penalties to stop and punish the criminals — the human traffickers. We need better implementation of internationally agreed commitments. We need all of that and more, and we need to remember to keep in mind the well-being of the human beings, the families and children who are the victims of all that tragedy. As a Mediterranean country, Malta cannot but call for the world’s attention to those challenges, which are threatening not only the security of the region but also its development and growth. Such threats are preventing the Mediterranean Sea Basin from reaching its full potential, which is just waiting to be unleashed if only weapons were traded for books and hatred for education.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“With all our limitations, Malta is doing its utmost to daily save lives — as our neighbour and friend Italy is also doing. Again I call on the Assembly and the international community to help to stop the great human tragedies that come with risky crossings across the Mediterranean. The States receiving the waves of migrants cannot stand up to the challenge alone: no country in the world can solve the problem of illegal immigration alone. Just last week we witnessed in our own seas yet another tragedy, which the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees described as mass murder. Closer cooperation among the countries of origin, transit and destination is needed. The United Nations and its agencies are already helping, but they must continue to help in addressing the causes.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We have to spread a culture of mutual understanding and humanity — not because it serves us, but because it serves our peoples and will serve our future as a global community. Clearly, the area of the world from the Mediterranean to the Middle East, and beyond, demands our utmost attention. People are being pushed to the brink. They are resorting to increasingly desperate measures. Men, women and children are risking their lives to cross conflict-ridden zones and hostile deserts. They are taking to the seas without realizing the dangers that await them. As I also did last year, I reiterate that more attention must be focused on the plight of illegal immigrants in the Mediterranean, which I believe is the fifth challenge we face.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We are living through a period of transnational allegiances in which we are seeing the globalization of hatred — one during which extremists are increasingly interconnected through networks and inventions whose main purpose should be progress and education. This is a time when disenchanted youths are radicalized into movements that know no limits. We need to look beyond the borders of our nation States and work together, if we are to face up to the threats posed by extremists. Nobody is immune from what is undoubtedly the biggest threat to world stability and peace. Just as the horrendous carnage of two world wars led to a shift in our thinking, the reality we are living in now needs to force another shift.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We will stand for dialogue and reconciliation in Libya. We will stand for peace and resolution. We will continue to draw attention to this festering wound. Our Libyan friends deserve that. Disarmament and national reconciliation are the prerequisites for Libya to move forward. The United Nations must be ready to answer the calls for action from the Libyan people themselves. If the Assembly will allow, I will directly address our friends in Libya in their own language, which is so similar to my own. (spoke in Arabic) The families and the children of Libya deserve a true future. Freedom and justice for all Libyans can be achieved only if differences are resolved through dialogue and compromise. (spoke in English) Please allow me now to move to the fourth challenge facing the world today, namely, the spread of extremism and intolerance.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Of course, we are heartened to see the constructive role already being played by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. Yet immense challenges remain, in particular in restoring the country’s security and law and order. The divisions are rooted in many causes, but they can be overcome. This situation cannot be allowed to continue further. Its repercussions are severe not just for the Libyans themselves or for the country’s immediate neighbours, such as ourselves, but further afield. The international community cannot risk a takeover by extremists of that crucial country. Together with our international partners, especially our colleagues in the European Union, Malta continues to actively support the efforts of the Libyan people to move forward. We are providing all the assistance within our means to aid the wounded.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We call on the Security Council to assume its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations and to act urgently and decisively to bring about an end to the bloodshed. That brings me to the third challenge. As if we have not yet learned the lessons from Syria, or realized what sectarian divisions can lead to, we are allowing the problems in Libya to continue almost unabated. We are fast witnessing a descent into another forgotten conflict. We need to help the Libyan people take their country forward. There is a bright future for Liby, but Libyans themselves need to find the hope necessary to realize it. They can begin to do so only with the help of the international community. The United Nations can and must provide capacity-building and security to bring about stability and prosperity.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Risk-takers and courageous negotiators must be willing to make the right choices — not the most convenient choices, and not the most popular, perhaps, but the most enduring ones — that will bring about change leading to peace. Our second challenge must be putting an end to the ghastly war in Syria, which is fast becoming a forgotten conflict of major proportions. Like many other countries here, last year my country called for a stop to the atrocities (see A/68/PV.12). Are we simply going to repeat that call this year as well? Let us stop this humanitarian disaster, which, as we know, is now morphing into the new threats we have heard so much about. The adoption of Security Council resolution 2165 (2014) demonstrated that we can act together, so let us act.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“If the Assembly will allow me, I wish to share some thoughts by presenting five challenges — five of the many that I feel we, the United Nations, need to face up to now. Undoubtedly, the first challenge is the conflict in the Middle East. We need a return to meaningful negotiations, and I stress the word meaningful. The ongoing tit-for-tat, the culture of hatred and intolerance, the self-righteous proclamations and the recriminations are leaving nothing but death and destruction. If we build walls around people, it is no wonder that they will dig tunnels to escape. The current frame of mind will lead nowhere. Too many innocent civilians have died, too many children have been buried. We need statesmanship from the politicians on both sides to resolve the conflict.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The second example, which came shortly after that, in 1988, is our being among the first Member States to highlight the risks of climate change to the global community within the forum of the United Nations. An almost alien concept at the time, today climate change is one of the main items on the global agenda. I pay tribute to Arvid Pardo and former President .ensu Tabone, who piloted those events. Evidently, our size did not determine our ambitions then. Neither will it determine them now. We live in an increasingly uncertain world — a world where the power balances that we have known in recent decades have started to shift. What made sense in the past may not make sense in the future — not too distant a future, but the future that we can already see forming before our own eyes.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“For a small, nascent State such as Malta, it was a year of promise and new beginnings as it took its place among the Members of the United Nations. It is with a deep sense of pride that I stand before members here today to note the role our country has played over the past 50 years to uphold the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. Time and again, this family of nations has found a trusted and reliable partner in my country, willing to contribute, in ways large and small, to the cause of international peace and security. I shall mention just two. The first is Malta’s association with the Law of the Sea — a widely acknowledged role, as we were instrumental in the launching of the international process that would eventually lead to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“I would like first to congratulate Mr. Sam Kahamba Kutesa on his election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. I also wish to express my appreciation for the able manner in which the outgoing President presided over the Assembly. Allow me also to pay tribute to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his tireless commitment in the service of peace. I also thank the men and women serving the United Nations in the field. They do so often at great personal risk, and their courage and determination is a source of inspiration for the Organization. It was 50 years ago that Malta became an independent State. That was the year when Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa, and when Martin Luther King received the Nobel Peace Prize.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“As we approach the year 2015, we need to remember the hope and determination we felt as we crossed into the new millennium, that determination to make the world a somewhat better place through the goals we reach together. We need to carry that forward and continue to make dreams happen. Every day, millions of people around the world dream of something more than a scrap of a life. Indeed, there are no scraps of life.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“They should be foremost in our minds as we consider the world’s natural resources and tackle global concerns such as climate change. There is never only one way of doing things. We can achieve our targets only if we listen to the people whom we are meant to represent and make them part of the decision-making process. A few weeks ago, a young girl, Malala, from Pakistan, spoke in this very Hall of her dream for girls to get an education and wield the power of the pen. Yesterday, at a gathering I attended, she said that everyone should send books, not bombs. Thirteen years ago, our leaders had a dream: to live up to the millennium moment and to better peoples’ lives.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The opportunities for all to thrive are at hand. The United Nations is and should be the force field to which all nations gravitate in order to solve differences and push boundaries together. Our global goals and commitments cannot be solely time-bound but must also be outcome-oriented. We need to think inclusively and holistically. Post-2015, we should not be looking towards rebooting, but towards continuity with greater purpose and greater ambition. Fewer people dying every day is a great achievement, but more people truly living is an astounding victory for all. However, to get there we have to realize that everyone has an equal voice. People need to be involved in decision-making, since it affects their lives and their livelihoods.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Those responsible must be brought to international justice. Malta is convinced that we cannot start talking of a post-2015 agenda if we cannot solve our differences today. We do not have a carte blanche privilege to be immune and indifferent, for the cost of our inaction is greater than the cost of our effort and commitment. Conflict saps the focus from our goals. It drains our resources and stifles our potential. The United Nations family, committed as it is to the purposes of peace and prosperity among nations, understands that. Malta firmly believes that true peace in our time needs to be the overriding goal, the one target to which we should all aspire and for which we should all work. We need to ensure stable and peaceful societies if we want to take the Millennium Development Goals further.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Each child’s death and each mother’s wail should shame us all. People are morally outraged around the world, and justifiably outraged, for there can never be any justification for the appalling suffering that is taking place. The Mediterranean Sea basin remains awash with promise but polluted with pain and prejudice. The Middle East remains a hate-filled maelstrom and the most explosive region in the world. How many more need to die, not just in that region but everywhere else because of conflict and terrorism? How many more need to leave all their belongings to join hurried convoys, fearful of losing their lives? How much longer can the rights of others be ignored and trampled upon while others enjoy their perceived rights? We need to stop that wildfire. We need to stop the further descent into brutality and carnage.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The deepening links between the lives of peoples across countries demand coordinated global action. We must face that challenge. Malta firmly believes that more can be done by the community of nations gathered here to support the fragile democracies that are struggling to take root where dictators formerly ruled. More can and should be done to ensure that the economies of the region are able to flourish, that intraregional trade is supported and that cultural exchanges are fostered. More needs to be done to stop the violence and bloodshed that risk becoming the norm for those of us who see the evolution of events. Malta calls upon the international community to look with compassion on the innocents in Syria. That is a humanitarian catastrophe with no end in sight — a horrendous and indiscriminate tragedy.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Waves of new tomorrows and hopeful struggles for democracy in North Africa have given way to new realities that were unthinkable when the Millennium Development Goals were drawn up. Sectarian strife, religious tensions and power struggles have halted or reversed the progress of development. It is almost correct to say that the Mediterranean Sea is at a boiling point and that the next conflict — one over scarce resources, contested borders or even cultural offences — is just waiting to happen. But there can be no stalemate or acceptance of the status quo if we truly believe that the peoples of the Mediterranean deserve better. No violations of human rights or shaky institutions can be accepted if we are to look truly holistically at a new positive agenda for humankind.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Malta firmly believes that the United Nations can and must do more to safeguard human dignity and stir the conscience of humankind. No undertaking can be as fundamental as addressing the needs of the peoples of the world, and no organization is better situated to see that that can be done than the United Nations. Malta’s geostrategic location makes it look most closely at that which surrounds it. We are proud to be a people of the sea, of a Mediterranean Sea that has given us life and marked our history. We are proud of our contributions towards the health of that sea, the many exchanges that we support and the good relations we maintain with all our neighbours, North and South. But we are also troubled by the conflicts and suffering that we see around us.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“There can be no unfinished business. There can be no sustainable development goals without peace, without fighting corruption, without respect for human rights and without economic equality, which is the social justice issue of our time. The news headlines may not shock us anymore, but those living in fear of losing their lives and those of their families do not live in order to make news. They look to survive. Whether scrapping for food or seeking shelter from bullets, whether hiding their daughters to prevent them from falling victim to rape as a tool of war or keeping sons from being forcibly recruited as child soldiers, millions of people all over the world live dreading tomorrow. Each day they die a little bit more. We bear responsibility for not safeguarding their sense of belonging as equal human beings on this planet.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We do everything we can to provide them with the help they need, offering refuge and respite. Yet Malta cannot do that alone. The international community must do more in the face of an ongoing situation that is nothing but tragic evidence of our global failures. It would be easy to flip channels once again, to “park it in someone else’s back yard”. But it is not someone else’s problem. Irregular immigration, human trafficking and modern-day slavery are everyone’s problem. We all have to play a part in solving it, not only regionally but also globally. There needs to be a sustained evolution in our thinking. At the threshold of the year 2015, we urge fellow nations not only to think beyond the current Millennium Development Goals and how to ensure their sustainability, but also to think of other goals that could be included.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)