YouSaid · the spoken record

Mahamadou Issoufou

lines on the record: 110
first: 2011-09-24
most recent: 2020-09-24
sittings or episodes: 5
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

“At the outset, I would like to express my warmest congratulations to the President on his outstanding election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. It is eloquent testimony to the great esteem in which the international community holds his great country, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a friend and brother of mine. I also see it as the well-deserved culmination of his exemplary academic and diplomatic career, which confirms my belief that he will successfully carry out his difficult mission. I assure him that the delegation of the Niger is willing to provide him and the other members of the Bureau with every possible support in fulfilling his mandate. I would also like to pay a deserved tribute to Ms.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Our recovery programme will allow us to further improve those results and move toward the implementation of the SDGs. My ambition is to leave the country, at the end of my last term, radically transformed — a Niger where democratic institutions are stronger, where the fight against corruption has made great strides, and where inequalities have been beaten back and the middle class has grown; a united, peaceful and safe Niger with zero hunger and well equipped with infrastructure of every kind; a Niger that has made good progress on its demographic transition process, where school is free and compulsory for all persons under 16 years, where 40 per cent of our children attend vocational and technical training and leave with a trade or profession, and where universities train the most competent professionals for the subregion; a Niger with access to health, where clean water and sanitation are ensured and where employment, specifically for young people, is abundant; and, finally, a country resolutely engaged on the way to the unity of our continent — in other words, a Niger resolutely set along the way to the Sustainable Development Goals.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“It is urgent that we support the Multinational Joint Task Force that is operating in the Lake Chad Basin against Boko Haram. The terrorist threats at our doorstep have led our country to redirect significant resources to the security sector. Without that, the Niger could have achieved the Millennium Development Goals and started the process of implementing the SDGs under much better conditions. Ten per cent of our budgetary resources have been oriented towards defence and security. In spite of that, the Niger was able to reduce poverty from 63 per cent in 2011 to 45 per cent in 2015, to achieve MDG 1, on reducing extreme hunger and poverty by half, Goal 4, on significantly reducing child and maternal mortality, and the MDG target on access to water and sanitation in urban areas.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The chaos that we are currently seeing in Libya and its impacts on neighbouring countries attest to that fact. Those effects and the presence of terrorist organizations in northern Mali and in the Lake Chad Basin, where Boko Haram is committing atrocities, could irreparably compromise the ability of the countries affected to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. In the Niger, where Boko Haram carries out regular incursions, we have more than 167,000 internally displaced persons, about a 100,000 refugees at risk of starvation and epidemics, and more than 18,000 children who cannot go to school. It is therefore urgent that we stabilize the situation in Libya. It is urgent that we help Libya to emerge from that chaos. It is urgent that we stabilize Mali and neutralize terrorists.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Achieving the SDGs in an unstable and chaotic world will therefore be a non-linear, unstable and chaotic process that can suffer great impacts from small things. I recall the famous metaphor of the so-called butterfly effect, whereby a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil can cause a storm in Texas. The butterfly effect is that drop of water that makes the vase overflow. The signs of tension that we see here and there in the world can be the little sparks that might provoke a vast fire. These signs of tension are currently being obscured by the fight against terrorism, but the rivalries and other competitions among the great Powers can lead to irreparable consequences. Small countries often bear the costs of the rivalries of the great Powers and suffer the consequences of some of their failures to understand.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“For the populations concerned, it is inconceivable that, in the face of terrorist acts and abuses inflicted on local people, the peacekeeping missions deployed on the ground to protect them are powerless to avert the imminent massacres of civilians at the most crucial moments. The missions must be able to take decisive and effective action. In reality, no one can predict what is going to happen between now and 2030. All we can say is that we will not be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals unless there is a profound change in political and economic governance. We live in an uncertain world. We live in an unstable world that is facing all types of visible and invisible threats.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Based on experience, and faced with the evidence of the inadequacy of current approaches to peacekeeping, which have shown their limits on many occasions, we are convinced that those approaches can and should be improved. In that regard, the Niger believes that the mandates of certain United Nations missions urgently need revision so as to strengthen their offensive capabilities, with a view to improving their ability to respond to the challenge of protecting civilians. My country fully supports a major strategic change, particularly given the general trend of attacks by warring parties and other non-State groups against civilians.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“On the modalities of Security Council decision-making, it is essential that the countries most affected in issues before the Council, especially the neighbouring countries of countries in conflict, be involved and heard in the conflict-resolution process. Neighbouring countries, which often share the same communities on both sides of the borders, are the first to suffer from the effects of conflict. The Council must therefore absolutely take into account the concerns expressed by those countries so as to avoid situations of the kind that currently exists in Libya. The field of peacekeeping operations is of particular interest to the Niger, a country that is engaged in a merciless struggle against terrorism and in protecting its territory.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“On the political front, the United Nations needs thorough reform. The governance of the United Nations, in particular the Security Council, needs to be reviewed. That process is long overdue. The Organization should be made effective and legitimate in the way it addresses essential issues of peace and international security. The reform must rectify the existing anachronisms — both the current system of geographical representation in the Council, and the methods whereby decisions are taken. The consequences of those methods are sometimes disastrous and have had effects that are the opposite of what is sought.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Several studies have in fact demonstrated that if the share of African countries in global trade were to increase by only 1 per cent, that would provide additional annual income of more than $200 billion — about five times the amount received by Africa in the form of official development assistance. Concretely, Africa would receive greater resources if the unequal exchanges were discontinued. Africa must also have the firm political resolve to develop intra-African commerce, which now accounts for only 10 per cent of trade. We need for it to reach a level that would strengthen our position in global trade. Reaching the Sustainable Development Goals will be feasible only with greater synergy in action, robust solidarity and, most importantly, respect for all of the commitments undertaken by the global partnerships for development.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The same applies to mobilizing the private sector and encouraging it to take a greater stake in working towards the goals of collective development. With regard to the United Nations, we encourage the long-term positioning of United Nations funds, programmes and agencies to favour development. Such an approach is about promoting consistency and complementarity, which are key for the development work of those entities to be effective. Programmes that are at the centre of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) must make it possible for Africa to become better integrated into global trade. But that integration will be beneficial to the continent only if we put an end to the unequal terms of trade.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries, whose first three-year strategic plan was approved by its governing body in July, will be commissioned in 2017 and will be a valuable instrument for promoting infrastructure development, diversifying production and creating added value. That is essential for strengthening income-generation and increasing the incomes of people in those countries. Reforming the international financial system, creating new possibilities for access to sources of financing, and establishing an adequate framework for restructuring sovereign debt are all are indispensable measures if we are to strengthen the economic capabilities of developing countries in the area of financing sustainable development.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The fact that such a programme seeks to strengthen assistance to those countries that need it most, specifically the least developed countries, reveals the inclusive dimension of the programme. We welcome in particular the willingness to step up the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020, reaffirmed in the Istanbul Declaration, and the Programme of Action resulting from the Midterm Review Conference for the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries, held in Antalya, Turkey, last May.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We need to find a better balance between speculative financial capital and industrial capital by orienting more capital towards the real economy. Such a new approach would enable developing countries to receive more capital and more investment. That, in turn, would sustain stronger economic growth, which would lead to global economic growth and stability. International measures to support direct foreign investment in the least developed countries are important, something that we should put in place as soon as possible. They are crucial in the framework of the support that that group of countries requires in order to realize economic and social development.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The results obtained through the achievement of the MDGs are the starting point from which we begin our journey towards fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Our capacity to achieve our goals by that deadline will depend on our ability to change political and economic conditions, both in individual countries and on a global scale. It will also depend on our ability to honour the commitments we undertook at the Paris Conference on Climate Change. Turning to political and economic conditions, the current situation does not inspire optimism. It is, therefore, essential that we create a new type of political and economic governance worldwide. In the economic sphere, it is obvious that the functioning of the global economy must be fully re-evaluated.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We note in that connection that in the fight against poverty, the goal of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty was achieved in 2010. Similarly, in education, the number of school- age children not in school was halved, and in the health area, infant and maternal mortality was also halved. Unfortunately, those positive results hide huge disparities and inequalities. In fact, those results were strongly influenced by progress in Asia and Latin America owing to high and sustained growth rates there over the period. African countries, especially those in the sub-Saharan region, have seen little progress and continue to face significant challenges in terms of development and the fight against poverty.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Two months later, the adoption of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change came to complete that important campaign through a package of actions aiming, on the one hand, at limiting the rise in the average global temperature to less than 2°C, thanks to courageous measures to mitigate the causes of climate change, and on the other hand, at taking measures to strengthen resilience in the face of climate change. Therefore, the theme of this session — “The Sustainable Development Goals: a universal push to transform our world” — is very much in line with the transformational vision and mission of the climate-change programme. The evaluation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in late 2015 showed that even though not all the Goals were met, remarkable progress had indeed been made.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Finally, I would like to express once again our gratitude for his commitment to Africa, and to the Niger in particular. We could always count on his support during the multifaceted crises that our country has experienced in recent years. In September last year, we adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to eradicate poverty by that year and leave no one behind in the process. At the heart of that project is our commitment to place mankind at the centre of development and meet the requirements and limitations of our planet Earth in terms of our production and consumption habits.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“It is now 71 years since our Organization, the United Nations, was created to ensure peace, security, cooperation, economic development and respect for human rights worldwide. During those 71 years, our Organization has been successful in those areas. That success would have been impossible without the work and unwavering dedication shown by the tens of thousands of women and men employed today by the United Nation. I would like to take this opportunity to honour them. I also pay tribute to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has led our Organization with courage and wisdom throughout the past decade. I congratulate him on his work, particularly regarding the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, where his commitment proved instrumental, and also for his role in the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“If nothing is done, the temperature increase may surpass 2 degrees centigrade in 20 to 30 years and reach 4 degrees by the end of the century. We must therefore regroup and focus on promoting clean energy, such as hydro-electricity, nuclear energy and solar energy, provided that, in the latter case, we create competitive conditions for it. We also need to promote what is called smart agriculture and make adjustments in the industrial, transport and construction sectors. I hope that humanity will not squander the opportunity that will be provided in Paris. I hope that we will implement a development model that will enable us to save our planet. I hope that we will be able to build a more just and humane world.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The global temperature is increasing owing to greenhouse gases, which have led, to take the example of the Sahel region, to a decrease in rainfall and reduced water flows, with the silting up of waterways, as in the case of the Niger River; the drying up of Lake Chad, which has lost 90 per cent of its area in 50 years, shrinking from 25,000 square kilometres to 2,500; extreme flooding and drought; reduced plant cover, including forest loss; reduced biodiversity; reduced crop yields; and thus the impoverishment of the population, whose young people then become an easy target for recruitment by terrorists and organized crime. However, since the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, we have seen not a decrease but an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“That conference’s outcome will be the basis for the decisions that the international community is called upon to take at the climate conference to be held in Paris in December 2015. We have the imperative duty to save our planet.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It is in the interest of the international community to include priorities that are on the agenda of our continent in the post-2015 programme. The twenty-first century must be the century when Africa equips itself with roads and rail and energy infrastructure and new information and communication technologies. It will also be the century of an agriculture that feeds our population, which is growing larger, and the century of access to water and sanitation services and to education, including vocational and technical training to enable each young person to have a trade. However, if our children and grandchildren are to have a chance at having a better quality of life, we must meet the challenge of climate change. In that regard, we must congratulate Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on his initiative to convene the Climate Summit.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Africa will be the continent of the twenty-first century once its relations with other nations are governed by equitable trade and not by official development assistance. Africa will be the continent of the twenty-first century when there is a huge middle class arising from good political and economic governance, including a better distribution of income to reduce poverty. Currently, according to a study by the African Development Bank, the African middle class, which is defined as the proportion of Africans with an income between $2 and $20 a day, represents about 30 per cent of the population. Our ambition should be to increase that number to 80 per cent. The vision contained in the 2063 agenda of the African Union suggests that we are on the right track.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Observers are unanimous in saying that Africa, with its high rates of economic growth, is the continent of the twenty-first century. That is true, but only if our continent definitively emerges from the unequal trade situation and from the colonial pact that has always treated Africa as merely a reservoir of raw materials, often sold cheaply, as in the old days when slaves or vast territories were acquired in exchange for mirrors, pins, needles and other junk. The African continent will actually be the continent of the twenty-first century when it, itself, works with its raw materials, that is to say once it takes the place that it deserves in world industrial production.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The best way to do away with the borders inherited from colonization is not to create new borders along ethnic or religious lines, but to go beyond current borders through integration. Global security can be ensured only by States with strong and stable democratic institutions. The post- 2015 programme must be a priority. Global security can also not be guaranteed as long as inequalities in trade between nations and income inequality within nations persist. Inequalities are morally unacceptable and economically inefficient. Therefore, the struggle against inequality has always been an essential question and one that we must stop avoiding, if we want a more just, humane and prosperous world. That struggle must be central to the post-2015 programme.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It is in that perspective that the heads of State and Government of Cameroon, the Niger, Nigeria and Chad — the members of the Lake Chad Basin Commission — and Benin, will meet in Niamey on 7 October 2014 to pool their efforts in the fight against this serious threat. Regarding Mali, I welcome the inclusive inter-Malian dialogue that is currently taking place under the auspices of Algeria. I express the hope that the dialogue will lead to an agreement that respects the unity and integrity of Mali. In Mali, as in the Central African Republic, the question of unity is essential. The Pandora’s box of Balkanization, which has been opened elsewhere in Africa, must be closed again if we do not want the rest of the continent to catch fire. The future of Africa is in its unity.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We therefore need to have the courage to radically change our perspective and act so as to help Libyans realize their sole aspiration, which is to live in peace. With respect to Nigeria, Boko Haram has been extremely aggressive and has demonstrated a barbarism never seen before, with its recent incursions into Cameroon and the occupation of ever more territory, going so far as to threaten Maiduguri, the capital of the federated state of Borno in Nigeria. It is evident that that terrorist group has aims that are much larger than had been thought. That means that more effort and cooperation are needed at the regional and international levels in order to deal with the problem effectively.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The current United Nations Support Mission in Libya must be replaced by a more robust structure, and in this case, a stabilization and institution-building mission. The international community will then have to undertake a vast diplomatic initiative under the auspices of the Secretary-General to promote national reconciliation, which is needed to bring about the end of violence and chaos as well as to assist in the emergence of the true rule of law. Whatever the case may be, as the leader of a country that is a neighbour of Libya and whose economy and security have been seriously affected by what has been taking place there for three years, my belief is that it is dangerous to leave the current state of affairs in play as it is.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The strategy also needs to deal with the terrorist strategy, which generates propaganda through its actions, and unfortunately, its propaganda is heavily covered by the media and social media on the Internet. In addition, a just settlement of the Palestinian issue could certainly contribute to the fight against this scourge. As a neighbour of Libya, Nigeria and Mali, the Niger is deeply concerned by the situation prevailing in those countries. In Libya, the international community, together with neighbouring countries, must establish the conditions that would enable it to neutralize the militias, reconcile all Libyans without exception and form a Government of union that would organize elections under the guidance of the international community.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“In order to eradicate the Islamic State or the Al-Nusra Front in Iraq and Syria, neutralize the jihadist organizations in Libya, overcome Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and Al-Mourabitoun in the Sahel, particularly in Mali, and oust the Al-Shabaab from Somalia and Boko Haram in Nigeria, the international community needs to establish a shared goal and strategy, working with the countries involved. The common political aim is to defend our democratic institutions and protect our peoples. The strategy would then necessarily have to do with cutting off the sources financing terrorism, whether those sources are States or the drug trade or the payment of ransom.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The war pursued against them is no longer a conventional, industrial war of the kind for which our armies have been trained. Warfare among our populations is not a new phenomenon, but in recent years, it has taken on an exceptional dimension. To deal with that situation, we need to change the paradigm and move from a paradigm of classic conventional war to that of the war that takes place among our populations, which, in turn, presupposes that our countries reform their armies. That also presupposes that our countries train special forces that are capable of adapting to the methods of the enemy.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It is fortunate that the international community has now established a close correlation among those three fundamental challenges, which are interconnected. Global peace and security today are, however, threatened by terrorism, by organized crime, by demands based on identity and by the growth of inequality, which have led to the worsening of poverty around the world, from Iraq to Libya, from Syria to Nigeria and from Mali to Somalia. The enemies who embody that terrorist threat are engaged in an unconventional and asymmetrical combat. They are sending out propaganda through their actions and seek to control populations through terror, including rape; kidnapping young girls, as in Chibok, Nigeria; taking hostages in exchange for ransom: and murder.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The demographic dividend, the Assembly will recall, consists of both the demographic transition and inclusive economic growth. More specifically, the demographic dividend means, on the one hand, reducing maternal, infant and juvenile mortality and controlling birth and, on the other hand, providing for sustainable development with its three pillars: economic, social and environmental. The demographic transition is needed to strengthen sustained growth, which in turn should accelerate the demographic transition. I continue to believe that the best contraceptive method, the best condom, is sustainable development. The post-2015 agenda will be dominated by what I would call the three D’s — defence or security, democracy and development.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“With respect to reducing by half the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 per day, ensuring primary education for all, strengthening gender equality and the empowerment of women, dealing with the mortality of children under five years, reducing maternal mortality and promoting a sustainable environment, major efforts have ben undertaken. Still, those goals will most likely not be achieved, despite the implementation of the programme of recovery currently under way since my election in 2011. In drafting the new post-2015 agenda, we naturally need to maintain all of the unachieved MDGs and provide for measures to avoid a deterioration in areas where the goals have already been achieved. For example, the issue of the demographic dividend should be a priority on the agenda.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“With respect to the Niger, for example, the implementation of the 3N Initiative, “Les Nigériens nourrissent les Nigériens”, has already allowed us to achieve target C of MDG 1, which has to do with reducing by half the number of people who are suffering from hunger. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has recognized that, in that area, the Niger has achieved impressive results in record time. Our country has also achieved target A of MDG 6, with an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 0.4 per cent in 2012, as compared with a target of 0.7 per cent in 2015.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
““Delivering on and implementing a transformative post-2015 development agenda”, which the Assembly has identified as the theme of the general debate of the sixty-ninth session, provides a good link with the theme of last year’s session. That gives us an opportunity once again to further explore the questions that are of concern to all of us. It is nearly post-2015 already, and crafting a programme that goes beyond that date requires that we take stock of the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Despite the remarkable progress in the implementation of some of those goals, it is now clear that there are still vast gaps in other goals, which will persist when the programme is concluded.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Allow me to offer my sincere condolences to the French Government for the cowardly murder of one of its citizens yesterday, 24 September, in Algeria by the so-called Soldiers of the Caliphate. Sociopolitical crises, religious extremism, armed conflict, terrorism, cross-border crime, identity politics, development issues, the effects of climate change and pandemics such as that currently caused by the Ebola virus are now concerns of the utmost importance that are crying out for action from all players of the international community. In order to meet the challenges of promoting peace, stability, security and development, we have to further strengthen the spirit of sharing and solidarity.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“In Niger we have experienced the benefits of mediation, through the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, in our recent political and institutional crisis. It is true that mediation can be tedious, but in the end it bears fruit. We endorse every effort that aims to promote peace through mediation, both in active and potential conflicts. We also encourage the Department of Political Affairs to keep the principle in mind in its work.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The same is true of reform of the Security Council, which we all await and which Africa has always called for, through its representatives, especially the Committee of Ten African Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors. 11-51191 20 Before concluding, I want to return to the theme of mediation. Our countries and the United Nations itself could increase their effectiveness in managing issues of peace, security and development if they sought resolution through mediation. The importance of the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes is incontestable. In fact, it is an essential tool in the peaceful settlement of disputes, which the Charter itself recommends to States in Article 33.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The United Nations is at once a permanent space for political dialogue among the countries we represent and a forum for the expression of the solidarity necessary among our peoples. It is also where we turn for the realization of our hopes. For all those reasons, reform of the United Nations must proceed faster. Africa takes a common position on this issue, which my country shares. We deeply believe that, given its worldwide mandate to deal with major issues like peace, security, development and human rights, the United Nations must be fair, representative and democratic. We believe in an ongoing revitalization of the General Assembly, the common forum that we all hold dear. We have no doubt that the President of the Assembly will move forward the process of democratizing the United Nations.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Niger encourages private investment, especially foreign direct investment. Besides the legal protection we offer by promoting the rule of law, we have also just adopted a law on public-private partnerships in order to expedite funding. We have the duty to create a fairer and more humane world. To achieve that noble aim we need new global governance. That will require a profound reform of international organizations, in particular the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The democratization of those institutions is absolutely necessary; it is a sine qua non condition for peace and stability in the world. For decisions to be accepted and implemented by everyone, they must be taken in a collaborative, participatory way. I would like to focus now on our great Organization.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The terrible recurrent drought that Niger lives with spurred our decision to restructure our economy. Our country has significant mineral resources — uranium, gold, coal, cement, which are already being mined, as well as oil, the first barrel of which will be produced before the end of 2011. While the curse of mineral resources has had unfortunate results in other countries, we will exploit our resources to the sole benefit of the people of Niger. In accordance with the Extraction Industries Transparency Initiative, we mean to invest the profits to the benefit of the people of Niger, especially in agriculture, animal husbandry, energy and transportation infrastructure, education, health and access to water. The resulting boost to our economy will allow us to create tens of thousands of jobs, especially for young people.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“In view of this, we decided to implement the Three Ns initiative, that is, “the people of Niger Nourishing the people of Niger”. As we believe that drought does not need to necessarily bring about famine, we have decided to increase the yields of rain- fed agriculture, to promote irrigation, to modernize livestock-raising methods and to implement a robust policy of environmental protection. As we know that the harvest this season will be poor, we have decided to implement an emergency irrigation programme, to rebuild our food stocks and to alert the international community to the situation. From this rostrum I renew my country’s appeal to the international community for aid for Niger, which, in addition to threats from the Libyan crisis, from terrorists and from criminal organizations of every kind, is also facing severe food insecurity.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Quite the opposite, it should be able to integrate the values of two civilizations that are, at their root, both from the same area, the Middle East. Climate change is another challenge that the world is facing. Greenhouse gases are one of its causes. The least developed poor countries, of which Niger is unfortunately a member, only produce 1 per cent of those gases. We in Niger suffer from the effects of climate change on a recurring basis. Indeed, our people live off of subsistence agriculture and livestock- raising. Those two sectors, on which the poorest, in particular women and children, rely, are very vulnerable to climate change. The droughts and floods in Niger over the past 10 years show, needless to say, a trend towards a growing number of extreme weather events.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
““I do not serve that which you serve, nor do you serve Him Whom I serve: nor am I going to serve that which you serve, nor are you going to serve Him Whom I serve: you shall have your religion and I shall have my religion.” (The Holy Koran, CIX: 2-6) 19 11-51191 Those are the divine words, full of tolerance, from a sura of the Koran. Thus, terrorism has nothing to do with Islam, with real Islam, which is a religion of the happy medium, and the fight against terrorism should not be considered a religious conflict, a clash between two civilizations, a struggle between Judeo- Christian civilization and Muslim civilization, or a fight to the death between the Christian West and the Muslim East. The world must not return to the religious wars of the Middle Ages.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“In understanding this, the world has made a quantum leap, convincing even those who would believe that the fight for democracy is simply a new version of the mission to civilize, which was the justification for the colonialism of the past century brought about by the alliance of the sword and the censer. As a Muslim, I would like to say that terrorism has nothing to do with Islam. Islam has always emphasized fraternity and justice. It has always emphasized the intrinsic unity of all human beings and their equality, whatever their origins. Islam therefore proclaims that all men are equal like the teeth of a comb in the hands of a weaver. Islam is a religion of tolerance.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Niger would also like to see a rapid return to peace and stability in this brotherly country and reconciliation among Libyans. We are concerned by the situation, because the democratic institutions that our countries are trying to build are still fragile. We are concerned because the reality of widespread poverty provides a breeding ground for terrorism. My country, Niger, believes that, apart from immediate security solutions, the strengthening of democratic institutions and economic and social development are the only ways to confine terrorism and guarantee peace. Democratic values are universal. It has been decisively proven: there is no such thing as climate determinism, which would condemn hot countries to despotism and temperate countries to democracy.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We hope that there will be a rapid solution to the crisis, which would not just have a security impact on Niger, but also an economic and social impact, given the work stoppage on the road construction that was being financed by Libya, the return from Libya of over 210,000 migrant Niger nationals and the arrival of increasing numbers of Libyan refugees fleeing the war. Niger is a democratic country, governed by the rule of law, and we will treat these refugees in compliance with our laws and international law. Until now, our country, with very limited means, has been bearing this terrible burden alone. Our country therefore requires support and help from the international community in terms of both the security and the economic issues, as we are on the frontlines of the war against terrorism.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“I would like to pay a well-deserved tribute to the Nigerian security and defence forces, some of whom have given their lives in their commitment to protecting our country from terrorism. Along with that threat, of course, we also have to face criminal organizations that traffic in weapons, drugs and human beings. All of these threats have been exacerbated by the Libyan crisis. Indeed, arms depots have been pillaged in Libya. Those weapons are now distributed throughout the Sahara and Sahel area and risk ending up in the hands of terrorists. Given the regional nature of the threats, Niger is determined to work jointly with other countries, especially in our subregion, to deal with the situation. The risk to the stability of the entire subregion, where some countries experience recurrent rebellions, should not be underestimated.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)