YouSaid · the spoken record

Mohamed Bazoum

lines on the record: 38
first: 2012-09-24
most recent: 2022-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“That is why it is not enough for the United Nations and the international community to be moved by or to discuss terrorist violence at length. We must act by investing the necessary resources in education to combat the violence of today and prevent the violence of tomorrow.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“My reason for highlighting our ambitions in the field of education for a country like the Niger, after having spoken about climate change, terrorism and insecurity in the Sahel, is that we are aware that these three issues — demography, climate change and insecurity — are closely related. Indeed, the terrorism currently at work in the Sahel is connected to the living conditions of certain communities whose environment has been considerably disrupted by climate change. The Sahel is also an area that has experienced particularly high population growth in recent decades. The combination of these two phenomena — demography and climate degradation — has created, as a result of the regional disorder following the fall of Colonel Al-Qaddafi’s regime in 2011, the situation of chaos that the countries of the Sahel are experiencing today.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“These adolescents are given in marriage as soon as they are out of the education system, which explains some of the previously mentioned statistics. In offering girls the tranquility and security desired by their parents, residential facilities also offer girls conditions in which to continue their studies with the possibility of staying in school and acquiring the necessary academic and professional skills. The large-scale expansion of residential facilities for girls in rural schools contributes to improved education-system performance and a reduction in the rate of population growth.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“As such, the agenda based on which the people of the Niger elected us aims to take action on two fronts: improving access to and the quality of education. With regard to quality, we have decided to place particular emphasis on the quality of teacher training and the professionalization of teaching. With regard to improving access, our policy emphasizes the building of school infrastructure. The other particularly important aspect of our educational programme that I wish to emphasize is aimed at achieving gender equity and building residential facilities for girls in rural schools. Indeed, because of the precarious living conditions of children in rural schools, far from their parents, the latter tend to prevent their daughters from continuing their studies.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Despite the major challenges we face, as described earlier, the Niger intends to remain a solid and stable State, backed by democratic institutions, and resolutely committed to the fight against poverty and for development. Our deep conviction in that regard is that the most effective means of combating poverty consists in promoting education. The development challenges for the Niger are summarized by the following simple statistics: an annual population growth rate of 3.9 per cent; an average synthetic fertility index of seven children per woman; a first birth for nearly 50 per cent of girls before the age of 15; and 50 per cent of the population aged 15 on average. Those statistics say much about the state of the education system in our country, and that is why we are committed to act with determination to improve things in this area.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Indeed, this terrorism derives a large part of its financial resources from trans-Saharan drug trafficking towards Europe and Asia, via Libya. Most of the weapons flooding the Sahel terrorist violence market also come from Libya. I believe that we are faced with a problem that is not particularly complicated. Why then has it not yet been possible to set up an adequate system with the necessary means to combat this phenomenon properly? It is indeed time for collective reflection. It is time for the great Powers present in that region and the international community as a whole to join the countries of our region in a far more relevant reflection to define an effective course of action in the fight against drug and arms trafficking in the Sahel.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“The war against terrorism now requires us to devote significant resources to increasing the numbers of our forces, acquiring adequate equipment and building the capacities of our soldiers. Allow me to take this opportunity to thank the various partners engaged with us in the fight against terrorism. I would particularly like to thank France, whose action through Operation Barkhane is a major asset in the struggle against our enemies. I also thank the United States of America, the Federal Republic of Germany and all the other countries committed alongside us in various ways, all equally valuable. That being said, I find it crucial to point out that the international community’s commitment to the fight against terrorism in the Sahel has shortcomings that need to be identified and addressed.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Despite the strong pressures related to the circumstances I have just described, my country is showing great resilience centred on very wise governance, the promotion of a culture of tolerance and community cohesion, as well as the rules of democracy and the rule of law. It was that resolute choice of rights and freedoms that made it possible to organize transparent elections that sanctioned the first change of Head of the State by virtue of which a democratically elected President passed the baton to another democratically elected President in April 2021. Need it be said that our experience proves that the surest way to ward off the effects of terrorist violence is to strengthen the democratic regime and nothing else?”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“This scourge has spread from northern Mali to the Niger and Burkina Faso and is now attempting to spread to the countries of the Gulf of Guinea. The violence has such potential to destabilize State institutions that it resulted in the downfall of the democratically elected regimes of Mali and Burkina Faso in 2020 and 2022, respectively. The Niger, my country, in addition to the terrorist hotbed known as the three-borders region — Mali, the Niger and Burkina Faso — is also facing another terrorist hotbed in the Lake Chad basin, where the various groups that claim to be part of the shadowy Boko Haram operate.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Consequently, the vast territory of southern Libya has become a platform for transnational organized crime where the trafficking of arms, drugs, fuel and migrants prosper, perpetuating structural insecurity in all neighbouring Sahelian countries. Mali, which in 2011 succumbed to the violence that originated in Libya, has never really recovered. It has in turn become an incubation centre for a form of terrorism that is characteristic of a Sahel that is deeply affected by the effects of climate change preventing the practice of pastoral farming. That ecosystem of violence has had a deadweight effect on the young shepherds of the communities most affected by climate change, among whom a number of terrorist vocations have arisen.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“In the Sahel, a geographical area to which my country, the Niger, belongs, climate change, which negatively influences agricultural and pastoral activities and water resources, is also the cause of extreme droughts, torrential rains and temperature increases above the world average. That is why the Niger is paying special attention to the African Great Green Wall initiative, which is part of the African Union Agenda 2063. In terms of security, the situation in the Sahel and in my country has deteriorated considerably in recent years due to a particularly negative subregional environment. It all started, let us recall, with the fall in 2011 of the regime in Libya, which to this day has been unable to restore a stable power that could exercise real authority over the whole country.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Climate change exposes the African continent to worsening food insecurity, population displacement, recurrent droughts and pressure on water resources. Faced with the urgency of this situation, I welcome the fact that, during the special high-level dialogue on the theme “The Africa We Want”, organized on 20 July 2022 under the auspices of the United Nations, the international community recognized that the twenty- seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP), to be held in November in Egypt, is a unique opportunity to adjust this imbalance. In that regard, I would like to express the Niger’s commitment to the proposal of the African negotiators for a new objective of $1.3 trillion in financing by 2025 to better address climate challenges.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“At the outset, I wish to extend my warm congratulations and wishes for success to Mr. Csaba Korosi on his outstanding election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session. I welcome the leadership and commitment of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to peace and development, climate action, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response, as well as his sustained efforts to find solutions to the various sources of tension throughout the world. In this Decade of Action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals, the climate emergency is creating humanitarian needs and exacerbating existing development challenges. Alarming evidence from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows that we may have already reached or gone beyond major tipping points and irreversible setbacks.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“The Niger is hopeful that the current initiative of the United States Government will be successful and will lead to the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian State beside and in harmonious coexistence with Israel. What is happening in Syria is a veritable tragedy, even in this topsy-turvy world. A millennial civilization is crumbling before our eyes. We condemn the use of chemical weapons, as occurred on 21 August, and call upon the United Nations to reach a political solution at the upcoming “Geneva II” conference. For a number of decades now, the Cuban population has endured a trade, economic and financial embargo. We call for the lifting of that embargo. In conclusion, I express my fervent hope that our deliberations will help advance the cause of peace, security and progress throughout the world.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“It struck the Kenyan people on 23 September in the form of the bloody and murderous attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi. I should like to take this opportunity to express my condolences to the Government of Kenya. The populations in the Central African Republic are, tragically, experiencing an unprecedented level of violence. The Niger calls for an international intervention, as in Mali in January 2013, to put an end to the martyrdom of the people of the Central African Republic. With respect to Palestine, it is heartbreaking to think that in today’s world, so characterized by highly sophisticated technology and so imbued with modern values, a people could be deprived of its most elementary rights.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In that regard, I wish to express my sympathy for the plight of the hostages held by terrorists in the Sahelo-Saharan area. I convey my condolences to their families and call for more efforts to achieve their prompt release. The problems of the Sahel are not just security problems. That part of the world is among the most afflicted. It is subject to the effects of climate change, desertification and recurring droughts, as well as the resulting food shortages and malnutrition. It needs significant investment as part of a sustained global strategy, supported by the entire international community, to ensure the economic progress that is vital for its stabilization and its deliverance from the clutches of violence. Terrorism in Africa affects not only the Sahel, but also the Horn of Africa.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Mali, in addition to being free, on 11 August chose its President in an election that was in every respect remarkable. I should like to extend once again my congratulations to President Keita. The international community should continue to support Mali, adding to the troops and capacity of MINUSMA, so that it can complete the job of eradicating the terrorist groups. These are now in difficult straits, but are far from having, as it were, uttered their final word. It is also urgent to put in place regional and international coordination, the job of which would be to provide security for all of the Sahelo-Saharan area. Vigorous measures of a general nature need to be taken against drug trafficking and cross-border organized crime.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We who were facing the threat were made very anxious by some of the debates at the United Nations, which could have been avoided if only the facts had been faced and the straightforwardness of the evidence noted. The unjustified stalling by the international community encouraged the terrorists to press their advantage by adopting a new agenda and new goals, enabling them to envisage total victory over Malian territory, and even beyond. If I dwell on this it is, first, because I know how close we came to disaster, and, secondly, because it is my deep conviction that just because our enterprise is complex it does not necessarily mean that we are doomed to inaction at best and to mistakes at worst. In spite of what I have just said, the action of the international community in Mali yielded very positive results, thanks to the support of all.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“But today, as we take stock of that joint action, we are duty-bound to recognize that we owe the health of Mali more especially to the far-sighted decision of President Hollande to launch Operation Serval, which was able to put an end to the terrorist coalition in early January 2013, thanks to the sizeable means put at its disposal, making it equal to the task.We must recognize also that, while ECOWAS rightly and promptly opted for a military intervention, most of the States that were supposed to mobilize troop contingents were slow to make them available and operational. The United Nations, for its part, sought to differentiate between terrorist organizations, so that, against all the evidence, it could promote a dialogue with some of them.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“That mobilization was driven by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which dedicated a number of very high-level meetings to the subject of Mali, and was effectively relayed by the African Union through its Peace and Security Council. It was followed up on a regular basis by the United Nations, whose Security Council has adopted many resolutions on the subject.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We call upon the General Assembly, and in particular the Security Council, to continue to work resolutely to arrive at negotiated and lasting solutions to situations where lethal crises have the potential to cause desolation and displacement and compromise socioeconomic development. For us in the Sahel the major concern in 2012 and 2013 has been Mali. The Niger is pleased with the positive outcome in that country and the follow-up machinery put in place by the Organization through the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), whose establishment was possible thanks to a considerable mobilization of the international community.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“It is determined, too, to pursue a bold, consciousness- raising policy aimed at controlling population growth, which is currently negating the impact of the remarkable economic growth that we have experienced in the past two years. As I said at the beginning of my statement, this session is taking place at a time when the purpose and role of the Organization are being sorely tested, owing to an international situation characterized by persisting or new crises and conflicts. Now more than ever, we need to rise to the challenge, bearing in mind the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The programme is intended to improve agricultural productivity by promoting irrigation through the judicious development of the substantial water potential of our country, by improving production techniques through the substantial use of inputs and machinery, by reorganizing the farming sector, by rationalizing distribution channels for agricultural products and by building roads in rural areas. Always bearing in mind the Millennium Development Goals, our Government is paying particular attention to the vital question of education, including the construction of schools, the delivery of school supplies, the extensive recruitment of teachers and the improvement of teachers’ working conditions.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We call for the effective mobilization of those commitments, so that we can take action in five strategic areas:, namely, building the credibility and effectiveness of public institutions; establishing conditions for sustainable, balanced and inclusive development; food security and sustainable agricultural development; a competitive and diversified economy designed to promote accelerated and inclusive growth; and the promotion of social development. Given the particular interest accorded to rural populations by our President, we have developed and launched the “three N’s” initiative — Nigeriens feeding Nigeriens — with the goal of promoting food security and food sovereignty, in order to end the food shortages caused by recurring droughts.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We have, in particular, reduced the proportion of the population living in extreme poverty and chronic undernourishment. I should like to welcome the significant assistance from bilateral partners and from international organizations, including non-governmental organizations, which are assisting the Government of the Niger in its policies and programmes for a harmonious socioeconomic development. It is for that purpose that the Government launched an ambitious socioeconomic development programme. A round table of donors was held last November in Paris, at which pledges totalling more than $4.8 billion were announced. That amount exceeded the expectations of my Government.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The theme of the sixty-eighth session, “The post- 2015 development agenda: setting the stage”, leads us to ask what measures to take, in the spirit of solidarity, once we have established that many countries will not achieve the Millennium Development Goals within the time frame, as is the case with my country, the Niger. This session of the General Assembly gives me an opportunity to review the ongoing efforts in our country in that area. The renaissance programme established since President Mahamadou Issoufou was elected to head our country makes agriculture, health and education absolute priorities, so that we can substantially improve our human development index performance. Resources expended for that purpose have enabled our country to make significant progress.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“It is a great honour for me to take the floor at the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly, which is being held in the context of some rather disturbing developments in terms of peace and security — developments that, very appropriately, we have an opportunity to consider and to deal with under the provisions of the United Nations Charter. As I begin my statement I should like to congratulate Mr. John Ashe on his election to the presidency, without forgetting the team that is helping him. I should also like to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his tireless efforts in areas such as sustainable development, peace, security and counter-terrorism, particularly in our region of the Sahel.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“An operational concept for military intervention should be drawn up and adopted within the framework of a coalition that should include troops from ECOWAS member States as well as from the countries involved and from other African countries wishing to take part. Such an operation should receive the firm and determined support of the friends of Mali and Africa among the great Powers. It should be carried out through a Security Council resolution in a framework based on the current efforts of ECOWAS but better coordinated with and controlled by the African Union through its Peace and Security Council.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“The ambition of the jihadists who have subjugated northern Mali, destroying the patrimonial historic sites of Timbuktu, cutting off hands and forcing women to wear the burka, is to conquer the whole of West Africa and the Maghreb. Once they have achieved that goal, will they stop there? Of course not. They will immediately go on to attack Europe and the whole of the rest of the world. This is therefore a global threat, and the response should be global, too. It must be immediate and unhesitating, because we know well that postponing a fight always puts one at a disadvantage. Therefore the international community, and the Security Council in particular, has a duty to take responsibility for the crisis in Mali without delay in order to restore a united, democratic and secular Mali.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“His fears were unfortunately confirmed with the outbreak of the rebellion in Mali on 17 January, triggered by elements from Libya and followed by the coup d’état of 22 March, which dealt democracy a severe blow while enabling the occupation of two thirds of Malian territory, not just by external forces, some of them from Libya, but also by terrorists and criminal organizations specializing in various types of trafficking, particularly drugs. In our view, the current situation in Mali constitutes a serious threat to the security and stability of the member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as well as the countries in the thick of things.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“The mobilization of the people and the Government, as well as all our partners, enabled us to prevent the drought from leading to famine, while creating the conditions to prepare for the 2012-2013 harvest. The results are very promising despite the recent f looding in the country. It is said that history has more imagination than do men, because events often escape the control of those who cause them. It is my hope that this saying will not apply to the Arab Spring, which has created turmoil from which we hope good will come. Allow me to recall the fact that at the Group of Eight Summit in Deauville on 26 May 2011, President Issoufou drew the attention of the Heads of State and Government present on the need for them not to lose sight of the foreseeable consequences of a Libyan conflict in the Sahel-Saharan region.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“For financing the programme, the Niger is organizing a donors’ meeting to be held in Paris on 13 and 14 November. The 3N initiative — Nigeriens Nourishing Nigeriens — is an integral and important part of the plan. I take the opportunity here to invite all partners of the Niger, both bilateral and multilateral, both public and private, to take an active part. Allow me also to take the opportunity to thank all those who have responded positively to the appeal that our President launched here on 23 September 2011 during his address to the Asembly at its sixtysixth session, calling for assistance to the people of the Niger following that year’s mediocre harvest.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“The end of the hegemony of financial capital should allow us to direct available financial resources towards investments in the real economy rather than towards speculation. The end of unfair trade will allow countries that produce raw materials, such as the Niger, to draw greater benefit from them, particularly through the change that generates added value. If a country such as mine were able to get a fair price for its raw materials and to establish real control over their exploitation, then the Millennium Development Goals could be achieved by 2015. That is one of the ambitions of the programme for the renaissance of the Niger that President Issoufou presented. On the basis of that programme, the Government has just drawn up an economic and social development plan for 2012 to 2015.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“The lack of any regulation of the global economy, the domination of banks, unfair trade and the growth of inequalities between and within nations are factors of disorder, crises and conflicts that disrupt world peace. The rise of terrorism and the increasingly strong probability of criminal forces controlling great areas will worsen tensions throughout the world. Anticipating international conflicts and disputes is the best way to prevent them. As international economic competition can lead to war, the anticipation of crises should create specific conditions for global economic growth that benefits all. To do that, there should be mechanisms to regulate the global economy with the goal, among others, of ending the hegemony of financial capital and unfair trade.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Mahamadou Issoufou, said from this rostrum: “We might have thought that the end of the Cold War would open the way to an age of full and lasting peace around the world” (A/66/PV.20, p. 17). Unfortunately, because there was no ability, or perhaps not even the will, to attack the evil at its roots, the hope for a world without conflict recedes like the horizon as one approaches it. The root of the evil is bad governance, politically and economically. The promises of liberty, equality and justice, of the rule of law and solidarity — promises that were made to people both globally and at the national level — have still not been upheld.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“We reassert that Islam, a religion of balance and moderation, cannot provide a basis for such hateful responses. Those who, in the name of Islam, are behaving like savage hordes discredit this great religion and, in doing so, are behaving exactly like those they claim to denounce. The sad facts that I have just referred to demonstrate the wisdom of the theme the President chose to place at the centre of his mandate, that is, “Bringing about adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations by peaceful means”. The peaceful settlement of disputes, we may recall, was the theme of the general debate at the sixty-sixth session. Between the two sessions, the position of my country on the issue has not changed. At the sixty-sixth session, my country’s President, Mr.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Sad reality shows us that some people, using the freedom of expression that is guaranteed in their own countries, have believed that that freedom includes the right to publish cartoons and to produce a video that insults Islam. Those acts are comparable to anti-Semitic acts or racist acts in general by those who reject any differences and insist on making that a rule of conduct. We firmly condemn those actions, which are hurtful and offensive for Muslims. But however disgraceful they may be, they cannot justify the outbreak of violence we have seen, especially those against diplomatic missions. In particular, we condemn the murderous attack against the United States diplomatic mission in Benghazi, and we repeat here the sincere condolences of the people and Government of the Niger to the American people and Government.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“I would first like to congratulate the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session on his election. I also wish to congratulate his country for that success, which allows him to manage the Organization during his term of office. I would also like to congratulate the outgoing President, His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, whose term of office was a very busy one. Lastly, I would like to thank the Secretary- General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for the tireless work that he has undertaken through the programme he submitted for the next five years and through which he particularly focuses on sustainable development, peace, security and the participation of women and young people.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)