YouSaid · the spoken record

John Key

lines on the record: 68
first: 2009-09-24
most recent: 2016-09-24
sittings or episodes: 4
sources: un-general-debate

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

“We will keep working hard for those principles, because we believe that they are vital for a safer, more prosperous future.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The next Secretary-General must have the courage, experience and skills necessary to lead this Organisation, to keep it relevant and responsive. I have worked across the political divide from Helen Clark for years, and I know her to be a natural leader. She rallies people together to find common ground, even when the issues are difficult and the differences vast. She gets things done. We think it is time for a Secretary-General like Helen Clark. I am proud of the contribution that New Zealand is making to the Security Council, but I am keenly aware of the Council’s limitations. It is the General Assembly that now needs to act to make the United Nations stronger and more relevant to the world. New Zealand is committed to the principles and values of the United Nations.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We cannot allow fear or narrow domestic interests to turn us away from an open global trading system that has lifted millions out of poverty. Countries that close their borders cannot and do not do business. History has shown that this does not work for our countries. It will not help our peoples, and protectionism will have a chilling effect on our ability to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals. A decision of critical importance to the future of the United Nations will be made in the coming weeks. In April, I was very pleased to nominate former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark to be the first United Nations Secretary-General from the Pacific. This is not the time for a business-as-usual appointment of a Secretary-General. We need someone who is up to the job.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“New Zealand believes that the WTO needs to do more to set global trade rules. We need it to find common ground that overcomes vested national interests and agree to new international trade commitments that benefit all countries. In the Asia-Pacific region, closer economic integration through trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will also bring us closer together. Agreements like these will make our region and people better off by setting the conditions for more open and transparent trade. A more prosperous and integrated region will also be a more secure one, and that is in all of our interests. We must guard against creeping protectionism and be willing to make the case for more economic engagement clearly. We cannot turn inward.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“But developments here in the United Nations do not exist in a vacuum, apart from the global economy and trading system. Sustainable economic development is a key driver of global growth, prosperity and, most of all, stability. This requires a fair, rules-based trading system, more open trade and the removal of trade barriers. The multilateral trading system has been a critical factor in this respect. Last year, we welcomed an agreement by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to eliminate agricultural export subsidies. This was the first legally binding international trade outcome in agriculture since 1994. This matters for development and will make a real difference for rural communities. But the types of challenges that the United Nations faces are similar to those that have hindered more progress in the WTO in recent years.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“That is why New Zealand is trying to get the Council working more closely with regional organizations and getting the Council to be more willing to engage at an earlier point with countries in crisis. This is a focus of our presidency, and it will continue to be a focus of our work when we come off the Council. Beyond the Security Council, parts of the United Nations system are stepping up. There have been significant steps forward on development, climate, financing, humanitarian issues and disaster risk reduction. These issues are of significant importance to our closest development partners, small island developing States. For economic development to be fully realized, the Sustainable Development Goals must be implemented by all.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The problem is that we do not always have the will, and we do not use the tools available to us. Many States block action, asserting sovereignty and ignoring the rest of the Charter. Others do not want to spend the money. Most have bilateral or national interests. And leaders of countries in political crisis often do not want their actions to be on the Council’s agenda. But we cannot ignore the growing gap between the humanitarian costs of picking up the pieces after conflict and the amount that the United Nations allocates to prevent conflict. The shortfall is growing at an unsustainable rate, while the peace operations budget is increasing year on year. But this is not about money. It is about saving lives.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“But increasingly the Charter is being ignored and the Council seen as irrelevant as countries put pursuit of their national interests before almost anything else. The time for moving forward on Security Council reform is now. We will be pushing more than ever for action in the General Assembly to make the Council better reflect today’s realities and needs. New Zealand is also working to make the Council more effective in conflict prevention. We want to make the Council better at responding to political crises before they spiral out of control. There is no lack of mandate for conflict prevention. It is in the Charter. There is no lack of information about escalating situations. We see the evidence of this, often in the most heart- breaking images in the media.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We all need to make an investment in keeping it on track where it is needed most: in preventing and stopping conflict. That means coming to the Council ready to find a way to get beyond vested political interests and being prepared to work on compromise solutions that stop the fighting. The veto plays a huge part in the Council’s effectiveness. No matter how hard we work to find compromises, time and time again we come up against the veto. The use of the veto, the threat of the veto, the exploitation of the veto is well beyond what the founders of the United Nations ever envisaged. We acknowledge that addressing regional and national interests is a fundamental part of the process of finding durable solutions.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We hope that this will send a clear signal to the North Korean leadership that continued provocative and dangerous actions are unacceptable and that a return to the negotiating table represents the only sensible way forward. The international community must stand together in conveying these messages, including through fully implementing Security Council sanctions. The Council has impact and influence when it is unified, but we have to get better at identifying incentives that encourage unified Council positions. For a country with a proud tradition of being a pragmatic bridge-builder and problem-solver, the Council can be an incredibly frustrating place to work. But we are committed to trying to make it work because it is in our collective interest to have a strong and relevant Council.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The regime’s efforts to advance its nuclear and missile programmes, its callous disregard for the North Korean people, as demonstrated by the human rights situation in the country, and its leader’s unpredictably ruthless rule have made it one of our most pressing international security threats. Its provocative actions show blatant disregard for Security Council resolutions and pose a grave threat to international law. They have raised tensions on the Korean peninsula to a point where the risk of conflict is dangerously high. We cannot afford further escalation. New Zealand therefore welcomes recent steps by the United States and China to begin negotiating a new Security Council resolution, following the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s recent nuclear test.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We also hope that the meeting will be a chance for the Council to put its weight behind the ceasefire agreement reached between the United States and Russia. That agreement is the best chance we have had in some time to stop the fighting, get aid to those who need it and get back on track for a political resolution to the crisis. Another critical issue on which New Zealand supports unified Council action is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. New Zealand believes that a strong international response is required to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s nuclear test on 9 September and its recent missile tests.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The Security Council was established to address crises such as that which we see in Syria. That is why New Zealand is using our presidency of the Council to convene a leaders’ level meeting tomorrow on Syria. A meeting by itself will not stop the conflict. But after more than five years of brutal fighting and horrific humanitarian suffering, we do not think that it is credible for leaders to come to New York and not address the stark realities driving the conflict. We hope that tomorrow’s meeting will provide an opportunity for Council leaders to take stock of developments, examine the fundamental issues at the heart of the conflict and discuss how we can move towards a sustainable political solution.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We acknowledge that the Council does not have a role in every crisis. But the reality is that we need the Council to respond when no one else can. That is why we have consistently called for Council action to revive the Middle East peace process. We have also been deeply troubled to see the Council, the pre-eminent body for international peace and security, fail to live up to its responsibilities on the most serious crisis of our time — Syria. There the Council has fallen short. The internal politics within the Council and the sheer complexity of the Syrian crisis have obstructed a unified Council response. But we believe that no matter how difficult and sensitive the issues, the Council cannot watch the situation go from bad to worse for the Syrian people.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We are using our term on the Council to raise the tough issues, because we believe that that is what the Council is for and what our supporters expect us to do. New Zealand is working for a Security Council that shows more leadership on the toughest political issues, that works harder to get the incentives right so as to broker solutions and that is better at responding to political crises before they spiral out of control. The Council has put its weight behind many successes, from the adoption of the Iran deal to ending the long-running war in Colombia. But the Council also has shortcomings that, if not addressed, risk undermining its relevance and standing in world affairs. For the vast majority of Member States, which are dependent on a fair, rules-based international system, a weak Council is not an option.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We are committed to being a good global citizen and to playing our part. We rise on the fortunes of all Member States. We believe that it is in all our interests to be open and outward-facing, to work through our differences, to have rules and, most of all, to play by them. Now is the time to reinforce the relevance and standing of the United Nations in our response to today’s challenges. There are many areas where the United Nations could be more efficient, more representative, more responsive and show greater leadership. It is our collective responsibility as Member States to face up to the political commitment necessary to make the United Nations the body that we want it to be. For the past two years, our focus has been on the Security Council.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“It is special pleasure to speak to the General Assembly under the presidency of a Pacific island friend. The world is facing serious challenges. Borders are closing to people and products, and to investment and ideas. Many States are turning inwards. The politics of fear and extremism are gaining ground. Too many States are flouting the rules. But no country can face today’s challenges alone. Now more than ever, we need to show that we are united in our respect for the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. They are the basic principles that underpin our global system, born from the bitter experience of war, and they are as relevant today as they were in 1945. My country, New Zealand, is a proudly independent, multicultural trading nation in the Asia-Pacific region. The international system matters to us.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The collective effort of the Security Council, supported by the broader membership, could make a real difference. I think all of us who have been here over the past week know that collective action must start somewhere. It should start at the United Nations.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“We have committed $1 billion in development assistance to the Pacific, focused on, among other things, helping support sustainable fisheries management. Our aid is focused on our region and in areas where we know we can get real results for real people, improving livelihoods and creating opportunities. Many Governments around the world are doing the same, and we are proud to play our part. As I prepare to leave New York, I do so proud of the contribution that New Zealand has made to the sustainable development of our oceans. I leave proud of the contribution New Zealand is making on the Security Council and proud of the values and principles that underpin the country I lead. I also leave dispirited by the Security Council’s failure to help not only the people of Syria, but those in so many other countries.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“We sincerely hope that the Conference of the Parties will be similarly successful in Paris in December, with the adoption of a meaningful agreement on climate change. Healthy and productive oceans are a key requirement for a sustainable future. I was pleased to announce earlier this week the creation of a marine sanctuary around New Zealand’s Kermadec Islands. The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will comprise 620,000 square kilometres of ocean in one of the most pristine and special environments on Earth. The Sanctuary will be one of the world’s largest and most significant fully protected marine areas. It will cover an area twice the size of our land mass and better protect the habitats of a huge array of sea creatures. New Zealand is committed to managing our oceans responsibly, and we are working with our Pacific neighbours to do the same.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“We want to contribute to a Council that is genuinely focused on finding practical solutions to political problems and not on preserving the status quo. We are well aware that the conflicts on the Council’s agenda 15-29664 17/25 A/70/PV.23 01/10/2015 are complex and not easily solved, but we are realistic in our expectations of what can be achieved. New Zealand believes that the body responsible for maintaining international peace and security has a responsibility to find solutions to the world’s most pressing crises. Only the United Nations and its agencies have the capacity to focus world attention across a range of issues. That was demonstrated last week with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“For that reason, New Zealand supports the two proposals being put forward this year — by the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group of countries and by France and Mexico — to limit the use of the veto in mass atrocity situations. The fact that two permanent members are supportive represents progress, but part of the problem is also behavioural. The permanent members have become used to exercising power and are protective of their privileged position. They presume to control the Council’s agenda and to determine its processes. Despite that, we are doing what we can to ensure that the elected members have the information and the opportunity to contribute effectively to Council decision-making. And, in turn, that it makes effective decisions.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“That the five permanent members of the Council have the right of veto creates an extraordinary power imbalance. That imbalance is exacerbated by their practices of prenegotiating outcomes before engaging with the 10 elected members and of taking no action when one of the five does not agree. That experience has reaffirmed to us that New Zealand was right to oppose the right of veto when the Charter of the United Nations was being drafted. It is still our view that the right of veto is a constraint on the effectiveness of the Council and realizing the aspirations of the States Members of the United Nations.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“We are told that the conditions are not right on the ground and that the parties are not ready, but we should not let conditions on the ground dictate our actions, if our actions can help bring a solution. We stood for the Council because we believe small States have a positive contribution to make, and we wanted to provide a voice for those who go unheard too often. It was for that latter reason that we arranged the first open debate on the peace and security challenges of small island developing States during our presidency in July (see S/PV.7499). We were heartened by the level of participation of both those States and the broader membership. The challenge for a small elected member to have its voice heard and its views taken into account is considerable. Part of the problem is structural.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The question is not Al-Assad or ISIL. Both need to be dealt with. A workable political solution will not be a perfect one. Indeed, it is a classic case of the perfect being the enemy of the good. It will require international cooperation and compromise, on all sides. The Council also needs to engage in making progress on the Middle East peace process. Since being elected to the Council, New Zealand has made clear its view that the status quo is unsustainable. It puts at risk the achievement of the two-State solution that we all know is the best hope for a lasting peace. That is a matter of urgency and another critical issue on which the Security Council should lead.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“At the same time we see the consequences of the Security Council’s failure to act over the past four years. It is time for the Council to step up. It is time for it to stop talking about what is right and do what is right. It is time for the Council to do the job for which it was created. It is time for its members to set aside their vested interests and historical alliances in order to stop the violence and end the suffering. It is time for the Council to do its duty by those who have lost their lives and loved ones and the millions who have been displaced. We cannot afford to let the Council go from an institution with failures to a failed institution. There must be a political solution to the conflict in Syria. And it must come soon. It should address all issues and involve all relevant actors, from within the region and beyond.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“All Council members carry responsibility for ending the misery in Syria and beyond. The consequences of inaction are not theoretical. The human toll is real — a 3-year-old boy dead, washed up on a Turkish beach; hundreds of thousands killed and millions forced to flee their homes. We cannot ignore the huddled travellers in the railway stations of Europe or the reality of refugees scratching out a meagre existence in camps and makeshift homes in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. More than 160 leaders have shown up in New York this week to mark the enduring importance of the United Nations over the past 70 years. Yet we do so against the backdrop of the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War. Every one of us sees the harrowing images daily.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“ISIL’s warped ideology and unprecedented use of social media to export its twisted message is a threat to all of us, even a country as distant as New Zealand. That is why New Zealand has joined the international coalition against ISIL. We are doing what we can to help the victims of the Syrian conflict and combat the scourge of ISIL. New Zealand’s armed forces are helping the Government of Iraq to train its soldiers to 16/25 15-29664 01/10/2015 A/70/PV.23 defend its people. In response to the humanitarian crisis we are helping to fund programmes in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to assist their efforts to support thousands of displaced refugees. Like many other countries, we are implementing an emergency Syrian refugee resettlement programme. None of that gets to the root of the problems in Syria.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“That is because this important agreement must become the basis for something wider — a fundamental resetting of relationships and a foundation for the resolution of other regional conflicts. Nowhere is the resetting of relationships needed more than in Syria. Syria has been torn apart by internal divisions and a leader prepared to wage war on his own people to cling to power. External actors, from within the region and beyond, have tried to tilt the balance in pursuit of their own interests. And as the country descended into lawlessness, the evil nightmare that is the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which first took hold in Syria, spread death and terror in the region and beyond.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Since we have been on the Council, we have found it as hard as many of those here warned. The Council’s agenda is lengthy and contentious. The dynamics within it are difficult. When Council members work together, as they did over the recent agreement on Iran’s nuclear capability, they can still deliver on the Council’s role as it is set out in the Charter of the United Nations. The Iran deal was a notable bright spot this year. Although it was negotiated in Vienna, only the Council had the power to implement it. New Zealand is proud that this occurred during our presidency of the Council in July. Now, the deal has to be implemented and its example followed.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“New Zealand is a small country at the bottom of the world. Despite being far from many of the world’s trouble spots, we are not immune to their consequences. This time last year, I pressed the case for New Zealand’s election to the Security Council. I would like to thank Member States for their faith in us. In the past nine months we have striven to repay them. Much of the debate in this Hall this week has been about where the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, has not performed. The conflicts and human suffering in Syria, Yemen, South Sudan and a long list of other countries show how far we are from achieving the aspirations of our founders and of today’s Members. So, too, does the lack of progress in bringing peace to the Middle East.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The seventieth anniversary of the United Nations is a good opportunity to reflect on the state of the Organization. For most of us, the United Nations has been one of the key international realities of our lives. It has been at the heart of what has shaped us in the significant developments of the post-Second World War era. But as we all know, it is not perfect. A lot can be said about the shortcomings of the United Nations. They are many and some are serious. But there are things this Organization can do that no other international body can. And it remains the key reference point for States when there is a problem. That is why New Zealand fought so hard for its current seat on the Security Council. We sought election because the Council is the primary body for the maintenance of international peace and security.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“That applies whether the issue was Rwanda, Somalia, Yemen or Yugoslavia in 1993-94, or is the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Sudan or Syria in 2013 to 2014. My hope is that when Member States make their decision on whom to vote for in October 2014, they will look at New Zealand’s record and know that we will be a credible, positive influence on the Security Council and a voice for the interests of the wider Organization.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“New Zealand is not advocating revolution, but we are asserting that the Council can and must do better in the way it conducts its business. That is the approach New Zealand will bring to the Security Council if we are elected next October. If successful, it will be 21 years since New Zealand last served on the Council — a long time ago, but not so long that we have forgotten the lessons learned during our last term. At the top of that list is the imperative that members have to be engaged; they must listen to the concerns of others and have a view and a voice if they are to be relevant. There is no point in joining the Council simply to make up the numbers. Sometimes there is a need to speak up and shine a light on what is going on, or not going on, even when that may be inconvenient to others.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“From the 1950s to the 1990s, we could blame the Cold War when the Security Council did not act. That does not wash today. The problems are more systemic and relate both to the composition and the formal and informal processes of the Council. We now seem to have a practice whereby the permanent members not only can block Council actions through the use of the veto, but also appear to have privileged access to information and can stop the Council from meeting if it does not suit their collective purposes. Such behaviour damages the reputation and credibility of the wider Organization and must be challenged. Such issues are not necessarily matters of Charter reform, which we know is difficult, but have to do with the effective functioning of the Organization — an issue in which we all have a stake.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“New Zealand is pleased to be a major supporter of that important United Nations effort and, with the rest of the Pacific, looks forward to welcoming the world to our region. We need to remind ourselves that sound governance arrangements and transparency of process are also vital virtues for international organizations, including the United Nations. By any objective assessment, the Organization has not been equipped with the structures and rules it needs to operate as it should. Yet there has been deep resistance to efforts to make things better. That needs to change. The rationale for United Nations reform is clear. Membership has quadrupled since 1945, yet over the same period its key organs — particularly the Security Council — have become hostage to their own traditions and to the interests of the most powerful.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“New Zealand recognizes the importance to Africa, the Caribbean and our own region of the Arms Trade Treaty, adopted in April and signed by New Zealand and many others on 3 June The Treaty should curb the flows of small arms and other weapons, especially to conflict regions, and help arrest the deaths and human misery that they cause. I want to also applaud the progress made in implementing the Millennium Development Goals, while at the same time acknowledging the fact that much work remains to be done. We now need to work together on a post-2015 development agenda focused on creating economic opportunities and the eradication of poverty. Many of the same issues will be addressed at the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, which Samoa is to host in 2014.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“However, as the President of Nigeria reminded us earlier this week (see A/68/PV.5), the new story of Africa is the growing number of countries in the region that are enjoying the benefits of good governance, sound economic growth and development, driving positive change throughout the continent. All of that is good news for Africa and for the world. New Zealand will do what it can to help with targeted assistance in areas where we have real expertise to offer, namely, in the fields of agriculture, renewable energy and good governance. New Zealand also recognizes and supports the critical roles of the African Union and Africa’s subregional bodies in ensuring Africa’s security and future prosperity.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“New Zealand expertise also helped substantially improve agricultural yields through the implementation of modern farming techniques. We are building the largest solar energy system in Afghanistan, which will bring a renewable source of electricity to much of Bamian township. That was a big commitment by a small country situated far away. It also came at a considerable cost: 10 of our servicemen and women lost their lives while on duty there. Even so, we are proud of what we achieved in partnership with the people of Bamian and hope that those gains can be sustained in the years ahead. In Africa we see a continent where many countries have faced real challenges.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We acknowledge the positive developments there, including with regard to election preparations and voter registration. The countries of the Pacific, including New Zealand, want and need Fiji to be successful, democratic and well-governed. Earlier this year, New Zealand withdrew the bulk of its forces from Afghanistan, following the closure of the New Zealand-led provincial reconstruction team in Bamian province, which provided security and helped bring about a significant improvement in governance and development. Schools and hospitals were rebuilt and health centres re-opened. Mortality rates for children under 5 were halved. Maternal deaths are now a quarter of the Taliban-era levels. Girls now make up half the number of primary-school-age children.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“As long as that problem is left unresolved, there can be no assured peace in the Middle East and no security for the wider region. There can be no resolution without the Israeli and Palestinian peoples both being assured of viable homelands within secure borders. New Zealand pays tribute to the tenacity of United States Secretary of State Kerry and to the courage of President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu in agreeing to resume the Middle East peace process. In our own region, we have celebrated the successful conclusion of the United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste and the transition of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands from a military to a police-led operation. We look forward with intense interest and cautious hope to the reinstatement of democracy in Fiji.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We are investing in the Global Research Alliance to find new ways to manage agricultural greenhouse gases, and we have committed to reducing emissions to 5 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. We made that commitment under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change rather than the Kyoto Protocol. We did that because, while the Kyoto Protocol once seemed to provide a path forward, things have changed. The Protocol now covers only a small percentage of global emissions. We need a single legal framework that commits all major emitters. While climate change is an important issue, it pales in comparison to the problems faced by many Member States. One of the most intractable is that of Israel and Palestine.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Our preference for international rules reflects New Zealand’s national approach to governance. We have a robust and transparent system of Government and sound financial institutions that have helped us ride out the worst effects of the global financial crisis. That was despite the significant economic and social challenges we faced after the destructive earthquake that struck Christchurch, our second largest city, in 2011. As we work to restore the built environment in Christchurch, New Zealanders are also conscious of our dependence on and our responsibility towards the natural environment. In policy terms, climate change has been a challenge for New Zealand and for the international community more broadly, but New Zealanders know we must play our part, and we have taken action. We have introduced an extensive emissions-trading scheme.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We have a strong preference for a rules-based, multilateralist approach, whether in the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) or the World Bank. We know that rules and standards set internationally provide us the greatest certainty and the greatest protection. We draw strength from global agreements and from the collective commitment they represent. That is why we attach such importance to the completion of the Doha Round. While New Zealand continues to actively negotiate bilateral and regional trade agreements, we acknowledge that free trade agreements often leave least developed countries on the sidelines. The benefit of the WTO, as with the United Nations, is that the rules negotiated there apply across the globe, irrespective of a country’s size or wealth.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Building and sustaining political and commercial links across the regions of the world is no small matter for a country like New Zealand. We are surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and located over three hours’ flying time from our nearest neighbour, Australia, in one of the least populated parts of the world. We share with our Pacific island neighbours the challenges of distance and isolation, and of having to hold our own against much larger countries whose economies of scale and proximity to markets give them a considerable competitive advantage. These factors have reinforced New Zealand’s approach to the United Nations and to the other international organizations that have shaped the post-Second World War environment.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We take pride in the fact that we were able to influence the drafting of the Charter, particularly the section on the Trusteeship Council, which paved the way for a number of States to become full Members of the Organization. New Zealand has come a long way since the Charter was adopted. Then, we were emerging from our status as a dominion of the United Kingdom. Today we proudly assert ourselves as a small but independent and diverse country that has a wide network of friends and trading relationships in all the major regions and markets of the world. We value our traditional relationships with Australia and the Pacific, and in Europe and North America as we build new links with partners in Asia, the rest of the Americas and the Caribbean, and Africa.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“It must find a means to hold those responsible to account and establish an effective mechanism for the destruction of those weapons in line with the proposal developed by the United States and Russia. The resolution must also provide for the protection of the civilian population. While Syria necessarily commands our attention, I also want to spend some time on some more positive developments for both the Organization and its Member States. I want to begin with my own country, New Zealand, whose emergence as a fully independent State has proceeded in parallel with the development of the United Nations. New Zealand was present at the founding in San Francisco.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The Secretary- General has advised the Council and the General Assembly that the United Nations Mission has now confirmed, unequivocally and objectively, that chemical weapons have been used in Syria. The report (see A/67/997) found clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent Sarin were used on 21 August. The information in the report also makes it very clear that those rockets must have been fired by the Syrian regime. As the Secretary-General has said, these are war crimes, and those responsible must be brought to account. Those that try to cast doubt on the report’s conclusions make themselves look foolish and do a disservice to the United Nations. It is imperative now that the Council act. It must adopt a resolution that responds to the use of chemical weapons.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“There would be no dreadful humanitarian situation in Syria if Syria’s leaders had upheld the commitments made to the international community and to the Syrian people when Syria joined the Organization and ratified the human rights covenants. The Organization would not also have been a powerless bystander to the Syrian tragedy for over two years if the lack of agreement among the Security Council’s permanent members had not shielded the Al-Assad regime, thereby reconfirming the fears of New Zealand and others that had opposed the veto at the original San Francisco Conference, in 1945. New Zealand is pleased that the Security Council has at last met on the situation in Syria.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Sadly, some of those discussions can become so arcane that they are sometimes quite removed from the issues they claim to be addressing. That is a concern in particular for small States, to which the Organization is so vitally important. Even more sadly, the United Nations has too often failed to provide solutions to the problems the world expects it to resolve. The gap between aspiration and delivery is all too apparent, as the situation in Syria has again so brutally reminded us. But any failures of this institution are less failures of the Organization than they are failures on our part, as its Member States, and on the part of those who have the responsibility of leading those States.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)