YouSaid · the spoken record

Ana Brnabić

lines on the record: 32
first: 2018-09-24
most recent: 2021-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

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

“The pandemic taught us one important lesson: unless all of us are safe, no one is safe. We can either win together, all of us, regardless of how rich or poor, large or small, from Europe, Asia, Africa, America or Australia, or fail together. If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the issue of climate change, should have taught us to stand together.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“We very much look forward to hosting our friends from all parts of the world in Belgrade in October this year. We will further enhance cooperation across the Balkans, through the Open Balkan initiative and the Berlin process, by opening borders, harmonizing differences and further integrating our region. In conclusion, over the past seven years, Serbia has been transformed. We have sparked an economic revival, created opportunities for young people, cultivated a technology boom and improved Serbia’s position abroad. The progress that we have made has allowed Serbia to better face, and survive, the pandemic. The world now faces a turning point. The recovery from COVID-19 and sustainable reconstruction will not proceed if issues, new and old, are not handled by joint forces and collaborative international actions.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Our generation shares the common destiny of the modern world, which is becoming increasingly complex in terms of geopolitics, technology, health and climate. In the face of those challenges, Serbia will continue to nurture international partnerships on a predictable and transparent basis. We will continue to pursue rule-of- law reforms on our EU path, which is our strategic foreign policy goal. We see that as inseparable from achieving sustainable peace, stability and prosperity. We will host, together with the Republic of Azerbaijan as the current Chair of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, a commemorative high-level event marking the sixtieth anniversary of the first Non-Aligned Movement conference, which was held in Belgrade in 1961.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“I would like to once again appeal to the international community, and especially the European Union (EU) as the guarantor of the Brussels Agreement, to firmly insist that the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Pristina start to implement all the agreements reached. The Republic of Serbia, by defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity, at the same time defends international law, the Charter of the United Nations, the legally binding Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and the supreme authority of the Security Council when it comes to the preservation of international peace and security. We attach special importance to the activity of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission and expect it to continue to implement its mandate in the province in accordance with that resolution.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Local Serbs who peacefully gathered to protest that measure were met with tear gas and police brutality, thereby seriously threatening local and regional stability. Despite all the challenges and daily provocations, Serbia remains strongly committed to finding a compromise-based solution that will ensure lasting peace and stability. Dialogue and the implementation of the agreements reached are the only proper way to resolve all open issues. However, almost nine years after reaching the Brussels Agreement, the first agreement on normalization between Belgrade and Pristina, the establishment of the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities — the very backbone of that agreement — has not yet even begun.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“The Advisory Panel of Europa Nostra noted that Decani was the only monument in Europe under robust military protection for a continuous period of 20 years, although it constitutes a monument of ultimate historical and cultural importance for Europe and the world. That spiral of violence occurring in Kosovo and Metohija culminated at the beginning of this week. On the pretext of enforcing new licence-plate rules, Pristina dispatched heavily armed special units to the north of the province. That is yet another brutal violation of the First Agreement of Principles Governing the Normalization of Relations, and that irrational show of force ignited a major crisis. It has disrupted the supply of food and medication to Serb communities in the north of the province.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Since June, multiple attacks have been carried out against Dragica Gasic, a 59-year-old woman, the first Serb returnee to Dakovica 22 years after the end of the conflict. Attacks include the stoning of her apartment, banning her from shopping for food at the local store and petitions by civil society organizations demanding her eviction from the city. On 2 July, in the village of Gobulji, near Vucitrn, a group of Albanians attacked 13-year-old Nikola Peric. The attack occurred when he was returning home from the school playground with three friends. Attacks on Serbian medieval churches, monasteries and monuments in Kosovo and Metohija make them some of the most endangered cultural heritage sites in Europe. The Visoki Decani Monastery was recently listed by Europa Nostra as one of the seven most endangered heritage sites in Europe in 2021.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“To illustrate, there were 55 such incidents in 2014, 62 in 2016, 71 in 2020 and 100 since the beginning of this year. The total number of attacks in 2020 was already surpassed by June of this year. According to the United Nations, Kosovo and Metohija is still the territory with the least number of returnees — internally displaced Serbs — of all postconflict areas in the entire world. I will provide just a few examples to depict what the lives of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija look like today. On 11 May, the house of Radoje Pumpalovic, an 81-year-old returnee to Kosovo, in the village of Dubrava, in the Istok municipality, was attacked. That was the fifth attack on him in the same year. I again emphasize that he is 81 years old.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“We are working strategically on planning and investments in this sector. These investments are extremely expensive, requiring years and decades of commitment and a systemic approach, but we are firmly set on the path of this transformation. Of all the challenges we face, the most worrisome for Serbia is the maintenance of peace and stability in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija. For more than two decades, we have been constantly drawing international attention to the problems that the non-Albanian population is facing in Kosovo and Metohija. Physical safety and respect for and protection of human rights, especially of minority communities, are far from satisfactory. We are now witnessing a constant increase in the number of attacks targeting Serbs, their property and religious heritage in Kosovo and Metohija.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Serbia has redoubled its efforts to make our country safer and cleaner for its citizens, and by doing so, it is contributing to the fight against climate change and for environmental protection. We are strongly committed to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change. We are committed to global efforts and will continue to work actively to meet our obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. We are about to submit our revised nationally determined contributions to contribute to this critical global effort. We have already announced our intention to reduce greenhouse gases by at least 33.3 per cent compared to 1990, and 13.2 per cent compared to 2010, which we are currently incorporating into our energy and climate strategic documents.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“In total, Serbia has donated or allocated over a million doses of vaccines — 230,000 doses for the region, 300,000 doses for foreign nationals who have come to Serbia to get vaccinated, and an additional 570,000 doses for countries in Africa and Asia. And we will keep doing so, to the greatest extent possible, until COVID-19 is behind all of us. This is why we have also taken steps to acquire the technology to produce at least two types of vaccines; by helping to improve global access, we can all be safe and triumph over this virus. Nevertheless, as stated by dignitaries of some of the largest nations during this General Assembly, there are other pressing issues that all of us need to keep addressing without any delay and in a bold manner, the most urgent of which is climate change.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Our decision to put geopolitics aside, and people at the centre of our policies, is the reason we were able to acquire vaccines more quickly than most other nations. We did not discriminate between manufacturers. We did not care whether vaccines were from the East or the West but chose to negotiate with all vaccine manufacturers deemed safe by regulators. This openness gave us the ability to purchase vaccines from around the world, giving our citizens the unique freedom to choose which vaccine they prefer. Serbia believes in solidarity among nations, multilateralism and helping others when in need. Since the beginning of this year, we have made it our mission to support our neighbours and all those in need with COVID-19 vaccines. We have also allowed foreign nationals to come to Serbia to receive the vaccine that will protect their lives.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Our gross domestic product will grow approximately 7 per cent, and perhaps by even more. Prior to the pandemic, we opened our borders to investment, technology and ideas, and we managed to create a peaceful and stable environment that allowed us to pursue rapid domestic transformation, with innovation and knowledge-based economy as the foundation. The innovative advances we had made allowed us to diversify our capabilities when the virus hit — through e-government, online education, digital textbooks and a central software system that drove a successful vaccination rollout. We invested heavily in health infrastructure and strengthened the health system in order to respond to the current crisis, and we are eternally grateful to our health-care workers for their dedicated struggle.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Our fiscal consolidation, our budget surplus and the efficient and predictable investment environment we created became a lifeline that saved us from a recession during the pandemic and ensured that we could support our citizens and our economy during the most difficult of times. Notwithstanding the effects of the crisis, Serbia has managed to preserve financial and economic stability. In 2020, we recorded a decline in gross domestic product of only 0.9 per cent — one of the best results in Europe. Our public debt remained below 60 per cent of our gross domestic product, the average salary continued to grow by almost 10 per cent, and, despite the pandemic, the number of people employed increased by over 3 per cent. The recovery this year has been stronger than we expected.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“For Serbia, the pandemic threatened to undermine everything we have been doing for the past seven years and crush all of the results and accomplishments stemming from the difficult reforms we initiated in 2014, propelling us back to times of high unemployment, rising public debt, an uncontrollable deficit and overall desperation. Much as it has done in any other country, COVID-19 has tested our nation’s resilience, and, this time, unlike during the global financial crisis — which was much more limited in scope and incomparable in terms of consequences than the COVID-19 pandemic — Serbia stood strong. The reforms we undertook in pre-COVID times made us more resilient than ever.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“It has threatened to erase the progress many nations have made in recent years. It has placed nations at the juncture between isolation and collaboration, between panic and hope, between chaos and order. The pandemic has brought into question some of the basic tenets of the open and cooperative international order. Global exchanges, international communication and cross-border trade have all seen a vast decrease. Curfews, restrictions on freedom and lockdowns of entire societies have created uncertainty in many aspects of the individual lives of our citizens, and, for that matter, in our own individual perception of what freedom in today’s world even means.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“And, finally, we are seeing significant shifts in global partnerships and alliances, trade wars between traditional partners and allies, protectionism instead of openness and free market policies, and overall uncertainty at an unprecedented scale. Some of the pressing and extremely emotional issues that we have locally in the Balkans remain unresolved. While we are trying — and Serbia is especially dedicated to this — to change the future by working together and creating alliances through such initiatives as the Berlin process or the Open Balkan initiative, others are trying to disrupt these processes. Instead of focusing on the future, they want to recreate the past, whatever the cost of that may be. But let me start with COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed critical weaknesses in the architecture of global governance.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“I have the great honour to address the General Assembly today on behalf of the citizens of the Republic of Serbia. I would like to thank their Excellencies Mr. Abdulla Shahid, Mr. Volkan Bozkir and Mr. Antonio Guterres for the active engagement, dedication and leadership they have shown for the United Nations and all of humankind during these difficult times. Serbia shares their conviction, and we remain fully committed to supporting their efforts. This year, we come together at a decisive moment in our history. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has shaken our foundations to the core. At the same time, we are increasingly witnessing and experiencing the effects of climate change.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“We must also alleviate hunger by increasing efficiency and by making agriculture smarter, and reduce poverty by ensuring easy access to finance, even for the poorest and most disadvantaged — those whom we cannot leave behind. This is how Serbia sees its path towards more peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies in our world. This is us — Serbia —doing our bit for a better world.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Our absolutely key priority is to support them and to make sure that we create a system and institutions able to ensure that more of them can realize their full potential. Not only will that be the basis for the future growth of Serbia, but, perhaps more importantly, we hope to be able to empower them so that they will, together with others from all over the world, build a better world for all of us. Without any doubt, our future is digital. As Secretary-General Guterres said at the opening of the general debate, “technology is our ally” (A/73/PV.6, p. 3). I believe that Serbia, although small, can and will play an important role in digital development in the future. That will help us deal with climate change, by far the biggest challenge ahead of us.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“All of us, not just Serbia, need to start investing more than ever before in education to create more innovative, braver, freer-thinking individuals who will then, in turn, create a world that is freer, fairer, and — to be honest — much more fun. The world will value people for who they are and for the values and beliefs they stand for, rather than for where they are from, the colour of their skin or whom they love. Serbia is very fortunate because we have a lot of people — especially young people — who are amongst the best in the world at creative thinking, video- game design, genome research, digital agriculture, animation, physics, machine engineering, mathematics, blockchain, artificial intelligence, big-data analytics, biology, software development and programming.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“I am therefore asking the international community to continue supporting the efforts that Serbia has initiated. To achieve progress in the dialogue, we need the undiluted and consistent support of the international community. Serbia is committed to working with other nations across the globe to take our common destiny, as many at the United Nations refer to it, into our own hands. We want to claim our accountability towards future generations. We want them to hold us accountable. That is why we are investing so much in peace, understanding and reconciliation in the region. On the other hand, we are equally investing in the future. The key priorities of my Government are youth and education. We need to start teaching our youth how to think, not what to think.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Pristina signed it but, even five years on, has still not implemented a single word. We will continue insisting on the full implementation of the Brussels Agreement and the establishment of the Community of Serbian Municipalities, but we will remain tolerant and patient. However difficult, challenging and sometimes hopeless and wasteful the dialogue with Pristina might be, we will stay committed to finding a compromise that will ensure sustainable peace, prosperity and a brighter future for all people in the region. Serbia will continue demonstrating its readiness to compromise, which is far from easy in that we need a counterpart that is politically bold, responsible, committed and trustworthy. That has not been the case so far.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“A number of countries in the world rushed to recognize that unilateral declaration of independence, regardless of international law and standards, regardless of the fact that the declaration was issued only four years after Serbian churches and monasteries — I remind the Assembly that these are World Heritage sites — were looted and burned, and regardless of the fact that the international community has always stated “standards before status” as their mantra. When everyone saw that standards were not on Pristina’s agenda, they decided to break their own mantra and simply decide on its status. Today’s Serbia is committed to peace and, if I may say so, to behaving like an adult. We signed the Brussels Agreement more than five years ago and we have implemented it.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“First and foremost, I will address here the issue of our Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, which split even the United Nations down the middle. Fewer than half of States Members of the United Nations have recognized the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo, while more than half — that is, more than 5 billion people across the world — refuse to recognize the illegal secession of Kosovo. What Serbia has been trying to do in the past year is essentially to close Pandora’s box, not reopen it, following the events of 10 years ago when the unilateral declaration of independence was proclaimed by the authorities in Pristina.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Nor is it a part of the world known for peace, reason and pragmatism — on the contrary. We have always been known for — but have always been proud of — our excessive emotions, sacrifices, poetic struggles and traditional animosities. Today, Serbia is trying very hard to leave that behind and grow and become more reasonable, instead of more emotional; more pragmatic, instead of immersed in myths, a country that is proud of its victories, not of its losses, and a country that is building unexpected friendships in place of traditional animosities. I am proud to say that our President led the way in this internal struggle of ours to grow and mature, to leave the past behind and turn towards a very different future.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We are also working on strengthening the rule of law through judicial reforms, working with the media, establishing honest dialogue with civil-society organizations, building institutions to fight organized crime and corruption and ensuring fairness and justice for all. What we are doing is not easy, and I must say that we are far from always being successful, but it is a path to which we are fully committed. When talking about things that are not easy to deal with, but for which one needs to take responsibility in order to build peace and prosperity in one’s region, one’s continent and one’s world, I cannot emphasize enough how important regional cooperation and stability is for Serbia. Here, we are talking about a region which has never, ever been stable or very predictable.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“I am extremely proud of what Serbia has been able to achieve in the past four years. We have built macroeconomic stability and proved ourselves to be a responsible and reliable partner. Our economic activity has intensified, unemployment has more than halved compared to just four years ago, and we are seeing speedy recovery. Today, Serbia is one of the countries experiencing the highest economic growth in Europe, characterized by a substantial and ever-greater influx of foreign investment. We have embarked on a comprehensive public administration reform with one simple goal: greater focus on citizens. We remind our Administration — all of us — on a daily basis that we are there to serve, not to be served.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“In life, I believe that when we are not sure of the answer, we must go back to basics, clear our heads of the daily clutter, forget political misconceptions and spins, and think of basic values. That, I believe, is where we find our answers. The basic value of the European Union, much like the basic value of the United Nations, is peace. It is not the economy, nor trade, nor a bigger market. It is peace. All of the other things and much, much more came, and will always come, as a spill-over effect of peace. The European Union was a peace project, and it is a successful one. We want and we need to be part of it, so that there is sustainable peace and, consequently, stability and prosperity in the Balkans — that troubled region of the world that used to be known as the “powder keg” of Europe.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“In looking for our way out of this troubled situation and in striving to build a better world for all of us, we all need to start with ourselves and the things we must do ourselves, first and foremost as individuals, then in our countries, in our regions, in our continents and then in the united world that we are. We must once again start bringing the nations of the world together, as we did 70 or so years ago. Serbia is on the way to rethinking itself as a prosperous, dynamic, creative, innovative, open society within a united Europe that is whole, free and at peace. I am often asked — when others are leaving European Union (EU), when so many express doubts regarding the prospect of a united Europe — why would joining the EU be the principal strategic goal? I have often asked myself the same thing.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“António Guterres, Secretary- General, for his engagement and commitment to promoting important reform processes within the United Nations system. I would not be saying anything new or original if I were to say that the world of today — be it Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa or Australia — faces significant and increasing challenges. We are already feeling the grave consequences of climate change, migration and terrorism, the rise of populism and the divisions between us at a time when we need greater convergence. We have all heard that throughout our discussions and from more than one leader during the General Assembly debate. I will, however, say this.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“First of all, it is indeed a great honour for me to address the Assembly on behalf of the Republic of Serbia. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Her Excellency Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garcés on the assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly at its seventy-third session. I wish to assure the President that Serbia is deeply committed to advancing, in practice, the topics on this session’s agenda, namely, peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies. Having said that, I must also say that it is indeed a pleasure to see that a fellow stateswoman is presiding over this important institution. My congratulations are also due to His Excellency Mr. Miroslav Lajčák for his stewardship of the General Assembly at its seventy-second session, as well as to His Excellency Mr.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)