YouSaid · the spoken record

Mahabir

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS MAHABIR

lines on the record

60

first

1985-09-24

most recent

1986-09-24

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

1. “There is, however, the concomitant responsibility on the part of the developed world to ensure that the terms are such that they do not defeat the objective for which the loan was contracted and do not cause economic strangulation. The flexibility necessary to keep payments attuned to the socio-economic perspective must be retained. Sources of long-term financing are crucial to the economic program of developing States, and it is clear that those States cannot afford, as they are now required, to borrow at commercial rather than at concessional rates. Yet, the cost of borrowing from the institutions engaged in international finance, which were supposedly designed as the machinery for the promotion of the economic development of all peoples, has become economically too high and politically too explosive for most developing countries.”

   1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

2. “Their discouragement is aggravated by the fact that any demonstration of economic improvement by any of those countries tends to bring with it the application of concepts such as that of graduation, which alters their eligibility status and entails the loss of much-needed assistance from trading partners and international development organizations. That is not all. One of the most serious problems facing developing States is that of massive and spiraling debt, and their inability not merely to repay the capital but even to meet the huge interest payments unilaterally prescribed. In fact, developing States have been forced to seek new loans to meet interest payments on previous loans. It is difficult to see where the spiral will end. A debt must always be honored.”

   1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

3. “Unhappily, indifference and inaction have confronted all the efforts to bring about global negotiations on international economic co-operation for development, the elaboration of a code of conduct on transnational corporations, the establishment of a long-term financing system for science and technology for development and the attainment of the targets and objectives mutually agreed in the International Development Strategy for the Third united Nations Development Decade. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the critical, ever-worsening economic situation throughout the world continues to be a cause of serious concern and that developing States, which once looked to multilateral financing institutions to assist them with their complex economic problems, are now, with good reason, losing faith in them.”

   1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

4. “The Charter of the United Nations contains a pledge - that the people of the United Nations are determined to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic advancement of all peoples. Yet the quest, in which we in the developing world repose so much hope and faith, for the new international economic order that would establish a world economic system predicated on justice and equality, is still to be completed. Indeed, it is not even being seriously considered in some quarters. The developed States must surely have recognized by now that the proposed new international economic order does not constitute a threat to their economic well-being, but that it is a concept designed primarily to restructure economic interaction and promote the economic growth of all peoples.”

   1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

5. “Many of the objectives and purposes of the Charter have been only partially achieved, and the consequent disappointment has tended to engender frustration and disillusionment and to retard progress. There is evident need for a renewal of our commitment to the objectives and purposes of our Charter. In the area of economic and social development, the responsibilities of the United Nations must of necessity be more important and far-reaching today than in 1945. The United Nations now comprises 159 sovereign States, but some three quarters of the world's population dwell in States whose inherited social and economic structures still confine them to a peripheral position outside the mainstream of the international economic and financial system.”

   1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

6. “The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago recognizes and applauds the invaluable achievements of the United Nations, which have been articulated by the Secretary-General and several representatives who have addressed the Assembly. There is, in fact, clear evidence in many parts of the world that several of the objectives set out in the Charter have been, or are being, realized. We may take much satisfaction in those achievements. But this is not an occasion only, or even primarily, for self-congratulation. We must be equally candid in acknowledging that, despite our efforts, solutions to many contentious issues still seem to be elusive and that much more work remains to be done.”

   1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

7. “Has it been a period of continuing confidence and hope in the future of the world, or one of despair over a world seemingly still torn apart by its contradictions?" When he addressed the commemorative meeting in San Francisco earlier this year, our Secretary-General boldly faced that question, and listed a number of areas in which the multilateralism embodied in the United Nations provides the necessary structure within which nations can work together for progress that no nation acting alone can accomplish. He was not overstating the role of the United Nations when he declared that for 40 years the Organization had provided the catalyst, the framework and the machinery for the continued common engagement in the betterment of the human condition upon which the peace of the world has depended so much.”

   1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

8. “Thus do the resolve of people and the passage of time bring about changes which reshape the course of history. Every anniversary provides an opportunity, if not for rejoicing, at least for reflection, and as we reflect upon the events of the 40 years since the inauguration of our Assembly, it may be useful to examine that period in terms of what it has meant to us, Member states of the Organization. In doing so we may consider the period from several standpoints: as having been one of 40 years of strengthening the Organization; of 40 years of trying to resolve conflicts; of 40 years of searching for agreement on disarmament; of 40 years of furthering economic, social and cultural development. But some may ask "Have they been 40 years of advancement or of retrogression or stalemate?”

   1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

9. “On behalf of the Government and people of Trinidad and Tobago, I convey to the Government and people of Mexico our heartfelt sympathy over the extensive destruction and loss of life resulting from the recent earthquakes. It is a sobering commentary on the status of many countries 40 years ago, and on the enormous changes that have since taken place, that of the 159 Members of our Organization more than half were not independent when the United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco in 1945. Indeed, nearly a quarter of the Member States represented here today, my own included, gained their independence as late as the decade of the 1960s, which saw an acceleration of the process of the dissolution of the world-wide system of colonialism.”

   1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)

10. “It is a pleasure for me, on behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, to offer our congratulations to the President on his election to preside over the General Assembly during this fortieth session of our Organization. His long association with the United Nations as a representative of Spain, and his vast experience in international affairs will, I am confident, ensure that this commemorative session contributes substantially towards the attainment of the goals, enshrined in our Charter, of world peace, justice and economic and social progress. I gladly avail myself of this opportunity also to pay a deserved tribute to Mr. Paul Lusaka of Zambia, who presided so capably over the work of the General Assembly at its thirty-ninth session.”

    1985-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 40 (1985)