YouSaid · the spoken record

Didier Opertti

lines on the record: 68
first: 1999-09-24
most recent: 2003-09-24
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

“In this connection, finally, we cannot but mention the recent ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization, held in Cancún, whose lack of progress, in our opinion, is a negative signal to a world that is demanding fairer and more balanced rules, especially for countries such as Uruguay, whose economies rely primarily on the production of agricultural goods. We are hopeful that renewed impetus in the negotiations will permit us to achieve positive results in the coming weeks and months in Geneva, to the benefit of the less developed countries and the very future of international trade. I close my statement conveying my country’s satisfaction and pride in seeing you, Sir, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Saint Lucia, a friendly country of our region, presiding over this Assembly. I wish you every success in your work.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Without prejudice to this profession of faith in the United Nations, Uruguay, a country of Latin America, is actively participating in the Organization of American States and in the inter-American system in general. Uruguay is also fully committed to regional integration processes, in particular to the Common Market of the South. We see in these mechanisms a promising avenue to help overcome the difficulties that result from our status as a developing country emerging from the most serious economic crisis of its history and trying to overcome the obstacles preventing it from achieving insertion into the global economy, such as, for example, the huge subsidies that the industrialized countries grant to their agricultural producers.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Protection of the environment and the law of the sea are good, but not the only examples of areas in which a sharp contrast can be seen between the extensive legislation that exists and the degree of implementation. Consequently, year after year, the competent international agencies and organizations and scientific authorities report the ongoing deterioration of the general environment, the abusive exploitation of natural resources, pollution of the seas and reduction or extinction of marine species. The question of the fulfilment of obligations assumed is the weak link in the chain of multilateralism. We must seek ways of ensuring respect for international obligations. Over the long term, the satisfaction of common interests is the best way of satisfying the national interest.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The fourth and final premise is that the efforts to reform our institutions must be complemented by equally vigorous efforts to change our own conduct as Members of the United Nations. When we agreed to become Members of this Organization, we freely agreed to fulfil in good faith the international obligations arising from the numerous treaties, conventions and other instruments that have resulted from the comprehensive legislative work accomplished by this Assembly, United Nations agencies and other international organizations and conferences. However, the provisions of many of these instruments are not being implemented. At times, in a misguided defence of sovereignty, common expectations are thwarted in order to satisfy national interests that frequently are not of decisive importance.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Recent reforms are aimed at making this organ more effective, but more profound changes are required in order to restore the authority which the Charter grants it and which the Assembly has exerted in the past. We believe that there is still a great deal of room for reform. Obsolete structures and procedures remain. We also need to re-examine and evaluate the organization, conduct and outcome of the annual session that brings us all here together every year, including the idea of concentrating the negotiation of dozens of resolutions into a few weeks. Uruguay will support far-reaching measures to revitalize the Assembly. A better relationship between the different organs is no doubt another of the necessary areas for reform.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In the General Assembly, we are pursuing its revitalization so that its decisions can regain the authority they had in the past. In the Secretariat, the purpose of change is to enhance its effectiveness, an objective towards which the Secretary-General is working strenuously. These three processes are closely linked to each other but, despite this close link, we believe that they must continue to be pursued, as is now being done, separately, each one in its respective forum. For Uruguay, one of the most important aspects of these reforms is the strengthening of the General Assembly, over which you, Sir, are presiding with such dignity and whose decisions are the most genuine manifestations of the will of the international community.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In this respect, we wish to express our satisfaction to the Secretary-General for having chosen transnational organized crime and terrorism as an item in the signing and accession ceremony for treaties promoted by the Organization on the occasion of this general debate. The third premise to which my country subscribes is that we must not forget that the United Nations has for years now been engaged in a process of self- criticism and self-reform based on the idea that strengthening an institution means strengthening its organs. Reforms are being implemented in three of the main organs of the Organization. The modalities of 19 each one of the respective processes differ. In the Security Council, we are pursuing reform of its membership to make it more representative and to strengthen its democratic character.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The deaths of Special Representative Sergio Vieira de Mello and of other colleagues is emblematic of the tragedy suffered. Just as in the fight against poverty, terrorism cannot be defeated as a conventional enemy would be with a victorious battle. The eradication of terrorism is an ongoing objective whose achievement requires time, patience and perseverance. Only through a joint approach and multilateral action directed above all at the roots of terrorism — not only at its atrocious manifestations — will it be possible to reduce and hopefully to eliminate this perverse and ubiquitous enemy and at the very least ensure its total rejection. Uruguay, which is party to most international anti-terrorism instruments, attaches priority to the conclusion of a general convention against international terrorism.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Two years ago, the international community, through the United Nations organs, offered a fine example of solidarity by taking effective multilateral action in reaction to international terrorism, which threatens Governments, peoples, ideologies, religions and above all human reason, imbued with such elementary values as tolerance, compassion, solidarity and respect for human rights. The attack on the headquarters of the United Nations in Baghdad — for which we wish again to express our most sincere condolences to the Secretary- General — is but another example of the barbarity and fanaticism that we can successfully fight only if we work together. With this attack, terrorism has given us a raw example of its destructive universality.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Common global responses are needed to the proliferation and diversification of international actors; the fact that the world is getting smaller and more and more interdependent, due to the increase in trade and the extraordinary development of information and communication technologies; and above all the globalization of threats to peace, security and the well-being of our peoples. To use the words employed by the Secretary-General in this Assembly two weeks ago, Uruguay believes in “collective answers to our common problems and challenges” (A/58/PV.7).”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The first is to preserve intact the purposes and principles of the Organization, as enshrined in the Charter of San Francisco. After all, if we all gather here every year as the United Nations, it is because our nations are united around the values and ideals enshrined in the Charter and shared by all mankind, whose permanent and universal validity transcends the vicissitudes and accidents of history. The second premise is that the reform process should be aimed principally at strengthening multilateral action, because never before has the need to cooperate and act together to deal with international problems been so great.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Although it is true that the system of collective security established by the San Francisco Charter has not always been able to respond to crises effectively, in numerous cases multilateral action by the United Nations has succeeded in restoring peace in many regions and countries, contributed to the consolidation of democracy, and accelerated the reconstruction of affected countries. There are many more cases in which the Organization, through its various organs, has exercised positive and decisive control over crises and conflicts, thus preventing the situation from becoming worse and ensuring a peaceful solution. The process of reform, which is indispensable and cannot be delayed, should in our view be based on the following premises.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In recent years, and in particular during this general debate, special emphasis has been placed on the need to reform and revitalize the United Nations in order to adapt it to current realities. Uruguay shares this position, not only because it considers that this Organization has not been completely effective in its handling of some recent crises, but because it understands that the scale of the changes in the world today justifies the search for ways of adapting the institution.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“But, over the course of more than half a century, there have been profound changes in the structure of international society. Its actors have multiplied and become more diverse and there have been new and more dangerous manifestations of violence. New threats to peace that were not foreseen by the drafters of the Charter occur with increasing frequency. At the same time, there has been an intensification of certain growing trends that seriously affect the well-being of humanity, such as the degradation of the environment, 18 the depletion of natural resources, epidemics and the contrast between consumer societies and societies that live in extreme poverty.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Uruguay believes in the United Nations, has faith in the United Nations, will support the Organization and will continue to contribute to it, as it has been doing since it became one of its founding Members. It is comforting to note that, at this time of crisis for the Organization, virtually all the participants in this debate have expressed this same sentiment. Some six decades ago, the United Nations was created to promote and regulate multilateral cooperation, by which the international community agreed to address and resolve common problems. The structure of the Organization, the functioning of its organs, and the rights and obligations of its Members, as formulated in the San Francisco Charter, all reflected the international political reality of that time.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The most recent political developments, in terms of the crisis posed by Iraq, is in our view proof of the need for balance which can be achieved only within the framework of mutilateralism. In conclusion, I should like to warmly and sincerely congratulate you, Sir, on the manner in which you have been accomplishing your work, which we know will be successful. We also welcome the two new Members who are joining the Organization the Swiss Confederation and Timor-Leste. We know that under your leadership, this will be a fruitful and successful session of the Assembly.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“22 Uruguay has confidence in multilateral mechanisms for preserving and building international peace and security. It is a signatory to the San Francisco Charter and since 1952 has contributed troops to 13 United Nations peacekeeping missions. We take pride in the fact that the more than 1,500 members of our military and police forces currently participating in peacekeeping operations represent this firm commitment and our belief in this Organization. Therefore Uruguay shares in its entirety the eloquent and passionate advocacy of multilateralism reflected in the Secretary-General's statement last week in this very Hall. Like Mr. Kofi Annan, the people and the Government of Uruguay reaffirm their genuine commitment to multilateralism, deeply rooted in our spirit and based on principle, on tradition and on conviction.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“True solidarity is reflected not only in the undertaking of commitments at international summits and conferences. It is expressed above all in the faithful discharge of these commitments by each State, in particular developed countries. This is the only way in which developing countries can move beyond their low levels of progress and achieve sustainable development. All of this requires the introduction of changes in the organs and in the procedures of the United Nations in order to ensure better representativity in its structure and to enhance the efficiency of its functioning. The reform of the Security Council and the revitalization of the General Assembly are tasks that are still pending and which we must continue to pursue.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We continue to believe that it is within this Organization that we must continue to explore ways that will lead to a political solution to the principal problems that we all face. On the one hand the United Nations is the obvious body to manage the impact of globalization. In this process of constant change which is accelerated, no doubt, by the technological advances of the so- called information society we recognize the potential that information technology innovations have for the development of democracy and the economy as well as social progress, and we note with great interest that the World Summit on the Information Society will be held next year. Furthermore, we must bring to life once again the true purpose and meaning of international economic cooperation.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Our export products, which are mainly agricultural, cannot compete with similar goods from other countries because of their higher cost, which results from the fact that Uruguay fulfils all of its international obligations in the labour and social fields, particularly with regard to child labour, the work of women, the minimum wage, social benefits and working conditions. Nevertheless, the developed countries preach respect for human rights, the strengthening of social security and the fulfilment of those obligations, while at the same time purchasing products that are produced at lower cost, in violation of international legal obligations. The phenomenon of globalization, which has developed thus far without a proper cooperation framework, appears to be the cause of many of these problems.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We therefore ask for reciprocity from our trading partners. We must not forget that this is the reason why we are now facing increasing difficulty in achieving our development goals. Uruguay, like many other countries in other regions of the world, is experiencing an economic and financial crisis that was completely unavoidable as a result of the severe impact of regional, extra-regional and external factors. This was attributable to our increasing dependency on foreign trade, to the fall in the international prices of our products, to the implementation of subsidies and to other protectionist measures by the developed countries, and to the rapid spread of the crisis in the financial systems of the main exporting markets. To this we must add another tragic irony.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“MERCOSUR, which is now a decade old it has been in existence since the AsunciÛn Treaty of 1991 has established itself as an effective actor within the international community, going beyond the dimension of an economic project to play an active role as a stabilizer of democracy in the region, thus consolidating the rule of law and full respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights. It is therefore as a member of MERCOSUR that Uruguay has opted for an ambitious policy of trade liberalization characterized by the principle of transparency. It hopes that the other trading blocs in the developed world will apply the same principles and avoid the duplicity inherent in advocating the need to promote free trade on the one hand, while at the same time protecting one's markets with discriminatory practices.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“If the developing countries are not given equal opportunities and conditions, both with respect to the elimination of subsidies and unfair trade practices and with respect to market access, then those countries the particularly small and developing countries will continue to suffer the negative effects of globalization without enjoying its benefits, thereby aggravating the political, social and economic situation in the vast majority of States in the international community. This is the path to deadlock. Uruguay, with its firm commitment to multilateralism, belongs, at the regional level, to the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), together with Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, as well as Bolivia and Chile.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Secondly, the world has this year laid the groundwork for the management of the broad spectrum of the positive and negative effects of globalization. The recent Summit on Sustainable Development represents the culmination of a process that complements the results of the Monterrey Summit on Financing for Development and the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), held at Doha, which will enable the international community to coordinate its efforts to eradicate poverty and to promote global development by increasing 21 development assistance and liberalizing trade in a sustainable manner. The overall conclusion to be drawn from these conferences is clear.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“At the same time, we call on the Government of Israel to make all the efforts necessary to return to the negotiating table, as the only way to achieve lasting peace. We retain our optimism in the face of all those challenges. We wish to highlight two positive developments that demonstrate that the international community is moving in the right direction: the first is the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which will contribute to the maintenance of peace by preventing, deterring and punishing the most serious international crimes that individuals can commit. My country, Uruguay, by signing and ratifying the Rome Statute, indicated its willingness to contribute to the important process of the development and strengthening of international law through the establishment of permanent legal institutions.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“In facing that scourge, we must not forget what the President of Uruguay, Jorge Batlle, said in his address to the General Assembly last year in reference to terrorism: to fight it, it will also be necessary to move against other enemies of peace, such as poverty and underdevelopment, to give to every person good reason to live and to make all of us guardians of humankind, which is a common good from which no one must feel excluded, and for which we must fight unwaveringly'. (A/56/PV.44, p. 19) It must also be borne in mind that that ubiquitous and anonymous enemy terrorism invokes political pretexts related to unresolved conflicts. In that regard, Uruguay reiterates its confidence that the Palestinian authorities will show proof of their peaceful aspirations through their acts.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Despite its cultural and religious diversity and the diversity of its political systems, and notwithstanding the marked differences in levels of development, the international community reacted to terrorism with a deep and resolute sense of solidarity, which is reflected in its decision to combat it vigorously within the framework of international law, through the relevant conventions and fulfilment of the obligations stemming from the Security Council, based on the principles of the Charter and on respect for human rights.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“The profound and dizzying change that took place in the world during the last decade, with the end of the cold war and the acceleration of the process of globalization, did not bring with it the ideal international society for which we had hoped, and world peace now seems as elusive as ever. That is the great challenge the Organization must face as we begin another session of the General Assembly, whose relevance as a coordinating body for the international community is again being put to the test. The events of September 2001 radically changed the perception of security in the world. The main threat to international peace and stability now comes in the form of organized multinational clandestine groups which, having wide access to weapons and financial resources, seek to sow terror with a total lack of basic human feeling.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We must ensure that 33 the Assembly and the Secretariat establish as soon as possible a working group or a similar mechanism that would follow up on the Millennium Summit and would examine the wealth of ideas put forward by our heads of State to ensure that they can be implemented and put into practice. Only in that way will the Millennium Summit be remembered.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Fortunately, for those of us who practise the democratic creed, that trust is always time- bound and subject to public opinion. Our ability to work within the Organization will determine whether the Millennium Summit that just took place will breathe new life into the United Nations. The world needs to see itself reflected in the institutions it established, with hope and participation, with responsibility and a will to build a fairer, more predictable, more peaceful and more humane society. I therefore believe — and this is merely a suggestion — that it is essential for all of us to ensure that the Assembly is accorded the important role assigned to it in the Charter, even though reality sometimes does not allow for this.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Although it does not play a major role in global financial governance, its regulations affect trade in its broadest sense, and it still counts among its responsibilities, set out at the Uruguay Round and in the Marrakesh agreements, the regulation of trade in agricultural products, which affects many of our countries, particularly those of Latin America and Africa. Today no one could doubt the role of the United Nations in the gradual process of achieving equality in the world. But the United Nations does not bear sole responsibility in this respect; the Member States and Governments do as well. A solid and hopeful future for the international community will depend on our good judgement and integrity. Also at stake is the trust of our peoples and of public opinion.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The strong argument to that effect put forward at the Summit must not be disregarded by those Member States that singly or together selectively raise protectionist barriers in order selfishly to defend their own production and participation in the market, denying others what President Batlle has called “our right to create and produce and our right to offer and sell what is produced”. In this regard, I cannot but welcome the initiative of the Government of Italy, announced by its Prime Minister during the Summit, to insist, within international organisms — including within the Group of 8 — on the need for the developed countries to open their markets to the least developed countries by abolishing quotas and tariffs. Nor can the WTO cannot turn a deaf ear to this call.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“As trade is a natural and traditional method of communication among peoples, Member States must not impose protectionist barriers to its free flow, which would delay development and therefore affect the well- being of peoples. This could also lead to serious social problems, which in many cases could spiral out of control. In this way, obstacles to trade, discriminatory trade policies and protectionism could become factors of political instability at the domestic and international levels. This is the position of Uruguay within the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), in the relationship between MERCOSUR and the Andean Community, in the Free Trade Area of the Americas and in the World Trade Organization (WTO).”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The first is the idea of creating a development council that is neither dependent nor subordinate and that has the authority to take the decisions necessary to adjust and direct complex international financial flows, since the trends and developments in that respect affect the economies of all States. The second is related to international trade. In this regard, the international community is firmly convinced that international trade must be made increasingly open and free. The President of Uruguay, Mr. Jorge Batlle Ibáñez, in his address to the Summit and in the relevant round table, emphasized the indivisible nature of freedom, as a whole that cannot be separated from free trade.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The close connection between the decisions by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and the social and economic realities of countries, more than justifies this aspiration. Inequality, poverty and debt in the developing world are problems that have been, and continue to be, emphasized in the debates of the Millennium Assembly. These problems require not only ongoing programmes and actions but, above all, a basic sense of solidarity, which does not always characterize our cooperation efforts. In the same vein, two noteworthy ideas were put forward during the Summit that we believe should be considered, because they could offer some guidance in efficiently addressing economic issues.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“As concerns the international financial system — the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank — and its handling of the recent, recurrent crisis situations in the world, shortcomings were noted in its methods of operation. In particular, its failure to anticipate those crises has made clear the need to update and reform the system directly responsible for ensuring global economic governance. In this effort to reorganize the financial institutions and to coordinate 32 their activities with those of the United Nations and its agencies, we should also consider the common aspiration of the majority of the members of the international community to democratize the decision- making processes in those organizations.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“We cannot overemphasize the link between the question of disarmament and that of development financing. The fact that the majority of violent conflicts occur in the developing sector of the world, in which there are often too many weapons and too few schools, remains a shameful paradox. We must continue to work towards disarmament. That is why my country, Uruguay, supports the convening of the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, set to take place next year. Uruguay also supports the efforts of the “New Agenda” countries towards the elimination of nuclear weapons and encourages the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear- Test-Ban Treaty.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The financing of peacekeeping operations requires the prudent management of existing resources and, as with the regular budget, that all Member States fulfil their financial obligations to the Organization, without conditions. Likewise, the institutionalization of the current scale of assessments is vital, perhaps with a few small changes that would not create problems for developing or least developed countries and that would ensure that States shoulder their responsibility according to their real capacity to pay. This is also our position on the regular budget. We cannot accept that, in determining the scale of assessments, simplistic formulas should be used that are based only on isolated economic indicators such as per capita income, which do not reflect the real economic situation of the country and of its population.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The report on peace operations prepared by a group of experts, known as the Brahimi report and drafted at the request of the Secretary-General, will undoubtedly help us find a way to overcome the difficulties now facing the Organization in this area. Uruguay, since 1952 a traditional contributor to peacekeeping operations, is carefully considering the recommendations contained in the Brahimi report, many of which we deem worthy of our support. In any event, we warmly welcome the initiatives aimed at a more in-depth consideration of what has been termed “humanitarian intervention”. We hope that a detailed and objective examination of this concept by the Organization will enable us to grasp its true scope and implications and to find ways of integrating it harmoniously into the international legal order, without any kind of distortion.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Peacekeeping and international security continues to be a core issue giving the United Nations its specific character and, to a certain degree, its reason for being. The Organization's peacekeeping and international security mechanisms, the limits within which they can operate and their modalities have been on our agenda since the founding of the United Nations. They continue to require our attention, because problems of peace and international security manifest themselves in varying and sometimes unexpected ways as the world political situation evolves. The United Nations is now confronted with the worrisome problem of how to achieve its peacekeeping goals with limited resources and inadequate mechanisms.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“On the other hand, however, some believe that the formula proposed to achieve the goal of expanding the Council — an increase in both permanent and non-permanent members — disregards the very principles that we seek to implement. We have thus responded to the need felt by all for reform of the Council, in order to make it more representative and democratic, with formulas that do not yet appear to reflect the requisite universal spirit of reform. That is why we believe that, while we continue our efforts to reorganize the Security Council, we must also explore alternative solutions avoiding the approaches — perhaps too simplistic — adopted so far, which have not made progress possible, even after eight years of intensive negotiations. New approaches and ideas are needed in the reform of the Council more than in any other problem.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“That admission does not take away from the fact that the reform of the Council is a pending matter and one which, as the round table reports indicated, received particular attention from the heads of State and Government at the Millennium Summit. 31 It seems to us that on this matter we have reached a paradoxical situation. On the one hand, there is practically a consensus on the need to reform the Council so that it can — on the basis of certain principles held very dear by the international community — more adequately reflect current reality, being made more democratic in its spirit, more representative in its structure and more transparent in its functioning.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Given the universal and all- inclusive nature of globalization, it is appropriate to consider what action the United Nations could take from the perspective of evolution and change of the international system in its three principal areas: first, the institutional political system — the Organization itself and its powers; secondly, the global financial system established by the Bretton Woods Agreements; and, finally, the organization of international trade within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO). With regard to the first, it must be admitted that in the process of reform of the Security Council, to which we have devoted so much effort, no significant progress has been registered recently. It would appear that the international community has not yet sufficiently assimilated its will to change at the institutional level.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“It has been said here at the Assembly that we should attempt to make it possible for all States to climb aboard the globalization train. That goal should motivate our individual actions and our cooperation efforts in the immediate future. As was repeatedly emphasized during the Summit, United Nations action of the kind I have described would have an encouraging and positive effect, especially since no other international institution has undertaken that task.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“In any case, there are some realities that we cannot, and should not, evade. The first is the acknowledgement that the so- called globalization or universalization phenomenon constitutes the inescapable environment to which the human family should adapt, not from a stance of confrontation or resigned acceptance, but in order to be an active part of it. By living within the framework of globalization we will be in a position to direct and channel it, accepting its intrinsic values in its scientific and technological dimension, while conferring upon it the necessary inspiration and political will to control its negative effects on societies that lack the necessary resources to be part of globalization and to benefit from it.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“From the very start of our renewed task we must try to identify some central ideas that reflect a general consensus on our point of departure, while acknowledging that neither the Summit nor any similar United Nations meetings will be able to make any arbitrary changes to the items on the world's agenda or alone bring about the alterations that practically all of us view as necessary and inevitable. It is therefore a matter of using the Millennium Summit as a launching platform for the achievement of the common objectives of the international community, whose main quality should be to reflect the basic rights and interests of all its members. We should, then, be as careful in identifying those goals as we are in selecting the procedures and determining the time required to achieve them.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Interpreting and carrying out that mandate is now the main objective of our work in the General Assembly. Of course, the Secretary-General's report (A/54/2000), known by the opening words of its title, “We the peoples”, is an essential contribution, widely appreciated at this time of putting the Organization in perspective. For that reason, the Secretary-General deserves our sincere acknowledgement. We can therefore say that never before have we had more authoritative or exact guidelines. As the Secretary-General said in his opening statement, the responsibility for putting those directives into practice is in our hands; in other words, in the non-exclusive framework of the General Assembly.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The work of the Secretary- General and of the Member States deserves our praise, for the result of their efforts was wholly positive. We should all congratulate ourselves on that very successful work, but the task assigned to us by the Summit is now in our hands. It should begin with an assessment and careful evaluation of agreements, disagreements and priorities. Above all, we should pay special attention to the statements made by our heads of State and Government, as well as to the oral summary reports by each of the Presidents of the four round tables. Taken as a whole, this constitutes rich background material on which we could, and should, work. One could say that the General Assembly, as a universal and independent body, has been entrusted with a mandate by the highest political leaders of the Member States.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Allow me to begin by thanking the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Namibia, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, for his work as President of the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly, during which he continued and concluded the preparation process of the recent Millennium Summit, initiated during the preceding session. Likewise, I extend to the President of the Assembly at the fifty-fifth session, Mr. Harri Holkeri, former Prime Minister of Finland, our congratulations and best wishes for the success of his tenure. We also extend a fraternal welcome to Tuvalu as a new Member of the United Nations. 30 A little over a week ago the United Nations held its Millennium Summit. To be more precise, we held our Millennium Summit.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“But perhaps the essential need is to make the maximum effort to make the United Nations the point of reference for all States, the most powerful and the weakest — the former so that they yield to the international order and the latter so that they adjust to it, and find in the Organization their best shield. For all States it means access to a modernity that will develop them and make them part of the current technical innovation, which is supported by the information revolution through which all of us, in one way or another, will be introduced to the coming century. 24”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)