YouSaid · the spoken record

Burelli Rivas

On the record 1995–1997

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. “Man today has the vague feeling that he is in contact with all other men through the miracle of the media, fibre optics, and cybernetic systems, and yet, now that there are more human beings with whom solidarity may be felt, solidarity is more precarious and man’s loneliness is more poignant. To create a different world based on a solid, complex and long-lasting Organization that has been taking shape since the end of the First World War, we have begun to talk — since we want words to describe what is going on — of globalization, of integration, of the abolition of the nation-State and its replacement by large blocs, in order to produce through strength of numbers and unity a new dynamic different from military might.”

   1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)

2. “We note hardly any curiosity about the era we are approaching, an era as yet unnamed, though soon to be upon us it could be called anything: “post-capitalist”, “post-socialist” or “post-industrial”; or it could simply be described as a time of transition between two periods that our generations share. There has been talk, of course, of the end of history, with the end of ideological confrontation; that is precisely what makes history: incessant conflicts and passionate confrontations, fears and hopes, freedom and deprivation of freedom, in any of the forms of oppression that have always been applied.”

   1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)

3. “But who can deny that in the fields of health, technology, environment, human rights, communications, the exploitation of the resources of the seas and many other fields, there is progress and hope, and at least a warning that awakens the universal conscience? Today’s statement by the Foreign Minister of Venezuela will be no different. Political scenarios change, as do ideologies, the most extraordinary crisis in history erupts, but life’s dramas continue, with man bruised by change, but for the first time wavering between hope and bewilderment. This situation results from the fact that we have rushed from one era to another without the demolition caused by war, although we have had the enthusiastic and confident contribution of students and workers, who have devoted their free time to making it.”

   1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)

4. “We must rejoice that, thanks to the Organization’s vigilance and action, we have enjoyed — as never before — half a century of peace, although we lament the fact that we must now deploy efforts against violence born of intolerance, fanaticism and ethnic or religious strife that frustrate the achievement of the harmony for which mankind yearns. Alongside the impressive achievements of the world community, these 50 years have also seen numerous local conflicts that have taken 23 million lives. Eighty seven per cent of the weapons sold and used in the world come from the five countries that are permanent members of the Security Council. And, unbelievable as it might seem, at this stage of our political evolution, two atomic Powers are causing anxiety with inexplicable nuclear tests for which we criticized other Powers.”

   1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)

5. “Everything that could be said has been said during this annual routine, in which each Head of State or Government, or Minister, stands before the United Nations General Assembly. If all the speeches were to be published in a compendium, the same universal themes would be repeated a thousand times. The compendium would include the great, insoluble problems that, to various degrees, afflict the peoples of every continent, as well as the solutions that have already been found, and the promised solutions implicit in the constant efforts of this Organization, which, like any other human endeavour, has lived through 50 years of triumphs and frustration.”

   1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)