YouSaid · the spoken record

Van Lierop

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS VAN LIEROP

lines on the record: 91
first: 1987-09-24
most recent: 1991-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
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 advance-instruments of an ideal loftier than ourselves Released from our former solitude. Sometimes we pause by the wayside Attracted by a child who bails us, a chance-born flower, a certain smile, a distant star. We pause within ourselves; our steps continue and we meet again further on. He cannot be late. There, the enemy continues to enslave our people To arms Comrades!"”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“In conclusion, we recall the moving words of a Mozambican poet written 2C years ago during his country's struggle to free itself from colonialism. Although those words were written at a different time, in a different place, and under circumstances different from those which exist today, they still bear a certain symbolic relevancy to mankind's mutual undertakings of today. We hope these words can be understood and appreciated in that context. They are simple words of compassion for fellow human beings. In their simplicity, they reveal many truths: "So man; paths we have trodden already! So many people we have greeted liberate clothed fed taught Along our march! So many plains, mountains, rivers we have crossed! It is still far the day of independence, but each passing day it is nearer. ...”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“What are sometimes forgotten, however, are its very positive attributes and its many accomplishments. In the history of mankind, there has never been any international or intergovernmental organisation as democratic or as successful as the United Nations. Thus, as we undertake the work of the forty-sixth session of the General Assembly, and take one additional step towards the twenty-first century, let us feed and nurture our garden of international democracy. Let us reflect upon and recommit ourselves to the democratic ideals which have brought us together in search of justice, equality and peace. In a symbolic sense, our seven new Members have entered the Organisation at the right moment in history. They can be an important new source of energy and nutrition for our garden of international democracy.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Certainly, no nation has a history which allows it to lecture others on the subject: or hold itself up as a perfect model to be emulated in every respect. From time to time, democracy and a nation's adherence to democratic ideals are tasted. This is as true of nations as large and powerful as the Soviet Union or the United States as it is of nations as small and removed from the centres of power as Vanuatu. We believe that eventually, in all such instances, democracy will triumph. History instructs us that people everywhere, and the evolution of the human experience, will accept nothing less. The United Nations is today the highest form of international democracy. It is not yet a perfect international democracy. Its imperfections and shortcomings are known to all.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Much of the change taking place in the world today revolves around principles of democracy and the commitment to democratic ideals. Democracy and democratic ideals are not constants which once planted can be ignored or left to their own devices. Democracy and democratic ideals are, rather, like a garden in need of constant care and attention. They must be fed and nurtured or they can wither and die, or even be overgrown by weeds disguised as flowers. We know of no instance in history in which democracy was very easily established. Instead, the establishment of democracy took considerable effort and years of turmoil and unrest in even the oldest of democracies. It will take similar effort in today's evolving democracies. Ho nation in the world has a perfect democracy. No nation in the world has a monopoly on democratic ideals.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Small, island developing countries and low-lying coastal countries have another concern - survival. These are the countries most vulnerable to sea-level rise caused by global warming. As such, they are likely to be the first victims should the international community fail to agree on a collective response to mankind's most severe challenge. Much remains to be done to ensure the successful completion of the negotiations for a climate-change convention. Even more remains to be done to ensure that the UHCED is meaningful and successful. Hopefully, the United Nations system and Member States will spare no effort in providing adequate support to ensure the success of these parallel processes. We shudder to think of the consequences of our failure to do so.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The outcome of these negotiations might, in the long run, determine whether human life can continue to be sustained on this planet. The negotiations might also shape the manner in which mankind's economic activities are conducted. It is difficult to imagine more important subject-matter. Every country in the world is participating in these negotiations. It is hoped that the negotiations will be successfully concluded in time for the convention to be opened for signature at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) at Rio de Janeiro in June of 1992. All countries have a great deal at stake in the negotiations leading up to the Conference. Environmental issues and economic issues are interrelated and of equal importance.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“There are even more compelling reasons for our repeated appeals for their end to finally be heeded. The international political climate is not the only climate that is changing. The climate that determines the sustainability of life on this planet, and the level of social and economic development achievable by human beings is also changing. This latter climate change has been occurring since the dawn of the industrial era, although at a somewhat slower, less perceptible pace than changes in the political climate. None the less, its impact will undoubtedly be greater than the impact of any political changes known to mankind. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Framework Convention on Climate Change is currently engaged in what could be considered the most important multilateral negotiations ever.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“An equally dramatic response from Moscow is anticipated in the next few days. One might legitimately wonder whether recent political events and technological developments had already made some of these weapons obsolete or superfluous. One might also ponder the costs and environmental consequences of eliminating these frightening weapons. None the less, President Bush's announcement just might give new impetus to efforts to rid the world of the threat posed by all types of nuclear weapons. This initiative leads us to ask, once again, why nuclear weapons are being tested in the South Pacific despite the repeated objections of the countries of the region. The testing of these weapons in the South Pacific was always opposed on safety, moral and environmental grounds. Today there Is even less reason to understand the need for these tests.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Unfortunately, the latter type of barrier - that of ignorance, intolerance and ethnic hatred - is far more difficult to breach. The rapidity with which history occasionally moves was recently illustrated in dramatic fashion. One week ago the President, of the United States announced a sweeping initiative which could for ever alter what had, since the dawn of the atomic age, been accepted as the normal rules of arms control. The announcement that the United States would unilaterally eliminate its land-based short-range nuclear weapons, withdraw its tactical nuclear arms from its ships, take its strategic bombers off alert, and cancel the development of the mobile MX missile represents another benchmark in the evolving relationship between the world's two foremost nuclear Powers.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Large countries and small countries can be victims of this hatred. Developed countries and developing countries can equally be victims. This hatred can be witnessed in parts of the world that are geographically remote from where we now sit. It can also be witnessed within a short distance of this very building. One can examine our agenda and identify certain long-standing items that, in part, originated as inter-communal conflict or ethnic strife. History will indeed judge us harshly should we fail to address this issue and assert moral leadership on it, thus bequeathing our failure to future generations. It would certainly be ironic for history to record that the current generation dismantled physical walls or barriers but left standing other types of walls.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Others insisted that this was too sensitive an issue to discuss at international forums. While fully respecting national sovereignty and recognising the domestic dimensions of inter-communal conflict and ethnic strife, we often wondered what it would take to make some members of the international community aware of the serious threat posed to all nations by such conflict and strife. Unfortunately, we now have the answer. One need not single out any particular country or any particular region. Inter-communal conflict and ethnic strife are problems which plague the entire human race in every corner of the globe. Ho human being should ever be judged, or assigned a particular status, because of his or her race, religion language or culture. When hatred of this sort runs rampant, none of us is immune to the consequences.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Hopefully, the international community will not abandon South Africa's people merely because those who currently govern that country now find themselves compelled to offer a series of reforms. Events are moving very fast in South Africa. New history is being written every day. However, as in other parts of the world, the past cannot be ignored in shaping the future. With the danger of ideological conflict having receded in some parts of the world, there has been a tragic reversion to an older and more frightening type of conflict. On more than one occasion, the world has been warned of the dangers of inter-communal conflict and ethnic strife. For far too long those words of warning fell on deaf ears. Some insisted that this issue was strictly an internal affair of various countries.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The ruins have fallen silent In Angola, where a full-scale military conflict has given way to what will, hopefully, be a purely peaceful political contest. Liberia may still be troubled but, hopefully, it has now turned the corner and will soon leave its most difficult days behind, as will Ethiopia and a number of other African countries whose peoples have endured more than their share of hardship and suffering. The institutional structure of apartheid continues to dissolve in the face of continued resistance by South Africa's people. The end of legalised apartheid will by no means end the problems of that country. Economic, political and social inequality are so deeply ingrained that it will take decades of concerted effort to remove the vestiges of the apartheid system.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The decolonisation process, particularly that under way in Mew Caledonia, continues to be a major concern of the countries of our region. The positive measures taken by France to assure tranquillity in the Territory and to promote the economic and social development of its colonised people are much appreciated. What will be even more appreciated will be the moment New Caledonia gains its independence and joins the community of nations, as did two neighbouring Pacific Island countries at this session of the General Assembly. That will certainly be a joyous moment of history. Democratic winds of change are also sweeping across Africa, from North to South and East to West. While much of the attention of the international news media has been focused on Eastern Europe, Africa has also witnessed important new historic developments.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The recent initiative taken towards the convening of an international conference on the Middle East enjoys broad support and may set in motion a process of negotiations that will lead to a comprehensive political settlement. He certainly hope such a chapter of history will soon be written. With respect to East Timor, we are pleased that a delegation of Portuguese parliamentarians is about to make a visit to the Territory. He hope this visit will contribute to a settlement which will eventually allow East Timor's people to decide their own fate and write their own history. We are encouraged by the prospect that Western Sahara's people will soon determine their own destiny and write their own page in the history of the United Nations. Equally encouraging is the positive and peaceful atmosphere that now exists in Lebanon.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Therefore the United Nations should act in a comprehensive and consistent manner in circumstances similar to those which existed in Kuwait one year ago. Had the international community been consistent prior to the invasion of Kuwait, it is doubtful whether that invasion and the death and destruction it brought about would have occurred. Years of inaction and the lack of resolve on the issue of Palestine and the occupied Arab territories are examples of the inconsistency that does little to enhance respect for the rule of law. The deafening silence on the question of East Timor by some who spoke so eloquently on the invasion of Kuwait is, to a country as small and vulnerable as Vanuatu, another frightening reminder of the inconsistency exhibited by some members of the international community.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Fortunately the international community rose to the occasion and Kuwait is now free of foreign occupation. However, the people of that regime, particularly those of Kuwait and Iraq, paid a terrible price. Our hearts go out to them. Others also paid a terrible price. Our hearts go out to them as well. As important a step as the liberation of Kuwait was, it will lose its moral and legal significance unless the international community consistently applies the same principles everywhere. We must always judge the act and not the actor. Should we fail to do so, we can rightfully be accused of having a double standard. Principles which are selectively applied are not really principles but ere instead mere expedients.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Cambodia has also taken a huge step towards securing a brighter future for its people. The Supreme National Council of Cambodia has taken several initiatives that could lead to an era of peace and national reconciliation. The permanent members of the Security Council and the Paris International Conference on Cambodia have contributed significantly to this process. Hopefully, the Secretary-General's five-point plan on Afghanistan will inspire the parties to that conflict similarly to negotiate a framework for a comprehensive political Battlement. The ink of history is not yet dry on other parts of the globe either. One year ago the United Nations was justifiably preoccupied with an effort to re-write history by turning the pages of history back to the era of "might make right".”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“He wonder how those who have assaulted Haiti's democracy expect to succeed in the face of the new expectations of Haiti's people and the broad international support which exists for that country's legitimately elected President. Also freshly inscribed on the pages of history are a number of positive developments. Among them, are Guatemala's recognition of Belize and the establishment of diplomatic relations between these two Central American neighbours. The broad agreement between the President of El Salvador and the five leaders of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation front is another very positive development. This agreement could lead to a truce in that country's long civil war and eventually help bring economic and social justice to that country's beleaguered people.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“So much has transpired in recent months that the scribes of history have barely had time to allow the ink to dry before having to turn the page and begin anew. In some instances the scribes have not even had time to turn the page. After a brief visit to Haiti, democracy has once again been "exiled" by those who have continually brutalized the people of that impoverished country. Only a few days after he stood at this very podium and articulated his people's plea for justice, Haiti's President and the dream of his people were driven into exile. However, it is our belief that this will be a short "exile" and that Haiti's people will soon restore their democracy and claim their future.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The restoration of the sovereignty of the Baltic Republics, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, closes a sad chapter in human history, and offers new hope to others who await the restoration of their own sovereignty. The admission of our Pacific neighbours, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, further attests to the universality of the United Nations and to the continued relevancy of the international community's focus on Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories. We congratulate all seven of the new Members. More importantly, we congratulate the United Nations on what each of these seven new Members symbolises, and on the qualities each brings to the Organisation. On occasion, human history moves faster than the hands of those who would write that history.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Guido de Marco, the Foreign Minister of Malta. He proved to be well suited to the task of guiding our deliberations in this new era in international relations. We join in commending the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar. He and other members of the Secretariat have laboured tirelessly on behalf of the international community in its search for justice and peace. It is therefore fitting and symbolic that near the end of the Secretary-General's tenure, seven new Members should be admitted to membership in the world body. The simultaneous admission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea bodes well for the future of the Korean people and enhances the prospects for lasting peace and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Mr. President, we congratulate you on your election to preside over the General Assembly at this forty-sixth session. Tour diplomatic skills and experience are well known, as is your commitment to the principles and ideals of the United Nations. We look forward to a productive session under your capable leadership and congratulate the Government and people of Saudi Arabia as well. We also congratulate Sir Michael Somare, the Foreign Minister of Papua New Guinea; Mr. George Iacovou, the Foreign Minister of Cyprus; and Mr. Abdalla Saleh Al-Ashtal, the Permanent Representative of Yemen. Each has made his own unique contributions to world peace and understanding. Each has dignified and contributed to the strengthening of the international democratic process here at the United Nations. We also congratulate your predecessor, Mr.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“We are waiting for new voice to join us in appealing for a more equitable and universal distribution of the resources that have already been extracted from the Earth. We will continue to raise and articulate our strong environmental concerns. We will do so not to keep pace with any existing fashion nor because of a new awareness of how fragile is the thread by which the environment supports life on this planet. We will do so because of our traditional respect for the very delicate balance of life we call our environment. We ill do so because of our concern for the future and because we know that our children - and their children - have no other place to go but the four corners of the Earth. We will do so because we do not want our world to end as a result of too many of us doing nothing - or not enough - when so much needs to be done.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“For what conflict are these weapons necessary? Against whom have the peace-loving peoples of the Pacific sinned? Why must our lands our waters* and our skies be used to test weapons that the people of no other region want tested on their lands in their waters or in their skies? We are pleased by recent expressions of concern for the environment. However we find considerable irony in these expressions of concern. We are waiting for new voices to join us in appealing for an end to nuclear testing in our environment. We are waiting for new voices to join us in appealing for an end to the dumping of hazardous materials in our environment. We are waiting for new voices to join us in an appeal for an immediate end to the drift-net fishing that is devastating our marine ecology.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“He extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims of Hugo and join in appeals for emergency and long-term assistance to help rebuild what was destroyed. As horrible as the consequences of the hurricane were however t we cannot help but note that for some unfathomable reason, mankind still seems determined to match or even exceed nature in its destructive capabilities. The follies of mankind appear to have no limits. Thus while we mourn the victims of hurricane Hugo# nuclear testing continues in the South Pacific. Why? He cannot understand. Every delegation that has participated in the general debate has commented on a new positive international atmosphere and greatly enhanced prospects for world peace. Why, then must the people of the South Pacific continue to see their environment violated by the testing of nuclear weapons?”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“His freedom is the freedom of a dignity that could never be diminished a will that could never be broken a conscience that could never be compromised. The confinement of his gaolers is the moral confinement of those who are consumed by nothing but greed and hatred. Those who govern South Africa attempted the impossible. They attempted the indefinite imprisonment of an entire country. Such repression nay succeed temporarily but history teaches that such success is always short-lived. Today# the largest gaolbreak in history is occurring. Soon South Africa will be free, and all of that country's people can share its wealth and will share its future. Hurricane Hugo which recently battered the Eastern Caribbean and parts of the United States has added its name to the long list of natural disasters that continue to plague mankind.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“He rejoice at the prospect of an independent Namibia assuming its rightful place within the community of nations. However# the rest of the world must assure that South Africa lives up to its commitments and not just those it finds convenient. With respect to South Africa itself it is clear that apartheid is doomed. This discredited doctrine of racial superiority has been repudiated by all# save those whose hearts and minds still reside in the early decades of the nineteenth century when the ownership of one human being by another was a socially acceptable method of attaining wealth and power. Today# those who imprisoned Nelson Mandela find that in his confinement he is freer than they are as his gaolers.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“France has demonstrated a greatness, as well as courage and compassion, by its willingness to listen to the grievances of New Caledonia's people, and by its willingness be fashion bold new initiatives in an effort to address those grievances. Nothing would please us more than to believe that the Government of South Africa is now possessed of the greatness, the courage, and the compassion to live up to its various undertakings to promote the decolonization of Namibia, and to help forge a new South Africa built on honesty, justice, and equality. However, w· share the scepticism of those who doubt the sincerity of the current rulers of Pretoria. Namibia is on its way to independence despite the many road-blocks erected by the apartheid regime.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“We will continue to support the process under way in New Caledonia so long as its people continue to work within that framework, and to view that process as a vehicle for the political evolution of their country. We are grateful for the understanding and support received from the international community on this issue. We know it is not always easy to understand and appreciate all of the nuances emanating from cries for justice by the people of a small Territory in a distant region. We also know it is not always easy - owing to other constraints and limitations - for a great Power to respond in a positive manner.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“At the Ninth Summit Conference of the Non-Aligned Countries, held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia the Heads of State or Government reiterated and reaffirmed their commitment to the process by which most of the countries represented here today have won their political independence. On the specific subject of New Caledonia they ,strongly urged that the question ... be kept under active consideration at the United Nations until the conditions for an internationally acceptable act of self-determination} in accordance with the principles and practices of the United Nations, have been met., The important process of dialogue has led to the restoration of peace and a calm political atmosphere in New Caledonia. As a neighbouring country Vanuatu applauds the measures taken to end the violence and reform the old social order.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“To us, the world has not progressed nearly as far as we would like to believe, if the peoples of those small Territories are not allowed freely to express their will and determine their r perspective futures. Closer to Vanuatu's own shores, the people of New Caledonia and the Government of Trance have embarked on an imaginative initiative hid could prove capable of providing a framework for a genuine act of self-determination and a just and lasting solution to the trouble -plagued history of that South Pacific Territory. We continue to support an early transition to an independent New Caledonia in accordance with the legitimate aspirations of New Cal® dm la's colonized people. The Reads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries continue to view the decolonisation process as an important international priority.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“The there could just as easily have been about those who chose to be spectators when the people of Namibia, the people of Hew Caledonia, or the people of other Non-Self-Governing Territories, decided to reclaim their own identities, their own sovereignty their own futures. In this regard, we note the very moving appeal of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Portugal, Mr. de Deus Pinheiro, that the international community not rent in indifferent to the situation in East Timor. The Government and the people of Vanuatu will never be indifferent to conditions in East Timor, Western Sahara, or other small Territories which some tend to overlook when they assess the current state of international relations.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“The theme of the play could just as easily have been about the international community's inaction in the face of drug trafficking it could just as easily have been about how the world has stood around watching the violent disintegration of Lebanon it could just as easily have been about how some of us have stood around watching the intifadah in the occupied territories of Palestine. The theme of the play could just as easily have been about those who have been satisfied to be spectators each time the people of South Africa have demonstrated that they have had ore than their fill of apartheid.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“At the play's conclusion, a man who had stood by and watched the fatal beating of the black victim is surprised by the reaction of his girlfriend. To exculpate himself he exclaims ,... life is short. The past is past. Let's worry about us. When the bomb hits, we're all going to die anyways., She pointedly replies t ,The world's not going to end with a bomb. It's going to end with people like you standing around doing nothing., One week after the play went into rehearsal, a tragic and much-publicized killing occurred in the community where the author had been raised and where the play was set.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Should we fail to meet that challenge - should we allow Colombia to stand alone in Its confrontation with evil - we shall have written the epitaph of modern civilization. The message of Mr. Virgilio Barco, President of Colombia, delivered here at the General Assembly on 29 September 1989, moved us all to stand in unison and applaud. Let that message also lead us to stand in unison and fight for the future of our respective peoples - for the future of our children. A young playwright, raised in a section of our host city that was recently in the news, has crafted a work striking in its similarities to a tragic event that occurred recently in his former neighbourhood. The plot of his play centres on an act of mindless racial violence and exposes the raw emotions of the play's characters.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“What it cannot seduce, it attempts to corrupt what it cannot corrupt, it attempts to intimidate} what it cannot intimidate, it attempts to Hill and destroy. Those who engage in this traffic deserve neither our sympathy nor our mercy. They are evil incarnate, and must be confronted with all means at our disposal, just as the slave traders of earlier generations were confronted by decent human beings and civilized Governments and institutions, and just as latter-day practitioners of genocide were confronted by the international community during the Second World War, and later at International tribunals, which for ever contented crimes against humanity. Today, the courage of the Government and people of Colombia presents us with an historic challenge.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“While some nations were busy devoting considerable resources and energy to building and maintaining elaborate military defences against real and Imagined external enemies, another, less manageable and more Insidious, foe of us all was also busy. This foe developed an ability to threaten us all; regardless of our size regardless of our wealth, regardless of our power, regardless of our professed beliefs. This foe respects no international border, no set of laws, and no boundaries of decency. This foe is as brutal, as principled and as immoral as was an earlier foe - the international traffic in human beings known is the slave trade. Today's foe - the international traffic in narcotic drugs - poses a clear and present danger to contemporary civilized society.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Greater fiscal responsibility and restraint are needed, but certainly not at the expense of those who are the most disadvantaged in the various developing countries. This would not only be Impolite it would also be immoral. Ironically, those who are among the first to counsel the adoption of rather severe fiscal restraints with respect to the social sectors of developing countries are often among the last to adopt far milder restraints themselves when it comes to military expenditures for new methods of death and destruction. Developing countries generally find It difficult to obtain sufficient economic credits to develop social Infrastructure. The same countries usually find it easier to obtain economic credits to fuel excessive military expenditures.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“However, every day that this problem is left unresolved in a comprehensive fashion by the international community and the developing countries of the world nearer to an economic abyss and a potentially devastating social apocalypse. №>t all of the economic ills of the developing countries result from the actions - or lade of action - of the developed world. Naturally, developing countries must shoulder a fair share of the responsibility for the general malaise that exists in so many of their own economies. However, deteriorating terms of trade - characterized by severely depressed commodity prices, reverse flows of capital, and increasing protectionist pressures - have, for most of the world, made appeals for international economic justice a matter of great urgency.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“38) This chilling reality, substantiated by the fact that the developing world now- owes the developed world more than $1.3 trillion, portends a future without hope for most of the world's people. Furthermore, this debt, which has already reached unmanageable proportions, continues to grow and grow and grow, with no apparent end in sight. We would be hard-pressed to recall a recent international meeting at which a discussion of the debt crisis, end other aspects of a general appeal for economic justice, had not played a prominent role. There are some encouraging signs that the urgency of this message has finally begun to penetrate.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“While some have expended their energy in misguided efforts to deny the humanity of others, merely because of differences in skin pigmentation, religious beliefs, cultural nuances, language or gender, nature has repeatedly revealed that if we cannot now be united in life we will most assuredly be forever united in death. It is time for us all to realize that if every one of us does not have a future none of us shall have a future. Thus, the Foreign Minister of the Philippines, Mr. Raul S. Manglapus, spoke for us all - not only for the poor people of his country - when, on 27 September 1989, he so eloquently stated, among other things t ,Today a human being is born not only with original sin but also with original debt., (A/44/PV.9, p.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“While some experimented with, and developed silent killers, such as chemical and bacteriological agents, nature gave us more than enough infectious disease to satisfy any longing we might have to inflict pain and suffering on other human beings. While some obsessively consumed addictive drugs with hedonistic fervour# nature revealed that, eventually, those consumers become themselves consumed by their obsession. While some raced selfishly to build temples of pagan idolatry to material wealth, with little regard for the future well-being of our planet, nature responded to the repeated violation of our environment the only way it could - by revealing how scarce are the earth's resources, and how precarious its ability to support and sustain life.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“However, we would be less than true to ourselves, and to history, were we to forget that many of the things that plague mankind today are not consequences of the post-Second-World-War antagonisms between these two great countries but, instead, result from old contradictions and grievances that predate the cold war and reveal the imperfections of the human species, as well as of the various institutions we have shaped. An astute observer once remarked, ,Man's mad vanity is often mocked by life,. Thus, while some raced recklessly to build and deploy newer and more powerful weapons of mass destruction, nature demonstrated, with repeated regularity, that it could outdo mankind by in leashing hurricanes, cyclones, earthquakes, floods and droughts that gave us more than enough death and devastation - if that was what we wanted.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“None the less, many major problems continue to plague mankind, and we believe that sincerity, courage, dignity and integrity continue to be essential qualities in the process of building and preserving justice, peace and a better world for every roan, woman and child in every corner of the globe. We welcome and applaud the new openness, mutual respect and generally friendlier atmosphere that characterize current relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Spiers - a distinguished diplomat - to his new poet, and we wish him well. We also congratulate your predecessor, Mr. Dante Caputo, former Foreign Minister of Argentina, for a job well done. His presidency coincided with certain historic developments which have contributed to a new atmosphere that we must now profit from in our efforts to strengthen the United Nations, and prospects for justice and lasting world peace. There is no doubt that, in a real sense, the current international climate is far better than it has ever been within the lifetime of most of those who now inhabit this planet. We now have a chance finally to cross the threshold and ensure that mankind will not, through a nuclear conflict between the two super-Powers intentionally destroy life as we know it.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Those four qualities make you not only a proud son of your country and of Africa, but also of all those who cherish those virtues. We join in the tribute paid to the Group of African States, particularly to the Governments of Cameroon and Egypt, by the Minister of External Affairs of Nigeria, when he addressed the General Assembly and expressed gratitude for the African consensus which led to your election. Furthermore, we associate ourselves with the very moving words of appreciation we have heard you address to our dear friend and brother, Mr. Paul Bamela Hugo, the Permanent Representative of Cameroon What you expressed on that occasion, Mr. President - with which we concur - were fat more than the usual sentiments. We welcome the Under-Secretary-General, Mr. Ronald I.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“We recall that the honorary title of ,Chief, was bestowed upon you at a custom ceremony during a visit you made to Vanuatu in 1985, in your capacity as Chairman of the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid. Thus Nigeria's pride and joy on your election is shared by Vanuatu. I will resist, for the sake of life, repeating the many words already spoken In praise of your diplomatic experience and skills. Instead, I will merely associate out delegation and myself with those words and the sentiments they express. We prefer to draw attention to four words, which those of us are privileged to know you personally find most appropriate in describing you. Those four words are: sincerity, courage, dignity, and integrity.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Mr. President, ascending the steps which lead to this podium# and speaking before the United Nations General Assembly is always a great honour and privilege. Today this honour and privilege take on added significance for our delegation. I have the pleasure of conveying to you, and to the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria# congratulations and best wishes on your unanimous election as President of the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly. Furthermore# I have the honour of conveying to you a personal congratulatory message from Father Halter Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu. The Prime Minister: sends his fondest regards to you, a friend and a man he knows to be not only a proud son of Nigeria, but also a proud son of Vanuatu.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)