YouSaid · the spoken record

Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa

lines on the record: 46
first: 2018-09-24
most recent: 2023-09-24
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

“more important, for the future generations that will follow, leaving no one behind. That is the duty that we all now have.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Through the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is creating a wider seamless trading area, as well as accelerated interconnectivity. African countries are mobilizing their collective means and resources to achieve shared prosperity. Through that treaty. African countries are establishing for themselves the foundation for a massive increase in trade, accelerated infrastructure development, regional integration and sustainable industrialization. As the global community, we have the means and the desire to confront and overcome the enormous challenges that face humankind today. As the nations gathered here in this General Assembly, let us demonstrate that we have both the will and the resolve to secure a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable future for our world and.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“We must ensure that the voice of the African continent and the global South is strengthened in the United Nations and the broader multilateral system. All the peoples represented here in this United Nations had their origins in Africa. In Africa, they developed the tools and capabilities to spread across the world and achieve remarkable feats of development and progress. All that was due to the skills and the talent that originated from the African continent. Despite its history, despite the legacy of exploitation, colonialism and subjugation, despite the ongoing challenge of conflict and instability. Africa is determined and ready to regain its position as a site of human progress. The era of African development has arrived.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“This is the moment to proceed with the reform of the Security Council, give meaning to the principle of the sovereign equality of nations and enable the Council to respond more effectively to the current geopolitical realities. We are pleased that the Common African Position on the reform of the Security Council is increasingly enjoying wide support. That process must move to text-based negotiations, creating an opportunity for convergence among Member States. The Brazil. Russian Federation. India. China and South Africa Summit, held recently in Johannesburg, also affirmed the view that the Security Council should be reformed and should ensure that nations that are not represented are also represented.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Africa has embraced that challenge. Africa is determined to deploy smart, digital and efficient green technologies to expand industrial production, boost agricultural yields, drive growth and create sustained employment for Africa’s people. As the global community, we must ensure that the essential qualities that define our humanity are evident in the institutions that manage the conduct of international relations. We require institutions that are inclusive, representative and democratic and that advance the interests of all nations. We require a renewed commitment to multilateralism, based on clear rules and supported by effective institutions.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“The wealth of Africa belongs to Africans. The mineral wealth that is beneath the soil of Africa must in the end accrue to Africans. We urge global leaders to accelerate global decarbonization, while pursuing equality and shared prosperity. We need to advance all three pillars of the Paris Agreement — mitigation, adaptation and support — with equal ambition and urgency. African countries, alongside other countries with developing economies, need increased financial support both to implement the 2030 Agenda and to achieve their climate change goals in a comprehensive and integrated manner. We need to operationalize the loss and damage fund for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters, as agreed at the twenty-seventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“The essential human qualities of innovation and adaptation must be evident in the actions that we take to prevent the destruction of our planet. Africa is warming faster than the rest of the world. We are told that, of the 20 climate hotspots in the world, we find 17 in Africa. Africa is the least responsible for the climate damage that has been caused; yet it bears the greatest burden. Centuries after the end of the slave trade, decades after the end of the colonial exploitation of Africa’s resources, the people of our continent are once again bearing the costs of the industrialization of the North and the development of the wealthy nations of the world. That is a price that the people of Africa are no longer prepared to pay. Many countries in the North count their assets in the mineral resources that are beneath African soil.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“we will fundamentally improve the health and well-being of all. The empowerment of women must be central to the actions that we now take towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda. The women of the world need empowerment. They have a right to empowerment. They also have a right to participate equally in the decision-making structures of all institutions in the world. I am proud that, in South Africa. 50 per cent of the members of the Cabinet of South Africa are women. Today I am accompanied by an all-women delegation to this General Assembly session. It should be a matter of concern to us all that the majority of people who are sitting in this Assembly are men. The question that we must ask is: where are the women of the world? The women of the world have a right to be here to represent the views of women across the world.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“It is a grave indictment of the international community that we can spend so much on war — in fact, trillions are being spent on war — but we cannot support the action that needs to be taken to meet the most basic needs of billions of people in the world, such as addressing hunger and health, empowering women and ensuring that there is development in vulnerable countries. The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals depends fundamentally on the empowerment of women in all spheres of life. Social and economic progress will not be possible unless we end gender discrimination. We must ensure that there is equal access for women to health care, education and economic opportunities. We must pay particular attention to the provision of adequate health services to every woman, child and adolescent. By doing so.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“We call on our partners from wealthier countries to meet the financial commitments that they made. It is a great concern to us from the global South that those wealthier countries in the global North have failed to meet the undertakings that they made to provide $100 billion a year for developing economies to take climate action. That must be changed, and the money must be made available in the interests of development. We support the proposals outlined in the Secretary- General’s Sustainable Development Goals stimulus. In particular, we support the call to tackle debt and debt distress, by which many countries, particularly in the global South, are burdened. We support the call to massively scale up affordable long-term financing to $500 billion a year and to expand contingency financing to countries that are in need.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“We must summon the necessary will and resolve to regain the momentum towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. That means that we must address the fundamental development challenges that have also long characterized our unequal world. To address the development challenges that face many people in the world we are required to focus on targeted investment, technology transfer and capacity building support, especially in key areas such as supporting industrialization, building infrastructure, ensuring that investment in agriculture takes place and making sure that there is investment in water, energy, education and health. That also requires predictable and sustained financial support, including supportive trade policies, from the international community.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“South Africa continues to call for the lifting of the economic embargo that was imposed 60 years ago against Cuba, which has caused untold damage to the country’s economy as well as the people of Cuba. The sanctions that are also being applied against South Africa’s neighbour Zimbabwe should also be lifted, as they are imposing untold suffering on ordinary Zimbabweans, but they also have a collateral negative impact on neighbouring countries, such as my own country. South Africa. As many people around the world are confronted by hunger and want, the essential human qualities of cooperation and solidarity must be evident in the actions that we take to bridge the divide between the wealthy and the poor.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“We are called upon to remain true to the founding principles of the United Nations by recognizing the inalienable right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination, in line with the relevant General Assembly resolutions. We must work for peace in the Middle East. For as long as the land of the Palestinians remains occupied, and for as long as their rights are ignored and their dignity is denied, such peace will remain elusive. The actions of the Government of Israel have imperilled the possibility of a viable two-State solution. The principles of the United Nations Charter with regard to territorial integrity and the prohibition on the annexation of land through the use of force must also be applied in that situation.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“We support the call by the Secretary- General in the New Agenda for Peace for Member States to provide more sustainable and predictable financing for peace building efforts. As a global community, we should be concerned by the recent incidents of unconstitutional changes of Government in some parts of Africa. The global community needs to work alongside the African Union to support peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Libya, the Sudan. Somalia. Mali, the Central African Republic. South Sudan, northern Mozambique, the Great Lakes region, the Sahel, the Niger and the Horn of Africa. The African Union Peace and Security Council has declared that it stands ready to deepen its cooperation with the United Nations Security Council to silence the guns on the African continent and to achieve peace, stability and development.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“In that regard, we said that issues such as the return of the children who were removed from Ukraine should be ensured. We also said that the prisoners of war should be exchanged between the two countries. I just held a meeting with President Zelenskyy. who said that, in part, some of our efforts were bearing fruit, as the children were now being returned and the prisoners were also being exchanged. But then we said that we needed to see that happening at a much faster pace. As the international community, we must do everything within our means to enable meaningful dialogue, just as we should refrain from any actions that fuel conflict. As we confront other conflicts in several parts of the world, including on our own continent. Africa, we need to invest in prevention and peace-building.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“In that conflict, as in all conflicts, we have insisted that the United Nations Charter principle of respect for the territorial integrity of every country should be upheld. Our participation in the African peace initiative, supported by seven countries from the African continent, is informed by a desire to see an end to the suffering of those most directly affected by the conflict and the millions on our continent and across the world who. as a result of the conflict, are now vulnerable to worsening hunger and deprivation. As we. as African leaders, engaged with the parties to the conflict, one of the issues that we raised was that there should be confidence-building measures that could create a sense of trust towards the resolution of the conflict.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“South Africa has consistently advocated for dialogue, negotiation and diplomacy to prevent and end conflict and achieve lasting peace. As a country, it has committed itself to the promotion of human rights, human dignity, justice, democracy and adherence to international law. From the experience of our own journey from the evil system of apartheid, which was declared a crime against humanity by this very Organization, to democracy, we value the importance of engaging all parties to conflicts in achieving peaceful, just and enduring resolutions. It is those principles that inform South Africa’s participation in the African peace initiative, which seeks a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“At the moment, when every human effort should be directed towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, our attention and our energies have once again been diverted by the scourge of war. But those woes, those divisions and those seemingly intractable troubles can. and must, be overcome. Over millenniums, the human race has demonstrated an enormous capacity for resilience, an ability to resolve problems, adaptation, innovation, compassion and solidarity. At this moment, we are all called upon to reaffirm those essential qualities, which define our common humanity. Such qualities must be evident in how we work together as a global community and as nations of the world to end war and conflict.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“Seventy-eight years ago. in the aftermath of the Second World War. the nations of the world made a solemn commitment to saving future generations from the horror and suffering of war. Through the Charter of the United Nations, those nations accepted a shared mandate to foster peace and promote fundamental human rights and social progress and ensure a better standard of life for all. Yet. as we gather here, much of humankind is confronted by war and conflict, by want and hunger and by disease and environmental damage and disaster. Solidarity and trust among States are being eroded. Inequality, poverty and unemployment are deepening across many nations in the world. In those conditions, and in the wake of a devastating global pandemic, the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals seems increasingly remote.”
2023-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 78 (2023)
“When history faithfully records the global response to the worst health emergency of this century, let it be said that we stood and acted as one, that we provided leadership, and that we gave the peoples of all nations hope and courage. The best, and most fitting, legacy of this 75th Session will be that through our actions we gave true meaning to the term ‘United Nations’. South Africa reaffirms its commitment to the ideals and spirit of the UN Charter, and to sparing no effort to bring about a more just, peaceful and equitable world. May our cooperation deepen and may our solidarity endure. Let us make sure that all our efforts leave no woman, no child and no man behind, and that no nation is left behind.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“The order we seek to build must be rooted in solidarity, equality and unity of purpose. The coronavirus pandemic has presented us with a choice. It is a choice between the global cooperation envisaged in the UN Charter or the pursuit of narrow self-interest and unilateralism. It is a choice between tolerance or prejudice. It is a choice between economic justice or growing inequality. The path we choose now will determine our collective destiny. Though we face the most daunting of prospects, we have at our disposal the most potent force. It is the solidarity and friendship upon which the United Nations was founded.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“As we rebuild in the aftermath of this pandemic we have an opportunity to place the global economy on a low-carbon, climate resilient developmental path. We must advance the principles of the green and circular economies, not just for the sake of environmental sustainability but because of the opportunities for job creation and economic growth. The global recovery effort must place climate change adaptation, mitigation and support at its centre — in line with the Paris Agreement and other multilateral environmental commitments. As the founders of the UN stood at a crossroads in 1945, so do we 75 years later. They answered history’s call to craft a new order for a world in crisis. Today we battle the fires of a deadly pandemic, of racism and prejudice, of violence, war and extremism and, above all, of poverty and inequality.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“On this 75th anniversary of the UN we repeat our call for greater representation of African countries on the Security Council,and that this be taken up with urgency at the Intergovernmental Negotiations. It is only through a reformed and inclusive Security Council that we will be able to collectively resolve some of the world’s most protracted conflicts. As we celebrate the founding of an organisation dedicated to freedom and equality, the people of Palestine and Western Sahara continue to live under occupation. We repeat our call for an end to the illegal occupation of Western Sahara and for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. We further call for the lifting of the economic embargo and blockade of Cuba. Your Excellencies, We have no choice but to work together to address the climate change crisis.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Cooperation between the UN Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council has contributed to improved peace and security in the Darfur region of Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Mali and the Central African Republic. It is imperative that this collaboration is institutionalised and that the financing of AU peacekeeping operations is addressed and resolved. South Africa is currently serving its second year as an elected non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. We have used our tenure to promote international peace and security by advocating for the peaceful settlement of disputes and inclusive dialogue. The current composition of the Security Council does not reflect the world in which we live.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“It is the right of women and girls to be full and equal participants in the workplace, in political life and decision-making, in the economy, in obtaining an education and in society as a whole. South Africa is proud to be a member of the UN’s Generation Equality campaign and has prioritised the eradication of gender based violence and femicide. At a continental level, we are working to finalise and adopt an AU Convention on Violence against Women during the course of this year. AU member states are engaging on measures to promote financial inclusion, preferential procurement and preferential trade agreements for women. As African countries we continue with our effort to ‘silence the guns’ once and for all through conflict resolution and peace-building.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“The year 2020 will be remembered for the massive groundswell to push back the frontiers of racism under the umbrella of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. As a country that has known too well the anguish of institutionalised racism, South Africa supports the demands for swift action against racism, whether committed by individuals, companies, officials or the state. South Africa calls on the United Nations to spare no effort to end prejudice and intolerance in all its forms and wherever it may be found. In the words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” As we mark the 25th Anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, we must intensify our efforts to empower women and girls.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“For until we eradicate global poverty, we will always fall short of realising the vision of the founders of the United Nations . We must expand economic opportunities to all our people, but most especially to the young, to women and to vulnerable persons. We must boldly pursue avenues of redistribution and redress as a means of advancing shared prosperity. We must deal decisively with the rot of corruption that is robbing our people of the opportunities and services that are their right. Together, we must raise our level of ambition to ensure that every man, woman and child has an equal chance at a better future. It is a future free of hunger, disease, insecurity and war. It is a world that affirms the dignity and worth of all, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation or social circumstances.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“This will enable African countries to not only mitigate the health impacts of COVID-19 but to aid us in the immense task of rebuilding our shattered economies. To ensure that no country is left behind we reiterate our position as the African Union that economic sanctions against Zimbabwe and Sudan be lifted to allow their governments to respond adequately to the pandemic. We also call for the suspension of interest payments on Africa’s external and public debt. As the African Union we are encouraged by the collaboration of the G20, the IMF, the World Bank and the UN towards finding solutions to debt sustainability in developing countries. This pandemic has highlighted the urgency with which we must strive to meet all the Sustainable Development Goals, but importantly Goal 1 — to end poverty in all its forms everywhere.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“When the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered the 18th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in July 2020, he called on the nations of the world to forge a New Social Contract and a New Global Deal. He said we must create equal opportunities for all, that we must advance a more inclusive and balanced multilateral trading system, that debt architecture must be reformed, and that there should be greater access to affordable credit for developing countries. It is a call we as South Africa wholly endorse. It is in the spirit of this New Global Deal, that we call on the international community and our international partners to support the rollout of a comprehensive stimulus package for Africa.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“In the words of Nelson Mandela: “It is human solidarity, the concern for the other, that must be at the centre of the values by which we all live.” As the African continent, our response to coronavirus has been swift and effective. We have a continental strategy to fight the pandemic being driven by the regional economic communities. The African Union has established a COVID-19 Response Fund and launched a ground-breaking African Medical Supplies Platform to ensure all countries have access to the necessary equipment and supplies. Nonetheless, the pandemic will inevitably set back our developmental aspirations. The resources we have had to redirect to fighting the pandemic have set back our efforts to provide housing, health care, water and sanitation and education to our people.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“President of the General Assembly, Secretary-General, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, seventy-five years ago, the United Nations was established to introduce a new world order to achieve peace in the world. It was the dawn of a new era of global cooperation, forged in the aftermath of one of the darkest periods in the history of humankind. In 1945, the world was in crisis. It was counting the devastation wrought by war, devastation and plunder. Today, we are in the throes of another crisis — the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. If we are to build a common and inclusive future in the aftermath of COVID-19, it is this solidarity that must endure.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Allow me to conclude by once more drawing on the wisdom of Nelson Mandela, who said, “Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great.” This is not the generation that will stand expectant at the gates of hope; this is the generation that will change the world. It is the generation of young people who want to see change. This is their time and this is their age. Let their greatness blossom.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“From the ashes of a system that was described by the General Assembly as a crime against humanity, we are building a new, democratic nation, united in its diversity. We are working to correct the injustices of our past and to build a society that is free, inclusive and sustainable. We are pursuing an economic path that draws on the resources and capabilities of all our people to eradicate poverty, unemployment and inequality. We are determined through our international relations to be a force for progress, good, peace and global equality, and will continue to advance the interests of the African continent and the global South.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We are working to silence the guns in Africa by 2020, to bring an end to conflicts that have cost the lives of millions of our people, displaced more and stunted economic growth and human development. As the continent with the youngest population in the world, Africa has the potential to be the next great frontier for global growth and development. With effective investment in education, improved health care, good governance and greater economic integration, Africa has the potential to develop its productive capacity on a scale and at a rate that will lift tens of millions out of poverty. The youth of Africa are poised to transform their continent. We the people of South Africa are committed to being part of that transformation.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Our task as global leaders is to pursue the policies required to turn intent into implementation and mobilize the resources needed to turn implementation into impact. We have made significant strides as Africans in addressing the challenges that have confronted our continent for many decades. We continue vigorously to implement our commitments set out in the African Union Agenda 2063, which is our collective plan as Africans to rid our continent of under-development, poverty and conflict and to improve democratic governance, the rule of law and the promotion of human rights. We have recently reached agreement on the establishment of an African Continental Free Trade Area, which will fundamentally transform African economies, giving rise to a new industrial age on the continent.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The history of the global economy informs us that no country can prosper at the expense of all others and that no people can hope to live in comfort and security as long as millions of others languish in poverty. It is therefore essential that we take collective responsibility for the development of all nations and for the improvement of the lives of all people. That responsibility is manifest in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development, among other agreements. Together they represent our common commitment to tackle poverty, underdevelopment and environmental degradation. They represent our common commitment to tackle diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, diabetes and cancer.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization need to be reshaped and enhanced so that they may more effectively meet the challenges of the contemporary world and better serve the interests of the poor and marginalized around the globe. Reform of the United Nations, and of the Security Council in particular, must be a priority if we are to give full effect to the values and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. We must resist any and all efforts to undermine the multilateral approach to international trade, which is essential to the promotion of stability and predictability in the global economy.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It is therefore vital that we deploy all the means at our disposal to address youth unemployment and ensure universal access to educational opportunities appropriate to the changing world of work. We need a deliberate programme to ensure that the digital revolution, which carries such great potential for both disruption and empowerment, is effectively harnessed to promote social justice as well as human progress. The call to leave no one behind requires that we strengthen the institutions of global governance and make them more responsive to the needs of young people, particularly in the developing world.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Our resolve to end ongoing conflicts and our determination to root out terrorism must be matched by action and the appropriate deployment of resources. We must act with the same urgency to resolve some of the world’s most protracted and intractable disputes. The fact that the people of Palestine have endured occupation and suffering for nearly as long as the United Nations has existed makes their plight no less pressing and their suffering no more acceptable. We must likewise intensify our efforts to secure the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and full national sovereignty. One of the greatest challenges to the achievement of global prosperity and development is the continued exclusion of millions of women and young people from meaningful economic participation.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It is women who are bearing the brunt and hardships of the wars that continue to destroy their lives and their families. As we speak, young lives are being lost and futures are being destroyed. There is an urgency to the measures we must take to end conflict and war. Not only must we stop the death, destruction and human suffering that is visited daily on millions of people, but we must act with purpose to prevent the loss of another entire generation to its aftermath. We must accept our shared responsibility for, and our shared interests in, ending conflict and using the outcomes of the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit to empower the United Nations to be a more effective instrument for mediation, peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It is within our ability, as the leaders assembled here today, to forge a more representative, equal and fair United Nations that is empowered and equipped to lead the struggle to end poverty, unemployment and inequality in the world. We are a youthful world: more than half the global population is under the age of 30. That is even more pronounced on our continent of Africa, where two thirds of our people were not yet born when Nelson Mandela was released from 27 years in prison. We are living in the age of youth. That places a responsibility on us as leaders not only to put the interests of young people at the centre of our efforts, but also to empower women and young people to be more prominent in directing the course of global affairs. It is young people who are fighting the wars that we started.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We are reforming our economy and creating an environment that is conducive to investment and have embarked upon an investment drive to attract $100 billion in the next five years. To the poor, vulnerable and marginalized, the United Nations today is a beacon of promise in a landscape of doubt. To billions across the world, the United Nations is the most powerful instrument we possess to achieve a more equal, humane and inclusive world. There are men and women with dreams and aspirations that transcend the hardships of the present, who want to contribute to a new global civilization defined by care, justice and solidarity. They want an end to the greed, ignorance and conceit that is driving the destruction of our only home, the Earth.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We have now embarked upon a journey of transformation and are making progress to deal with the ugly legacy of the past system of apartheid. Madiba’s vision continues to guide us as we seek to improve the lives of our people in many respects, among others, by improving educational outcomes for our youth and transforming our economy, which was constituted to serve the interests of a few. We have started a comprehensive dialogue on the question of land reform in our country, which is guided by our Constitution and the rule of law, as we seek ways to ensure that the land is shared among all who work it, as set out in our Freedom Charter. Even as our country is experiencing difficult economic challenges, we have made progress.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“To succeed in giving effect to that commitment, the United Nations must become what billions of people across the world want it to be, that is, a representative and truly democratic global parliament of the people of the world. Throughout its seven decades, the United Nations has been a source of hope for the oppressed, exploited and poor around the world. During the dark days of colonialism and apartheid, we drew strength, inspiration and encouragement from the United Nations and its Charter in our quest for freedom and self-determination. With the support of the United Nations, 24 years ago, we as South Africans were able to bring an end to the nightmare of apartheid. Nelson Mandela led us to freedom and gave us the great opportunity to transform our country.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“More important, we are called upon to ask — as we did yesterday during the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit (see A/73/PV.5), which was held here — what the United Nations and the assembled global leadership must do to secure lasting peace, reconciliation and stability across the globe. Allow me to express the deep gratitude of the Government and the people of South Africa to the international community for convening the Peace Summit to honour the memory of Nelson Mandela and advance his legacy. We applaud the political declaration of the Summit (resolution 73/1), which recognizes the period from 2019 to 2028 as the Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace. It reflects a new and sincere commitment by the world’s leaders to comprehensively advance peace and security and resolve all conflicts and wars.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“I have the honour to address the General Assembly for the first time as President of the Republic of South Africa. It is nearly a quarter of a century since the founding father of our democracy, President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, stood at this rostrum to declare that “The millions across our globe who stand expectant at the gates of hope look to this Organization to bring them peace, to bring them life, to bring them a life worth living.” (A/49/PV.14, p. 10) As we mark the centenary of the birth of this great global leader, Nelson Mandela, we are bound to ask whether the United Nations has met the needs and expectations of the millions who stand at the gates of hope. We are bound to ask what contribution the United Nations has made to a more peaceful, more prosperous and more equal world.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)