YouSaid · the spoken record

Stanislaus Mudenge

lines on the record
66
first
1996-09-24
most recent
2001-09-24
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

  1. “For this new multilateral trade regime to work, it is imperative that member States resist the temptation to initiate practices or policies that seek to compromise the sovereignty of other member States or to reintroduce colonialism in another guise. Developed countries should live up to their commitments and abandon protectionist policies if all countries are to benefit from the new trading arrangements. Improved market access and increased foreign direct investment must be accompanied by new and innovative ways to tackle the debt burden of developing countries, with a view to finding a comprehensive and once-and-for-all solution to the debt problem.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  2. “Moreover, it is our view that the United Nations is the only Organization which is uniquely charged with a global mandate to maintain international peace and security. This means therefore that regional peace-keeping efforts can only complement and not substitute the leading role of the United Nations. The United Nations should also enhance its role in promoting international cooperation in other spheres of its competence, particularly that of trade. Only a few months ago, the international community celebrated the successful launching of the World Trade Organization, following protracted multilateral trade negotiations.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  3. “We reaffirmed that complete nuclear disarmament is a sine qua non for the survival of humanity on our planet. We therefore appeal to all nuclear Powers to agree to ban the production, testing and use or threat of use of nuclear weapons and other weapons of Armageddon. To enhance this Organization’s accountability and credibility, the decision-making process with regard to United Nations peace-keeping mandates must cater to an increased role for the general membership of the Organization, starting with troop-contributing countries. Furthermore, efforts such as those which entail preventive diplomacy and post-conflict peace-building, as spelled out in the Secretary-General’s report, “Supplement to an Agenda for Peace”, clearly fall within the domain of the General Assembly.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  4. “There is no alternative to peace. We therefore urge the parties to remain committed to the peace process until Palestinian self-determination and a Palestinian State become realities. It is only in this context that the security of Israel can be guaranteed. Commitment to peace has remained the centrepiece of the Non-Aligned Movement. Thirty-five years ago, the founding fathers of this Movement had a vision of a world, inter alia, living in peace and harmony, free of nuclear threat and super-Power rivalry. Two days ago, we had occasion to commemorate that vision. We found it to be as relevant and powerful today as when it was first articulated 35 years ago. We recommitted ourselves, among other things, to pursuing the goal of a world at peace, free from the threat of weapons of mass destruction.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  5. “With regard to the stalled peace process in Western Sahara, it is imperative that the international community, through the United Nations, honour the spirit and letter of the commitment it made to the disenfranchised people of that territory and ensure that a free and fair United Nations- supervised referendum takes place there on the basis of the United Nations Settlement Plan for Western Sahara. In the Middle East, we appeal to the new Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization to continue on the path of peace and reason, as espoused by the late Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Yitzhak Rabin, who paid with his life that the two peoples might live together in peace and harmony. Renewing the construction of settlements on Palestinian land is no contribution to peace. It undermines the peace process.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  6. “In Burundi, the fundamental challenge of having democracy with security has now been compounded by the need to stop generalized violence and to return the country to constitutionality. The United Nations should support the sterling efforts of Burundi’s neighbours to assist that country to achieve peace and stability. The tragedy of genocide in Rwanda must not be allowed to repeat itself in Burundi. No! 17 In Liberia, brute force and violence must not be allowed to triumph. The parties should be made to honour the peace agreement already reached through the good offices of the Economic Community of West African States. The people of Liberia have suffered enough. The United Nations must send a clear message to the warlords in that country that our common humanity may soon impel us to try them for war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  7. “Although the peace process in Angola continues to run behind schedule, we are persuaded that the seeds of lasting peace have been sown in that country. We need to redouble our efforts in urging the Angolans to persevere along the present bumpy road of peace on the basis of national reconciliation and unity. Although the humanitarian situation in Somalia has improved somewhat since the intervention of the United Nations, that country remains in political turmoil from which it cannot rescue itself fully without the sustained involvement of the international community. We therefore call upon the international community, through the United Nations, to review its current minimalist approach to Somalia, explore new possibilities for constructive engagement and give peace another chance.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  8. “Peace-threatening conflicts in any part of our global village should never be seen to attract differential attention depending upon their geographical location, strategic interest, ethnic complexion or such other narrow considerations of the big Powers. The much-belated intervention and subsequent failure of the United Nations in Somalia and its half- hearted interventions in Rwanda, Burundi and Liberia have exposed the Organization to harmful criticism, which has led to a further decline in its credibility. United Nations peacekeeping efforts in Africa have generally met with mixed fortunes. We have yet to see the Namibian and Mozambican success stories repeat themselves in several other trouble spots on the continent.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  9. “In our view, the time is long past for us to re-examine all the efforts that we have been exerting in an endeavour to identify and agree on the formulation and mechanisms to deal with the current financial crisis that has beset the Organization. Unless Member States take serious steps to clear their arrears and improve their payment pattern by remitting their assessed contributions promptly, in full and without conditions, the United Nations will continue to dither on the brink of bankruptcy and its efficacy will be totally compromised. It is imperative that we, the Member States, create a capacity for the Organization to fulfil the mandate we have given to it. The United Nations’ role in maintaining international peace and security must of necessity have a global thrust in both the geographical sense and the conceptual framework.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  10. “My delegation is of the strong view that reform should not necessarily be equated with the downsizing of the United Nations system. We also feel that an optimally streamlined and strengthened United Nations system will not necessarily be responsive to the needs of its membership as long as it is subjected to chronic cash-flow problems. The appalling record of some Member States that dishonour their financial obligations to the United Nations and our endless lamentations over the resultant financial crises have clearly brought into question the credibility of the Organization and the commitment of its membership.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  11. “Any process of restructuring, revitalization or strengthening should necessarily redress the erosion of the principle of the accountability of all principal and subsidiary organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations to the General Assembly. My delegation will therefore seek resolutely to uphold the authority of the General Assembly as enshrined in the Charter and, consequently, will oppose any proposals or recommendations that might lead to the usurpation of the authority of the General Assembly under any guise or form. Accordingly, we will not agree to authorizing the Secretariat to amend, postpone or cancel any official programme activities without the express approval of the General Assembly, whose prerogative it is to give, change or withdraw the mandates of such programme activities.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  12. “We in Africa maintain that the present arrangement, in which Africa and Latin America have no permanent representatives on the Security Council, while Asia has only one, is unjust and antidemocratic and must not be allowed to continue. Those three regions should each have at least two permanent seats, with incumbents enjoying the same rights and privileges as the present permanent members. Additional non-permanent seats should also be allocated to each of those regions so as to ensure equitable geographical representation proportionate to the numerical strength of each region in this Organization. In other areas of reform, our primary objective should be to reaffirm the role of the General Assembly as the highest decision-making body in the entire United Nations system.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  13. “The United Nations, as the universally accepted matrix of multilateralism, must, in the post-cold-war era, play a vastly expanded role in the domain of peace- keeping and make a positive contribution to the new phenomenon of globalization and its increased levels of economic and social interdependence, as well as the technologically fuelled transnational linkages among the countries of the world. The Organization therefore faces an inescapable imperative for reform and revitalization. 16 In this regard, my delegation is deeply perturbed by the slow progress made by the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  14. “Besides taking stock of the progress made and the lessons learnt during the past 50 years, the world leaders endeavoured not only to recapture the vision of the founding fathers of the United Nations, but also to chart the institutional framework and operational parameters that could enhance the Organization’s relevance and effectiveness in a changed international landscape. My delegation sincerely hopes that we will all be able to take full advantage of this renewed commitment to the Organization to ensure that the United Nations system as a whole is reformed, revitalized and rendered more efficacious, transparent, accountable and democratic.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  15. “We are especially grateful to him for his tireless efforts to enhance the Organization’s role in maintaining international peace and security as well as in promoting international economic development and cooperation. At the last session of the General Assembly, when we celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, we witnessed the largest-ever gathering of Heads of State and Government. On that occasion, the world leaders made a historic reaffirmation of our commitment to the purposes and principles of this Organization as enshrined in the Charter.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)

  16. “I congratulate Mr. Razali on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-first session. We are more than convinced that his vast experience and diplomatic skills will prove to be vital assets at this session of the Assembly. I assure him that my delegation will cooperate fully with him in the fulfilment of his onerous responsibilities. Furthermore, I would like to pay tribute to his predecessor, Professor Diogo Freitas do Amaral, who steered the work of the Assembly through its historic fiftieth anniversary in a commendable and honourable way. Our tribute also goes to the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali for his distinguished leadership of our Organization during the past year.”

    1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)