YouSaid · the spoken record

Janabi

lines on the record: 17
first: 2018-07-11
most recent: 2018-07-11
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: un-security-council

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

“Given that climate change is a global phenomenon that knows no political borders, comprehensive regional approaches based on the provisions of international law as well as initiatives based on diplomacy among riparian States, such as water diplomacy and global security initiatives, along with environmentally smart programmes, could prevent tension and instability from arising and create an environment conducive to defeating terrorism, speeding up the rebuilding of various infrastructures, and enhancing mechanisms for adaptation to climate change and the sustainable use of natural resources. Iraq commends the supporting role of the international community in defeating terrorism on its territory and calls for respect for its water rights and for protecting the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“Lastly, I was asked to deliver amessage from the Iraqi Government to the Council reaffirming the country's commitment to peace, security and development and to adopting a joint cooperation approach with neighbouring countries that is based on respect, mutual benefit, international law and the reasonable and equitable utilization of shared water resources.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“Regardless of the different interpretations as to the root causes of the phenomenon of terrorism in many regions, the fact is that instability and economic and social fragility contribute to the spread of extremism and acts of revenge. This requires coordinated interventions to address hotspots that threaten peace and stability. We believe that measures to adapt to climate change are part and parcel of addressing social, economic and political challenges and that SDG 13, on climate change, is of particular benefit to our region.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“The descendants of the Sumerians, who live in the marshlands and who breed cattle, have asked me to convey to the international community their call for saving their water environment, lifestyle and human heritage. This can be achieved only when international conventions and parameters are respected by neighbouring countries, and when standards are set that are aimed at preserving biodiversity and traditional lifestyles. We cannot ignore the destruction caused by the terrorist organization Da'esh in Iraq or the damage deliberately inflicted on civil and water installations. Terrorism is an international phenomenon, not a regional one.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“There the ancient Sumerian lifestyles have continued without interruption to this very day, like the old civilizations in Egypt and the Indian peninsula, where great historic cities were founded such as Ur, Erido, Uruk and others. This significant site was criminally and deliberately dried up by the infamous Iraqi dictator who was overthrown in 2003. Subsequent Governments undertook restoration programmes and successfully brought back to life large areas of the marshlands. The site, which was listed as a World Heritage Site in July 2016, is now gradually drying up because of climate change and a change in the waterways or because of water depletion.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“It is a striking example of the change in a freshwater ecology characterized by fertile soil and dense forests of palm trees, and its transformation into a mainly lifeless environment due to advancing seawater owing to less fresh water coming from the river streams of the Tigris, Euphrates, Karkhah and Karon. The same danger threatens the Nile delta and other rivers in the region, ultimately forcing millions of people below the poverty line to migrate. I would refer also to an important site where the ancient Sumerian civilization was born. It is a unique and ancient water formation, at the confluence of the great rivers in Mesopotamia at the mouth of the Gulf, on the edge of the desert known as the Iraqi Mesopotamian marshlands, which historically covered an area of more than 15,000 square kilometres.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“In fact, many of the measures required may be legally binding on States parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification or the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as covered by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). IfI had to cite an example, I would point to the grave deterioration in the environment of the Iraqi delta at the mouth of the Gulf, the famous waterway known as Shatt AI-Arab, which is the historical location of the legend of Sinbad and the Garden of Eden, according to certain holy books and religions.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“It is therefore only fair for the international community to intervene positively in order to enhance resilience and stability in the face of harsh changes in living conditions in fragile areas or areas most vulnerable to climate change. This will require supporting adaptation programmes, which is environmentally and economically less expensive than attempts to accommodate migrants elsewhere after they have abandoned their land because it is no longer fertile and cannot return to it. This is in addition to the fact that proactive and preventive measures can avoid humanitarian tragedies, which most heavily impact women, children and other vulnerable social groups.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“Climate change and the depletion of water resources destroy the fertility of the soil and make it barren, forcing people to move to another location where their living conditions may be just as severe owing to their inability to adapt and to their vulnerability, with dwindling water resources and scattered and unpredictable rainfall due to climate change. What is more threatening here is that the displacement of rural populations, who are usually the food producers, means a double loss: a decrease in the number of food producers, on the one hand, and an increase in the number of food-insecure people on the other.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“Our observations show that nearly 90 per cent of Iraq's historically fertile land is threatened by desertification to varying degrees, resulting from global warming and water scarcity. The same applies to the countries of the region. Egypt, and this year Iraq, have therefore been forced to limit the amount of cultivated land and prohibit the cultivation of certain agricultural crops that people historically used to grow, owing to water scarcity. This undermines deeply rooted social, economic and cultural traditions and causes food insecurity for millions of people.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“The combined effect of climate change and the operational modes of large dams have led, for example, to a decline in the rate of inflow of the Euphrates river by 50 per cent over the past 20 years. They have changed the patterns and seasons of the natural water flow and led to the shrinking of the green cover and expanding desertification. Consequently, the average temperature has increased by at least 1.5Â°C in Baghdad and southern Iraq, which represents a loss of at least 15 per cent in land productivity, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and an increase in unused land as a result of water scarcity or agriculatural marginalization.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change expected that the reduction in rainfall and snowfall would be between 10 and 60 per cent in the Tigris and Euphrates basins. That, of course, translates into a similar decline in the flow of the two rivers through my country, Iraq, coupled with increased demand for shared water due, inter alia, to population growth and the needs of economic development, which leads to unfair competition for the downstream countries, including Iraq. In the uncertain political and security situation of the Middle East, the refusal to cooperate, non-respect for existing uses and the inequity of access to water represent a real threat to peace and stability in the region.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“We are concerned that the great river basins of the Middle East in particular are being subjected to the greatest threat and stress ever, resulting primarily from climate change and then from competition for the use and control of shared water resources in the absence of effective bilateral or multilateral conventions or regional frameworks for the equitable and reasonable use of shared water. Such stress may result from indifference towards the application of the principles of international law and its tools to ensure the rights of all riparian countries. That exacerbates the political, economic and social problems and intensifies the negative impact of climate change, which, according to our observations, led to the decline of about 25 per cent of rainfall or snow cover in the upper river basins of the Tigris and the Euphrates.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“Those reasons include poverty, wars, instability and the lack of decent means of living resulting from the spread of desertification, global warming and the loss of biological diversity. Those are the challenges to the conclusion of three important conventions: the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, in addition to other international and regional conventions adopted since the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. The first human civilizations arose in the valleys of major rivers on various continents. In our part of the world, that includes the Mesopotamian rivers - the Tigris and Euphrates, home of the great Sumerian civilization - and the great Nile river in Egypt.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“That in turn will lead to further impoverishment, displacement, food and water insecurity, and violations of human rights, especially those of women, children and other vulnerable groups, amid conditions of instability. Declining rainfall and the unsustainable use ofwater resources exacerbate the problem of water scarcity, causing the depletion of life-sustaining land resources, displacement and migration. There is no doubt that the United Nations maintains frightening statistics on the number of displaced persons and migrants for social and environmental reasons. Although the number of those who have drowned in the high seas is unknown, the causes of their deadly migration attempts are known to everybody inside and outside this Chamber.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“The Council's deliberation on climate-related security risks is an important step forward in terms of international responses and a precautionary measure to mitigate risks and to avoid potential conflicts at the national, regional and international levels. The United Nations system focuses on the pillars of peace, development and human rights, and we believe that climate change has a significant negative impact on those three pillars. The rising temperature of Earth's surface, if not by itself a direct and concrete threat - and I do believe that it is - undoubtedly magnifies the threats of other familiar risks, increases their complexity and intensity in many regions of the world, including ours, and impedes the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in our countries. That is particularly true of Goals 1, 2, 6, 13 and 15.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source
“Mr. Janabi (Iraq) (spoke in Arabic): It is an honour to be here today, at the kind invitation of Her Excellency the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, to give a briefing on climate-related security risks. This is a vital issue and today's debate is a testimony to its importance. I commend Sweden for the initiative of convening this open dialogue. I would like at the outset to convey to the Council the sincere greetings of the Government and people of Mesopotamia - my country, Iraq, which aspires to stability, progress and prosperity, and hopes that these deliberations will contribute to the promotion of peace and security worldwide.”
2018-07-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8307 (2018) · source