YouSaid · the spoken record

Mr.Prosor

lines on the record
11
first
2015-02-23
most recent
2015-02-23
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

  1. “In the category for Best Supporting Actor - for its unrelenting support to the Al-Assad regime in killing hundreds of thousands civilians, the Oscar goes to Hizbullah. In the category for Best Visual Effects - for making women disappear from the public squares, the Oscar goes to - surprise, surprise -Saudi Arabia. There was no competition. And finally, for rewriting history, the Oscar for Best Editing goes to the Palestinian Authority. But the truth is that the Palestinian Authority has already received enough prizes from this institution. Putting the Oscars aside, if we want to pursue peace and security in the real world, it is time to bring down the curtain on this theatre of the absurd and return the original values of the Charter of the United Nations back to centre stage.”

    2015-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7389 (2015) · source

  2. “This is not logical and it is not moral; it is simply prejudice. When the actions of the United Nations are placed against the yardstick of its Charter, the institution simply does not measure up. We are failing those who need us most. Last night, Hollywood celebrated the Oscars, and as millions tuned in, the following thoughts occurred to me. If the Oscars for maintenance of international peace and security were given at the United Nations, I would not be surprised if these candidates were awarded prizes. In the Best Actor Category - for acting like a peace-loving country while developing nuclear capabilities, denying the Holocaust and threatening the destruction of another Member State, the Oscar goes to Iran.”

    2015-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7389 (2015) · source

  3. “This institution will never live up to the principles in its Charter so long as it persistently, consistently and insistently focuses on Israel. Last year, the General Assembly adopted 20 resolutions singling out Israel for condemnation and only three resolutions to protest the actions of all other nations combined. The worst humanitarian crisis of our generation is taking place in Syria, where 200,000 men, women, and children have been murdered by a regime that employs torture, starvation, chemical weapons and barrel bombs. And yet the General Assembly adopted just one resolution (resolution 68/182) condemning the brutal Syrian regime. Since 2006, more than half of all resolutions adopted by the Human Rights Council in criticism of a particular country have been directed at Israel.”

    2015-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7389 (2015) · source

  4. “Last year, Iran was elected to serve as Vice-Chair of the United Nations Legal Committee - an unusual choice given that Iranian citizens are denied due process and fair trials. It is remarkable that Iran is so active in international affairs given that its citizens are not afforded opportunities to participate in Iranian national affairs. The fourth and final purpose of the Charter is to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. You, Sir, convened this debate to reaffirm international commitment to the principles outlined in the Charter of the United Nations. The Charter speaks about the United Nations as a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations, but the only harmony I hear is the chorus of condemnations aimed at Israel.”

    2015-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7389 (2015) · source

  5. “The ruthless autocracies that jail journalists rush to lecture us on the virtues of a free press. The repressive dictatorships that persecute political opponents filibuster on the sanctity of free and fair elections. And mass-murdering tyrannical regimes preach to us about human rights. Yet instead ofcriticizing these regimes, the very nations that undermine international peace get elected to the United Nations bodies responsible for maintaining global security. In 2013, the General Assembly elected Iran to the United Nations committee that deals with disarmament and international security. This is like inviting North Korea to write a resolution on cybersecurity. But the absurdity does not end there.”

    2015-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7389 (2015) · source

  6. “The primary body responsible for upholding this principle is the Human Rights Council. Members of the Council currently include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Algeria and Venezuela. I imagine there is not a person in this Chamber who would want to be placed on trial in one of those countries. And I would think that no one here would be willing to write an article criticizing one of these Governments while living under its dominion, certainly not if she valued her liberty and her life. Yet these and other human rights offenders are given leadership roles in this institution. In 2008, for example, Saudi Arabia - a regime notorious for public executions, lashings and beheadings - was elected the Special Rapporteur of the General Assembly's Third Committee, dealing with human rights. The fact of the matter is that this institution has been hijacked.”

    2015-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7389 (2015) · source

  7. “But it is not just Christians who are being persecuted; all minority groups are at risk. As we speak, Yazidis, Baha'i, Kurds, Christians and Muslims are being executed and expelled by radical extremists at a rate of 1,000 people per month. Extremists have unleashed a plague of persecution, believing that by silencing individuals, they can silence civilization. Nobel Prize winner and humanitarian activist Elie Wiesel has said that "wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the centre of the universe". Millions of men and women look to us to defend their dignity and their rights and we are simply not doing enough to help them. The third purpose of the Charter is to promote and encourage respect for human rights.”

    2015-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7389 (2015) · source

  8. “Let me be clear - this institution cannot claim to uphold international security while indulging those nations that are actively undermining peace and security. The second purpose of the Charter of the United Nations is to advance relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights. If we are honest with ourselves then we will admit that we have not done enough to defend basic freedoms. One example is the Middle East. Across the Middle East, repressive regimes seek to control what people think, how they are educated, whom they can love and what they believe. For 2,000 years, Christian communities dotted the landscape of the Middle East. Today that figure has dwindled to less than 10 per cent. We saw an example of such brutal persecution just last week when ISIS beheaded 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya.”

    2015-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7389 (2015) · source

  9. “Hizbullah immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. One would think that in light of this clear admission of guilt, the Security Council would immediately and unequivocally condemn Hizbullah. Yet it took an entire week to release a statement that did not even mention the terrorist group. If we intend to fight terror, we must not differentiate between tenor and terror; there is no good terror or bad terror group, and we must treat them all alike. Hizbullah has held Lebanon hostage for the better part of three decades and now seems intent on holding the Security Council hostage as well. Thanks to the backroom dealings of its Iranian patron, Hizbullah has been allowed to continue its reign of terror. Here in the theatre of the absurd, it would not surprise me if ISIS was given a starring role on the Human Rights Council.”

    2015-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7389 (2015) · source

  10. “The greatest threat to global security is posed by radical Islamist groups like Hamas, Hizbullah, Al-Qaida, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) and Boko Haram. The battle being waged against these groups is the battle between civility and barbarism, between pluralistic and totalitarian societies, between tyranny and freedom. Day by day, extremism is spreading its ugly tentacles and, in the process, destabilizing communities and nations. The threat is obvious and it is growing, and yet the Security Council has been reluctant to take decisive action. Worse, it has on occasion surrendered to those nations that harbour, fund and support terrorist groups. On 28 January, Hizbullah terrorists fired anti-tank missiles at an Israel Defense Forces vehicle in northern Israel, killing two Israeli soldiers and injuring seven others.”

    2015-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7389 (2015) · source

  11. “Seventyyears ago, representatives of 50 nations met in San Francisco to draw up the Charter of the newly formed United Nations. President Truman addressed the conference, saying, "With this Charter the world can begin to look forward to the time when all worthy human beings may be permitted to live decently as free people." The signatories believed that every man and woman on this Earth has dignity and rights. After witnessing the ravages of two world wars in the span of a generation, they understood that freedom is never free. It is not enough to write a charter or give a speech; freedom must be fought for. Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations outlines the institution's four purposes. The first is to maintain international peace and security and take effective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace.”

    2015-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7389 (2015) · source