YouSaid · the spoken record

Rao

lines on the record: 26
first: 1992-01-31
most recent: 2017-02-13
sittings or episodes: 2
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

“In Libya, the threat from non-State actors led to a request from the Libyan authorities for assistance in removing and destroying the last remnants of its former chemical-weapons programme. This operation is currently being successfully carried out with the cooperation and support of our States parties. A world free of chemical weapons can be realized only through a high degree of awareness, a shared vision and the continuing commitment to international cooperation. The Chemical Weapons Convention affirms a common resolve never to allow the science of chemistry to turn against humankind. Through it we will continue to work together with all stakeholders to strengthen the global capacity to prevent and, when needed, to detect and respond to acts of chemical terrorism.”
2017-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7882 (2017) · source
“Enhanced cooperation with the World Customs Organization is envisaged in order to strengthen national and international controls on the trade of toxic chemicals. The members of the Council are fully aware of the work that the OPCW carried out jointly with United Nations to eliminate the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical-weapons programme. More than 30 countries committed financial and technical resources to this effort. The private sector played a pivotal role, as chemical funds in multiple countries were also involved in the elimination of some of these agents. Although progress has been made, our work in Syria is not yet complete. It is deeply regrettable that chemical weapons have continued to be used in that country.”
2017-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7882 (2017) · source
“The Task Force aims to enhance preparedness and response capacities through a common and coherent framework. As co-Chair of the working group on preventing and responding to weapons of mass destruction attacks, the OPCW has called for enhanced inter-agency coordination in response to a chemical terrorist attack. Last month, the OPCW hosted a tabletop exercise with the working group to clearly outline response capabilities and gaps. The goal of the exercise is to create a comprehensive global response system and to ensure that any country that requests assistance will receive it in a coordinated and effective way. Also in January, the OPCW signed a memorandum of understanding with the World Customs Organization.”
2017-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7882 (2017) · source
“Equal responsibility must be shared between industry and government if we are to raise the chemical-security bar against terrorist attacks. The chemical industry worldwide fully understands the importance of preventing any misuse of chemicals as well as the physical protection of chemical plants, and our close collaboration with the global chemical industry continues to gain in strength. Thirdly, we are working with our international partners. Combating chemical terrorism requires a broad-ranging approach to security that includes a network of stakeholders and international partners. We engage with major international organizations through the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, a body that forms part of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.”
2017-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7882 (2017) · source
“Hundreds of thousands of tons of scheduled chemicals are traded internationally every year. As the global chemical industry continues to grow in size and complexity, ensuring that chemicals are never traded, whether knowingly or not, for purposes banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention is a high priority. Security along the chemical-supply chain will play a critical role in protecting people and the environment from the hostile use of toxic chemicals. We have seen the enormous human and environmental costs that chemical accidents can have. The potential damage is only multiplied if such events are purposely caused by those wishing to do harm. The recent attack on a chemical plant near Mosul, Iraq, illustrates all too vividly the risks we face if those who wish to harm and terrorize focus their sights on the chemical infrastructure.”
2017-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7882 (2017) · source
“A rapid-response and assistance mission has been established at OPCW headquarters to deploy at short notice to any State party affected by a chemical incident involving the alleged use of toxic chemicals by a non-State actor. The mission will deploy only at the request of the State party affected. The team will be equipped to secure the affected area, detect toxic chemicals and provide advice on decontamination and immediate assistance to victims. Essentially, the team will be equipped to cooperate and coordinate with the United Nations and other relevant international organizations. In January, the mission was tested at a tabletop exercise held in parallel with a United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force meeting at OPCW headquarters. Secondly, we are working with the chemical industry.”
2017-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7882 (2017) · source
“Capacity-building programmes involve a wide range of stakeholders, including facility managers, police, academics, laboratory staff and chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear experts in order to strengthen the security framework at the country level. Experts from neighbouring countries are included, as appropriate, to increase the footprint of the security framework regionally. As we strengthen our role as a platform for information-sharing and coordination, we have reinvigorated the work of the Open-Ended Working Group on Terrorism through the creation of a sub-working group on non-State actors. The group addresses the legal, prevention and response aspects of countering chemical terrorism. The OPCW secretariat has also developed its capacity to assist States parties in responding to possible acts of chemical terrorism.”
2017-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7882 (2017) · source
“The OPCW is not a counter-terrorism organization, but it is a credit to the commitment of our States parties that they have recognized the organization as a forum that can make a meaningful contribution to global counter-terrorism efforts, especially with regard to the threat of chemical terrorism. Since 2009, the OPCW has been implementing and expanding international cooperation programmes aimed at enhancing global chemical security. At the request of States parties, the OPCW conducts a comprehensive risk assessment to help them determine chemical-security threats. The aim of capacity-building in such countries is to assist in assessing risks, increasing vigilance, instituting protective measures and responding to threats.”
2017-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7882 (2017) · source
“Mr. Rao: Allow me to begin, Sir, by offering you my congratulations on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council. On behalf of the Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), I wish to thank you for having invited the OPCW to brief on this important issue. This year the OPCW is celebrating 20 years of working together for a world free of chemical weapons. As we remain on track to eliminate and verify all chemical weapons declared by possessor States by the early part of the next decade, we are redoubling our efforts to prevent their re-emergence.”
2017-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7882 (2017) · source
“Indeed, I trust that today's meeting will spur our common efforts to cooperate to mutual benefit and in the interest of all, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“In fact, I would venture to suggest that, going even beyond India's action plan, the target date for a nuclear-weapon-free world should now be advanced to the end of the present century. It would be a hopeful note on which to enter the twenty-first century. Mr. President, the statement you will be reading out on behalf of the members of the Council at the end of today's meeting has been the subject of intensive, productive discussions. We were happy to be part of the exercise and to have made our contribution to it. We consider it an important statement. However, I find that the statement does not reflect one or two of India's crucial concerns. These I have mentioned clearly in my intervention just now. This, of course, does not detract from the significance of the statement you are about to make or from India's cooperation.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“In particular, the ideas India put forward in its action plan - or any alterations thereof - for example, a universal pledge to abjure the use of nuclear weapons, to conclude a comprehensive test-ban treaty and to develop a new, universal and non-discriminatory approach to non-proliferation, acquire compelling relevance. It is only within the framework of such a consensus, and through no other means, that the Security Council can deal effectively with the threats to peace emanating from the proliferation of nuclear weapons in its current, global dimension. If our meeting today can make a declaration along these lines, we will have made a truly historic contribution to the promotion of lasting peace and security.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“At the time this action plan was put forward, some nuclear-weapon States expressed difficulty in accepting these ideas in view of their adherence to the so called doctrine df nuclear deterrence. This doctrine was anchored in the specific context of East-West confrontation and the cold war. The cold war is now over; the nuclear stand-off is a thing of the past. The doctrine of nuclear deterrence is no longer relevant. We are now offered a historic opportunity to exercise statesmanship and move, quickly, to eliminate nuclear weapons altogether from the face of the Earth.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“At the third special session of the United Nations devoted to disarmament, held in 1988, the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India put forward a specific Action Plan for Disarmament, which would eliminate all weapons of mass destruction in stages, eventually leading to a nuclear~weapon-free and non-violent world. The plan contained all the key elements of a new international consensus on nuclear non-proliferation. First, it called for the conclusion of an international convention on the prohibition of the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. Second, it advocated a comprehensive test-ban treaty. Third, threshold States would undertake obligations not to cross the threshold, and this would be linked to corresponding obligations by nuclear-weapon States to eliminate their nuclear arsenals by the year 2010 at the latest.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“The difficulties of monitoring and policing activities in a large number of States, several of them not even accurately identified at any given time, preclude effective results. The Secretary-General cannot, I submit, be expected to be inspecting basements and searching for bombs. This can hardly succeed, as anyone can see. There must be some other way. What then is the answer to this difficult dilemma? In our view, the only logical route available to us is to pursue a global approach, based on a new international consensus on non-proliferation. To be effective, this global non-proliferation regime must be universal, comprehensive and non-discriminatory and linked to the goal of complete nuclear disarmament.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“What we are faced with is no longer the possible acquisition of such weapons by a handful of threshold States, but an uncontrolled spread of ready-made nuclear weapons across the globe by a variety of means and methods. The proliferation issue has thus assumed a qualitatively and frighteningly new dimension. While sharing these concerns, we wish to underline, however, that measures of preventive or punitive action on a selective basis will not achieve the results we are aiming at. The sense of disquiet and urgency that pervades the discussion of this issue is precisely because it has now become a global problem and not of a few potential nuclear-weapon States. In this imponderable yet terrible scenario, technical fixes or regional arrangements can no longer suffice.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“While the endeavour of the United Nations as being intimated in this meeting is gradually to move towards creating uniform international norms for human rights, such norms should not be unilaterally defined and set up as absolute preconditions for interaction between States and societies in the political or economic spheres. Our endeavour should be to work towards a just and fair world economic order and to encourage countries to move towards universal norms of human rights. We fully share the concerns expressed by several leaders on the threat posed to international peace and security by the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Another dimension of international security today is that of the possible loss of control over nuclear arsenals.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“I am fully conscious of the obligations of the State in preserving human rights, as contrasted with terrorist and secessionist elements killing innocent citizens with impunity. What should really be suggested at this meeting is perhaps to delineate the parameters that harmonize the defence of national integrity with respect for human rights. In this view, India is ever willing to discuss and contribute in the endeavour. It is also important to note that the content and nature of human rights are conditioned by the social, traditional and cultural forces that inform different societies.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“A country with a history of over 5,000 years, with a record of non-invasion and non-annexation of alien territories, with the shining example of a powerful monarch like Asoka turning into an apostle of non-violence, another powerful heir apparent becoming the one and only Buddha, with a contemporary political system modelled on the best traditions of human rights and liberties - such is my country. Indian culture and human rights in their loftiest form are almost synonymous. However, having stated this, we cannot countenance a situation where all human rights are reserved only for the practitioners of terrorism, while Governments dealing with this menace are arraigned day and night on grounds of violation of human rights - real or imaginary, mostly the latter.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“If the Security Council's actions are to continue to command adherence and support, it must take speedy and parallel action to address problems arising in a third country from the implementation of its resolutions. Besides, it must act decisively and in time to alleviate human suffering in the country in question, once the primary purpose of imposing economic sanctions has been fulfilled. I have profound respect for those who are crusading for the protection and preservation of human rights.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“As the composition of the General Assembly has trebled since its inception, the size of the Security Council cannot remain constant any longer. Wider representation in the Security Council is a must, if it is to ensure its moral sanction and political effectiveness. While implementing its resolutions in good faith, it is incumbent on the Security Council to anticipate all the consequences of its decisions. Some consequences may be unintended, but they can affect those whom they are least intended to affect. For instance, economic sanctions against one country can have a major impact on its trading partners. For developing countries, this impact can be catastrophic.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“But the Charter is only as legitimate and secure as its underpinning by the collective will of the international community. At every step, the interpretation of the Charter as well as the actions by the Security Council must flow from that collective will and not from the views or predilections of a few. A general consensus must always prevail. What is xight and just must become transparent. It is as simple as that. Members of the Security Council, whether permanent or elected, should insist on this consensus, scrupulously avoiding the temptation to dictate for quick results. Besides, while prescribing norms and standards for national or international conduct, the Security Council must scrupulously accept those norms for itself.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“It is impossible to think of a United Nations functioning usefully or harmoniously while humankind continues to be riddled with ever-increasing disparities and while the world's natural resources - land, water and air - which are really humanity's common heritage are getting fast depleted by thoughtless acts of overexploitation and environmental degradation. This is the single simple truth which this Organization has to take note of, All else falls in place, although the overall task remains extremely complicated, even with the best will in the world. The role of the United Nations must naturally rest on the Charter, which incorporates the vital framework for action for maintenance of international peace and security.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“India's support to the United Nations has been complete and consistent. It has had no fluctuations. Today, we welcome this fresh effective role of the Security Council and shall continue our support. In visualizing its future role, it is essential that we take note of the emerging forces, the socio-political undercurrents, that result in unrest, instability and the recurrence of violence across the globe. Lasting peace and security necessarily require comparable levels of human happiness across the globe.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“To the President of Hungary, our gooa wishes for a speedy recovery from his indisposition. We are living in a time of change, palpable change. Until very recently, the Security Council's effectiveness was inhibited by the cold war. We have since witnessed an upsurge of democratic sentiment all over the world. We have been touched by the desire in diverse countries that the values of liberty, economic justice and the dignity of man should govern the conduct of world affairs. These are trends of which our discussions must take cognizance. The United Nations and the Security Council played the role required of them in recent months because the permanent members of the Council adopted a harmonious, cohesive and firm stance in dealing with the threats to the cherished values of man.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source
“Mr, RAO (India): Mr. President, we appreciate the initiative you have taken in convening this meeting. Its deliberations can show us a direction which is indeed important at this juncture. It is good of you to have helped us make a beginning. t also wish to pay a tribute to a personal friend and colleague of distinction and eminence, whom the United Nations has rightly chosen as its Secretary-General. To my brother Boutros Boutros-Ghali, our heartiest greetings. May I also recall with gratitude and appreciation the services of Mr. Perez de Cuellar, which have left so distinctive a mark on this Organization. We miss today the presence of a distinguished member of this fraternity, President Mugabe. We grieve with him in his personal bereavement and convey to him, through his delegation, our deepest condolences.”
1992-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3046 (1992) · source