YouSaid · the spoken record

Xhaçka

lines on the record: 42
first: 2022-01-18
most recent: 2023-02-24
sittings or episodes: 6
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

“There must and will be a future with a just and stable peace and a free and secure Ukraine that is sovereign and with its territorial integrity restored. We look forward to the day — I hope soon — of the start of a process of healing and reconstruction. But until that day comes, Ukraine and its people deserve all our political, economic and military support and all our continued solidarity in their heroic resistance to defend themselves and to defend what is right and just. Slava Ukraini.”
2023-02-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9269 (2023) · source
“And of course, Russia has had much to be proud of throughout its history. But countries and their leaders are judged, above all, by their ability to learn from the past and their actions in the present. And at present, Russia has nothing to be proud of. With its wrong actions, disastrous policy and criminal war, Russia has isolated itself and has only itself to blame for that. The sooner ordinary Russians understand that, the sooner this madness will stop. This war must end, and it will end. But the end we envisage is the end of aggression, not the end of the rules-based world order. It is the end of the presence of Russian troops in Ukraine, not the end of life there. It is the end of unnecessary suffering, not the end of hope.”
2023-02-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9269 (2023) · source
“And the most appalling of all of it is that an unjust, illegal and unprovoked war of aggression against an innocent country and people is perpetrated by a permanent member of the Council, who bears a special responsibility for guaranteeing peace and security and upholding the Charter and international law. Instead, it has chosen to behave like a rogue State, going against the law, the rules and the world. The truth is that despite everything, Ukraine is still here. Its people are suffering, but fighting, resisting bravely in defending their land, freedom and future. And they are not alone. Their fight is also the fight of everyone who aspires to peace. And I have to echo Minister Kuleba and strongly agree with him that peace means justice. Russia’s leaders like to talk about history and their country’s role in it.”
2023-02-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9269 (2023) · source
“And the damage to the infrastructure and economy of Ukraine is simply unfathomable. Millions around the world, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, have suffered greatly because of the global ripple effects, especially the spike in the food crisis. Throughout the year, the world has witnessed with dismay and verified and documented despicable crimes, executions, rape, pillaging, torture, deportation of children, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the invader. We have witnessed thousands of convicts being pressed into service and used as cannon fodder in the ranks of the Wagner Group, a murderous machine with a notorious footprint in other parts of the world.”
2023-02-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9269 (2023) · source
“Yesterday (see A/ES-11/PV.19), 141 Member States from all corners of the world once again confirmed with a resounding voice that they do not want a world according to Russia, but a world according to the Charter. They want peace — a just peace for Ukraine and its people, in line with President Zelenskyy’s peace plan. One year ago, Russian troops rushed across the borders of Ukraine, and Russian missiles filled its sky, unleashing the brutal war that continues to this hour. What Russia started on this very day last year has been cataclysmic for Ukraine, earth-shattering for Europe and history-shaping for the world. Thousands of civilians have lost their lives. Millions of children have lost their schools. Countless people have lost their homes. Millions more have been displaced.”
2023-02-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9269 (2023) · source
“Ms. Xhaçka (Albania): Let me start by thanking Malta for organizing today’s meeting and you, Minister, for chairing it. We are grateful to the Secretary-General for his powerful words, his continued genuine efforts to end the war in Ukraine and, above all, his moral clarity during this unprecedented crisis. This is a tragic anniversary. There is nothing to celebrate, but rather everything to regret. But still, there is one crucial thing to note and never forget. Out of a disastrous war and its terrible consequences, we have seen a world remarkably united in condemning a war of choice, refusing territorial annexation by force, upholding international law and defending the Charter of the United Nations.”
2023-02-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9269 (2023) · source
“A long-term vision, clear determination and strong leadership made former belligerents come together, former enemies agree and build their future in cooperation and shared benefits, in freedom and with rules, not to the detriment of some, but to the benefit of all. This is what the EU can offer to the United Nations and the world: a way to build the future based on the rights of individuals who come together in collective efforts through the rule of law to enjoy the dividends of democracy. This is why any claims whatsoever that Europe has fomented or wants war in its vicinity, endangering itself and the entire continent, are ridiculous, preposterous and absurd. Europe and those who align with it want peace, work for peace and project peace. Nothing will change the hard truth. Russia has started the war. Russia may and will end it.”
2023-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9268 (2023) · source
“We want to do so because it is a place where we belong in every way — because we voluntarily align with its policies, we adhere to and share its values, and we want to be part of the security and prosperity it has built and expanded. The European Union is today by far the most brilliant project human history has ever known. Whoever has any knowledge of history knows the dramatic European heritage — made of conflicts, wars, territorial changes of all kinds, of immense and uninterrupted suffering. Out of this, the European Union has proved convincingly and irrefutably that it is the most efficient investment in prevention — yes, prevention, which is the weakest point of international cooperation. If we were looking for any concrete materialization or true meaning of the word “prevention”, it is the united Europe.”
2023-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9268 (2023) · source
“The more prosperous that region is and the closer it gets to Europe, the more secure the continent will be. From a broader point of view, the European Neighbourhood Policy needs upgrading. The EU and United Nations should increase their cooperation in regional conflict resolution, beyond the support for dialogue and mediation. We commend the cooperation between the EU and the United Nations in Africa. The European Union’s strategic partnership initiatives with the United Nations in Africa, such as the EU- United Nations Global Terrorism Threats Facility and the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum, have created important synergies between the two organizations. To end on a specific note, my country is not yet a member of the European Union. It is only a candidate engaged in negotiations to join the Union in future.”
2023-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9268 (2023) · source
“Albania has joined the wide range of policy responses from the EU and its member States to the aggression, aimed at reducing Russia’s ability to finance the war on the one hand and helping the economy and functionality of Ukraine on the other. We support every form of cooperation between the United Nations and the EU regarding accountability for the crimes committed in the war. A comprehensive, lasting and just peace cannot be built on impunity, and the perpetrators should be held accountable for their crimes. The new threats and challenges to the European security architecture need a stronger and more consolidated Europe. The merit-based EU enlargement process in the Western Balkans should be speeded up and the progressive rapprochement made more flexible and creative.”
2023-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9268 (2023) · source
“The two organizations have a particularly crucial role to play on a wide range of issues, such as maintaining peace and security, meeting global humanitarian and development needs, promoting and ensuring full respect for human rights and mitigating climate change, as well as respecting international law and strengthening accountability for serious violations of that law. Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine has brought war to Europe on a scale not seen since 1945. By helping Ukraine defend itself, the European Union and its member States are showing concretely what solidarity means. They are helping a sovereign nation to resist the brutality of an invasion whose sole aim is to wipe a country off the map and subjugate its people to satisfy the desire of an empire.”
2023-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9268 (2023) · source
“Ms. Xhaçka (Albania): Let me start by thanking High Representative Borrell Fontelles for his in-depth perspective on the cooperation between the United Nations and the European Union (EU). His personal and regular participation in the meetings on this topic testifies to the importance that is attached to this cooperation, which is indispensable to international peace and security and global socioeconomic development. In the face of the ongoing challenges in Europe and around the world, we need to further reinforce that cooperation in the service of a common agenda with the strengthening of multilateralism at its core.”
2023-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9268 (2023) · source
“We reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and reiterate our call on Russia to completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its troops and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. We must galvanize our forces and continue to help Ukraine defend itself while also working to guarantee full accountability for what Russia is doing in Ukraine — not only to provide justice, but also to prevent future atrocities. We all tried to prevent this conflict and could not, but we must not fail to hold Russia accountable.”
2022-09-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9135 (2022) · source
“Innocent men, women and children in Ukraine, as well as tens of thousands of Russian soldiers, have paid with their lives for Vladimir Putin’s war of choice. Millions around the world are going hungry because of Vladimir Putin’s war of choice. We condemn Russia’s new path of confrontation by announcing a partial mobilization in Russia; by supporting the organization of illegal referendums in four currently occupied Ukrainian territories; and by once again threatening the use of weapons of mass destruction. Those sham referendums are another blatant violation of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and a serious violation of the Charter of the United Nations.”
2022-09-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9135 (2022) · source
“In the decades since, despite the challenges and difficulties, we have all managed to strengthen and expand the reach of international law and multilateral cooperation. We have agreed that no one can stand above the law. We had hoped that the world would never again return to that distant past, but the war in Ukraine and Russia’s flagrant attempt to conquer and annex parts of Ukraine’s territory are actions reminiscent of the dark days of fascism and Stalinism. Much more of what is happening in Ukraine today is also reminiscent of those dark days. Reports, fact- finding missions and footage from on the ground that the whole world has seen reveal a basic truth about Russia’s actions: an appalling criminal brutality against the civilian population.”
2022-09-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9135 (2022) · source
“The Russian Federation, a permanent member of the Security Council, has waged an illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. In our judgment and in the eyes of the entire world, as clearly expressed more than once here at the United Nations, Russia’s actions are a blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations. Let us not forget that the highest organ for international justice, the International Court of Justice, has ordered Russia to suspend its military operation in Ukraine. International law is the same and mandatory for all, but unfortunately Russia has chosen to openly and continuously ignore it. The very principle and belief upon which the United Nations was founded was that the only way to prevent war was through universal norms and laws accepted by all in the new post-Second World War world order.”
2022-09-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9135 (2022) · source
“Ms. Xhaçka (Albania): I join other colleagues in thanking France for convening today’s briefing, and I thank you, Minister Colonna, for presiding over it. The issue at hand has been on the Security Council’s agenda without interruption, but today’s meeting could not be timelier, given the latest escalatory declarations by the Kremlin. I welcome the decision of the French presidency of the Council to continue keeping the focus on accountability — an issue of the utmost importance that we initiated together back in April with an Arria Formula meeting jointly organized by Albania and friends. I also thank Prosecutor Khan of the International Criminal Court for his information and his tireless efforts to establish accountability in Ukraine.”
2022-09-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9135 (2022) · source
“That can be achieved only through increased and strengthened cooperation between the United Nations and the EU, which Albania fully supports. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements.”
2022-06-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9065 (2022) · source
“I thank High Representative Borrell Fontelles for his continued clarity in that respect. Equally, we expect the European Union to speed up its efforts in facilitating dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, which should lead to mutual recognition. It is time to look for concrete results and lasting deliverables. The sooner that chapter is definitively closed by an agreement, the better it will be for everyone, irrespective of their ethnic or ideological identity. The European Union has long proved its peace dividends for its 550 million citizens. We cherish that and would like it to be extended to the Western Balkans as well. Let me conclude by reiterating our view that, just like those of us in Europe, the United Nations — and through it the world — needs more of the EU and its strong multifaceted action in all important areas.”
2022-06-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9065 (2022) · source
“That is the value of EU enlargement, which the events in Europe have again brought rightfully and for good reason into the spotlight. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate what we share in Tirana and Brussels and to thank the European Commission for its continued close and ever- strengthening cooperation, including through a realistic, objective and time-bound approach and support for EU enlargement. It has always been a clear two-way street, in which the parties deliver in conformity with their commitments. We are happy to be able to say that we have done our part and are ready for the next chapter in a process that should advance thanks to its invaluable political weight and that constitutes an irreversible investment in stability, security and a common, safe and secure future.”
2022-06-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9065 (2022) · source
“It is the largest financial contributor to the United Nations — not only to its regular budget but also in terms of funding for official development assistance and peacekeeping missions. It therefore exerts its influence not only in its immediate neighbourhood but everywhere, projecting its actions related to humanitarian, development and conflict resolution efforts worldwide. That is particularly important for the six States of the Western Balkans. They are all involved, in various stages, in what we commonly call the perspective avenue of Euro-Atlantic cooperation. We have made that choice knowing that, by following that path, we are investing in a future that will bring us enhanced development, increased security and stronger institutions accountable to their citizens.”
2022-06-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9065 (2022) · source
“Wars that have defined our past cannot and should not dictate our future. The aggression against Ukraine stands at centre stage of our joint efforts for peace and security, but it must not make us lose sight of other conflicts and security risks in other parts of the globe. Conflicts always have a local, a regional and a global dimension, and the best solutions can be found when those three dimensions align. To that end, we need a strong and united multilateral framework. We strongly believe that the crisis the world is going through demands more multilateralism and more concerted and united actions, including primarily in the Security Council, the General Assembly and throughout the United Nations system. The European Union is a central actor in global political, development and humanitarian issues.”
2022-06-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9065 (2022) · source
“The war in Ukraine has severed key supply chains and added surging costs to moving products around the world. As always, such costs are passed on to consumers. Keeping trade open for food, fuel and fertilizer is crucial to containing the increase in food insecurity globally. The blockade of Ukrainian ports must end immediately in order to ensure that food produced in Ukraine can flow freely to the rest of the world. We commend the efforts under way by the United Nations and Türkiye to find the best practical solutions, with critical impacts for millions worldwide. Let us not forget that increased insecurity will always result in increased spending on defence and armaments, which in turn could lead to decreased investments in other areas, such as innovation, education and public services.”
2022-06-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9065 (2022) · source
“Those 6.8 million refugees who have crossed international borders are not tourists looking for places to discover — they are mostly women and children who have been brutally uprooted from their homes seeking to find shelter. We commend the generosity and hospitality of those neighbouring and other countries that have opened their homes and hearts to Ukrainians fleeing a war they did not choose. My country, Albania, is doing its modest part to host and support them. That unprecedented wave of refugees, unseen on the continent since the Second World War, has seriously challenged Europe, but it has not affected its unity. On the contrary, it has strengthened its long-established values and principles through the promotion and protection of human rights and solidarity.”
2022-06-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9065 (2022) · source
“This year, European security has been threatened and the international rules-based order has been seriously challenged by Russia’s military aggression against a neighbouring country, Ukraine. The unprovoked and unjustifiable war has entered its fourth month, and not only are its consequences being felt in Ukraine — with thousands of lives lost, the large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure and millions of refugees — but it has also seriously affected world trade and induced a sharp rise in food insecurity worldwide. While the aggression continues to endanger the lives and physical security of Europeans, it also poses a challenge to the values of freedom, democracy and justice that bind Europeans together.”
2022-06-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9065 (2022) · source
“We applaud the close cooperation between the United Nations and the European Union in their joined efforts and engagement in different ways, especially in the implementation of peacekeeping missions and peacebuilding processes and mandates. This partnership is essential to addressing the growing scale and complexity of challenges to international peace and security. The previous time we met on this issue, Mr. Borrell Fontelles rightly pointed out in this Chamber that “... we need the Security Council to provide the necessary decisions ... The price of inaction is going to be paid in conflicts not solved, humanitarian aid not delivered and in lives lost.” (S/PV.8792, p. 3) Unfortunately, I have to say, this remains a fact and an ever-more acute necessity nowadays.”
2022-06-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9065 (2022) · source
“I thank Mr. Borrell Fontelles for his briefing. I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania. I would like to thank High Representative Borrell Fontelles for his in-depth perspective of the cooperation between the United Nations and European Union. His participation in this meeting, even via video- teleconference, is a testament to the importance of this issue. Cooperation between United Nations and the European Union (EU), based on Charter of the United Nations, has evolved significantly throughout the years. It has strengthened and expanded. That cooperation reinforces rules-based multilateralism, at the core of which is the observance of international law and the protection and promotion of human rights.”
2022-06-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9065 (2022) · source
“In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite His Excellency Mr. Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I give the floor to Mr. Borrell.”
2022-06-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9065 (2022) · source
“In that context, Albania supports establishing a position for a United Nations Special Envoy or focal point on the implementation of resolution 2417 (2018). No one has to go hungry if we can prevent it. If we want to end hunger and ensure food security, we should all act now to prevent and stop conflicts by choosing peace and development.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“First, we need to address the causes of food and nutrition crises, as well as the humanitarian, development and long- standing structural problems that make food systems vulnerable. We then need to enhance the sustainability of those systems. Secondly, there must be a coordinated, multisectoral response through development, humanitarian and peace initiatives in order to reduce the risk of future conflict. Thirdly, actions through the United Nations system and international financial institutions should lead to investments in sustainable food systems and gender equality. Funding for food security is an important component. Fourthly, we need better and more timely reporting. The Security Council has a unique ability to demand and secure timely reporting, data and action on situations of food insecurity.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“It demands the effective implementation of international humanitarian law and accountability for those who violate it. It also emphasizes the importance of humanitarian access as imperative. We have the tools, and we must use them. We advocate for the Security Council to play a more active role in considering and addressing conflict- induced hunger. Early warning and early action lead to prevention. Preventing conflict-induced hunger requires ensuring respect for international humanitarian law on the part of all parties to the conflict. Humanitarian action and respect for international humanitarian law can only mitigate the effects of a conflict on food systems, which is why political solutions to end conflicts are urgently needed. Tackling food insecurity worldwide requires urgent multilateral action on several key aspects.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“The severe disruption of production and trade, and the rising prices globally of food, fuel, fertilizer and energy as a consequence of the war, are aggravating existing inequalities in the regions affected, endangering food security, worsening existing humanitarian crises and pushing more people into poverty. The war in Ukraine could drive as many as 40 million more people into poverty and hunger, and is threatening future global food security. That is a sad reality and the truth. In its adoption of resolution 2417 (2018), the Security Council recognized that hunger and conflict fuel each other in a vicious cycle and declared that using the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare could constitute a war crime. The resolution is a call to action based on humanitarian principles.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“In Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Haiti and elsewhere, millions of people need food. Millions do not know when they will get their next meal. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is further exacerbating an already acute global food insecurity situation around the world. The blockade and destruction of critical Black Sea ports and other infrastructure are disrupting the vital supply of food commodities and key agricultural inputs that are critical to global food security. There is food in Ukraine, but it cannot get out of the country. That is unacceptable and must stop.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“As we heard during yesterday’s discussion, as well as this morning, the number of people experiencing hunger globally and suffering from food insecurity has been rising since 2014. In countries affected by conflict, civilians continue to be attacked, killed and forcibly displaced. The destruction of civilian infrastructure and other aspects indispensable to the civilian population’s survival drastically reduces the ability to produce food and earn income. Conflicts contribute to the deepening of existing inequalities, while two years of the coronavirus disease pandemic, on top of climate change, have made a difficult situation worse. Close to 193 million people are acutely food insecure and in need of urgent assistance across 53 countries.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“Ms. Xhaçka (Albania): Let me start by thanking you, Secretary Blinken, for your presence in the Security Council today and your leadership in our work on this crucially important issue. I especially thank the briefers for their insightful presentations. Yesterday we had an important discussion with the launch of the Roadmap for Global Food Security — Call to Action, which Albania was pleased to join. We highly appreciate your personal contribution, Mr. Blinken, and the United States leadership in focusing the attention of the Security Council on the factors driving food insecurity worldwide. Today’s conflicts, long-term crisis and the recurrence of chronic food insecurity are more complex and are lasting longer. It is undeniable that conflict is now the main driver of hunger and food insecurity.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“Fourthly, we must enhance accountability with regard to women and peace and security by committing to a zero-tolerance policy on reprisals against women activists and human rights defenders. The Council has a crucial and decisive role to play in that regard. There can be no peace without women, and it would be unforgivable to exclude half of humankind from efforts aimed at international peace and security.”
2022-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8949 (2022) · source
“First, we must support and resource relevant United Nations entities in order to enable them to provide all the necessary protection and support to women human rights defenders, peacebuilders and civil society representatives at risk of harm, including those who have briefed the Security Council or are otherwise engaged with the United Nations system. Secondly, we must create flexible funding mechanisms to act fast and respond rapidly when women leaders are faced with threats and reprisals. The launch of the Funding Window for Women Human Rights Defenders earlier today is a positive development, and Albania will make a contribution to the fund. Thirdly, we must improve funding of women-led and women’s rights organizations and movements in fragile or conflict-affected countries.”
2022-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8949 (2022) · source
“A similar percentage of senior and mid-level executive posts, as well as some of the highest critical public positions, including independent institutions, agencies and departments in key State areas, are also held by women. We have benefited, and the whole country has benefited. That is why we decided to make women and peace and security our top priority. It is in that spirit that we joined Norway, the United Arab Emirates and the Niger in the statement of shared commitments on women and peace and security in order to make that issue a top priority during our respective Security Council presidencies. However, we know that participation and protection go hand in hand. That is why I would also like to focus on a few key points.”
2022-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8949 (2022) · source
“And yet I know, and we all know, that there is resistance to women having a say in how peace is achieved and how conflicts are resolved. Thirty years ago, when my country began its long and difficult road towards reconstruction from decades of isolation and ruin under an extremely radical communist regime, we make the same mistake. We denied women a role in the reconstruction, reconciliation and the process of laying the foundations for our new Albania. We have paid for that mistake, but we have also learned from it. I am proud that gender equality is now a high priority for the Albanian Government, not just in words and policy but also in actions and concrete achievements. Albania currently ranks among the top five gender-balanced Governments in the world, with 75 per cent of ministerial posts held by women.”
2022-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8949 (2022) · source
“I say that not as some cliché-like slogan, but as a lesson that we Albanians have learned from our very recent history. We saw this in Kosovo, where women were left behind to fend for their families and to pick up the pieces, where women were raped, tortured and killed as deliberate targets of a criminal campaign of ethnic cleansing. We also see this in conflicts everywhere — from Afghanistan to Yemen, from Myanmar to Ethiopia to Syria, or in the repression against activists in Belarus. As the briefers also emphasized, women activists face threats and risks, including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and even targeted killings — not just because of the usual risks inherent in such activities in conflict zones, but also because of the fact that they are women.”
2022-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8949 (2022) · source
“I have worked on this agenda for a while now as a politician, but also as a human rights activist. During all those years, one thought has been with me constantly — how is it possible that women still have to fight for something as basic as equality, for the same rights as the other half of the population, men? It is perplexing, in fact, that even in our day and age, equal rights, representation, education and opportunity cannot be taken for granted if one is a woman. Or, more to the point of this debate, it is perplexing that the right to participate in building and maintaining peace and security cannot be taken for granted if one is a woman. It is a sad truth of history, but it is a sad truth of our day and age too that, while men do most of the actual fighting, women often bear the brunt of it.”
2022-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8949 (2022) · source
“Ms. Xhaçka (Albania): It is a great honour for me to be the first Albanian Foreign Minister to address the Security Council as a non-permanent member of this esteemed body, but what makes this occasion really special for me and for my country is the issue that we are addressing today — women and peace and security — which is an issue that is the top priority of Albania’s agenda for the coming two years. I want to thank my Norwegian colleague and the Norwegian presidency for this opportunity. I also want to thank High Commissioner Bachelet for her remarks. We commend her personal commitment to the cause. I am also very grateful to the briefers, whose perspectives from the field were particularly informative and insightful, yet heartbreaking and a cry for action.”
2022-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8949 (2022) · source