I welcome the opportunity to address this commemorative open debate. I thank the President and members of the Council for allowing me to participate by video. As they know, I am in South-East Asia, en route to Viet Nam to attend the third United Nations-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.…
I thank you, Sir, for convening this important debate. I also welcome the participation of the Foreign Minister of Nigeria, His Excellency Mr. Henry Odein Ajumogobia.
This is an important opportunity to follow up on last year’s discussions on how to strengthen the partnership between the United Nat…
Thank you for the opportunity to address the Council on this pressing challenge.
The situation in Somalia remains fragile, but there are glimmers of hope. Notwithstanding recent internal divisions, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) remains committed to peace and reconciliation. The Presiden…
One of the most difficult and important tasks facing the United Nations is to ensure that nations emerging from devastating conflicts are not allowed to slide back into violence. Building peace may sound straightforward, but we know from painful experience that it is not. Success requires patience, …
I thank you, Sir, for your very kind, warm words. I also thank the Turkish presidency of the Security Council for its initiative in convening this debate, and I extend a warm welcome to His Excellency Foreign Minister Davutoğlu. I also warmly welcome the other ministers who are participating in this…
We meet in the midst of a growing crisis of confidence. The United Nations multilateral disarmament machinery, in particular the Conference on Disarmament, has failed us for too long. As we look ahead, we face two critical questions. First, what are we to do when the world’s single multilateral disa…
I commend the Government of Turkey for having convened this Security Council summit and for its focus on preventing and ending conflict and building peace.
Since the end of the cold war, violent conflict has declined. Success in peacemaking and peacekeeping has played an important role in this deve…
My congratulations go to you all. This summit has laid a solid foundation for the progress we need in our quest to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the internationally agreed deadline of 2015. Through the participation of a large number of heads of State or Government and leaders f…
Welcome to New York in this beautiful autumn season, and welcome to the opening of this sixty-fifth general debate.
I congratulate you, Mr. President, and I look forward to working closely with you in the year ahead across the full range of challenges facing the community of nations.
(spoke in Eng…
It is always sad to mount this podium to mourn the passing of a former colleague. Today’s memorial is especially poignant as we pay tribute to two men who played important roles here in this great Hall. They left their marks in consecutive years, at the forty-fifth and forty-fifth sessions of the Ge…
I would like to thank the Government of Nigeria for convening this debate, and I commend the Security Council for its continued engagement on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.
The wilful targeting of civilians, disproportionate attacks, sexual violence, forced displacement and the deni…
We are honoured by Her Majesty’s presence. In a changing and churning world, she is an anchor for our age. Her reign spans the decades, from the challenges of the cold war to the threat of global warming; from the Beatles to Beckham and from television to Twitter. Throughout the years, she has trave…
Allow me to warmly congratulate Member States, which today have adopted a landmark resolution on system-wide coherence and established UN Women, a new composite United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women. This is truly a watershed day.
By bringing together four parts of …
I thank everyone for being here today. The General Assembly Hall looks very different than it did 50 years ago. I am not talking about the big television monitors or the electronic voting boards. I am not even talking about the seats, which are more comfortable now. I am talking about the number of …
Today we come together to launch the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. This Plan of Action is a clarion call; the presence of all in this room is testimony to its widespread support.
I thank the facilitators — the Permanent Representatives of Portugal and Cape V…
Mr. Prime Minister, it is a great pleasure to welcome you to the United Nations. As this is your first visit to the United Nations in your capacity as Prime Minister of Lebanon, I wish you great success and hope for peace and stability under your leadership. I also welcome Parliamentary Under- Secre…
This is a landmark meeting. Three out of every five people on Earth die from the diseases that we are gathered here to address. I am guessing that each one of us has been close to someone whose life has been changed or ended too early by a non-communicable disease.
This is the second health issue e…
The names and places resonate despite the passing of many years: Stalingrad and Kursk; Auschwitz and Dachau; D-Day and the final battle for Berlin. Today, we mark the anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe — the last, we hope, of the world’s total wars. Its cost was beyond calculat…
I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, the President of Nigeria and Commander in Chief of the country’s armed forces.
The late President left an important mark on his country. During his relatively short period in office, he pursued his responsibilities with dignity a…
Thank you, Minister Okada, for taking part in person in this very important Security Council debate and for focusing the attention
of the Council on this important subject. I congratulate the delegation of Japan for its success in presiding over the work of the Security Council this month.
In our …
