“The only route that offers any hope of a better future for all humanity is that of cooperation and partnership” (A/56/ PV.7, p. 2). Those were words spoken from this rostrum by the late Kofi Annan 17 years ago, at the dawn of the twenty-first century. This year, we commemorate the centenary of the …
At the outset, I would like to express our support to the victims of the recent hurricanes as well as those of the earthquakes in Mexico. Such natural disasters brutally destroy lives and dreams and bring about instability and insecurity. Above all, however, such tragedies are akin to a warning shot…
“None of us acting alone can achieve success.” These are the words of Nelson Mandela. We must decide and act together because only together can we come up with right responses to the many challenges that we face. Our responsibility is to offer every child — boy or girl — the keys to his or her own …
A predecessor of the President of the General Assembly at its first session, in 1946, was one of my compatriots, Mr. Paul-Henri Spaak. In the midst of the Second World War, he said that we must take advantage of the exceptional circumstances to seize the opportunity to make substantial progress in t…
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) should provide new impetus for our global commitment. We face several challenges, which are largely interdependent, including climate and migration, poverty and hunger, peace and security, and even extremism. Some of them are the causes o…
I would like to begin by joining with those who have welcomed the initiative to hold this debate in the Security Council. I think it is both fundamental and urgent to speak out to express our indignation, to speak out to express our disgust at these tragedies within tragedies. The stories that we ar…
As the most recent Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme demonstrates, we can no longer distinguish the climate agenda from that of development. It is in that conviction that, in my capacity as Minister for Development Cooperation, I am participating in this debate, an…
How many of us around this horseshoe-shaped table have children? Who in this Chamber does not want the best for his son or daughter? Three hundred thousand
children have been forcibly separated from their families. That represents half of Belgium’s children between the ages of 11 and 15. Let us thi…
The terrible HIV/AIDS pandemic continues its progression at a frightening pace, affecting first and foremost the most deprived populations of our planet. This, of course, is a serious medical research issue, but the challenge goes far beyond that.
The social, economic and human discrimination that …
I would like to salute the vision of the future, the sense of history and political courage of the founders of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). would like to convey my esteem to the Presidents of South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria and Senegal. This initiative opens the way to…
Some 50 years ago my predecessor Paul-Henri Spaak said before the Assembly, in a phrase that stands out in our minds, “We are afraid”. At that time, totalitarianism threatened democratic freedoms and our open society was in danger. Fortunately, political and diplomatic dialogue gradually won out ove…
I have the honour today to speak on behalf of the European Union, which wishes, through you, Sir, to congratulate the President on his election. That election testifies to the esteem of the international community for his person and his country. I commend the speed of action and efficiency that you …
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Central and Eastern Europe countries associated with the European Union — the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia — and the associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey align themselves wi…
Mr. President, I should first of all like to congratulate you on your election to the Presidency of the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly. I wish you every success in this task which is both difficult and inspiring.
Allow me to include in this tribute the Secretary- General who has a cruc…
I should like first of all to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly and to thank you for having accepted the weighty task that you will be carrying out during this session. We also wish to express our best wishes to your country, Namibia, which you so ably
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