September 23, 2010
THE PRESIDENT: Mr.
President, Mr. Secretary-General, my fellow delegates, ladies and
gentlemen. It is a great honor to address this Assembly for the second
time, nearly two years after my election as President of the United
States.
We know this is no ordinary time for our people. Each of us comes here
with our own problems and priorities. But there are also challenges
that we share in common as leaders and as nations.
We meet within an institution built from the rubble of war, designed to
unite the world in pursuit of peace. And we meet within a city that for
centuries has welcomed people from across the globe, demonstrating that
individuals of every color, faith and station can come together to
pursue opportunity, build a community, and live with the blessing of
human liberty.
Outside the doors of this hall, the blocks and neighborhoods of this
great city tell the story of a difficult decade. Nine years ago, the
destruction of the World Trade Center signaled a threat that respected
no boundary of dignity or decency. Two years ago this month, a
financial crisis on Wall Street devastated American families on Main
Street. These separate challenges have affected people around the
globe. Men and women and children have been murdered by extremists from
Casablanca to London; from Jalalabad to Jakarta. The global economy
suffered an enormous blow during the financial crisis, crippling markets
and deferring the dreams of millions on every continent. Underneath
these challenges to our security and prosperity lie deeper fears: that
ancient hatreds and religious divides are once again ascendant; that a
world which has grown more interconnected has somehow slipped beyond our
control.
These are some of the challenges that my administration has confronted
since we came into office. And today, I’d like to talk to you about
what we’ve done over the last 20 months to meet these challenges; what
our responsibility is to pursue peace in the Middle East; and what kind
of world we are trying to build in this 21st century.
Let me begin with what we have done. I have had no greater focus as
President than rescuing our economy from potential catastrophe. And in
an age when prosperity is shared, we could not do this alone. So
America has joined with nations around the world to spur growth, and the
renewed demand that could restart job creation.
We are reforming our system of global finance, beginning with Wall
Street reform here at home, so that a crisis like this never happens
again. And we made the G20 the focal point for international
coordination, because in a world where prosperity is more diffuse, we
must broaden our circle of cooperation to include emerging economies --
economies from every corner of the globe.
There is much to show for our efforts, even as there is much work to be
done. The global economy has been pulled back from the brink of a
depression, and is growing once more. We have resisted protectionism,
and are exploring ways to expand trade and commerce among nations. But
we cannot -- and will not -- rest until these seeds of progress grow
into a broader prosperity, not only for all Americans, but for peoples
around the globe.
As for our common security, America is waging a more effective fight
against al Qaeda, while winding down the war in Iraq. Since I took
office, the United States has removed nearly 100,000 troops from Iraq.
We have done so responsibly, as Iraqis have transitioned to lead
responsibility for the security of their country.
We are now focused on building a lasting partnership with the Iraqi
people, while keeping our commitment to remove the rest of our troops by
the end of next year.
While drawing down in Iraq, we have refocused on defeating al Qaeda and
denying its affiliates a safe haven. In Afghanistan, the United States
and our allies are pursuing a strategy to break the Taliban’s momentum
and build the capacity of Afghanistan’s government and security forces,
so that a transition to Afghan responsibility can begin next July. And
from South Asia to the Horn of Africa, we are moving toward a more
targeted approach -- one that strengthens our partners and dismantles
terrorist networks without deploying large American armies.
As we pursue the world’s most dangerous extremists, we’re also denying
them the world’s most dangerous weapons, and pursuing the peace and
security of a world without nuclear weapons.
Earlier this year, 47 nations embraced a work-plan to secure all
vulnerable nuclear materials within four years. We have joined with
Russia to sign the most comprehensive arms control treaty in decades.
We have reduced the role of nuclear weapons in our security strategy.
And here, at the United Nations, we came together to strengthen the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
As part of our effort on non-proliferation, I offered the Islamic
Republic of Iran an extended hand last year, and underscored that it has
both rights and responsibilities as a member of the international
community. I also said -- in this hall -- that Iran must be held
accountable if it failed to meet those responsibilities. And that is
what we have done.
Iran is the only party to the NPT that cannot demonstrate the peaceful
intentions of its nuclear program, and those actions have consequences.
Through U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929, we made it clear that
international law is not an empty promise.
Now let me be clear once more: The United States and the international
community seek a resolution to our differences with Iran, and the door
remains open to diplomacy should Iran choose to walk through it. But
the Iranian government must demonstrate a clear and credible commitment
and confirm to the world the peaceful intent of its nuclear program.
As we combat the spread of deadly weapons, we’re also confronting the
specter of climate change. After making historic investments in clean
energy and efficiency at home, we helped forge an accord in Copenhagen
that -- for the first time -- commits all major economies to reduce
their emissions. We are keenly aware this is just a first step. And
going forward, we will support a process in which all major economies
meet our responsibilities to protect the planet while unleashing the
power of clean energy to serve as an engine of growth and development.
America has also embraced unique responsibilities with come -- that come
with our power. Since the rains came and the floodwaters rose in
Pakistan, we have pledged our assistance, and we should all support the
Pakistani people as they recover and rebuild. And when the earth shook
and Haiti was devastated by loss, we joined a coalition of nations in
response. Today, we honor those from the U.N. family who lost their
lives in the earthquake, and commit ourselves to stand with the people
of Haiti until they can stand on their own two feet.
Amidst this upheaval, we have also been persistent in our pursuit of
peace. Last year, I pledged my best efforts to support the goal of two
states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security,
as part of a comprehensive peace between Israel and all of its
neighbors. We have travelled a winding road over the last 12 months,
with few peaks and many valleys. But this month, I am pleased that we
have pursued direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians in
Washington, Sharm el Sheikh and Jerusalem.
Now I recognize many are pessimistic about this process. The cynics say
that Israelis and Palestinians are too distrustful of each other, and
too divided internally, to forge lasting peace. Rejectionists on both
sides will try to disrupt the process, with bitter words and with bombs
and with gunfire. Some say that the gaps between the parties are too
big; the potential for talks to break down is too great; and that after
decades of failure, peace is simply not possible.
I hear those voices of skepticism. But I ask you to consider the
alternative. If an agreement is not reached, Palestinians will never
know the pride and dignity that comes with their own state. Israelis
will never know the certainty and security that comes with sovereign and
stable neighbors who are committed to coexistence. The hard realities
of demography will take hold. More blood will be shed. This Holy Land
will remain a symbol of our differences, instead of our common humanity.
I refuse to accept that future. And we all have a choice to make. Each
of us must choose the path of peace. Of course, that responsibility
begins with the parties themselves, who must answer the call of
history. Earlier this month at the White House, I was struck by the
words of both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Prime Minister
Netanyahu said, “I came here today to find a historic compromise that
will enable both people to live in peace, security, and dignity.” And
President Abbas said, “We will spare no effort and we will work
diligently and tirelessly to ensure these negotiations achieve their
cause.”
These words must now be followed by action and I believe that both
leaders have the courage to do so. But the road that they have to
travel is exceedingly difficult, which is why I call upon Israelis and
Palestinians -- and the world -- to rally behind the goal that these
leaders now share. We know that there will be tests along the way and
that one test is fast approaching. Israel’s settlement moratorium has
made a difference on the ground and improved the atmosphere for talks.
And our position on this issue is well known. We believe that the
moratorium should be extended. We also believe that talks should press
on until completed. Now is the time for the parties to help each other
overcome this obstacle. Now is the time to build the trust -- and
provide the time -- for substantial progress to be made. Now is the
time for this opportunity to be seized, so that it does not slip away.
Now, peace must be made by Israelis and Palestinians, but each of us has
a responsibility to do our part as well. Those of us who are friends
of Israel must understand that true security for the Jewish state
requires an independent Palestine -- one that allows the Palestinian
people to live with dignity and opportunity. And those of us who are
friends of the Palestinians must understand that the rights of the
Palestinian people will be won only through peaceful means -- including
genuine reconciliation with a secure Israel.
I know many in this hall count themselves as friends of the
Palestinians. But these pledges of friendship must now be supported by
deeds. Those who have signed on to the Arab Peace Initiative should
seize this opportunity to make it real by taking tangible steps towards
the normalization that it promises Israel.
And those who speak on behalf of Palestinian self-government should help
the Palestinian Authority politically and financially, and in doing so
help the Palestinians build the institutions of their state.
Those who long to see an independent Palestine must also stop trying to
tear down Israel. After thousands of years, Jews and Arabs are not
strangers in a strange land. After 60 years in the community of
nations, Israel’s existence must not be a subject for debate.
Israel is a sovereign state, and the historic homeland of the Jewish
people. It should be clear to all that efforts to chip away at Israel’s
legitimacy will only be met by the unshakeable opposition of the United
States. And efforts to threaten or kill Israelis will do nothing to
help the Palestinian people. The slaughter of innocent Israelis is not
resistance -- it’s injustice. And make no mistake: The courage of a
man like President Abbas, who stands up for his people in front of the
world under very difficult circumstances, is far greater than those who
fire rockets at innocent women and children.
The conflict between Israelis and Arabs is as old as this institution.
And we can come back here next year, as we have for the last 60 years,
and make long speeches about it. We can read familiar lists of
grievances. We can table the same resolutions. We can further empower
the forces of rejectionism and hate. And we can waste more time by
carrying forward an argument that will not help a single Israeli or
Palestinian child achieve a better life. We can do that.
Or, we can say that this time will be different -- that this time we
will not let terror, or turbulence, or posturing, or petty politics
stand in the way. This time, we will think not of ourselves, but of the
young girl in Gaza who wants to have no ceiling on her dreams, or the
young boy in Sderot who wants to sleep without the nightmare of rocket
fire.
This time, we should draw upon the teachings of tolerance that lie at
the heart of three great religions that see Jerusalem’s soil as sacred.
This time we should reach for what’s best within ourselves. If we do,
when we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that will
lead to a new member of the United Nations -- an independent, sovereign
state of Palestine, living in peace with Israel. (Applause.)
It is our destiny to bear the burdens of the challenges that I’ve
addressed -- recession and war and conflict. And there is always a
sense of urgency -- even emergency -- that drives most of our foreign
policies. Indeed, after millennia marked by wars, this very institution
reflects the desire of human beings to create a forum to deal with
emergencies that will inevitably come.
But even as we confront immediate challenges, we must also summon the
foresight to look beyond them, and consider what we are trying to build
over the long term? What is the world that awaits us when today’s
battles are brought to an end? And that is what I would like to talk
about with the remainder of my time today.
One of the first actions of this General Assembly was to adopt a
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. That Declaration begins
by stating that, “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal
and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world.”
The idea is a simple one -- that freedom, justice and peace for the
world must begin with freedom, justice, and peace in the lives of
individual human beings. And for the United States, this is a matter of
moral and pragmatic necessity. As Robert Kennedy said, “the individual
man, the child of God, is the touchstone of value, and all society,
groups, the state, exist for his benefit.” So we stand up for universal
values because it’s the right thing to do. But we also know from
experience that those who defend these values for their people have been
our closest friends and allies, while those who have denied those
rights -- whether terrorist groups or tyrannical governments -- have
chosen to be our adversaries.
Human rights have never gone unchallenged -- not in any of our nations,
and not in our world. Tyranny is still with us -- whether it manifests
itself in the Taliban killing girls who try to go to school, a North
Korean regime that enslaves its own people, or an armed group in
Congo-Kinshasa that use rape as a weapon of war.
In times of economic unease, there can also be an anxiety about human
rights. Today, as in past times of economic downturn, some put human
rights aside for the promise of short term stability or the false notion
that economic growth can come at the expense of freedom. We see
leaders abolishing term limits. We see crackdowns on civil society. We
see corruption smothering entrepreneurship and good governance. We see
democratic reforms deferred indefinitely.
As I said last year, each country will pursue a path rooted in the
culture of its own people. Yet experience shows us that history is on
the side of liberty; that the strongest foundation for human progress
lies in open economies, open societies, and open governments. To put it
simply, democracy, more than any other form of government, delivers for
our citizens. And I believe that truth will only grow stronger in a
world where the borders between nations are blurred.
America is working to shape a world that fosters this openness, for the
rot of a closed or corrupt economy must never eclipse the energy and
innovation of human beings. All of us want the right to educate our
children, to make a decent wage, to care for the sick, and to be carried
as far as our dreams and our deeds will take us. But that depends upon
economies that tap the power of our people, including the potential of
women and girls. That means letting entrepreneurs start a business
without paying a bribe and governments that support opportunity instead
of stealing from their people. And that means rewarding hard work,
instead of reckless risk-taking.
Yesterday, I put forward a new development policy that will pursue these
goals, recognizing that dignity is a human right and global development
is in our common interest. America will partner with nations that
offer their people a path out of poverty. And together, we must unleash
growth that powers by individuals and emerging markets in all parts of
the globe.
There is no reason why Africa should not be an exporter of agriculture,
which is why our food security initiative is empowering farmers. There
is no reason why entrepreneurs shouldn’t be able to build new markets in
every society, which is why I hosted a summit on entrepreneurship
earlier this spring, because the obligation of government is to empower
individuals, not to impede them.
The same holds true for civil society. The arc of human progress has
been shaped by individuals with the freedom to assemble and by
organizations outside of government that insisted upon democratic change
and by free media that held the powerful accountable. We have seen
that from the South Africans who stood up to apartheid, to the Poles of
Solidarity, to the mothers of the disappeared who spoke out against the
Dirty War, to Americans who marched for the rights of all races,
including my own.
Civil society is the conscience of our communities and America will
always extend our engagement abroad with citizens beyond the halls of
government. And we will call out those who suppress ideas and serve as a
voice for those who are voiceless. We will promote new tools of
communication so people are empowered to connect with one another and,
in repressive societies, to do so with security. We will support a free
and open Internet, so individuals have the information to make up their
own minds. And it is time to embrace and effectively monitor norms
that advance the rights of civil society and guarantee its expansion
within and across borders.
Open society supports open government, but it cannot substitute for it.
There is no right more fundamental than the ability to choose your
leaders and determine your destiny. Now, make no mistake: The ultimate
success of democracy in the world won’t come because the United States
dictates it; it will come because individual citizens demand a say in
how they are governed.
There is no soil where this notion cannot take root, just as every
democracy reflects the uniqueness of a nation. Later this fall, I will
travel to Asia. And I will visit India, which peacefully threw off
colonialism and established a thriving democracy of over a billion
people.
I’ll continue to Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country,
which binds together thousands of islands through the glue of
representative government and civil society. I’ll join the G20 meeting
on the Korean Peninsula, which provides the world’s clearest contrast
between a society that is dynamic and open and free, and one that is
imprisoned and closed. And I will conclude my trip in Japan, an ancient
culture that found peace and extraordinary development through
democracy.
Each of these countries gives life to democratic principles in their own
way. And even as some governments roll back reform, we also celebrate
the courage of a President in Colombia who willingly stepped aside, or
the promise of a new constitution in Kenya.
The common thread of progress is the principle that government is
accountable to its citizens. And the diversity in this room makes clear
-- no one country has all the answers, but all of us must answer to our
own people.
In all parts of the world, we see the promise of innovation to make
government more open and accountable. And now, we must build on that
progress. And when we gather back here next year, we should bring
specific commitments to promote transparency; to fight corruption; to
energize civic engagement; to leverage new technologies so that we
strengthen the foundations of freedom in our own countries, while living
up to the ideals that can light the world.
This institution can still play an indispensable role in the advance of
human rights. It’s time to welcome the efforts of U.N. Women to protect
the rights of women around the globe. (Applause.)
It’s time for every member state to open its elections to international
monitors and increase the U.N. Democracy Fund. It’s time to
reinvigorate U.N. peacekeeping, so that missions have the resources
necessary to succeed, and so atrocities like sexual violence are
prevented and justice is enforced -- because neither dignity nor
democracy can thrive without basic security.
And it’s time to make this institution more accountable as well, because
the challenges of a new century demand new ways of serving our common
interests.
The world that America seeks is not one we can build on our own. For
human rights to reach those who suffer the boot of oppression, we need
your voices to speak out. In particular, I appeal to those nations who
emerged from tyranny and inspired the world in the second half of the
last century -- from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to
South America. Don’t stand idly by, don’t be silent, when dissidents
elsewhere are imprisoned and protesters are beaten. Recall your own
history. Because part of the price of our own freedom is standing up
for the freedom of others.
September 23, 2010
That belief will guide America’s leadership in this 21st century. It is
a belief that has seen us through more than two centuries of trial, and
it will see us through the challenges we face today -- be it war or
recession; conflict or division.
So even as we have come through a difficult decade, I stand here before
you confident in the future -- a future where Iraq is governed by
neither tyrant nor a foreign power, and Afghanistan is freed from the
turmoil of war; a future where the children of Israel and Palestine can
build the peace that was not possible for their parents; a world where
the promise of development reaches into the prisons of poverty and
disease; a future where the cloud of recession gives way to the light of
renewal and the dream of opportunity is available to all.
This future will not be easy to reach. It will not come without
setbacks, nor will it be quickly claimed. But the founding of the
United Nations itself is a testament to human progress. Remember, in
times that were far more trying than our own, our predecessors chose the
hope of unity over the ease of division and made a promise to future
generations that the dignity and equality of human beings would be our
common cause.
It falls to us to fulfill that promise. And though we will be met by
dark forces that will test our resolve, Americans have always had cause
to believe that we can choose a better history; that we need only to
look outside the walls around us. For through the citizens of every
conceivable ancestry who make this city their own, we see living proof
that opportunity can be accessed by all, that what unites us as human
beings is far greater than what divides us, and that people from every
part of this world can live together in peace.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
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