France, 2012

This is the

first time that I speak from this rostrum at the United Nations. It is a very moving moment for me because

I understand what the United Nations represents, for

our world, and what it has represented historically. I am

also aware of a sense of responsibility, because France

is a permanent member of the Security Council and

therefore has duties. I am also here at this rostrum to

talk about values that do not belong to any particular

people, are not owned by any particular continent

and are not the privilege of any particular part of the

population.

I am here to talk about universal values, which

France has always proclaimed, and about the rights

of every human being, wherever they live: liberty,

security and resistance to oppression. Those values

and those rights are all too frequently held in contempt

in our world, especially as we face three main threats,

which we must tackle head-on. The first is the threat

of fanaticism, which fuels violence. We have seen

that yet again in recent days. The second is the global

economy, which has been affected by a crisis and which

perpetuates intolerable inequalities. The third threat is

the disturbance in the climate system, which threatens

the very survival of our planet.

The mission of the United Nations is to tackle these

challenges and to find strong and just responses to them

together. These responses must be just because without

justice, force is blind, and they must be strong because

without strength, justice is powerless.

I am also here to express France’s confidence in

the United Nations. In recent years, we have been able

together, to finally put an end to deadly conflicts, and

we have been able to prevent confrontations. However,

just as we are sending out 100,000 Blue Helmets who

act on our behalf — and I would like to pay tribute to

them — because of divisions, the blocking of our own

institutions and inertia, the United Nations has not been

able to put an end to war, atrocities and attacks on the

rights of peoples.

I would therefore, on behalf of France, draw one

conclusion that I would like to share with the Assembly.

If we want to make our world safer, it is up to us to fully

shoulder our responsibilities. How can we do so?

First of all, we can do so by reforming our own

Organization, the United Nations. The Security Council

must better reflect the realities of the world today. This

is why I would once again recall that France supports

the request for an enlargement of the Council made

by Germany, Japan, India and Brazil. But we are also in favour of an increased African presence, including

among the permanent members. Having a seat on the

Security Council is not a privilege justified by history,

and it is not a matter of satisfying some ambition related

to economic power. No, having a seat on the Security

Council means making the commitment to take action

to promote peace in the world. Indeed, we must act and

act together, but act quickly, because it is urgent.

The most urgent situation is in Syria. The Assembly

has several times denounced the massacres carried out

by the Syrian regime, called for those responsible to be

prosecuted and expressed the desire for a democratic

transition. But the ordeal of the population continues to

this day. There have been almost 30,000 deaths in the

last 18 months. How many more deaths will we wait for

before we take action? How can we allow the paralysis

of the United Nations to continue?

I know one thing for certain: the Syrian regime

will never again take its place among the alliance of

nations. It has no future among us. This is why I have

taken the decision, on behalf of France, to recognize the

provisional Government representing the new Syria as

soon as it is formed. That Government will itself have

to give guarantees that every community in Syria will

be respected and will be able to live in security in their

own country. Without further delay, I would ask that

the United Nations immediately give the Syrian people

all of the assistance and support they are requesting

and, in particular, that the liberated areas be protected

and humanitarian aid be assured for refugees. As for

the leaders in Damascus, they must know that the

international community will not stand by if they take

the unhappy decision to use chemical weapons.

Another situation that is urgent is the fight against

the most serious of threats to stability in the world,

namely, the proliferation of nuclear weapons. For several

years now, Iran has been ignoring the demands of the

international community. It shuns monitoring by the

International Atomic Energy Agency. It does not keep

its word or uphold Security Council resolutions. I had

hoped that negotiations could take place in earnest and

that steps could be outlined, but, again, no negotiations

have taken place. France will not accept such actions,

which threaten not only security in the region but peace

throughout the world.

I therefore state once again that we are prepared to

adopt new sanctions, not to punish the great people of Iran, but to tell their leaders that enough is enough and

that negotiations must be resumed before it is too late.

The third urgent issue is at last to find a solution to

the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The status quo is not a

response; it is an impasse. France will make every effort

to re-establish the basis for negotiations leading to the

coexistence of the two States in question; everyone

knows that this is the only solution that could lead to a

just and lasting peace in the region.

The last of the urgent issues that I will mention,

although there are many others, might be the most

important one for us to focus on this week: the Sahel.

The situation created by the occupation of territory

in northern Mali by terrorist groups is intolerable,

inadmissible and unacceptable. It is unacceptable not

only for Mali, which is affected by that terrorist threat,

but also for all countries of the region and beyond the

region — all of those that one day might be affected by

terrorism.

The African Union, which I commend, and the

Economic Community of West African States have said

that they are prepared to take courageous decisions.

The authorities of Mali have spoken; there is no time to

lose. France will support any initiative that will enable

the Africans themselves to resolve that issue within the

framework of international law, with a clear mandate

from the Security Council. Mali must recover its

territorial integrity, and terrorism must be eliminated

from that area of the Sahel.

The role of the United Nations is to respond to

urgent situations. But there is another objective that

should unite us here, and that is development. The

United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development, held in Rio, in which I participated, was

a disappointing stage for some and an encouraging one

for others. I believe that today we have an agenda that

should encompass economic growth, poverty reduction,

social progress and environmental protection. That is

what we need to do over the long term.

The 2015 deadline for a climate agreement is fast

approaching. I wish to state here that France is ready to

host the United Nations conference on climate change

to be held at that time, because I want us to succeed

together in meeting that challenge.

In parallel, I would recall that one of the

disappointments of Rio was our failure to agree on

the creation of a major United Nations organization for the environment. That remains France’s objective.

Such an agency would be based in Africa, because

that continent, which has been neglected for too long,

is facing climate-related challenges. It would also be

highly symbolic to entrust Africa with such a global

agency for the environment.

With respect to development, I believe that we

should face reality. We will not achieve the Millennium

Development Goals without new resources. Everyone

knows the budgetary limitations of our respective

States. That is why today, from this rostrum here at the

United Nations, I am making an appeal for innovative

financing, which would give us the means to enable our

organizations to fight effectively against diseases such

as HIV/AIDS and malaria.

I would like to commend the success of the

International Drug Purchase Facility, which was

financed by a tax on airline tickets. That path

has been opened, and today we must take another

step in that direction. I propose a tax on financial

transactions — which several European Union countries

have already agreed to — aimed at slowing down the

movement of capital or at least financing development

and helping to fight health-related scourges. France

has adopted such a tax. We have also made another

commitment: to dedicate at least 10 per cent of the

benefits of that tax to development and to fight health-

related threats and pandemics.

That is the message that I wanted to send to the

Assembly today: let us ensure that a global tax on

financial transactions can be levied and that the benefits

it yields can be spent on development and fighting

pandemics. That would be an excellent example of what

I call the globalization of solidarity, and one of the best

ideas that today’s world could implement.

But the mission of the United Nations is not only

to fight financial instability or ensure that development

remains at the centre of our concerns: it is to work to

counter all forms of instability. I am thinking here about

drug trafficking, a scourge that affects producing, transit

and consuming countries. To combat drug traffickers,

who are frequently allied with terrorist networks, the

United Nations must elaborate and implement a global

strategy to fight against drugs.

Arms trafficking also poses a major threat. France

is firmly committed to the conclusion of a universal

arms trade treaty. What the United Nations must defend

and promote is a worldview that is based on respect for fundamental rights and freedoms. The Arab Spring

showed that those values are universal and apply to all

continents and countries.

I want to welcome the events that took place in

Tunisia, in Libya, in Egypt. It is true that transitions

are not always easy. There are risks, and setbacks can

occur. Some may attempt, through violence, to reverse

the progress made and the achievements gained. France

will call on the new political authorities emanating

from democratic elections in those countries to wage an

unrelenting combat against complacency, extremism,

fanaticism, hatred, intolerance and violence, whatever

the provocation may be, because there can never be any

justification for violence.

France wants to set an example. It is not telling

anyone what to do; that is simply its history and its

message. We want to be an example in the promotion of

fundamental freedoms. That is our combat, and we are

honoured to wage it. That is why France will continue

to fight to abolish the death penalty, to ensure women’s

right to equality and dignity, and to work towards the

universal decriminalization of homosexuality, which

cannot be viewed as a crime but must be recognized as

an orientation.

We will continue to fight for the protection of

civilians. Moreover, I recall that the Assembly affirmed

the principle that all States have the responsibility to

ensure the security of their civilians. If a State fails

in that obligation, it is up to us, the United Nations,

to use the means at its disposal to meet it in its place.

Let us not neglect that promise, as it can serve us. I

am thinking, in particular, of what is happening in the

Democratic Republic of Congo, where civilians are the

main victims of clashes and where foreign interference

must cease as soon as possible.

Those are the goals that France will support and

defend at the United Nations. France has confidence in

the United Nations. We know that no State, however

powerful, can deal with emergencies, undertake the

fight for development or overcome all crises. No State

can do that, but, on the contrary, if we act together, we

will live up to our responsibilities. France wants the

United Nations to be the centre and the framework for

global governance, but do the States that make up the

Organization want that to be our purpose and goal?

I say in all seriousness that when there is paralysis,

inertia and inaction, injustice and intolerance find their

place. What I would like members to understand is that

we must act in order to shoulder our responsibilities

and to deal with urgent situations, such as Syria,

nuclear proliferation and the Sahel. We must also work

for another world that is based on development and

innovative financing and for the fight against health

crises. We must act, always and together. Let us live up

to the mission entrusted to us and to the expectations of

peoples. That is France’s message.