United States, 2014

We come together at a

crossroads between war and peace, between disorder

and integration, between fear and hope. Around the

globe, there are signposts of progress. The shadow of

the Second World War that existed at the founding of

this institution has been lifted, and the prospect of war

between major Powers reduced. The ranks of Member

States have more than tripled, and more people live

under Governments that they elected. Hundreds of

millions of human beings have been freed from the

prison of poverty, with the proportion of those living

in extreme poverty cut in half. And the world economy

continues to strengthen after the worst financial crisis

of our lives.

Today, whether you live in downtown Manhattan or

in my grandmother’s village more than 200 miles from

Nairobi, you can hold in your hand more information

than the world’s greatest libraries. Together, we have

learned how to cure disease and harness the power

of the wind and the sun. The very existence of this

Organization is a unique achievement, with the people

of the world committing to resolve their differences

peacefully and to solve their problems together. I often

tell young people in the United States that, despite

the headlines, this is the best time in human history

to be born, for you are more likely than ever before to

be literate, to be healthy and to be free to pursue your

dreams.

And yet there is a pervasive unease in our world — a

sense that the very forces that have brought us together

have created new dangers and made it difficult for any

single nation to insulate itself from global forces. As we

gather here, an outbreak of Ebola overwhelms public

health systems in West Africa and threatens to move

rapidly across borders. Russian aggression in Europe

recalls the days when large nations trampled small

ones in pursuit of territorial ambitions. The brutality

of terrorists in Syria and Iraq forces us to look into the

heart of darkness.

Each of those problems demands urgent attention.

But they are also symptoms of a broader problem:

the failure of our international system to keep pace

with an interconnected world. We, collectively, have

not invested adequately in the public health capacity

of developing countries. Too often, we have failed

to enforce international norms when it has been

inconvenient to do so. And we have not confronted

forcefully enough the intolerance, sectarianism and

hopelessness that feeds violent extremism in too many

parts of the globe.

Fellow representatives, we come together as

United Nations with a choice to make. We can renew

the international system that has enabled so much

progress, or we can allow ourselves to be pulled back

by an undertow of instability. We can reaffirm our

collective responsibility to confront global problems, or

be swamped by more and more outbreaks of instability.

And for America, the choice is clear — we choose hope

over fear. We see the future not as something out of our

control, but as something we can shape for the better

through concerted and collective effort. We reject

fatalism or cynicism when it comes to human affairs.

We choose to work for the world as it should be, as our

children deserve it to be.

There is much that must be done to meet the test

of this moment. But today I would like to focus on

two defining questions at the root of so many of our

challenges. Will the nations represented here today

be able to renew the purpose of the United Nations

founding, and will we come together to reject the cancer

of violent extremism?

First, all of us — big nations and small — must meet

our responsibility to observe and enforce international

norms. We are here because others realized that we

gain more from cooperation than from conquest. One

hundred years ago, a World War claimed the lives of

many millions, proving that with the terrible power of

modern weaponry, the cause of empire ultimately leads

to the graveyard. It would then take another World War

to roll back the forces of fascism, the notions of racial

supremacy, and form the United Nations to ensure that

no nation can subjugate its neighbours and claim their

territory.

Recently, Russia’s actions in Ukraine have

challenged that post-war order. Here are the facts. After

the people of Ukraine mobilized popular protests and

calls for reform, their corrupt President fled. Against

the will of the Government in Kyiv, Crimea was annexed

by Russia. Russia poured arms into eastern Ukraine,

fuelling violent separatists and a conflict that has killed

thousands. When a civilian airliner was shot down from

areas that those proxy forces controlled, those forces

refused to allow access to the crash site for days. When

Ukraine started to reassert control over its territory,

Russia gave up the pretence of merely supporting the

separatists and moved troops across the border.

That reflects a vision of a world in which might

makes right; a world in which one nation’s borders

can be redrawn by another and civilized people are

not allowed to recover the remains of their loved ones

because of the truth that might be revealed.

America stands for something different. We believe

that right makes might, that bigger nations should not

be able to bully smaller ones and that people should

be able to choose their own future. Those are simple

truths, but they must be defended. America and our

allies will support the people of Ukraine as they develop

their democracy and economy. We will reinforce our

NATO allies and uphold our commitment to collective

self-defence. We will impose a cost on Russia for its

aggression, and we will counter falsehoods with the

truth. And we call upon others to join us on the right

side of history, for while small gains can be won at the

barrel of a gun, they will ultimately be turned back if

enough voices support the freedom of nations and the

right of peoples to make their own decisions.

Moreover, a different path is available — the path of

diplomacy and peace, and the ideals that this institution

is designed to uphold. The recent ceasefire agreement in

Ukraine offers an opening to achieve those objectives.

If Russia takes that path — a path that for stretches of

the post-Cold War period resulted in prosperity for the

Russian people — then we will lift our sanctions and

welcome Russia’s role in addressing common challenges.

That is, after all, what the United States and Russia

have been able to do in past years — from reducing our

nuclear stockpiles to meeting our obligations under the

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to cooperating to

remove and destroy Syria’s declared chemical weapons.

That is the kind of cooperation we are prepared to

pursue again, if Russia changes course.

That speaks to a central question of our global

age — will we solve our problems together in a spirit of

mutual interest and mutual respect, or will we descend

into the destructive rivalries of the past? When nations

find common ground — not simply based on power, but

on principle — then we can make enormous progress.

And I stand before the Assembly today committed to

investing American strength and to working with all

nations to address the problems we face in the twenty-

first century.

As we speak, America is deploying our doctors and

scientists, supported by our military, to help contain

the outbreak of Ebola and pursue new treatments. But

we need a broader effort to stop a disease that could

kill hundreds of thousands, inflict horrific suffering,

destabilize economies and move rapidly across borders.

It is easy to see that problem as a distant problem,

until it is not. And that is why we will continue to

mobilize other countries to join us in making concrete

commitments, significant commitments to fight the

outbreak and enhance our system of global health

security for the long term.

America is pursuing a diplomatic resolution to the

Iranian nuclear issue, as part of our commitment to stop

the spread of nuclear weapons and pursue the peace

and security of a world without them. But that can take

place only if Iran seizes this historic opportunity. My

message to Iran’s leaders and people has been simple

and consistent: do not let this opportunity pass. We can

reach a solution that meets Iran’s energy needs while

assuring the world that Iran’s nuclear programme is

peaceful.

America is and will continue to be a Pacific

Power, promoting peace, stability, and the free flow

of commerce among nations. But we will insist that

all nations abide by the rules of the road and resolve

their territorial disputes peacefully, consistent with

international law. That is how the Asia-Pacific region

has grown. And that is the only way to protect the

progress going forward.

America is committed to a development agenda that

eradicates extreme poverty by 2030. We will do our part

to help people feed themselves, power their economies

and care for their sick. If the world acts together, we

can make sure that all of our children enjoy lives of

opportunity and dignity.

America is pursuing ambitious reductions in

its carbon emissions, and we have increased our

investments in clean energy. We will do our part and

help developing nations do theirs. But the science tells

us that we can succeed in combating climate change

only if we are joined in that effort by every other nation,

by every major Power. That is how we can protect the

planet for our children and our grandchildren.

In other words, on issue after issue, we cannot rely

on a rule book written for a different century. If we lift

our eyes beyond our borders, if we think globally and

if we act cooperatively, we can shape the course of this

century as our predecessors shaped the post-World War

Two age.

But as we look to the future, one issue risks starting

a cycle of conflict that could derail so much progress.

That is the cancer of violent extremism, which has

ravaged so many parts of the Muslim world. Of course,

terrorism is not new. Speaking before the Assembly,

President Kennedy put it well:

“Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout

history it has been used by those who could not

prevail either by persuasion or by example.”

(A/PV.1013, para. 96)

In the twentieth century, terror was used by all

manner of groups who failed to come to power through

public support. But in this century, we have faced a

more lethal and ideological brand of terrorists who have

perverted one of the world’s great religions. With access

to technology that allows small groups to do great harm,

they have embraced a nightmarish vision that would

divide the world into adherents and infidels — killing

as many innocent civilians as possible and employing

the most brutal methods to intimidate people within

their communities.

I have made it clear that America will not base its

entire foreign policy on reacting to terrorism. Instead,

we have waged a focused campaign against Al-Qaida

and its associated forces — taking out their leaders

and denying them the safe havens they rely on. At the

same time, we have reaffirmed again and again that the

United States is not and never will be at war with Islam.

Islam teaches peace. Muslims the world over aspire to

live with dignity and a sense of justice. And when it

comes to America and Islam, there is no us and them,

there is only us, because millions of Muslim Americans

are part of the fabric of our country.

So we reject any suggestion of a clash of

civilizations. Belief in permanent religious war is the

misguided refuge of extremists who cannot build or

create anything and therefore peddle only fanaticism

and hate. And it is no exaggeration to say that the future

of humankind depends on our uniting against those

who would divide us along the fault lines of tribe or

sect, race or religion.

But this is not simply a matter of words. Collectively,

we must take concrete steps to address the danger posed

by religiously motivated fanatics and the trends that

fuel their recruitment. Moreover, the campaign against

extremism goes beyond a narrow security challenge.

For while we have worked methodically to degrade

Al-Qaida at its core and have supported a transition to

a sovereign Afghan Government, extremist ideology

has shifted to other places, particularly in the Middle

East and North Africa, where a quarter of the young

people have no job, where food and water could grow

scarce, and where corruption is rampant and sectarian

conflicts have become increasingly hard to contain.

As an international community, we must meet this

challenge with a focus on four areas. First, the terrorist

group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant

(ISIL) must be degraded and ultimately destroyed. It

has terrorized all those whom it has come across in Iraq

and Syria. Mothers, sisters and daughters have been

subjected to rape as a weapon of war. Innocent children

have been gunned down. Bodies have been dumped into

mass graves. Religious minorities have been starved to

death. In the most horrific crimes imaginable, innocent

human beings have been beheaded, with videos of

the atrocity distributed to shock the conscience of the

world.

No god condones such terror. No grievance

justifies such actions. There can be no reasoning or

negotiation with that brand of evil. The only language

understood by killers of that kind is the language of

force. So the United States of America will work with

a broad coalition to dismantle that network of death. In

this effort, we do not act alone, nor do we intend to send

United States troops to occupy foreign lands. Instead,

we will support Iraqis and Syrians fighting to reclaim

their communities. We will use our military might to

roll back ISIL in a campaign of air strikes. We will train

and equip forces fighting those terrorists on the ground.

We will work to cut off their financing and stop the flow

of fighters into and out of the region. And more than

40 nations have already offered to join the coalition.

Today, I ask the world to join in this effort. Those who

have joined ISIL should leave the battlefield while they

can. Those who continue to fight for a hateful cause

will find that they are increasingly alone. For we will

not succumb to threats, and we will demonstrate that

the future belongs to those who build, not to those who

destroy. So that is an immediate challenge, the first one

we must meet.

The second challenge is that it is time for the

world, especially Muslim communities, to explicitly,

forcefully and consistently reject the ideology of

organizations such as Al-Qaida and ISIL. It is one of

the tasks of all great religions to accommodate devout

faith with a modern, multicultural world. No children

are born hating, and no children anywhere should be

educated to hate other people. There should be no

further tolerance of so-called clerics who call on people

to harm innocents because they are Jewish or Christian

or Muslim. It is time for a new compact among the

civilized peoples of this world to eradicate war at its

most fundamental source, and that is the corruption of

young minds by violent ideology.

That means cutting off the funding that fuels such

hatred. It is time to end the hypocrisy of those who

accumulate wealth through the global economy and

then siphon funds to those who teach children to tear

it down. That means contesting the space that terrorists

occupy, including the Internet and social media. Their

propaganda has coerced young people to travel abroad

to fight their wars and has turned students — young

people full of potential — into suicide bombers. We

must offer an alternative vision. That means bringing

people of different faiths together. All religions have

been attacked by extremists from within at some point,

and all people of faith have a responsibility to lift up the

value at the heart of all great religions. Do unto your

neighbour as you would do — as you would have others

do — unto yourself.

The ideology of ISIL or Al-Qaida or Boko

Haram will wilt and die if it is consistently exposed

and confronted and refuted in the light of day. Look

at the new Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim

Societies, whose purpose Sheikh Abdallah Bin Bayyah

has described as “We must declare war on war, so

the outcome will be peace upon peace”. Look at the

young British Muslims who have responded to terrorist

propaganda by starting the #notinmyname campaign,

declaring that ISIL is hiding behind a false Islam. Look

at the Christian and Muslim leaders who came together

in the Central African Republic to reject violence; listen

to the imam there who said that, while politics may try

to divide the religious in that country, religion should

not be a cause of hate, war, or strife.

Later today, the Security Council will adopt a

resolution that underscores the responsibility of States

to counter violent extremism. But resolutions must

be followed by tangible commitments, so that we are

accountable when we fall short. Next year, we should

all be prepared to announce the concrete steps that

we have taken to counter extremist ideologies in our

own countries — by getting intolerance out of schools,

stopping radicalization before it spreads and promoting

institutions and programmes that build new bridges of

understanding.

Thirdly, we must address the cycle of conflict,

especially sectarian conflict, that creates the conditions

that terrorists prey upon. There is nothing new about

wars within religions. Christianity endured centuries of

vicious sectarian conflict. Today it is violence within

Muslim communities that has become the source

of so much human misery. It is time to acknowledge

the destruction wrought by proxy wars and terror

campaigns between Sunni and Shia across the Middle

East. And it is time that political, civic and religious

leaders rejected sectarian strife. So let us be clear. This

is a fight that no one is winning. A brutal civil war in

Syria has already killed nearly 200,000 people and has

displaced millions. Iraq has come perilously close to

plunging back into the abyss. The conflict has created

a fertile recruiting ground for terrorists, who inevitably

export such violence.

The good news is that we also see signs that the tide

can be reversed. We have a new, inclusive Government

in Baghdad and a new Iraqi Prime Minister welcomed

by his neighbours; we see Lebanese factions that reject

those who try to provoke war. Such steps must be followed

by a broader truce. Nowhere is that more necessary

than in Syria. Together with our partners, America is

training and equipping the Syrian opposition to be a

counterweight to the terrorists of ISIL and the brutality

of the Al-Assad regime. But the only lasting solution

to Syria’s civil war is political — an inclusive political

transition that responds to the legitimate aspirations of

all Syrian citizens, regardless of ethnicity, regardless

of creed.

Cynics may argue that such an outcome can never

come to pass. But there is no other way for the madness

in Syria to end, whether one year from now or 10. And it

points to the fact that it is time for a broader negotiation

in the region, in which major Powers address their

differences directly, honestly and peacefully across

the table from one another, rather than through gun-

wielding proxies. I can promise the international

community that America will remain engaged in the

region, and we are prepared to engage in that effort.

My fourth and final point is a simple one. The

countries of the Arab and Muslim world must focus on

the extraordinary potential of their people, especially

the youth. And here I would like to speak directly to

young people across the Muslim world. You come

from a great tradition that stands for education, not

ignorance; innovation, not destruction; the dignity of

life, not murder. Those who call you away from that

path are betraying that tradition, not defending it. You

have demonstrated that when young people have the

tools to succeed — good schools, education in math

and science, an economy that nurtures creativity and

entrepreneurship — then societies will flourish. So,

America will partner with those who promote that

vision.

Where women are full participants in a country’s

politics or economy, societies are more likely to

succeed. And that is why we support the participation of

women in parliaments and peace processes, schools and

the economy. If young people live in places where the

only option is between the dictates of a State or the lure

of an extremist underground, then no counterterrorism

strategy can succeed. But where a genuine civil society

is allowed to flourish — where people can express their

views and organize peacefully for a better life — then

you dramatically expand the alternatives to terror.

And such positive change need not come at the

expense of tradition and faith. We see that in Iraq, where

a young man started a library for his peers. “We link

Iraq’s heritage to their hearts”, he said, and “give them

a reason to stay”. We see it in Tunisia, where secular

and Islamist parties worked together through a political

process to produce a new constitution. We see it in

Senegal, where civil society thrives alongside a strong

democratic Government. We see it in Malaysia, where

vibrant entrepreneurship is propelling a former colony

into the ranks of advanced economies. And we see it in

Indonesia, where what began as a violent transition has

evolved into a genuine democracy.

Ultimately the task of rejecting sectarianism and

rejecting extremism is a generational one, and a task

for the people of the Middle East themselves. No

external power can bring about a transformation of

hearts and minds. But America will be a respectful

and constructive partner. We will neither tolerate

terrorist safe havens nor act as an occupying Power.

We will take action against threats to our security and

our allies, while building an architecture of counter-

terrorism cooperation. We will increase efforts to lift

up those who counter extremist ideologies and who

seek to resolve sectarian conflict. And we will expand

our programmes to support entrepreneurship and civil

society, education and youth, because ultimately those

investments are the best antidote to violence.

We recognize as well that leadership will be

necessary to address the conflict between Palestinians

and Israelis. As bleak as the landscape appears, America

will not give up on the pursuit of peace. Understand that

the situation in Iraq and Syria and Libya should cure

anybody of the illusion that the Arab-Israeli conflict

is the main source of problems in the region. For far

too long that has been used as an excuse to distract

people from problems at home. The violence engulfing

the region today has made too many Israelis ready to

abandon the hard work of peace. And that is something

worthy of reflection within Israel. Because let us be

clear: the status quo in the West Bank and Gaza is not

sustainable. We cannot afford to turn away from that

effort — not when rockets are fired at innocent Israelis,

or when the lives of so many Palestinian children are

taken from us in Gaza. So long as I am President, we

will stand up for the principle that Israelis, Palestinians,

the region and the world will be more just and more

safe with two States living side by side, in peace and

security.

So this is what America is prepared to do: take

action against immediate threats, while pursuing a

world in which the need for such action is diminished.

The United States will never shy away from defending

our interests, but we will also not shy away from the

promise of this institution and its Universal Declaration

of Human Rights — the notion that peace is not merely

the absence of war, but the presence of a better life.

I realize that America’s critics will be quick to point

out that at times we too have failed to live up to our

ideals and that America has plenty of problems within

its own borders. That is true. In a summer marked by

instability in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, I

know the world also took notice of the small American

city of Ferguson, Missouri, where a young man was

killed and a community was divided. So, yes, we have

our own racial and ethnic tensions. And, like every

country, we continually wrestle with how to reconcile

the vast changes wrought by globalization and greater

diversity with the traditions that we hold dear.

But we welcome the scrutiny of the world, because

what you see in America is a country that has steadily

worked to address our problems, to make our union

more perfect, to bridge the divides that existed at the

founding of this nation. America is not the same as it

was 100 years ago or 50 years ago or even a decade ago.

We fight for our ideals and we are willing to criticize

ourselves when we fall short. We hold our leaders

accountable and insist on a free press and an independent

judiciary. We address our differences in the open space

of democracy, with respect for the rule of law, with a

place for people of every race and every religion and

with an unyielding belief in the ability of individual

men and women to change their communities and their

circumstances and their countries for the better.

After nearly six years as President, I believe that that

promise can help light the world. I have seen a longing

for positive change — for peace and for freedom and for

opportunity and for an end to bigotry — in the eyes of

young people whom I have met around the globe. They

remind me that no matter who you are or where you

come from or what you look like or what God you pray

to or whom you love, there is something fundamental

that we all share.

Eleanor Roosevelt, a champion of the United

Nations and America’s role in it, once asked,

“Where, after all, do universal human rights

begin? In small places, close to home — so close

and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps

of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual

person; the neighbourhood he lives in; the school or

college he attends; the factory, farm or office where

he works.”

Around the world, young people are moving forward,

hungry for a better world. Around the world, in small

places, they are overcoming hatred and bigotry and

sectarianism. And they are learning to respect each

other, despite differences.

The people of the world now look to us, here, to

be as decent and dignified and courageous as they are

trying to be in their daily lives. And at this crossroads,

I can promise the Assembly that the United States

of America will not be distracted or deterred from

what must be done. We are heirs to a proud legacy of

freedom, and we are prepared to do what is necessary

to secure that legacy for generations to come. I ask

that the Assembly join us in this common mission, for

today’s children and tomorrow’s.