Speech Delivered by H.E. Abdullah Gül at the Security Council of the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly

23.09.2010
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Now, before I give the floor to the Secretary-General, allow me to say a few words on the rationale behind this important meeting.

First of all, it is not very often that the Council convenes at such a high level. So, I wish to extend my gratitude to all of you for accepting my invitation and attending this meeting.

I truly believe that our gathering today presents an opportunity for an exchange of views on the evolving security environment and the effectiveness of the tools available to the Security Council.

In this regard, we have to admit that the world has changed dramatically since the foundation of the United Nations in 1945. The core threat that the United Nations was created to prevent – war between states – has now been overtaken by new regional and global security threats.

Indeed, in recent decades, the Security Council has been pre-occupied by extremely complex issues such as intra-state conflicts, failed states, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and transnational organized crime.

Within this new strategic environment, security and peace can no longer be maintained by military means alone.

Historical, social, cultural, political demographic and economic factors increasingly enter into play and influence our actions and reactions.

In particular, addressing the complex linkages among the notions of democracy, development and security has become a core necessity for sustainable peace.

That, in turn, compels us to adopt a more comprehensive and cooperative approach to peace and security.

The Security Council, which has been entrusted by the UN Charter with the primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security, should lead by example in this direction.

This is precisely why we wanted to have this Summit to undertake a broad review of the international security environment and display a renewed commitment to deal with the evolving challenges. Two decades after the Cold War and ten years into the 21st century, now is the best time to do that.

Therefore, I am confident that our meeting today will help us take stock of our actions so far, provide a firm guidance to our future endeavors and lay out a bold vision of peace and collective security.

I hope the meeting would also provide a fresh and additional vigor to the Security Council and enable it to forge ahead in the maintenance of global peace and security.

At the end of this meeting, I hope we can give three key messages to the international community:

-The first message is about the need for a comprehensive approach to peace and security. The operational tools at the Security Council’s disposal, namely preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, must be used in a coherent and strategic framework.

-The second message should emphasize the need to constantly adapt our responses and actions in the face of evolving circumstances.

-And the third and final message should underline the need for a new and stronger partnerships among all major stakeholders, particularly the Security Council, General Assembly, ECOSOC, PBC, regional organizations and international financial institutions in meeting contemporary security challenges.

Let me stop here and start our deliberations.

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