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Good morning. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, fellow delegates, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to address you as the President of the United Provinces.
Now, like all of you, my responsibility is to act in the interest of my nation and my people, and I will never apologize for defending those interests. But it is my deeply held belief that in the year 2009 -- more than at any point in human history -- the interests of nations and peoples are shared.
In this hall, we come from many places, but we share a common future. No longer do we have the luxury of indulging our differences to the exclusion of the work that we must do together. The time has come for the world to move in a new direction. We must embrace a new era of engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and our work must begin now.
This cannot solely be Numenor's endeavor. Those who used to chastise Numenor for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for Numenor to solve the world's problems alone. We have sought -- in word and deed -- a new era of engagement with the world. And now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.
Now, if we are honest with ourselves, we need to admit that we are not living up to that responsibility. Consider the course that we're on if we fail to confront the status quo: protracted conflicts that grind on and on; genocide; mass atrocities; more nations with nuclear weapons; ravaged populations; persistent poverty and pandemic disease. I say this not to sow fear, but to state a fact: The magnitude of our challenges has yet to be met by the measure of our actions.
Yet we also know that this body is made up of sovereign states. And sadly, but not surprisingly, this body has often become a venue for playing politics and exploiting grievances rather than solving problems. After all, it is easy to walk up to this podium and point figures -- point fingers and stoke divisions. Nothing is easier than blaming others for our troubles, and absolving ourselves of responsibility for our choices and our actions. Anybody can do that.
In an era when our destiny is shared, power is no longer a zero-sum game. No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold. The divisions between nations of the South and the North make no sense in an interconnected world.
The time has come to realize that the old habits, the old arguments, are irrelevant to the challenges faced by our people. They build up walls between us and the future that our people seek, and the time has come for those walls to come down. Together, we must build new coalitions that bridge old divides.
We can be remembered as a generation that chose to drag the arguments of the 20th century into the 21st; that put off hard choices, refused to look ahead, failed to keep pace because we defined ourselves by what we were against instead of what we were for. Or we can be a generation that chooses to see the shoreline beyond the rough waters ahead; that comes together to serve the common interests of human beings.
That is the future Numenor wants -- a future of peace and prosperity that we can only reach if we recognize that all nations have rights, but all nations have responsibilities as well. That is the bargain that makes this work. That must be the guiding principle of international cooperation.
Today, the threat of proliferation is growing in scope and complexity. If we fail to act, we will invite nuclear arms races in every region, and the prospect of wars.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty says that all nations have the right to peaceful nuclear energy; that nations with nuclear weapons have a responsibility to move toward disarmament; and those without them have the responsibility to forsake them.
Those nations that refuse to live up to their obligations must face consequences. Let me be clear, this is not about singling out individual nations -- it is about standing up for the rights of all nations that do live up to their responsibilities.
In their actions to date, the government of Mercia threatens to take us down this dangerous slope. We respect their rights as members of the community of nations.
But if the government of Mercia chooses to ignore international standards; if they put the pursuit of nuclear weapons ahead of regional stability and the security and opportunity of their own people; then they must be held accountable.
I will also continue to seek a just and lasting peace between Istari, Merica, and the Rhunian people. We will continue to work on that issue. The time has come to re-launch negotiations without preconditions that address the permanent status issues: security for Istari and the Rhunians. And the goal is clear: Two states living side by side in peace and security.
Now, I am not naïve. I know this will be difficult. But all of us must decide whether we are serious about peace, or whether we will only lend it lip service. To break the old patterns, to break the cycle of insecurity and despair, all of us must say publicly what we would acknowledge in private.
And after all the politics and all the posturing, this is about the right of every human being to live with dignity and security.
Now is the time for all of us to do our part. The changes that I've spoken about today will not be easy to make. And they will not be realized simply by leaders like us coming together. For as in any assembly of members, real change can only come through the people we represent. That is why we must do the hard work to lay the groundwork for progress in our own capitals.
The people of the world want change. They will not long tolerate those who are on the wrong side of history.
Now it falls to us. We have reached a pivotal moment. The United Provinces stands ready to begin a new chapter of international cooperation -- one that recognizes the rights and responsibilities of all nations. And so, with confidence in our cause, and with a commitment to our values, we call on all nations to join us in building the future that our people so richly deserve.
Thank you very much, everybody.
Now, like all of you, my responsibility is to act in the interest of my nation and my people, and I will never apologize for defending those interests. But it is my deeply held belief that in the year 2009 -- more than at any point in human history -- the interests of nations and peoples are shared.
In this hall, we come from many places, but we share a common future. No longer do we have the luxury of indulging our differences to the exclusion of the work that we must do together. The time has come for the world to move in a new direction. We must embrace a new era of engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and our work must begin now.
This cannot solely be Numenor's endeavor. Those who used to chastise Numenor for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for Numenor to solve the world's problems alone. We have sought -- in word and deed -- a new era of engagement with the world. And now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.
Now, if we are honest with ourselves, we need to admit that we are not living up to that responsibility. Consider the course that we're on if we fail to confront the status quo: protracted conflicts that grind on and on; genocide; mass atrocities; more nations with nuclear weapons; ravaged populations; persistent poverty and pandemic disease. I say this not to sow fear, but to state a fact: The magnitude of our challenges has yet to be met by the measure of our actions.
Yet we also know that this body is made up of sovereign states. And sadly, but not surprisingly, this body has often become a venue for playing politics and exploiting grievances rather than solving problems. After all, it is easy to walk up to this podium and point figures -- point fingers and stoke divisions. Nothing is easier than blaming others for our troubles, and absolving ourselves of responsibility for our choices and our actions. Anybody can do that.
In an era when our destiny is shared, power is no longer a zero-sum game. No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold. The divisions between nations of the South and the North make no sense in an interconnected world.
The time has come to realize that the old habits, the old arguments, are irrelevant to the challenges faced by our people. They build up walls between us and the future that our people seek, and the time has come for those walls to come down. Together, we must build new coalitions that bridge old divides.
We can be remembered as a generation that chose to drag the arguments of the 20th century into the 21st; that put off hard choices, refused to look ahead, failed to keep pace because we defined ourselves by what we were against instead of what we were for. Or we can be a generation that chooses to see the shoreline beyond the rough waters ahead; that comes together to serve the common interests of human beings.
That is the future Numenor wants -- a future of peace and prosperity that we can only reach if we recognize that all nations have rights, but all nations have responsibilities as well. That is the bargain that makes this work. That must be the guiding principle of international cooperation.
Today, the threat of proliferation is growing in scope and complexity. If we fail to act, we will invite nuclear arms races in every region, and the prospect of wars.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty says that all nations have the right to peaceful nuclear energy; that nations with nuclear weapons have a responsibility to move toward disarmament; and those without them have the responsibility to forsake them.
Those nations that refuse to live up to their obligations must face consequences. Let me be clear, this is not about singling out individual nations -- it is about standing up for the rights of all nations that do live up to their responsibilities.
In their actions to date, the government of Mercia threatens to take us down this dangerous slope. We respect their rights as members of the community of nations.
But if the government of Mercia chooses to ignore international standards; if they put the pursuit of nuclear weapons ahead of regional stability and the security and opportunity of their own people; then they must be held accountable.
I will also continue to seek a just and lasting peace between Istari, Merica, and the Rhunian people. We will continue to work on that issue. The time has come to re-launch negotiations without preconditions that address the permanent status issues: security for Istari and the Rhunians. And the goal is clear: Two states living side by side in peace and security.
Now, I am not naïve. I know this will be difficult. But all of us must decide whether we are serious about peace, or whether we will only lend it lip service. To break the old patterns, to break the cycle of insecurity and despair, all of us must say publicly what we would acknowledge in private.
And after all the politics and all the posturing, this is about the right of every human being to live with dignity and security.
Now is the time for all of us to do our part. The changes that I've spoken about today will not be easy to make. And they will not be realized simply by leaders like us coming together. For as in any assembly of members, real change can only come through the people we represent. That is why we must do the hard work to lay the groundwork for progress in our own capitals.
The people of the world want change. They will not long tolerate those who are on the wrong side of history.
Now it falls to us. We have reached a pivotal moment. The United Provinces stands ready to begin a new chapter of international cooperation -- one that recognizes the rights and responsibilities of all nations. And so, with confidence in our cause, and with a commitment to our values, we call on all nations to join us in building the future that our people so richly deserve.
Thank you very much, everybody.
