Originally published on the CGS blog on September 21, 2011.
President Obama took to the podium today at the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), and spoke to that body-and the world–about the progress that’s been made since last year’s UNGA and the multitude of challenges that lie ahead. This was a speech more focused on lofty goals than concrete proposals or policy commitments, but nevertheless it was powerful and touched on many key issues at the heart of Citizens for Global Solutions’ mission.
The key theme of Obama’s speech? “Peace is hard.” But it’s also worth the effort.
Watch the Video:
Obama began by speaking about success stories of the past year around the globe, from the creation of the new state of South Sudan after decades of civil war to the U.N.’s response to the post-election violence in Cote D’Ivoire to the greater freedom now enjoyed in countries from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya as the result of the Arab Spring. He also referred to his goal of a nuclear-free world, and cited the New START treaty signed and ratified by the U.S. and Russia last year as progress in that direction.
However, Obama noted that plenty of global challenges remain. Speaking about the Israel/Palestinian conflict, he expressed his belief that peace between Israelis and Palestinians needs to happen through negotiations by these parties, not through a U.N. resolution. Instead, he cited the mostly peaceful separation of North and South Sudan as an example of how a new state can and should be created through bilateral negotiations and agreement.
Obama also addressed the ongoing violence in Syria and called for the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions-indirectly calling out Russia and China for not supporting such action so far. This was a powerful endorsement of the idea of the Responsibility Not to Veto (RN2V), which states that permanent Security Council members-the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China-have a moral obligation to refrain from using their veto power on resolutions when protection of civilians is at stake, as is the case in Syria. The Responsibility Not to Veto is a key principle that CGS has long advocated for, and I appreciated Obama’s reference to it, however indirectly.
A few other remarks of interest to CGS: Obama said that “our conscience calls us to act” in continuing to provide assistance to victims of famine in the Horn of Africa. He added a few comments on climate change: “We must not put off the action that a changing climate demands.” Obama also said that increased respect for women and minorities is needed (U.S. ratification of the CEDAW Treaty for the Rights of Women would be a good step in this direction!)
To sum up the speech in Obama’s words: “…Let us remember: peace is hard. Progress can be reversed. Prosperity comes slowly. Societies can split apart. The measure of our success must be whether people can live in sustained freedom, dignity, and security. And the United Nations and its member states must do their part to support those basic aspirations.” I couldn’t agree more.
