The Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Intervention at the UN General Assembly
29 September 2015
As delivered

Mr President, nearly 70 years ago, the first meetings of the General

Assembly and the Security Council took place in London. They marked the
point when the world came together to turn its back on war and to seek to
institutionalise the conditions for peace.

By that process, from the ashes of the Second World War, our
predecessors embarked upon a shared quest for peace, development and
human dignity.

And they succeeded where the League of Nations had failed. From 51
members at its inception to 193 now, the United Nations has become a
powerful and universally-recognised expression of our collective will to find
solutions to the most difficult challenges we face.

It is the cornerstone of the rules-based international system; and an

affirmation of the value we attach to human dignity and hope.

Britain is proud to have played its role in the birth of this organisation. And
proud, too, 70 years later, of the active role we play in international affairs,
as the only Security Council member, indeed, the only major economy in
the world, that both meets the NATO 2% target for defence spending and
the United Nations 0.7% target for development spending.

But seven decades on, the daily reality for millions of people is a very far
cry from the ideals set out in the UN Charter.

Despite the historic work delivered under the Millennium Development

Goals, over a billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day.

Insecurity, extremism and conflict in the Middle East have driven millions of
people to abandon their homes, creating a humanitarian emergency on an
unprecedented scale.

And many millions more still live under regimes in which they have no say
about how they are governed, and in which human rights and fundamental
freedoms are denied.

At the same time, the rules-based international system that keeps the
peace between nations is being undermined by states willing to violate the
territorial integrity of others, or to breach the most fundamental prohibitions
on weapons of mass destruction.

And alongside these challenges, we face the longer term threats of climate
change, global pandemics and anti-microbial resistance – threats that we
must tackle effectively now, if we are not to put the lives of future
generations at risk.

But it is in Syria and Iraq, in the crucible of human civilisation, that our
collective values and our will to act are being most immediately
challenged.

The twin evils of Assad’s murderous regime and the brutality of ISIL or
Da’aesh, have inflicted suffering on the Syrian people on an almost
unimaginable scale.

The humanitarian crisis, the tide of refugees seeking sanctuary in

neighbouring countries and in Europe, underscore the urgent need to end
the conflict and represent huge tests of our resolve.

I pay tribute to the extraordinary generosity of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan,

who have given a temporary home to many millions of refugees and who
have accepted this role stoically for years.

It is incumbent upon all of us to support them as they bear that burden; to

ensure that the UN appeals for Syria are fully funded. And I’m proud that
the UK is making the second largest contribution of any country to the
humanitarian mission in the region.

We judge it important that we seek to support those who have been

displaced as close as possible to their homes. Because there will be a new
Syria to build, post-Assad, and that country will need to draw on the talent
of all the Syrian people.

But a humanitarian response, alone, is not adequate. We share a

responsibility to act to end the bloody civil war and create an inclusive
political process, and to work together to crush ISIL and banish its twisted
ideology from the face of the earth.

The UK will continue to be a leading member of the international coalition

against ISIL, including carrying out more airstrikes in Iraq than any other
country except the US, for as long as it takes to prevail in what will
ultimately be a generational struggle against the Islamist extremist ideology
that drives it.

But the defeat of ISIL, on its own, will not bring peace to Syria. An inclusive
political settlement is the only sustainable way to end the suffering of the
Syrian people. We must redouble our efforts to build a political process
under Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, and to hold to account those who
have committed crimes during the conflict.

Positive movement on this agenda is a crucial test for the UN. Progress at
the Security Council has been blocked for too long. All parties must now
put narrow interests aside and cooperate for the good of the Syrian people
and to re-assert the values of this organisation.

Mr President, urgent though the crisis in Syria is – and to that we could add
the crises in Yemen, Somalia and Libya – we cannot neglect the need to
act now to prevent future threats to global security from arising.

But that collective action will only truly work if we have a shared analysis of
the real causes of poverty, injustice, and the conflict that feeds upon it.

We need a common recognition that strong, transparent and effective

institutions, open economies and open societies, the rule of law, and
freedom from corruption are the conditions that will allow development to
flourish over the long term, and so reduce the drivers that fuel conflict.

They provide what Prime Minister David Cameron has called “the golden
thread of development”, and they are vital to the success of the Sustainable
Development Goals.

Each country must, of course, follow its own path to prosperity. But as we
help the poorest countries overcome conflict, poverty and instability and to
move up the development curve, it is in all our interests that that
development is sustainable over the long term.

And the foundation for all sustainable development is security. As a

Permanent Member of the Security Council, the UK places security as the
prerequisite to good governance, strong institutions and economic
development at the core of its approach.

So, as the Prime Minister pledged yesterday, the UK will resume a

significant role in enabling peacekeeping operations, particularly in Africa
where the UK will support efforts by the United Nations and the African
Union to end some of the world’s most destabilising conflicts - conflicts that
are prompting mass migration from South Sudan and sustaining terrorist
groups in Somalia.

But there is another important truth to understand: security within countries

can only deliver the benefits of economic growth if it is matched by security
between countries.

Britain has always believed that the stability we seek in relations between
nations is best realised through the framework of laws, norms and
institutions that together constitute the rules-based international system
that was developed after the Second World War, with the UN Charter at its
heart.

Fundamental to that system is that states should respect the territorial

integrity and political independence of each other.

When states challenge those rules, all of us have a duty to come swiftly
and unambiguously to the defence of the victims. That is why we stand
shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainian people. Illegal actions and state
aggression must have consequences, or the international order will be
fatally undermined. We, the United Nations, insist that differences and
disputes are resolved within the framework international law, not outside it.
And the collective will to tackle threats to our security must be extended to
the threat we face from climate change. It represents not just a threat to
the environment and to our prosperity, but to our security too.

The impact of rising sea levels and rising global temperatures will be felt by
all of us, but it will hit hardest many of the poorest countries, and those who
are least able to adapt.

So the UK will not only cut its emissions at home but, as our Prime Minister
announced on Monday, also increase its support to climate finance for
vulnerable countries to $9 billion over the next five years.

We must work for a strong and effective deal at the Conference of Parties
in Paris in December...

...built upon clear commitments from all nations to lower emissions targets
still further...

...and a collective commitment to maintain the goal of limiting global

warming to two-degrees.

Mr President, 70 years after the first General Assembly, the United Nations
stands, battered by the waves of international crises, but unbowed, proudly
at the heart of the international order.

Over seven decades, it has played a critical role in addressing almost every
challenge we have faced.

And crucial to its future success will be further evolution, embracing change,
maintaining relevance in this 21st Century.

The UN must strive to represent the new realities of our age, with a
reformed Security Council.

It must have the best possible leadership, with a transparent system for
selecting the next Secretary General...

...and he (or dare I suggest, perhaps, she?) will have to head a more
efficient organisation, ensuring that every cent it receives from its members
states is used to maximum effect.

As a founding member of the UN, and as a permanent member of the

Security Council, the UK will champion that reform agenda.

And we will continue to promote the ideals that the United Nations
represents.

Seventy years ago, a generation resolved to shape their world on a vision

for peace, security and universal values.

Today, realising that vision in its totality still eludes us. But we have,
demonstrated that, when we work together collectively, we can take great
strides towards it.

Now, we must resolve to demonstrate that collective will. To recognise that

it is not only our moral duty, but also in the enlightened national interest of
all of us, to act. To respond to the grave humanitarian crises we face. To
tackle the causes of conflict, poverty and instability. And to uphold the
rules-based international system.

The world is a better place because of the foundation of the United Nations
by our predecessors 70 years ago. By holding firm to our ideals as UN
members, in the face of all challenges and all temptations, we will preserve
their legacy and continue to build the foundations for a better age; an age
of peace, hope and dignity for all.

Thank you.