The eyes of the world are on New York. The United Nations General Assembly convened for the 81st time. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is addressing the United Nations General Assembly for the 16th time.
Highlights from President Erdoğan's statements:
I pray to God that the 81st General Assembly of the United Nations will be beneficial to all people, especially the oppressed.
I would like to express our congratulations and thanks to my dear friend Mr. Guterres, who has served as the Secretary-General of the United Nations with impartiality and, above all, courage, for nearly ten years, for his efforts.
First of all, I would like to express my sadness. Mr. Mahmud Abbas, the esteemed President of the State of Palestine, who is officially recognized by the overwhelming majority of member countries, has not been able to take part in this hall for the second year in a row. This injustice towards our Palestinian brothers hurts the conscience. I want it to be known that even though Mr. Abbas cannot be here in person, we will continue to announce to the world from the UN rostrum the voice of the free and sovereign State of Palestine, just like last year. On this occasion, today I once again invite all countries that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to review their decisions.
"HUMANITY IS LONGLY WAITING FOR THE DAYS WHEN A STRONG WILL WILL COME TO LIFE"
Mr. President, dear members. When the United Nations Charter was signed on June 26, 1945, member states declared with great hope: "We, the people of the United Nations, have decided to protect future generations from the disaster of war that brings indescribable suffering to humanity twice in a human lifetime, to create the necessary conditions for fundamental human rights, the dignity and value of the human person, the protection of justice and respect for the obligations arising from the agreement, to live in peace with each other in the spirit of good neighborliness, and to join our forces to maintain international peace and security." they said.
More than 81 years have passed since the agreement. But humanity is still longing for the days when the strong will of that day will come to life.
ISRAEL'S STATE TERROR
There is no need to go that far. It is enough to just take a look at the table of the last year. Look, the past 12 months have been recorded as one of the bloodiest periods of the last 30 years, with more than 60 conflicts and wars. 250 thousand people lost their lives from Gaza to Ukraine and Russia, from Myanmar to Darfur, from Iran to Lebanon. Many more experienced indescribable pain. Hundreds of thousands of them had to leave the lands where they were born and raised. In Gaza alone, in the last three years, 74 thousand of our brothers and sisters, mostly children and women, became victims of Israel's state terrorism. The people of Gaza are still searching for their loved ones under the rubble, digging up the bodies of their wives, children and parents. Innocent children who lost their hands and feet in Israeli attacks are trying to go to school and hold on to life with prosthetics made of wood.
More than 70 percent of generators in hospitals in Gaza are currently out of service due to fuel shortages. As a father and a grandfather who cares about his children and grandchildren, I have to say this from this podium, with our conscience torn: Gaza is not only the world's largest children's cemetery today. It is also the region with the highest child amputation rate in the world.
"THIS IS NOT TAYYIP ERDOĞAN'S PERSONAL ISSUE, IT IS A HUMAN ISSUE"
Gaza is the most inhumane and shameful concentration camp of our time. Even after the ceasefire reached with the efforts of President Trump and the contributions of countries including us, the number of Gazans murdered exceeded 1,500. The Israeli Government is not willing to stop the occupation. In the West Bank, we are experiencing the heaviest period of settler terrorism. Muslims and Christians are prevented from accessing holy places in Jerusalem. UNRWA, our joint initiative, is being destroyed. Now, my dear friends, today I will express some truths here, with my heart, without putting any curtains on the cave of my words. No one should be sorry. No one should be offended or offended.
This is not Tayyip Erdoğan's personal issue. This is a humanitarian issue. It is a matter of conscience for all of us. We are faced with a genocidal mentality that cannot get enough of killing. We have an extremely dire situation before us. No one who has humanity in his heart, who has mercy and compassion in his heart, who is humane and conscientious, can close his eyes to this picture.
"THE WORLD IS BIGGER THAN 5"
The Security Council must be reformed according to the principle that the world is bigger than 5. On the one hand, we need to keep up with the rapidly developing technology, and on the other hand, we carry the difficult but sublime responsibility of building a just order. I want to share some basic principles with you. We have to change the understanding that international law is applied differently to the strong and differently to the weak. The system in which the perpetrators get away with it and impunity becomes commonplace is doomed to decay.
First of all, we have to change the current understanding in which international law is applied differently to the strong and differently to the weak. It should not be forgotten that an international system where those who do it get away with it and where impunity becomes commonplace is doomed to decay.
Secondly, we have to use regional ownership to open a new path at every stage where international will is blocked in resolving crises. As Türkiye, we have achieved results in every issue, such as the Black Sea Grain Corridor, in which we acted together with this country. We contributed to both regional and global security.
Thirdly, we must reestablish an understanding that puts cooperation and open diplomacy at the center of interstate relations. History has shown us many times through bitter experience that there are no winners in a political approach based on distrust.
Fourth, we must build together a new paradigm that provides solutions to the deepening income inequalities around the world. We believe that the way to achieve this is through common development, solidarity and non-alignment. Societies connected to each other by roads, trade, energy lines and joint production will eventually unite in peace and stability.
Finally, we should not allow the building of new walls between those who have technology and those who do not, by making the human-centered understanding of technology dominant. It should be known that techno-polarization and digital hegemony are neither for the benefit of the United Nations-centered system nor for the states that are its essential elements. Dear delegates, as Türkiye, we do not just express these principles. We seek a more just and humane international system with every step we take. With the defense alliance we have established with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia with the understanding of regional ownership, we both reinforce the solidarity between us and aim to produce solutions to the problems in our region from within the region. Our efforts with relevant actors to end the conflict and war environment that has been fueled in the Gulf continue.
