Dilma Rousseff opens UN General Assembly

When opening the United Nations General Assembly (UN), President Dilma Rousseff expressed today (28) Brazil's solidarity with the refugees—especially with the Middle East and North Africa populations, victims of the Syrian civil war that have left their countries of origin on humanitarian grounds. "It is an absurd to impede the free flow of people," she declared, adding that Brazil is "with open arms" to receive the refugees. "Brazil is a hosting country. We are a multiethnic nation, where differences coexist we recognize its importance to make us [our country] richer and more diverse. "

Traditionally Brazil addresses the opening session of the UN General Assembly. In her speech this year, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the United Nations creation, Rousseff pointed out the Brazilian supportive and welcoming spirit about the migration phenomena, human mobility and displacement made on humanitarian grounds.

"The UN is before a great challenge, with barbaric acts such as those perpetrated by the so called Islamic State and other associated groups. This situation explains, to a large extent, the refugee crisis that humankind is currently experiencing. A significant portion men and women venturing the waters of the Mediterranean come from the Middle East and Northern Africa,  from countries which had their state institutions de-structured by military action, thereby opening space for terrorism," declared the president to show a profound sense of indignation caused by the picture of the dead Syrian boy and by the news of the 70 people asphyxiated inside a truck in Austria.

In the president's view, Brazil has worked to improve the situation of many of these refugees, and this can be perceived through the visa granting policies aimed at Haitian and Syrian citizens.  

According to Dilma Rousseff, the migratory crisis the world is now facing poses challenges to humankind and, in particular, to the UN, which cannot be complacent with clear human rights violations.

Palestine

Dilma Rousseff advocated the UN reform, peace in the Middle East and the creation of a Palestinian state, similar to her previous address some years ago at the General Assembly. The president received loud applause when stated that the United Nations must be able to act on issues of war and regional crisis. "We can no longer delay, for example, the creation of a Palestinian State, coexisting peacefully and harmoniously with Israel. In the same vein, the expansion of settlements in the occupied territories cannot be tolerated," she declared.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta

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