Nations must forge new and more effective ways to work together to tackle the global challenges of climate change, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, poverty and shared prosperity, the Prime Minister has said.
Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, Gordon Brown said world leaders faced major decisions on these five “urgent challenges”.
- Watch the PM’s speech in full on the UN website
- Listen to a podcast of the PM’s speech
He proposed that countries should form a global bargain on nuclear weapons and warned that “statesmanship not brinkmanship” would be needed to achieve the ambition of a nuclear-free world.
The bargain would include imposing tougher sanctions against countries such as Iran and North Korea, offering civil nuclear power to non-nuclear states which are ready to renounce plans for nuclear weapons, and securing a commitment from countries with nuclear weapons to reduce their arsenals.
The PM said:
“Once there were five nuclear-armed powers. Now there are nine. The real and present danger is that more will soon follow. And the risk is not just state aggression, but the acquisition of nuclear weapons by terrorists. So we must accept we are at a moment of danger when decades of preventing proliferation could be overturned by a damaging rise in proliferation. And if we are serious about the ambition of a nuclear-free world we will need statesmanship, not brinkmanship.”
Mr Brown also warned leaders could not hope for a second chance to limit the effects of climate change if they could not reach an agreement at the Copenhagen climate conference in December.
Discussing terrorism, Mr Brown said NATO could not walk away from Afghanistan but must continue to help authorities in the country take charge of their own security. He also highlighted the diplomatic challenges posed by the Israel-Palestine conflict and the hardships endured by people in countries such as Sudan, Somalia and Burma.
Looking ahead to the G20 Summit, the Prime Minister said nations must cement a deal to continue global economic recovery and ensure the recession does not derail their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals.
The Prime Minister is attending meetings at the United Nations during a four-day trip to the US. On Thursday, he will go to Pittsburgh to take part in the G20 Summit.
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Speeches and transcripts: Speech to UN General Assembly
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