Biden Addresses 76th U.N. General Assembly

moment of intermingled with great pain and extraordinary possibility we've lost so much to this deputy this devastating pandemic that continues to claim lives around the world and impact so much on our existence we're mourning more than 4.5 million people people of every nation from every background each death is an individual heartbreak but our shared grief is a poignant reminder that our collective future will hinge on our ability to recognize our common humanity and to act together ladies and gentlemen this is the clear and urgent choice that we face here at the dawning of what must be a decisive decade for our world a decade they will quite literally determine our futures as a global community we're challenged by urgent and looming crises wherein lie enormous opportunities if if we can summon the will and resolve to seize these opportunities will we work together to save lives defeat covet 19 everywhere and take the necessary steps to prepare ourselves for the next pandemic for there will be another one or will we fail to harness the tools at our disposal as the more virulent and dangerous variants take hold when we meet the threat of challenging climate the challenging climate we're all feeling already ravaging every part of our world with extreme weather or will we suffer the merciless march of ever worsening droughts and floods more intense fires and hurricanes longer heat waves and rising seas will we affirm and uphold the human dignity and human rights under which nations and common cause more than seven decades ago formed this institution will we apply and strengthen the core tenants of internet of the international system including the un charter and the universal declaration of human rights as we seek to shape the emergence of new technologies and deter new threats or will we allow these universal those universal principles to be trampled and twisted in the pursuit of naked political power in my view how we answer these questions in this moment whether we choose to fight for our shared future or not will reverberate for generations yet to come simply put we stand in my view at an inflection point in history and i'm here today to share with you how the united states intends to work with partners and allies to answer these questions and the commitment of my new administration helped lead the world toward a more peaceful prosperous future for all people instead of continuing to fight the wars of the past we are fixing our eyes on devoting our resources to the challenges that hold the keys to our collective future ending this pandemic addressing the climate crisis managing the shifts in global power dynamics shaping the rules of the world on vital issues like trade cyber and emerging technologies and facing the threat of terrorism as it stands today we've ended 20 years of conflict in afghanistan and as we close this period of relentless war we're opening a new era of relentless diplomacy of using the power of our development aid to invest in new ways of lifting people up around the world of renewing and defending democracy but proving that no matter how challenging or how complex the problems we're going to face government by and for the people is still the best way to deliver for all of our people and as the united states turns our focus to the priorities and the regions of the world like the indo-pacific that are most consequential today and tomorrow will do so with our allies and partners through cooperation at multilateral institutions like the united nations to amplify our collective strength and speed our progress toward dealing with these global challenges is the fundamental truth of the 21st century within each of our countries and as a global community that our own success is bound up in others succeeding as well to deliver for our own people must also engage deeply with the rest of the world to ensure that our own future we must work together with other partners our partners toward a shared future our security our prosperity and our very freedoms are interconnected in my view as never before and so i believe we must work together as never before over the last eight months i rebuilding our alliances revitalizing our partnerships and recognizing they are essential and central to america's enduring security and prosperity we have reaffirmed our sacred nato alliance to article 5 commitment we're working with our allies toward a new strategic concept that will help our alliance better take on evolving threats of today and tomorrow we renewed our engagement with the european union a fundamental partner in tackling the full range of significant issues facing our world today we elevated the quad partnership among australia india japan and the united states to take on challenges ranging from health security to climate to emerging technologies we're engaging with regional institutions from asean to the african union to the organization of american states to focus on people's urges needs for better health and better economic outcomes we're back at the table in international forums especially the united nations to focus attention and to spur global action on shared challenges we are reengaged at the world health organization and working in close partnership with kovacs to deliver life-saving vaccines around the world we rejoined the paris climate agreement and we're running to retake a seat in the human rights council next year at the u.n and as the united states seeks to rally the world action we will lead not just with the example of our power but god ruling with the power of our example make no mistake the united states will continue to defend ourselves our allies and our interests against attack including terrorist threats as we prepare to use force if any is necessary but to defend our vital u.s

national interest including against ongoing and imminent threats but the mission must be clear and achievable undertaken with informed consent of the american people and whenever possible in partnership with our allies u.s military power must be our tool of last resort not our first it should not be used as an answer to every problem we see around the world indeed today many of our greatest concerns cannot be solved or even addressed through the force of arms bombs and bullets cannot defend against covet 19 or its future variants to fight this pandemic we need a collective act of science and political will we need to act now to get shots in arms as fast as possible and expand access to oxygen test treatments to save lives around the world and for the future we need to create a new mechanism to finance global health security that builds on our existing development assistance and global health and a global health threat council council that is armed with the tools we need to monitor and identify emerging pandemics so that we can take immediate action already the united states has put more than 15 billion dollars toward global covert response the global cobra response we've shipped more than 160 million doses of covert 19 vaccine to other countries this includes 130 million doses from our own supply and the first tranches of the half a billion doses of pfizer vaccine we purchased to donate through kovacs planes carrying vaccines from the united states have already landed in 100 countries bringing people all over the world a little dose of hope as one american nurse termed it to me a dose of hope direct from the american people and importantly no strings attached and tomorrow at the u.s hosted global 19 covet 19 summit i'll be announcing additional commitments as we seek to advance the fight against covert 19 and hold ourselves accountable around specific targets on three key challenges saving lives now vaccinating the world and building back better this year has also brought widespread death and devastation from the borderless climate crisis the extreme weather events that we have seen in every part of the world and you all know it and feel it represent what the secretary general has rightly called code red for humanity and the scientists and experts are telling us that we're fast approaching a point of no return in a literal sense to keep within our reach the vital goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius every nation needs to bring their highest possible ambitions to the table when we meet in glasgow for cop26 and then to have to keep raising our collective ambition over time in april i announced the united states ambitious new goal under the paris agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the united states by 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 as we work toward achieving the clean energy economy with net zero emissions by 2050. and my administration is working closely with our congress to make critical investments in green infrastructure and electric vehicles that'll help us lock in progress at home toward our climate goals and the best part is making these ambitious investments isn't just good climate policy it's a chance for each of our countries to invest in ourselves and our own future it's an enormous opportunity to create good paying for workers in each of our countries and to spur long-term economic growth that will improve the quality of life for all of our people we also have to support the countries and people that will be hit the hardest and that have the fewest resources to help them adapt in april i announce the united states will double our public international financing to help developing nations tackle the climate crisis and today i'm proud to announce that we'll work with the congress to double that number again including for adaptation efforts this will make the united states a leader in public climate finance and with our added support together with increased private capital and other from other donors we'll be able to meet the goal of mobilizing 100 billion dollars to support climate action in developing nations as we deal with these crises we're also encountering a new era an era of new technologies and possibilities that have potential to release and reshape every aspect of human existence and it's up to all of us to determine whether these technologies are forced to empower people or to deepen repression as new technologies continue to evolve we'll work together with our democratic partners to ensure that new advances in areas from biotechnology to quantum computing 5g artificial intelligence and more are used to lift people up to solve problems and advance human freedom not to suppress dissent or target minority communities and the united states tends to make a profound investment in research and innovation working with countries at all stages of economic development to develop new tools and technologies to help us tackle the challenges of this second quarter of the 21st century and beyond we're hardening our critical infrastructure against cyber attacks disrupting ransomware networks and working to establish clear rules of the road for all nations as it relates to cyberspace we reserve the right to respond decisively to cyber attacks that threaten our people our allies our interests we will pursue new rules of global trade and economic growth to strive to level the playing field so that it's not artificially tipped in favor of any one country at the expense of others and every nation has a right and opportunity to compete fairly we will strive to ensure that basic labor rights environmental safeguards and intellectual property are protected and that the benefits of globalization are shared broadly throughout all our societies we'll continue to uphold the long-standing rules and norms that have formed the guard rails of international engagement for decades that have been essential to the development of nations around the world bedrock commitments like freedom of navigation adherence to international laws and treaties support for arms control measures to reduce the rest the risk and enhance transparency our approach is firmly grounded and fully consistent with the united nations mission and the values we've agreed to when we drafted this charter these are commitments we all made and that we're all bound to uphold and as we strive to deal with these urgent challenges whether they're long-standing or newly emerging we must also deal with one another all the major powers of the world have a duty in my view to carefully manage their relationships so we do not tip from responsible competition to conflict the united states will compete and will compete vigorously and lead with our values and our strength we'll stand up for our allies and our friends and oppose attempts by stronger countries to dominate weaker ones whether through changes to territory by force economic coercion technical exploitation or disinformation but we're not seeking say it again we are not seeking a new cold war or a world divided into rigid blocks the united states is ready to work with any nation that steps up and pursues peaceful resolution to shared challenges even if we have intense disagreements in other areas because we'll all suffer the consequences of our failure if we do not come together to address the urgent threats like covet 19 and climate change or enduring threats like nuclear proliferation the united states remains committed to preventing the right to preventing iran from granting a nuclear weapon we are working with the p5 plus one to engage iran diplomatically and to seek a return to jcpoa we're prepared to return to full compliance if iran does the same similarly we seek serious and sustained diplomacy to pursue the complete denuclearization of the korean peninsula we seek concrete progress toward an available plan with tangible commitments that would increase stability on the peninsula and in the region as well as improve the lives of the people in the democratic people's republic of korea we must also remain vigilant to the threat of terror that terrorism poses to all our nations whether emanating from distant regions of the world or in our own backyard we know the bitter string of terrorism the bitter sting of terrorism is real we've almost all experienced it last month we lost 13 american heroes and almost 200 innocent afghan civilians in a heinous terrorist attack at the kabul airport those who commit acts of terrorism against us will continue to find a determined enemy in the united states the world today is not the world of 2001 though and the united states is not the same country were when we were attacked on 9 11 20 years ago today we're better equipped to detect to prevent terrorist threats and we are more resilient in our ability to repel them and to respond we know how to build effective partnerships to dismantle terrorist networks by targeting their financing and support systems countering their propaganda preventing their travel as well as disrupting imminent attacks we'll meet terrorist threats that arise today in the future with a full range of tools available to us including working in cooperation with local partners so that we need not be so reliant on large-scale military deployments one of the most important ways we can effectively enhance security and reduce violence is by seeking to improve the lives of the people all over the world who see that their governments are not serving their needs corruption fuels inequality siphons off a nation's resources spreads across borders and generates human suffering it's nothing less than a national security threat in the 21st century around the world we're increasingly seeing citizens demonstrate their discontent seeing the wealthy and well-connected grow richer and richer taking payoffs and bribes operating above the law while the vast majority of the people struggle to find a job or put food on the table or to get their businesses off the ground or simply send their children to school people have taken to the streets in every region to demand that their governments address people's basic needs give everyone a fair shot to succeed and protect their god-given rights and in that chorus of voices across languages and continents we hear a common cry a cry for dignity simple dignity as leaders it's our duty to answer that call not to silence it the united states is committing to you committed to using our resources and our international platform to support these voices listen to them partner with them to find ways to respond that advance human dignity around the world for example there's an enormous need for infrastructure in developing countries but infrastructure that is low quality or that feeds corruption or exacerbates environmental degradation i only end up contributing to greater challenges for countries over time done the right way however with transparent sustainable investment in projects that respond to the country's needs and engage their local workers to maintain high labor and environmental standards infrastructure can be a strong foundation that allows societies and low and middle income countries to grow and to prosper that's the idea behind the buildback better world and together with the private sector and our g7 partners we aim to mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure investment we also will also continue to be the world's largest contributor to humanitarian assistance bringing food water shelter emergency health care and other vital life-saving aid to millions of people in need when the earthquake strikes the typhoon rages or disaster anywhere in the world the united states shows up we'll be ready to help and at a time when nearly one in three people globally do not have access to adequate food adequate food just last year the united states is committed to rallying our partners to address immediate malnutrition and to ensure that we can sustainably feed the world for the decades to come to that end the united states is making a 10 billion dollar commitment then hunger and invest in food systems at home and abroad since 2000 the united states government has provided more than 140 billion dollars to advance health and strengthen health systems and we will continue our leadership to drive these vital investments to make people's lives better every single day just give them a little breathing room and as we strive to make lives better we must work with renewed purpose then the conflicts that are driving so much pain and hurt around the world must redouble our diplomacy and commit to political negotiations not violence as a tool first resort to manage tensions around the world must seek a future of greater peace and security for all people of the middle east the commitment of the united states israeli securities without question and support our support for an independent jewish state is unequivocal but i continue to believe that a two-state solution is the best way to ensure israel's future as a jewish democratic state living in peace alongside a viable sovereign and democratic palestinian state we're a long way from that goal at this moment but we must never allow ourselves to give up on the possibility of progress we cannot give up on solving raging civil conflicts including in ethiopia and yemen we're fighting between war warring parties is driving famine heroic horrific violence human rights violations against civilians including and constantly use of rape as a weapon of war we'll continue to work with the international community to press for peace and bring an end to this suffering as we pursue diplomacy across the board the united states will champion the democratic values that go to the very heart of who we are as a nation and a people freedom equality opportunity and a belief in the universal rights of all people it stamped into our dna as a nation and critically it stamped into the dna of this institution the united states we sometimes forget i quote the opening words of the universal declaration of human rights quote the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom justice and peace in the world the founding ethos of the united nations places the rights of individuals at the center of our system and that clarity and vision must not be ignored or misinterpreted the united states will do our part but will be more successful and more impactful if all of our nations are working toward the full mission to which we are called that's why more than 100 nations united again around a shared statement the security council adopted a resolution outlining how we'll support the people of afghanistan moving forward laying out the expectations to which we'll hold the taliban when it comes to respecting universal human rights we all must advocate for women the rights of women and girls to use their full talents to contribute economically politically and socially and pursue their dreams free of violence and intimidation from central america to the middle east to africa to afghanistan wherever it appears in the world we almost call out and condemn the targeting and oppression of racial ethnic and religious minorities when it occurs in whether it occurs in xinjiang or northern ethiopia or anywhere in the world we all must defend the rights of lgbtqi individuals so they can live and love openly without fear whether it's chechnya or cameroon or anywhere as we steer steer our nations toward this inflection point and work to meet today's fast-moving cross-cutting challenges let me be clear i am not agnostic about the future we want for the world the future will belong to those who embrace human dignity not trample it the future will belong to those who unleash the potential of their people not those who stifle it the future will belong to those who give their people the ability to breathe free not those who seek to suffocate their people with an iron hand authoritarianism the authoritarianism of the world may seek to proclaim the end of the age of democracy but they're wrong the truth is the democratic world is everywhere it lives in the anti-corruption activists human rights defenders the journalists the peace protesters on the front lines of this struggle in belarus burma syria cuba venezuela and everywhere in between it lives in the brave women of sudan who withstood violence and oppression to push a genocidal dictator from power and will keep working every day to defend their democratic progress it lives in the prowl of the moldovans who helped deliver a landslide victory for the forces of democracy with a mandate to fight graft to build a more inclusive economy it lives in the young people of zambia who harness the power of their vote for the first time turning out on record numbers to denounce corruption and chart a new path for their country and while no democracy is perfect including the united states we'll continue to struggle to live up to the highest ideals to heal our divisions and we face down violence and insurrection democracy remains the best tool we have to unleash our full human potential my fellow leaders this is a moment where we must prove ourselves the equals of those who come before us who with vision and values and determine faith in our collective future built our united nations broke the cycle of war and destruction and laid the foundations for more than seven decades of relative peace and growing global prosperity now we must again come together to affirm the inherent humanity that unites us is much greater than any outward divisions or disagreements we must choose to do more than we think we can do alone so that we accomplish what we must together ending this pandemic and making sure we're better prepared for the next one staving off climactic climate change and increasing our resilience to the impacts we already are seeing ensuring a future where technologies are a vital tool to solving human challenges and empowering human potential not a source of greater strife and repression these are the challenges that we will determine what the world looks like for our children and our grandchildren and what they'll inherit we can only meet them by looking to the future i stand here today for the first time in 20 years the united states not at war we've turned the page all the unmatched strength energy and commitment will and resources of our nation are now fully and squarely focused on what's ahead of us not what was behind i know this as we look ahead we will lead we will lead on all the greatest challenges of our time from cove to climate peace and security human dignity and human rights but we will not go alone we'll lead together with our allies and partners in cooperation with all those who believe as we do that this is within our power to meet these challenges to build a future that lifts all of our people and preserves this planet but none of this is inevitable it's a choice and i can tell you where america stands we will choose to build a better future we you and i we have the will and capacity to make it better ladies and gentlemen we cannot afford to waste any more time let's get to work let's make our better future now we can do this it's within our power and capacity thank you god bless you all president biden concluding about a half hour long speech his first speech to the u.n general assembly saying that

we stand at an inflection point in history we made the commitment the u.s would lead the world for all people joining me now is nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell and nbc chief foreign correspondent richard angle and andrea i'll start with you one of his last words we will not go it alone what a contrast from the last administration and its message to this body well his message has been america is back that's what he first said at the u at the nato meeting that's what he's saying today this of course is undermined to a certain extent by the flap with the french over the submarine deal with australia that he is now in a tense tense situation with america's oldest ally the french withdrawing the ambassador so that does color this that casts a shadow over this but this speech was all about alliances he said specifically as we turn to the indo-pacific meaning to china he tried to assuage european fears that he's turning away from europe he said we will do it with our allies and partners that was as close as he came to trying to reassure the french and others in europe that he is not ignoring them because of what they say is an increasing see is an increasing military threat from china i think what really distinguished this though was him saying that war the use of military force will be our last choice not our first uh that after 20 years in afghanistan testing this withdrawal in the best possible light that the war is over not talking about all the challenges of course that go with it the continuing challenge saying that we can still deter terrorism but we've already shown that it's very very difficult to do it without boots on the ground without the intelligence but the big emphasis i think is on climate that was the huge emphasis here we've got to deal with it we can't waste any more time that's the future climate dealing with the next pandemic as well as covid and also cyber and the future threats this was joe biden trying to cast himself as the future leader and reassure allies at the same time richard angle you've been in and out of afghanistan several times in the last few weeks the president spoke as a virtue that he's the first american president 20 years to stand in that podium and not be leading a country at war so it was if you noticed afghanistan was quite deep into the speech and these speeches they all get printed out they get taken home to all the individual countries so he's not really addressing the american audience in this speech it's kind of an agenda of what his administration sees as priorities and it's it's you know like in a newspaper article you put the headline first and then it gets less and less important the further the further down you go and at the top of the speech clearly it was about covid and about climate buried further down there was some talk about afghanistan and talk about terrorism and uh he talked specifically about the ability to fight terrorist propaganda at that one state that sort of raised my eyebrows a bit because right now what has happened in afghanistan is terrorist propaganda the the the terrorists around the world are incredibly inspired uh president biden he didn't use the word in this speech he always talks about terrorism having metastasized like it's some sort of cancer so we don't need to be just in afghanistan because the the cancer has spread to other places therefore we can deal with it from afar and try and drone strikes and move around but unfortunately i don't think the metastasis of cancer is the right analogy here it's more like a lighthouse and afghanistan is a big beacon showing that that militant force that extremism can win can push the united states out and that is a is a is it an inspiration for a lot of of extremists so he he he did talk a lot of a lot of different subjects sort of in in order of priority but like andrea i think the big takeaway was how different this was from president trump and i think that's really what he was trying to talk about if you remember when president trump was there he got laughed at president biden this is why he got elected this was a normal speech we could disagree on some of the points but this was a normal standard outlining of american priorities about democracy about internationalism about working with our allies last time president trump said that no other president has gotten more done in two years and people started laughing and he started laughing with them because he thought ah they were laughing with them they weren't and this was a bunch more standard speech let me bring in uh peter peter alexander our white house chief white house correspondent uh peter as richard noted these various leaders and countries now will be pouring over the text of that speech trying to read between the lines where there may be a little a little shade what does the what is the white house hoping the takeaway is outside the u.s outside the domestic audience well i think as both andrea and richard have noted clearly this was an effort to try to present global unity the president talked about our collective future our common humanity the need to act together and specifically on the topic of covet that one is most pressing around the globe at this time there has been real criticism of the president including from the world health organization that under the biden administration the u.s just rejoined that the u.s that president biden was talking about passing out third shots booster shots to some americans while so many countries billions around the globe have yet to have access to just a single shot even in the background as i'm speaking to you now last year we can hear the motorcade preparing to leave with the president he'll meet with the australian prime minister later before heading back to washington this is a quick visit for the president due to the pandemic here in new york city he'll meet with boris johnson the prime minister of the uk at the white house and tomorrow notably he's going to convene this covid summit the president's saying that the u.s has

already shared nearly 160 million vaccines that it is going to basically re-up its commitment and call on other countries to add to this effort to help the world battle it back as he said bombs and bullets cannot combat the pandemic we need to do that collectively and for many of the countries for whom this is a rare opportunity to have the face-to-face visit in effect with the president sitting in that chamber they want to hear from the u.s and some of the other global leaders that they will be doing more to help beat this pandemic lester all right peter thank you i want to bring in nbc news senior medical correspondent dr john torres and just to pick up on what peter was talking about the president made of in the u.s have made a large commitment uh to getting vaccines around the world are we beginning to see it make a a difference are we seeing the numbers and lester we're starting to see a little bit of a turn in the world as far as covet cases but we're not exactly sure if that's because of the effort the u.s has put forth and like andrea said you know he started talking off about cove that was his priority and part of the reason is because he's trying to show that yes we are not only taking care of us here in the us but we're taking care of the world as well and something you and i have talked about many times is if the pandemic is not controlled worldwide it's not going to be controlled here and he mentioned that when he said our own success is bound up in the success of others as well and went on with some very specific points one he talked about the vaccine and the amount of vaccines that we are giving to other countries in the world and how that is just going to increase over time here the amount of money that's being placed out there but he also said that priorities here should be vaccines oxygens for treatment in other parts of the world testing and then treatments overall to try and save lives and his priorities were saving lives right now vaccinating the unvaccinated around the world and then building back and so he wants to try and make sure that people understand that the us is pushing this effort forward because he is like peter was saying getting a lot of pushback on the fact that they are giving booster shots here in the states or at least starting to think about doing that whereas other parts of the world haven't even gotten their vaccines the world health organization has mentioned that many times and so he was counting that with some of the things he was talking about here and then he went on to talk about the pandemic itself and what's happening with future health issues and possibly future pandemics and talking about setting up global health councils to try and make sure that we get global health under control all right dr john thank you let me bring in nbc news political director and moderator of meet the press chuck todd chuck for the allies who were in the room who made the trip are they feeling a little more reassured about where the u.s is now well you know it's interesting tonally yes you know what i what i found what really struck me is that tonally president biden could have given a very similar speech to a domestic audience right he was delivering this to a global audience that in many ways is divided on how to tackle the two biggest issues facing the world covent and climate which arguably are the two biggest issues facing america coveting climate and so what struck me is the is is his tone today would be just as similar if you were giving a domestic speech about his own agenda that he's got to get done in congress and the reason i compare the two because ultimately the president's credibility in the world stage as a leader in solving covet and climate depend on him being able to convince us domestically to focus on covenant climate i mean that's sort of the struggle here what he says and and the struggles we're having in our country and what he's saying uh he wants to see in the world i think in order to get that credibility in the world stage he's got to show that he has successfully essentially turned the corner here domestically on both of these issues and part of that is also having that means you've successfully pushed back at trumpism and authoritarianism in this country and then can also speak on the world stage as the leading democracy so i i look i thought it was a a very good speech one that does should reassure allies but to me it also was a reminder of the challenges in order to have that credibility internationally he's got to show that he can turn the ship here in this country on those two big issues of code all right shark thank you and as we were just watching the president leaving making his departure from the u.n here in new york that concludes our coverage of the president's speech to the u.n

general assembly much more tonight on nbc nightly news for now i'm lester holt in new york good day you

2021-09-24 09:08

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