UN General Assembly
2016

Unfortunately, the world continues to confront challenges to international peace and security all over. Narrow-minded nationalism, racism and violent extremism are on the rise. We must battle those destructive ideologies. The recent nuclear test by North Korea is a cause for grave concern. The conflict in Ukraine still awaits its resolution. All illegal actions, including the annexation of Crimea by Russia, are to be condemned. The complex and horrendous conflicts in and around Syria and Iraq continue to affect not only the Middle East but, indirectly, also Europe, including my own country, Finland. Such conflicts have already killed and maimed hundreds of thousands and displaced many more. They have given rise to unprecedented flows of asylum- seekers towards and into Europe. European societies are compassionate, but today they are under stress. Their capacity to provide for asylum-seekers and to integrate them at home, or to provide humanitarian assistance abroad, has limits.