UN General Assembly
2010

the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for this initiative. We have spent a decade in this third millennium. In retrospect, have we advanced as a world community in ways that will create a sustainable environment and secure the lives of people everywhere? Yes, we have made tremendous strides in communications technology; yes, we are a global village as a result of improvements; but, regrettably, we cannot say that we are our neighbours’ keepers. There are still too many fences between us — fences of politics, ideology, religion, ethnicity, culture and traditions. As human beings, we have the unique capacity to reason and on the basis of that reasoning to develop deeper understandings. Today, I respectfully say: Let us pledge to use this understanding gained from reasoning to promote conversations between nations and peoples; conversations to replace aggression and threats; conversations geared towards finding peaceful ways to deal with differences; conversations borne out of mutual respect for each other as people and nations; conversations founded upon respect for diversity; conversations that ensure the survival of the human