Transcript of Ahmadinejad Before the 66th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

Let me seize the moment to pay tribute to all those who lost their lives in the past year, particularly to the victims of the tragic famine in Somalia and the devastating flood in Pakistan and especially the earthquake and the ensuing explosions in the nuclear power plant in Japan. I urge everyone to intensify their assistance and aid to the affected populations in these countries.

Over the past years, I spoke about different global issues, and the need tointroduce fundamental changes in the current international order.

Today, considering the international developments, I will try to analyze the present situation from a different angle.

As you all know the dominance and superiority of human beings over other creatures, lie in the very nature and the truth of humankind which is a divine gift and a manifestation of the divine spirit including:

faith in God, who is the ever-lasting creator and planner of the entire universe. Showing compassion to others, generosity, justice-seeking, and having integrity both in words and in deeds. The quest for dignity to reach the pinnacles of perfection, the aspiration to elevate one’s material and spiritual status, and the longing to realize liberty; Defying oppression, corruption, and discrimination in trying to support the oppressed; Seeking happiness, and lasting prosperity and security for all; These are some of the manifestations of common divine and human attributes which can clearly be seen in the historical aspirations of human beings as reflected in the heritage of our search for art and literary works both in prose and poetry, and in the socio-cultural and political movements of human beings in the course of history;

All divine prophets and social reformers invited human beings to tread on this righteous path;

God has given dignity to humankind to elevate his status to assume his successor role on Earth;

Dear Colleagues and friends;

It is vividly clear that despite all historical achievements, including creation of the United-Nations, which was a product of untiring struggles and efforts of free-minded and justice-seeking individuals as well as the international cooperation, human societies are yet far from fulfilling their noble desires and

aspirations; Most nations of the world are unhappy with the current international circumstances;

And despite the general longing and aspiration to promote peace, progress, and fraternity, wars, mass-murder, widespread poverty, and socioeconomic and political crises continue to infringe upon the rights and sovereignty of nations, leaving behind irreparable damage worldwide; Approximately, three billion people of the world live on less than 2.5 dollars a day, and over a billion people live without having even one sufficient meal on a daily basis;

Forty-percent of the poorest world populations only share five percent of the global income, while twenty percent of the richest people share seventy-five percent of the total global income.