Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Depictions Media Radio.
Speaker 2: Welcome to policy and Rights. We show welco, welcomer policy,
Speaker 2: human Joy, Welcome ack to policy and rights. Here in
Speaker 2: Depictions of Media Radio. I'm your host, Michael Clark.
Speaker 1: Okay, So in today's episode, we're going to hear a
Speaker 1: final speech at the State Department from President Joe Biden.
Speaker 1: We do not look forward to seeing him go. We
Speaker 1: but we do appreciate everything that he has done for
Speaker 1: our world to create a better and more peaceful place.
Speaker 1: He is going to talk about some of the achievements
Speaker 1: that he has done while in office, and he is
Speaker 1: going to discuss some of the things that may or
Speaker 1: may not happen, and why it is more important than
Speaker 1: ever for unity among the US and its and it's
Speaker 1: real allies and friends to stick together through this time
Speaker 1: with a new administration change. He he discussed how he
Speaker 1: ended the war in Afghanistan and against what critics thought
Speaker 1: was a bad idea, and he knew that his job
Speaker 1: was to actually bring the troops back home and bring
Speaker 1: peace to those families who had loved ones overseas. He
Speaker 1: also discussed some of the things between put President Putin
Speaker 1: and President Zolensky with the Ukraine and the aggressive maneuvers
Speaker 1: that Vladimir Putin took in order to gain control of
Speaker 1: the Ukraine, which the Ukraine is still not under Putin's
Speaker 1: control as matter of fact, in a lot of respects,
Speaker 1: President's Olenski moved forward into advancing the Ukraine's position into
Speaker 1: a better place of strength. And mister Biden says that
Speaker 1: that may or may have happened with or without the
Speaker 1: United States. Not all things happen because the US deemed
Speaker 1: him so, he will he fully admitted to that. Okay,
Speaker 1: So it looks like a Lemanon has elected a a
Speaker 1: new government, and we look forward to seeing what actually
Speaker 1: happens with that. We will try to connect with in
Speaker 1: the in the next week's days or weeks with our
Speaker 1: connections in that region to find out, Hey, what is
Speaker 1: really happening. Is is it going to be more of
Speaker 1: the same old, same old, or is it gonna is
Speaker 1: there going to be something new and more humanitarian like
Speaker 1: in that in that region.
Speaker 3: We all.
Speaker 1: So look forward to seeing what actually happens with that
Speaker 1: as we hear from the United Nations and as we
Speaker 1: find connection catch up with our connections in the Lebanon
Speaker 1: area the United Nations who hear today about them making
Speaker 1: statements about Haiti and that there is an anniversary, sad
Speaker 1: anniversary that it's been over fifteen years for Haiti and
Speaker 1: being in the state of dismay that they actually are in.
Speaker 1: So and we'll also hear about how the Secretary General
Speaker 1: is going to traveling to Lebanon to speak with the
Speaker 1: new government and hopefully develop a line of peace between
Speaker 1: all parties in that region. So we're going to in
Speaker 1: the next few days. We're going to also be hearing
Speaker 1: more from Donald Trump as he will be inaugurated, and
Speaker 1: I believe it's next week his inauguration will be and
Speaker 1: he will be taking office. His administration is full on
Speaker 1: saying that they're going to impose many towers against many
Speaker 1: different countries in order to control the trade of products
Speaker 1: as per they Make America Great Again platform, where I'm
Speaker 1: not exactly sure what will happen with the United Nations
Speaker 1: under the Trump administration. We're also not sure what will
Speaker 1: happen with things like the Pirates agreements, climate control, the
Speaker 1: control of fossil fuels and carbon into the atmosphere. We're
Speaker 1: not sure what's going to happen with those things because
Speaker 1: many of the Trump supporters and his staff do not
Speaker 1: believe it is a real thing to quote mister Biden
Speaker 1: that you will hear in a few seconds. They are
Speaker 1: dead wrong. So a lot of changes are gonna happen
Speaker 1: in the next few days between the United States and Canada.
Speaker 1: The Canadian Liberal government leadership role is still under underway
Speaker 1: as a few people have tossed in their hats and
Speaker 1: some have removed their hats, so it's still up grabs
Speaker 1: who who will be the next Liberal party leader going
Speaker 1: into the election that should be happening this fall. So
Speaker 1: while we move forward, we were gonna start listening to
Speaker 1: the United Nations and then we will hear from mister
Speaker 1: Biden and uh and and other other stories.
Speaker 4: Good afternoon to all of you.
Speaker 5: I think you also are updates on Lebanon over the weekend.
Speaker 5: I can tell you that on Saturday, the Secretary General
Speaker 5: had phone calls with both the Lebanese President Joseph Aun
Speaker 5: to congratulate him on his election. He also spoke with
Speaker 5: the caretaker Prime Minister Naji Miikati. In these phone calls,
Speaker 5: it was agreed that later this week the Secretary General
Speaker 5: will travel to Lebanon for a solidarity visit with the
Speaker 5: country and its people. In Beirut, he will be meeting
Speaker 5: with the Lebanese political leadership and others. The Secretary General
Speaker 5: is also expected to travel to southern Lebanon to to
Speaker 5: see the UN peacekeeping Force and express his support and
Speaker 5: his thanks for the work they've been doing in very
Speaker 5: challenging circumstances. We will update you with more details as
Speaker 5: we get them. Turning to Haiti, Yesterday, January twelfth mark
Speaker 5: fifteen years since a devastating earthquake claimed the lives of
Speaker 5: hundreds of thousands of people. The Secretary General remembers the
Speaker 5: victims of the earthquake and continues to honor their legacy
Speaker 5: through the United Nations work in the country. He also
Speaker 5: paid tribute to the one hundred and two colleagues of
Speaker 5: our own colleagues who died on that day, including the
Speaker 5: head of the mission at the time, mister Henny Annabe,
Speaker 5: and one of our dear colleagues who used to work
Speaker 5: on the document's counter, Alexandra Duguey, who was remembered for
Speaker 5: her bright smile and efficient work. And we worn with
Speaker 5: their families the memory of their passing an estimated three
Speaker 5: million people. As you know, we're impacted by the earthquake,
Speaker 5: which led to severe humanitarian protection, health and displacement and
Speaker 5: infrastructure challenges for Haiti, some of which are still present today.
Speaker 5: Yesterday in Haiti, the United Nations held a ceremony i
Speaker 5: Port of Prince in honor of the victims of the
Speaker 5: earthquake and our colleagues. In a statement, the head of
Speaker 5: the Political Office in Haiti, Marie is Abel Salvador, express
Speaker 5: of solidarity with all those whose lives continue to be
Speaker 5: impacted by the tragedy. She also saluted the determination and
Speaker 5: resilience of the Haitian people who responded with courage to
Speaker 5: the aftermath of the earthquake, and she also, of course
Speaker 5: reaffirmed our own commitment to continue working alongside Haitian authorities
Speaker 5: and people to build a better future for the country.
Speaker 5: And just to remind you there will be that there
Speaker 5: is a memorial of our colleagues in the garden here
Speaker 5: which used to be in Port of Prince, but it
Speaker 5: is now in the garden.
Speaker 4: Feel free to stop by.
Speaker 5: Turning to Ukraine, our Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher,
Speaker 5: is in Ukraine this week to meet with people impacted
Speaker 5: by the hostilities to discuss how we can further cooperate
Speaker 5: with Ukrainian authorities and engage with our humanitarian partners on
Speaker 5: the ground. Yesterday and Jabaritzia, mister Fletcher held talks with
Speaker 5: the authorities. He visited the site where last month the
Speaker 5: missile hit a medical clinic, totally destroying the facilities and
Speaker 5: causing civilian casualties. He also visited an underground school built
Speaker 5: in just six months, which will educate one thousand children
Speaker 5: every day. Also yesterday, mister Fletcher was in Dnipro where
Speaker 5: he visited a collective site for displaced people. Today, he
Speaker 5: traveled to the front lines of the Donets region, where
Speaker 5: he commended the work of the local first responders at NGOs.
Speaker 5: Mister Fletcher saw how communities remaining in the areas are
Speaker 5: supported by aid organizations and how evacuees receive assistance to
Speaker 5: a transit center. At a transit center in the city
Speaker 5: of Pavlarad, which is also which is in Denipro. Mister
Speaker 5: Fletcher also visited Kharkiev. Will excuse me Tomorrow he will
Speaker 5: visit Kharkiv and on Thursday, he and the head of
Speaker 5: the UN Refugee Agency, Felipo Grandi will launch this year's
Speaker 5: humanitarian and refugee response plan for Ukraine in the region,
Speaker 5: Mister Fletcher and mister Grandi will jointly speak to the
Speaker 5: press to the press from Kiev just before the plan
Speaker 5: is launched and our special end for for yemen haunts.
Speaker 5: Grunberg included a visit today to Tehran where he met
Speaker 5: with the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakshi along with other
Speaker 5: senior Iranian officials. Discussions focused on the resumption of a
Speaker 5: Yemeny owned political process under the auspices of the United Nations.
Speaker 5: Mister Gloomberg expressed his serious concern over the broader regional
Speaker 5: escalation involving Yemen and its adverse impact on the mediation environment.
Speaker 5: He underlined the importance of the immediate de escalation for
Speaker 5: the benefit of the Yemeny people. In all his meetings,
Speaker 5: the Envoid briefed on our efforts for the immediate and
Speaker 5: unconditional release of the arbitrarily detained staff from the United Nations, NGOs,
Speaker 5: diplomatic missions and civil society which remained detained by Ansarala.
Speaker 5: He requested Iran's support towards the efforts to have them
Speaker 5: released and our other Special endvoy in that is mister Pettison,
Speaker 5: the Envoy for six Are attended the Riad meetings on
Speaker 5: Syria over the weekend and welcomed the strong support express
Speaker 5: for the Syrian people and the commitment to assisting caretaker
Speaker 5: authorities during this critical phase. Mister Peterson held constructive meetings
Speaker 5: with Syria's caretaker minute Foreign Minister Assad Al Shabani, and
Speaker 5: they focused on advancing an inclusive Syrian led political transition
Speaker 5: and addressing the challengers that Syria faces following the fall
Speaker 5: of the assad regime. The discussions in Saudi Arabia underscore
Speaker 5: the importance of a credible, inclusive transition led by Syrians,
Speaker 5: backed by genuine international support to help Syria navigate the
Speaker 5: transition peacefully and to help.
Speaker 4: To start rebuild their country.
Speaker 5: The Special Envoy reiterated our readiness to assist Syria and
Speaker 5: its people in seizing their historic opportunities and challenge. His deputy,
Speaker 5: Nasha Rosti, remains in Damascus and she's of course continuing
Speaker 5: her consultations with various interlocutors there.
Speaker 4: On the northeast of Syria.
Speaker 5: On the humanitarian front, the World Health Organization and its
Speaker 5: partners conducted a successful ten day oral color of vaccination
Speaker 5: campaign in al hol Camp, targeting people aged from a
Speaker 5: year to and above, and that took place between twenty
Speaker 5: eighth December and seventh of January. Our humanitarian colleagues are
Speaker 5: telling us that the security situation remained volatile in parts
Speaker 5: of Syria. Hostilities in Aleppo Governored are affecting the areas
Speaker 5: surrounding the Tashrin Dam, which as you know, has not
Speaker 5: been functional functioning now for thirty five days. More than
Speaker 5: four hundred and three thousand people living in the cities
Speaker 5: of Menbij and Kobani continue lack access to water. Derizoor
Speaker 5: most of the villages in the eastern countryside of facing
Speaker 5: drinking water shortages due to the insufficient number of functioning
Speaker 5: water stations. Despite these challenges, we and our partners are
Speaker 5: continuing to support the humanitarian response, of course, as security
Speaker 5: and logistics permit moving to Gaza. As the humanitarian catastrophe
Speaker 5: in Gaza continues, our colleagues at the Office for the
Speaker 5: Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is once again calling on the
Speaker 5: Israeli authorities to enable the delivery of life saving assistance
Speaker 5: to people across the Strip, and that assistance needs to
Speaker 5: We're doing our best to deliver it safely, swiftly, and
Speaker 5: at scale. OCHA reports that Israeli authorities continued to deny
Speaker 5: un led efforts to reach Palestinians with vital aid throughout Gaza. Yesterday,
Speaker 5: only seven of the twenty two un planned humanitarian movements
Speaker 5: were facilitated by Israeli authorities, six were denied outrights, five
Speaker 5: were impeded, and four were canceled due to security and
Speaker 5: logistical challenges. Meanwhile, OACHA warns that the ongoing hostilities and
Speaker 5: evacuation orders continued to display civilians across the Gaza Strip.
Speaker 5: We stress once again that civilians must be protected, whether
Speaker 5: they leave or stay. Those fleeing fighting must be allowed
Speaker 5: to do so safely, and they must be able to
Speaker 5: voluntarily return when the situation allows. In central Gaza, yesterday,
Speaker 5: the Israeli military issued a new evacuation order for residents
Speaker 5: of an Nusrat in the Al Mufti neighborhood. Our partners
Speaker 5: estimate that some four thy one hundred people are affected
Speaker 5: by the latest directive. The area under evacuation includes residents
Speaker 5: living in and around two displacement sites managed by Uno
Speaker 5: and also includes three medical points and two water delivery
Speaker 5: points and two temporary learning spaces. Our partners of observed
Speaker 5: limited number of people moving from the area under evacuation
Speaker 5: towards Nusrat and other parts of darrel Bala displace people
Speaker 5: across the Gaza Strip continue to report to US critical
Speaker 5: shortages of food, critical shortages of water, and critical shortage
Speaker 5: of sanitation facilities. That's what the new survey of nearly
Speaker 5: two thousand, five hundred households across the Gaza Strip shows US.
Speaker 5: More than two thirds of those households told our humanitarian
Speaker 5: partners that they had been displaced at least once over
Speaker 5: the last sixty days. Yesterday, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the
Speaker 5: occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhammad mahanad Hadi, visited a church hosting
Speaker 5: more than four hundred Palestinians in Gaza City. He once
Speaker 5: again stressed the need to protect places of refuge and
Speaker 5: to end this war. Today in southern Gaza, he visited
Speaker 5: a factory providing furniture to temporary learning spaces in the strip.
Speaker 5: After fifteen months of war, less than a fifth of
Speaker 5: school aged children in Gaza have access to some form
Speaker 5: of learning and just a flag. At three pm this afternoon,
Speaker 5: our Secretary General will speak at the ceremony in which
Speaker 5: the leadership of the G seventy seven in China passes
Speaker 5: from Uganda to Iraq. The Secretary will congratulate Iraq, a
Speaker 5: founding member of the G seventy seven sixty years ago,
Speaker 5: for its assumption to the chairmanship for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 5: In his remarks this afternoon, he will welcome the G
Speaker 5: seventy seven's focus on accelerating support for developing countries, especially
Speaker 5: as we approach the deadline for the twenty thirty agenda.
Speaker 5: He will say that twenty twenty five must be a
Speaker 5: year of keeping promises to developing countries. A quick update
Speaker 5: from Southeast Africa, where humanitarian colleagues continue to track the
Speaker 5: impact of tropical Storm Dikileti in northern Madagascar. We're working
Speaker 5: with authorities to mobilize response after the cyclone made landfall
Speaker 5: on Saturday. According to reports, over two hundred people were
Speaker 5: directly impacted. Nearly thirteen hundred homes were flooded, with five
Speaker 5: health centers damaged. Our partners are also distributing water treatment
Speaker 5: supplies as well as water sanitation and hygiene kits and
Speaker 5: in Mozambique, the cyclone is bringing heavy rains strong winds
Speaker 5: northern part of the country. That's the same area hit
Speaker 5: by Cyclone Cheeto less than a month ago. As of Saturday,
Speaker 5: the World Food Program it also reached more than one
Speaker 5: hundred and ninety thousand people in five districts with one
Speaker 5: week's worth of food rations. For its part, UNHR and
Speaker 5: its partners have distributed more than eight hundred kits of
Speaker 5: relief items for four thousand people. UNHR has also stepped
Speaker 5: up its efforts to assess protection concerns in parts of
Speaker 5: Cabo Delgado would displace people sheltering. We are aiming to
Speaker 5: provide assistance to more than four hundred thousand people impacted
Speaker 5: by the cyclone, but to do that we urginally need
Speaker 5: more funding and UNICEF today release released a report warning
Speaker 5: that the world is facing a new and intensifying era
Speaker 5: of crisis for children, and many of these crises, including
Speaker 5: climate change, conflict, and economic instability, are closely interconnected. According
Speaker 5: to the report, showing that the percentage of children impacted
Speaker 5: by conflict has almost doubled to almost nineteen percent today
Speaker 5: from around ten percent in the nineteen nineties, UNISEF notes
Speaker 5: at over four and seventy three million children more than
Speaker 5: one in six globally lived in areas affected by conflict
Speaker 5: in twenty twenty three, a number that is likely to
Speaker 5: have risen this year. The report is online. We got
Speaker 5: money today. One more country from the on roll. Latest
Speaker 5: country to pay its dues is where the first postage
Speaker 5: stamps were introduced in the early nineteenth century, the United
Speaker 5: Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And we thank
Speaker 5: our friends in London for having paid their dues for
Speaker 5: making it on the Honor Roll, the first permanent member
Speaker 5: to do so. For your information, Sir Roland Hill, a
Speaker 5: school teacher, is reporting to have invented the postage stamp
Speaker 5: in eighteen thirty seven. We now have seven members on
Speaker 5: the honorall Sylvian today.
Speaker 6: Thank you Stefan. You will be traveling on Saturday to
Speaker 6: Lebanon for how many days now?
Speaker 4: The Secretary General travel later this week.
Speaker 5: We will share there bit more details, a bit more
Speaker 5: details when we're able to share them, as a program
Speaker 5: is still being shaped, but he will be on the ground. Basically,
Speaker 5: he'll have two days in Lebanon.
Speaker 6: Another question, any statement.
Speaker 4: My prophone a little closer any.
Speaker 6: Statement from the Secretary General on the appointment of Prime
Speaker 6: Minister nowa of Salem as of Lebanon.
Speaker 5: We very much welcome these reports and I think it's
Speaker 5: another sign of the positive political trajectory we've seen in
Speaker 5: Lebanon over the last few days, with finally the election
Speaker 5: of a president and now of a new government.
Speaker 6: We'll have a new an official statement from the UN.
Speaker 5: Well right now still I consider myself an official of
Speaker 5: the UN, so you'll have to use this as official
Speaker 5: as it gets.
Speaker 4: For now, Tony, thank you, Stefan.
Speaker 7: Also in Lebanon on the appointment of Judge Nawa Salam
Speaker 7: as a new prime minister, will be he meeting with
Speaker 7: a SGIEVU.
Speaker 5: All of those things obviously are still being worked out.
Speaker 5: A lot of it depends on the procedure in Lebanon,
Speaker 5: but as soon as I have information for you, I
Speaker 5: will share it.
Speaker 7: Blow up on the sixty day dead line sipulated and
Speaker 7: the cessation of hostilities agreement between Israel and Fasibala is
Speaker 7: set to expire on the twenty sixth of January. What's
Speaker 7: the SGIEVI on this.
Speaker 5: Well, this was an extremely important agreement that the parties
Speaker 5: were able to reach. The situation on the ground is
Speaker 5: better than it was.
Speaker 4: Before.
Speaker 5: We're still seeing violations of the of the Blue line,
Speaker 5: which are obviously concerning. I think it's it's critical that
Speaker 5: the parties UH use this time to consolidate the peace,
Speaker 5: to enable the Lebanese who've had who've had to leave
Speaker 5: the south to return home, and to enable the the
Speaker 5: Israelis who've had to leave the north of their country
Speaker 5: to also return home, so civilians on both sides of
Speaker 5: the Blue Line can restart their lives.
Speaker 7: To support renow Well, sorry, do you support?
Speaker 5: Well, we support we We we support anything that will
Speaker 5: move this UH forward, and obviously we support building on this,
Speaker 5: whether it's renewing or building on this a Deji then
Speaker 5: Pam than Gabby.
Speaker 8: Several follow ups. First, sg's travel to Lebanon. We know
Speaker 8: that there's only like hours of traveling time from Beirut
Speaker 8: to Damascus. Will the SG also visit Damascus this time?
Speaker 5: There are no further trips planned traveler this so only Lebanon.
Speaker 5: There are no further trips planned at this point.
Speaker 8: Okay, that he is traveling later this week for US Thursday,
Speaker 8: there would.
Speaker 5: Be so let's thank you for reminding me, Deshi. The
Speaker 5: press conference will have to be rescheduled earlier. We will
Speaker 5: two things we're working on. One is to have the
Speaker 5: Secretary General likely will do a press takeout on Wednesday
Speaker 5: after he speaks to the General Assembly, So we'll do
Speaker 5: that at the press takeout area of the GA. If
Speaker 5: we do something earlier, I will let you know and
Speaker 5: the full blown press conference will be rescheduled for when
Speaker 5: he returns.
Speaker 8: Okay, another thing about it, so another cisfire deal of Gaza.
Speaker 8: Obviously we heard a lot of let's say, rumors or
Speaker 8: reports or official languages that the US is very much
Speaker 8: hoping that this week they could see a ceasfire deal
Speaker 8: in Gaza. How optimistic is the Secret General on the deal?
Speaker 5: Rich before administration, it is very clear that the activities
Speaker 5: have intensified in the last few days.
Speaker 4: They're intensely going on.
Speaker 5: The Secretary of General Release received a phone call from
Speaker 5: the Prime Minister of Qatar earlier today to brief him.
Speaker 5: Given everything that's at stake, the humanity that's at stake,
Speaker 5: I will not comment on it further at this point.
Speaker 8: Okay, one last question. South Korean media reported that about
Speaker 8: three hundred North Korean soldiers got killed and twenty seven
Speaker 8: hundred wounded when fighting in Kursk region in Russia. Does
Speaker 8: the UN has any confirmation?
Speaker 5: I have no information, no information beyond what we've seen, Pam,
Speaker 5: and then Gabby.
Speaker 9: One follow up is the SG speaking on Wednesday after
Speaker 9: at the GA stakeout after the vote.
Speaker 5: I didn't say after the vote, he will present his
Speaker 5: priority speech and he speak to that after that.
Speaker 4: I'm not aware of any.
Speaker 3: Vote, Okay. And on.
Speaker 9: The negotiations that Desi was talking about and you were
Speaker 9: talking about in Cutter about Israel and Hamas, just to clarify,
Speaker 9: has the UN played any role? Has the UN had
Speaker 9: a presence of these talks, and will the UN, unless
Speaker 9: there's a new Security Council resolution, have any role in
Speaker 9: the implementation.
Speaker 5: Look, we have not been directly involved in the security talks.
Speaker 4: I'm not going to comment on what will come out
Speaker 4: and maybe agree to Gabriel.
Speaker 10: Thank you, Steph. Can you give us any more details
Speaker 10: about the phone call from the Prime Minister of Qatar.
Speaker 5: Prime minister called him to brief him on the latest
Speaker 5: involving the ceasefire discussions.
Speaker 10: Okay, And most my questions were asked, but I had
Speaker 10: another one. Has the Secretary General ruled out visiting Syria
Speaker 10: on this trip.
Speaker 5: Let's uh, one one step at a time, one country.
Speaker 4: At a time.
Speaker 10: Fair enough, It's just it's enough. It's a question that
Speaker 10: a lot of people are going to be asking in
Speaker 10: the region given everything next day.
Speaker 4: I understand.
Speaker 5: And we've had you know, we've had a number of
Speaker 5: senior officials go to go to Damascus. I think others
Speaker 5: others will follow everything in due course. But as a reminder,
Speaker 5: I mean, mister Pettison is the Secretary General's envoy on
Speaker 5: on Syria. He's been, uh, he's been to Damascus. No
Speaker 5: doubt he will go at some point again, his deputy
Speaker 5: is there.
Speaker 4: You know, the visit by a.
Speaker 5: Secretary General involves a certain amount of things and and
Speaker 5: signifies a certain amount of things. So we have to
Speaker 5: get the timing right.
Speaker 10: And last thing is as a Secretary General spoke to
Speaker 10: metal shut.
Speaker 4: Out, not that I'm aware of. Thank you, Madame Zihiel.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 6: A little question. Do you know if mister Lacroix will
Speaker 6: be joining the monse guitar?
Speaker 4: I would not be surprised.
Speaker 3: Okay, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 4: Very few things surprised me.
Speaker 5: Any more questions, online, in person, in the ether, anywhere.
Speaker 11: Okay, enjoy the day. We'll keep you updated on good afternoon.
Speaker 12: If I didn't say anything, this would go on all afternoon.
Speaker 3: For good reason.
Speaker 12: Mister President, it is an honor to welcome you back
Speaker 12: to the State Department on day one of this administration.
Speaker 12: You've shared a few things with me. You told me
Speaker 12: something that we long discussed. Reminded me that American engagement,
Speaker 12: American leadership is essential. If we're not engaged, if we're
Speaker 12: not leading, you said, someone else is likely to be
Speaker 12: doing it, and probably not in a way that advances
Speaker 12: our instra values, or maybe no one's doing it, and
Speaker 12: then we're likely to have a vacuum filled with bad
Speaker 12: things before it's filled with good things. But the other
Speaker 12: thing you told, mister President, was that there's a greater
Speaker 12: premium than ever before on finding ways to cooperate, to coordinate,
Speaker 12: to work with other countries if we're going to get
Speaker 12: done what we need to get done for the American people.
Speaker 12: And so you instructed me, you instructed all of us
Speaker 12: to get out there, to rebuild, to rejuvenate, even to
Speaker 12: reimagine our alliances in partnerships, and I remember what you
Speaker 12: told me then you said, we don't know when this
Speaker 12: is going to make a difference, when we're going to
Speaker 12: need these friendships, these partnerships, but someday, some way, somewhere,
Speaker 12: they're going to be critical for advancing the national interest.
Speaker 12: And that's exactly what the men and women of this
Speaker 12: department have done. And we've been able to carry out
Speaker 12: that charge for two reasons. First, the people you see
Speaker 12: before you and so many others who are out in
Speaker 12: the field or embassies and consulates. You said when you
Speaker 12: came here four years ago that the leadership of diplomats
Speaker 12: of every stripe doing the daily work of government is essential,
Speaker 12: and they proved it. That daily work has become nightly work,
Speaker 12: twenty four to seven, seven days a week, hammering out agreements,
Speaker 12: jumping into action in crisis, creating opportunities for our citizens
Speaker 12: around the world, producing.
Speaker 4: Expert advice for you and your team at the White House.
Speaker 12: Everyone here knows this work can be tough, it's often
Speaker 12: not very glamorous, but it makes says stronger, it makes
Speaker 12: the world a better place, and we simply couldn't do
Speaker 12: it without the extraordinary men and women that you have
Speaker 12: before us, as well as our remarkable partners in government,
Speaker 12: starting with the great White House team led by Jake Sullivan,
Speaker 12: my friends and colleagues from across the administration, Secretary of Defense,
Speaker 12: Smantha Power, at USAID, the Secretary of the Treasury, Commerce,
Speaker 12: and so on. All of these partnerships that we built
Speaker 12: and built with their teams have made a difference. So
Speaker 12: to all of my colleagues, thank you. Thank you for
Speaker 12: your friendship, thank you for your partnership. There's one other
Speaker 12: reason that we've been able to re engage and rejuvenate
Speaker 12: our diplomacy, mister President, that's you. You have never wavered
Speaker 12: in the conviction that when America leads, when American engages,
Speaker 12: there is little we cannot accomplish, and that this country
Speaker 12: remains a force for good, a force for progress around
Speaker 12: the world. Your unshakable belief in the promise of America
Speaker 12: has inspired me for more than twenty years. It's inspired
Speaker 12: so many people in this department and around the world.
Speaker 12: Simply put, it's been the privilege of my lifetime to
Speaker 12: work for you, to work with you, to work with
Speaker 12: this extraordinary team that you've assembled, and it's the honor
Speaker 12: of a lifetime to be able to introduce one more
Speaker 12: time the forty sixth President of the United States, Joe Biden.
Speaker 3: Actual, Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. If
Speaker 3: I may start by saying this, we're one of the
Speaker 3: finest men I've ever known in any undertaking for one
Speaker 3: important reason. You have not only brilliant, you have incredible
Speaker 3: character and character. You have more integrity than almost anybody
Speaker 3: I know. Appreciate it, folks. I'm grateful for his counsel
Speaker 3: and his friendship as well, but also want to thank
Speaker 3: the members of my cabinet and the members of the
Speaker 3: congres are here today, and to all all our diplomats
Speaker 3: and development experts, service members and intelligence professionals. Many of
Speaker 3: the achievements we're going to discuss today we're the result
Speaker 3: of your hard work. And that's not hyperble, it's true.
Speaker 3: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for extraordinary service.
Speaker 3: Now I come here to the State Department report on
Speaker 3: to the American people on the progress we've made in
Speaker 3: the last four years and our foreign policy and our presidency.
Speaker 3: I've said many times we're at an inflection point. The
Speaker 3: post Cold War period is over. A new error has
Speaker 3: begun in these four years, we face crises that we've
Speaker 3: been tested. We've come through those tests stronger in my view,
Speaker 3: than we entered those tests. This is a fierce competition
Speaker 3: underway the future of the global economy, technology, human values,
Speaker 3: and so much else. Right now, in my view, thanks
Speaker 3: to our administration, the United States is winning the worldwide competition.
Speaker 3: Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, Our alliances
Speaker 3: are stronger, Our adversaries and competitors are weaker. We have
Speaker 3: not gone to war to make these things happen. During
Speaker 3: my presidency, have increased America's power every dimension. We've increased
Speaker 3: our diplomatic power, creating more allies the United States has
Speaker 3: ever had in the history of our nation. We've increased
Speaker 3: our military power, making the most significant investments in the
Speaker 3: defense industrial base in decades. We've increased the technology power,
Speaker 3: taking the lead and artificial intelligence and other technologies in
Speaker 3: the future. And we've increased the economic power, building the
Speaker 3: most dynamic economy in the world from the bottom up,
Speaker 3: the middle out, not the top down. In short, Common
Speaker 3: and Line took office, our nation had become stronger at
Speaker 3: home or stronger in the world. And now America is
Speaker 3: more capable and I would argue better prepared than we've
Speaker 3: been in a long long time. While our competitors and
Speaker 3: adversaries are facing stiff headwinds, we have the wind that
Speaker 3: are back because of all of you. This is what
Speaker 3: we're heading into and over the next administration, that's what
Speaker 3: we're handing it to. Today, I want to lay out what
Speaker 3: we've done, the opportunities we've created for America, and those
Speaker 3: opportunities going forward. Today I can report to the American
Speaker 3: people our sources of national power are far stronger than
Speaker 3: we were than we took office. Our economy is booming,
Speaker 3: although there's more work to do. Our technologies, artificers and
Speaker 3: tells us the biotech quantum, and to advance semiconductors through
Speaker 3: the envy of the world. And we have made the
Speaker 3: most significant investments in America and the American workers since
Speaker 3: the New Deal, to rebuild our roads and bridges, our
Speaker 3: ports and airports, clean water systems, affordable high speeding, and
Speaker 3: so much more. To build American manufacturing, to make advanced semiconductors,
Speaker 3: which we invented here at home. We made the large
Speaker 3: investment in climbing and clean energy ever anywhere on Earth
Speaker 3: in the history of the world, spurring nearly five hundred
Speaker 3: billion dollars in private sector investment. We've also significantly strengthened
Speaker 3: the defense industrial base, investing almost one point three trillion
Speaker 3: dollars for cument and research and development in real dollars.
Speaker 3: That's more than America did in any four year period
Speaker 3: during the Cold War. This is going to ensure that
Speaker 3: we're fully equipped to fight and win wars, which is
Speaker 3: also the best way to deter wars in the first place.
Speaker 3: Today I can report to the American people our alliances
Speaker 3: are stronger than they've been in decade. NATO is more
Speaker 3: capable than it's ever been, and many more of our
Speaker 3: allis are paying their fair share. Before I took office,
Speaker 3: nine NATO allies are spending two percent of their GDP
Speaker 3: on defense. Now twenty three are spending two percent. And
Speaker 3: look at the end of Pacific. We made partnership stronger
Speaker 3: and created new partnerships to challenge China's aggressive behavior and
Speaker 3: to rebalance power in the region. We did it what
Speaker 3: Fuge thought was possible to build. The first ever try
Speaker 3: it out our partnership between the United States, Japan and
Speaker 3: South Korea. Then another among the United States, Japan and
Speaker 3: the Philippines, Drawing close to our Pacific allies to defend
Speaker 3: our shared security and prosperity. We broke into Defense Pact
Speaker 3: known as August among the United States, Australia, and the
Speaker 3: United Kingdom, connecting the Lantic and Pacific allies as only
Speaker 3: America is able to do. I've taken a quad to
Speaker 3: the next level the United States, Japan, Austria, Australia, and India.
Speaker 3: When we had that first meeting, and I was dumbfounded
Speaker 3: when they all called and said, can we do this
Speaker 3: at your house? I think I'm kidding. My wife said,
Speaker 3: no problem. It was during the UN meeting and we
Speaker 3: thought we were going to do it in New York,
Speaker 3: but they wanted to do it in Delaware. I said, why,
Speaker 3: said we can. Then people will know we're really friends.
Speaker 3: Our democracy with vibrant economies working closely, security supply, chained technology,
Speaker 3: and so much more. In the Red Sea, we brought
Speaker 3: together more than twenty countries to protect civilian to protect
Speaker 3: civilian ships from attack by the Huthis, defending freedom of
Speaker 3: navigation one of the world's busiest waterways, and we have
Speaker 3: strengthened partnerships all across the Americas defending democracy and targeting corruption,
Speaker 3: addressing migration, increasing prosperity, and protecting Amazon rainforest, which captures
Speaker 3: billions of tons billions of tons of carving from the
Speaker 3: atmosphere every year. Overall, we've reinvigorated people's faith in the
Speaker 3: United States as a true partner. Today, I can report
Speaker 3: to the American people our adversaries are weaker than where
Speaker 3: we came into the top four years ago. Just consider Russia.
Speaker 3: When Putin invaded Ukraine, he thought he'd conquer Kiev in
Speaker 3: a matter of days. But the truth is, since that
Speaker 3: war began, I'm the only one that stood in the
Speaker 3: center of Kiev, not him. Putin never had think about it.
Speaker 3: There was a long train ride. I'm the only commander
Speaker 3: in chiefs to visit the war zone not controlled by
Speaker 3: US forces. We helped Ukrainians stop Putin, and now, nearly
Speaker 3: three years later, Putin has failed to achieve any of
Speaker 3: his strategic objectives. He has failed thus far to subjugate Ukraine,
Speaker 3: failed to break the unity of NATO, and failed to
Speaker 3: make large territorial gains. There's more to do. We can't
Speaker 3: walk away. We rallied fifty nations to stand with Ukraine,
Speaker 3: not just in Europe, but the first for the first
Speaker 3: time in Asia as well. Those country in Asia know
Speaker 3: what happened in Ukraine matters to them as well. We
Speaker 3: delivered air interceptors, massive numbers of munitions, enacted relentless, unprecedented
Speaker 3: sanctions to keep Ukraine in the fight. And now Russia
Speaker 3: is struggling to replace what they are losing on the
Speaker 3: battlefield in terms of military equipment and fighters, and the
Speaker 3: Ruble is under enormous pressure. As I saw it, when
Speaker 3: Putin launched his evasion, I had two jobs. One to
Speaker 3: rally the world to defend Ukraine and the other is
Speaker 3: to avoid war between two nuclear powers. We did both
Speaker 3: those things. Today Ukraine is still free, independent country with
Speaker 3: the potential, the potential for a bright future, and we
Speaker 3: laid the foundation for the next administration so they can
Speaker 3: protect the right future of the Ukrainian people. And now
Speaker 3: look at Iran. Did you ever think we'd be where
Speaker 3: we are with the RAND at this moment After those
Speaker 3: despicable attacks by Hamas on October the seventh, Ran directly
Speaker 3: attacked us OR twice with hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones,
Speaker 3: and twice they failed because the United States organized coalition
Speaker 3: of countries to stop them, and ordered US aircraft to
Speaker 3: come to the defense of Israel. Now Iran's air defenses
Speaker 3: are in shambles, the main proxy, Hesbalah, is badly wounded,
Speaker 3: and as we tested the rands willingness to revive the
Speaker 3: nuclear deal, we kept the pressure with sanctions. Now RAN's
Speaker 3: economies and desperate straits all told, Iran is weaker than
Speaker 3: it has been in decades, and we want more evidence
Speaker 3: if it was seriously weakened the RAN in Russia. Just
Speaker 3: take a look at Syria President of Sa'ad. With both
Speaker 3: countries' closest ally in the Middle East, neither neither could
Speaker 3: keep him in power. Neither really tried very hard. Now
Speaker 3: I cannot came credit for every factor that led to
Speaker 3: RAND and Russia growing weaker in the past four years.
Speaker 3: They did plenty of damage all by themselves, But Israel
Speaker 3: did plenty of damage to Iran and its proxies. But
Speaker 3: there's no question our actions contributed significantly. And now major
Speaker 3: authoritarian states are aligning more closely with one another Ran, Russia, China,
Speaker 3: North Korea. But that's more out of weakness than out
Speaker 3: of strength. So as the new administration begans. The United
Speaker 3: States is in a fundamentally stronger position with respect to
Speaker 3: these countries than we were four years ago. Today, I
Speaker 3: can report to the American people we're in a better
Speaker 3: strategic position in the long term competition with China than
Speaker 3: we were when I took office. You all recall and
Speaker 3: the experts believer predicting it was inevitable that China's economy
Speaker 3: would surpass ours. According to many predictions, that would happen
Speaker 3: by the year twenty thirty or shortly thereafter. But we
Speaker 3: in this room said no, If we make the investments
Speaker 3: in ourselves, we protect our workers and technologies, that will
Speaker 3: not happen now. According to the Lady's predictions on China's
Speaker 3: current course, they will never surpass us period. I met
Speaker 3: one on one with President she in consequential summits. He
Speaker 3: and I have always been directing, straightforward with each other.
Speaker 3: I made it clear we expect China and everyone to
Speaker 3: abide by the international rules, and so we stood up
Speaker 3: against unfair trade practices, taking action with China dump subsidized
Speaker 3: goods incredibly subsidized on our markets to undercut our workers.
Speaker 3: We impose target tires and critical sectors like cars, steel
Speaker 3: and semiconductors rather than across the board TIFFs. We impose
Speaker 3: historic export controls on investments, restrictions to ensure that China
Speaker 3: cannot cannot use the most advanced technology and census data
Speaker 3: and sensitive data against us. And critically, we listed our
Speaker 3: allies and partners that join us, building more convergence among
Speaker 3: our allies on a shared approach to China than ever existed,
Speaker 3: and showing that it's more effective to deal with China
Speaker 3: alongside of partners rather than going to the loan. But
Speaker 3: even while we compete vigorously, we've managed our relationship with
Speaker 3: China responsibly so it's never tipped over into conflict. We've
Speaker 3: created lines of communication between President she and myself and
Speaker 3: between the leaders of our militaries to avoid misunderstanding. We
Speaker 3: found ways to work with each other to address climate change,
Speaker 3: to reduce the flow of fendanol in the United States, which,
Speaker 3: by the way, O overdose deaths are coming down across
Speaker 3: our nation, and in my administration, we've seized more fentanyl
Speaker 3: of our border in two years than the previous five
Speaker 3: years combined. Today that can also report to the American
Speaker 3: people for the first president in decades who's not leaving
Speaker 3: a war in Afghanistan to his successor. But we've got
Speaker 3: bin Laden. During the Obama Biden administration, the primary objective
Speaker 3: of war had been accomplished. And I believe that going forward,
Speaker 3: the primary threat of O. Kaita would no longer be
Speaker 3: emanating from Afghanistan, but from elsewhere, and so we not
Speaker 3: need the station's sizeable number of American forces in Afghanistan.
Speaker 3: So when I took office, I had a choice. Only
Speaker 3: I saw no reason to keep thousands of servicemen in Afghanistan.
Speaker 3: I think, I have my schedule with me, and I
Speaker 3: keep on I don't hear, I don't, but I keep
Speaker 3: on the back of my card the actual number of
Speaker 3: dead and wounded with the curred nor the longest war
Speaker 3: to remind myself. Keep spending hundreds of millions of dollars
Speaker 3: a day. We're no longer doing that. And my view
Speaker 3: was time to end the war and bring our troops home,
Speaker 3: and we did. I command the courage of all those
Speaker 3: that serve in Afghanistan. We grieve all two four and
Speaker 3: sixty one Americans who made the element sacrifice of the
Speaker 3: longest war in American history. And I grieve those brave
Speaker 3: service members of the lives of loss during the withdrawal.
Speaker 3: We also thank those inside and outside of government. I've
Speaker 3: done so much till thousands of Afghan families resettled in
Speaker 3: the United States. Remember, critics said if we ended the war,
Speaker 3: it would damage our alliances and create threats to our
Speaker 3: homeland from foreign director to terrorism out of a safe
Speaker 3: haven in Afghanistan. Neither has accurred. Neither has occurred, and
Speaker 3: our alliance have stayed strong. We've used over the rising
Speaker 3: capabilities as traking Afghanistan and elsewhere when we had to,
Speaker 3: for instance, eliminating Zawahiri, the leader of a Kaida wolp
Speaker 3: Orcher state in September eleventh attacks, and we did it
Speaker 3: without putting more American boots on the ground. And by
Speaker 3: ending the war, we've been able to focus our energy
Speaker 3: and resources on more urgent challenges. There is nothing I
Speaker 3: can tell you of my conversation about SI and putin
Speaker 3: nothing our adversars and competitors like crushing China would have
Speaker 3: liked more than seeing us to continue to be tied
Speaker 3: down in Afghanistan for another decade. For all those reasons,
Speaker 3: ending the war was the right thing to do, and
Speaker 3: I believe history will reflect that, and from the moment
Speaker 3: land at office, I also worked to free as many
Speaker 3: Americans as possible being held hostage, wrongfully detained overseas. We
Speaker 3: brought home more than seventy five Americans by last count.
Speaker 3: In some cases it took months, even years of effort,
Speaker 3: like the prisoner swap with Russia over the past summer,
Speaker 3: feet of diplomacy, involving all many of you, and involving
Speaker 3: multible countries who joined complex negotiations at our request. Another
Speaker 3: example of the power of our alliances. We did not
Speaker 3: have these relationship, those women and women would likely still
Speaker 3: be in prison. And finally I can report to the
Speaker 3: American people we restored our leadership in a range of
Speaker 3: other generational priorities. When I took office, we were no
Speaker 3: longer part of them National Climate Agreement. We announced on
Speaker 3: day one that we were joined. The Paris A Court rejoined,
Speaker 3: and we've led by example. We've conserved hundreds of millions
Speaker 3: of acres, hundreds of millions of acres of land and water,
Speaker 3: more than any president of American history, making investments in
Speaker 3: clean energy, and conventions of other nations to join us.
Speaker 3: Thanks to our efforts, the world has reached the goal
Speaker 3: of investing one hundred billion dollars every year in public
Speaker 3: and private funds to reduce greenhouse emissions, to drive down
Speaker 3: the cost of clean energy, to help developing nations adapt
Speaker 3: to climate change, our administration has launched a transformative initiative
Speaker 3: to build high impact infrastructure to developing nations. It's called PGI.
Speaker 3: You a will know that better than anyone. This is
Speaker 3: our alternative to what China offers with this massive projects
Speaker 3: across African beyond. But their approach features no workers' rights,
Speaker 3: no environmental protections, unmanageable debt, shoddy construction, all in exchange
Speaker 3: for military access to ports and other exploited purposes. By contrast,
Speaker 3: we've leveraged six hundred billion dollars or at least the
Speaker 3: private sector to build an infrastructure in order to grow
Speaker 3: economies and combat climate change. As an example, I was
Speaker 3: recently in the Angola to see a major project being
Speaker 3: built up of American public funding was brought to even
Speaker 3: more private investment. We're building the first ever transcontinental railroad
Speaker 3: across Africa. Will significantly improve the economies of the region,
Speaker 3: will help farmers transport crops, and new global markets. Will transport,
Speaker 3: critical minerals that wouldn't need need for electric vehicles and semiconductors.
Speaker 3: Trying to use to control the supply change in these materials,
Speaker 3: but not for long. I'll make no mistake. There's serious
Speaker 3: challenges the United States must continue to deal with in Ukraine,
Speaker 3: in the Middle East, and the inn Pacific. Must keep
Speaker 3: the pressure on the Houthis who are attacking ships on
Speaker 3: the Red Sea, launching missiles in Israel, and firing in
Speaker 3: American forces must have turned North Korea as they rattle
Speaker 3: their saber and draw closer to Russia, and new challenges
Speaker 3: will certainly emerge in the months and years ahead. Even
Speaker 3: but even so, it's clear my administration is leaving the
Speaker 3: next administration with a very strong hand to play, and
Speaker 3: we're leaving them and America more friends than strong alliances
Speaker 3: whose advisers are weaker and under pressure. Once again is leading,
Speaker 3: uniting countries, setting the agenda, bringing others together behind our
Speaker 3: plans and visions. In America, which is no longer war,
Speaker 3: which has made historic investments in American workers, American energies,
Speaker 3: and American factories, generating the strongest economy in the world,
Speaker 3: which is now in a much better position to win
Speaker 3: the future against any competitor. These wines are not partisan,
Speaker 3: They're American. They benefit all Americans and reflect the America's
Speaker 3: endless capacity for leadership and reinvention. Look, folks, the United
Speaker 3: States should take full advantage of our diplomatic and geopolitical
Speaker 3: opportunities we've created to keep bringing countries together, to deal
Speaker 3: with challenges posed by China, to make sure war Putin's
Speaker 3: war d the adjusted, the lasting peace for Ukraine, and
Speaker 3: to capitalize on a new moment for more stable, integrated
Speaker 3: Middle East. To do that, the next administration must make
Speaker 3: sure the fall of Asad does not lead to the
Speaker 3: research and vicens in Syria across the region. I must
Speaker 3: carry forward the commitment and America will never never allow
Speaker 3: Ran to acquire a nuclear weapon and the war between
Speaker 3: Israel and Amas. We're in the brink for proposal that
Speaker 3: I laid out in detail months ago, finally coming to fruition.
Speaker 3: I have learned in many years of public service to never, never,
Speaker 3: never ever give up. So I spoke to Prime Minister
Speaker 3: Visual yesterday, I spoke to the mirror cutter today, and
Speaker 3: I look forward as speaking with President Cci soon. We're
Speaker 3: pressing hard to close this the deal we have a
Speaker 3: structure would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security
Speaker 3: in Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance
Speaker 3: to the Palestinians who've suffered terribly in this war that
Speaker 3: Hamas started. They've been through hell, So many innocent people
Speaker 3: have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. The
Speaker 3: Palestinian people deserve peace and the right to determine their
Speaker 3: own futures. Is are deserves peace and real security, and
Speaker 3: the hostages and their families deserve to be reunited. And
Speaker 3: so we're working urgently to close this deal. And as
Speaker 3: deal with media challenges of view, we have to look future.
Speaker 3: I urge an ext administration to carry forward to isch
Speaker 3: that have been central to my presidency and which shape
Speaker 3: the future. My view. On artificial intelligence, we are the lead.
Speaker 3: I must stay in the lead. We must not offshore
Speaker 3: artificial intelligence as he once did with computer chips and
Speaker 3: other critical technologies. AI has the power to re reshape economies, governments,
Speaker 3: nazal security, entire societies. And there must be the United
Speaker 3: States and our closest allies that lead the way ensure
Speaker 3: people's rights are respected. Their safety is protected and their
Speaker 3: data is secured, and likewise, clean energy transition will raise
Speaker 3: ahead years to come. I know and some incomeing administration,
Speaker 3: some in the incoming administration, are skeptical about the need
Speaker 3: for clean energy. They don't even believe climate chain is real.
Speaker 3: I think they come from a different century. They're wrong,
Speaker 3: They are dead wrong. It's the single greatest existential threat
Speaker 3: to humanity, and the clean energy transition is already happening.
Speaker 3: China is trying to dominate the clean energy manufacturing critical
Speaker 3: materials supply chains. They want to capture the market in
Speaker 3: the future and create new dependencies. The United States must
Speaker 3: win that contest, and we will shape the global economy
Speaker 3: for decades to come. Let me close to this, Like
Speaker 3: many of you, have dedicated a significant portion of my
Speaker 3: career to our nation's foreign policy. The chair of the
Speaker 3: Foreign Relations Committee as a senator, the Vice president of
Speaker 3: for eight years, and now President of the United States
Speaker 3: are put together, they're one of the most competent foreign
Speaker 3: policy teams. I would argue in American history, sitting in
Speaker 3: this room before my eyes, throughout my career, the world
Speaker 3: has gone undergone tremendous change, but certain things have always
Speaker 3: held true. At our best, America leads not only by
Speaker 3: the example of our power, but the power of our example.
Speaker 3: In the past four years, we've used that power not
Speaker 3: to go alone, but instead to bring countries together to
Speaker 3: increase shared security and prosperity, to stand up to aggression,
Speaker 3: to solve problems through diplomacy wherever possible, and to redolentlessly
Speaker 3: defend democracy, civil rights, and human rights. Because that's who
Speaker 3: we are. That's who we are. You heard me say
Speaker 3: it many times. Be We're the only country on Earth
Speaker 3: founded an idea. Every other country is founded on geography, religion, ethnicity,
Speaker 3: or some other unifying factor. But America was built an
Speaker 3: idea on an idea, literally, not figuratively. That idea was
Speaker 3: all women, men who are created equal, the idea that
Speaker 3: has inspired the world for two hundred and fifty years
Speaker 3: in counting. We're always reaching to do better, always looking
Speaker 3: into the future, not our best, always seeking progress for
Speaker 3: our people and for people everywhere. It spend the honor
Speaker 3: of my life to serve as your president today. I'm
Speaker 3: optimistic about our future, as optimistic as I've ever been.
Speaker 3: Just have to remember who in the hell we are
Speaker 3: heard me says many time, were the United States of America.
Speaker 3: For God's sake, there is nothing, nothing, nothing beyond like
Speaker 3: a if we do it together and commit to it, nothing,
Speaker 3: So thank you all for all you've done. I hope
Speaker 3: many of you are going to be stayed in the
Speaker 3: next administration to keep this moving. May God bless you
Speaker 3: all and may God protect our troops. Thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 4: All.
Speaker 13: Right, Good morning, borgot Lem, Welcome to Operation Come Home.
Speaker 13: I am John hegber L, John Heckbord, the Diactal Executive.
Speaker 13: I'm very pleased to welcome you all here today and
Speaker 13: thank you for your attendance, for your attention to something
Speaker 13: that is vital for our community and for the young
Speaker 13: people in it. Today we're going to announce a special
Speaker 13: program and in addition to the work that we do
Speaker 13: at Operation Come Home, to protect young people from the
Speaker 13: harms of stuff. This work is vital. A couple of
Speaker 13: years ago, I met a young person, a young man
Speaker 13: here in our program, who was sixteen years old living
Speaker 13: in Canada, the pretty standard typical experience of any young
Speaker 13: person in Canada, got an injury playing hockey, and as
Speaker 13: part of that injury, the recovery plan included surgery and
Speaker 13: physiotherapy and painkillers, and as he was taking painkillers, he
Speaker 13: became addicted. And when that addiction took over the medical
Speaker 13: care that he was receiving, they obviously tried to intervene
Speaker 13: and to help that youth transition out of that care,
Speaker 13: but it didn't work, and he sought illicit sources to
Speaker 13: fuel his addiction. That spiraled for that young person into
Speaker 13: a life that included being street involved and experiencing homelessness
Speaker 13: in our community.
Speaker 3: Of the time.
Speaker 13: When you talk about this work that we're doing and
Speaker 13: Operation Come Home, we talk about homelessness as a statistical problem,
Speaker 13: as a trend. We sometimes forget the young people, the
Speaker 13: faces of the people that are impacted by the work
Speaker 13: that we do. It's easier to remember those people when
Speaker 13: you work here on the frontline, but in the media
Speaker 13: coverage and in the conversations about it publicly, it becomes abstract.
Speaker 13: This is not abstract for us. These are our kids
Speaker 13: and they need our help.
Speaker 4: And so I'm.
Speaker 13: Absolutely thrilled to be able to participate in this announcement
Speaker 13: today and to welcome Mpyasernacvi to come into a few
Speaker 13: words about the work that the Government of Canada is
Speaker 13: doing thank you.
Speaker 14: Well, good morning everyone. First of all, thank you John
Speaker 14: for that very kind of reduction. I'll speak about the
Speaker 14: important work that you and Operation to Come Home does
Speaker 14: in a moment, but I do want to start by
Speaker 14: acknowledging that we are meeting on the traditional, unseated and
Speaker 14: unsurrendered territory of the Algonkin and Nashinabe people. The acknowledgment
Speaker 14: is important for many many reasons, but for me personally,
Speaker 14: it's extremely important as a reminder that we have to
Speaker 14: learn from the original stewards of this land. They have
Speaker 14: lived on this land for a very long time, and
Speaker 14: as we build our lives on this land, we have
Speaker 14: a lot to learn from Indigenous people, from their history,
Speaker 14: from their culture, from the traditions, and be better stewards
Speaker 14: of this land. And that's for me why I always
Speaker 14: start my remarks with that acknowledgement as a reminder to myself.
Speaker 14: AM always grateful to come and visit Operation Come Home.
Speaker 14: This is one of my many trips here and always
Speaker 14: enjoy coming here to see some incredible people, some of
Speaker 14: them are here, and thank you for taking time from
Speaker 14: your busy schedule for the good work that you do
Speaker 14: with youth in our community. This is an incredible secret gem,
Speaker 14: hidden gem in in center town in terms of the
Speaker 14: work that you do every single day in creating new
Speaker 14: opportunities for our youth in the community. Right behind these
Speaker 14: flags is actually a school where young people get their
Speaker 14: high school education at their own pace. It's a partnership
Speaker 14: with I believe, with both Autoa Culton and Autoa Catholic
Speaker 14: school Boards, if am I correct, And it's amazing to
Speaker 14: see some young people being here if you come in
Speaker 14: the middle of the day doing their homework and really
Speaker 14: sort of working hard to rebuild these lives. This is
Speaker 14: the kind of stuff that Operation Come Home does. We're
Speaker 14: in the middle of January now, and we know whether
Speaker 14: it has been has been really cold. This time more
Speaker 14: than ever, highlights the needs for the kind of things
Speaker 14: that we're talking about today to ensure that we're doing
Speaker 14: everything in our capacity to avoid homelessness, especially for young people,
Speaker 14: to create opportunity for them to have a warm, safe
Speaker 14: place to live. Just a week ago, somebody passed away
Speaker 14: tragically down the street from here. They were found not well,
Speaker 14: not alive, in a very cold winter night. That should
Speaker 14: not happen in our society. That should not happen in
Speaker 14: the capital city of Canada. We have to do everything
Speaker 14: possible to ensure that they are supports necessary for members
Speaker 14: of our community, for whatever reason, find themselves at a
Speaker 14: place where they have to find shelter on the street.
Speaker 14: And that's why I'm really thankful for the hard and
Speaker 14: incredible work that Operation Come Home does. Government of Canada
Speaker 14: have a long lasting relationship with Operation Come Home, providing
Speaker 14: them support so that they can continue to prevent homelessness
Speaker 14: to create opportunities for young people. And that's why I'm
Speaker 14: very pleased to announce that we are investing more than
Speaker 14: one point three million dollars in federal funding to Operation
Speaker 14: Come Home. This funding will support youth age sixteen to
Speaker 14: twenty five in Ottawa who are street involved or experiencing
Speaker 14: homelessness and who are at risk of substance use harms.
Speaker 14: This program is led by Peers that will deliver information, resources,
Speaker 14: and harm reduction and cessasions supports to our youth first
Speaker 14: aid and overdose response training, ongoing and regular access to
Speaker 14: peer social supports, group session participation and counseling services. This
Speaker 14: project will work closely with hospital and other treatment center
Speaker 14: programs to ensure that youth leaving these programs have the
Speaker 14: supports they need. The key thing about this program and
Speaker 14: this funding is that is peer led is led by youth.
Speaker 14: These services are provided by youth who have experienced substance abuse,
Speaker 14: who have experienced homelessness. They are able to speak to
Speaker 14: these youth as peers. They are trauma informed, they have
Speaker 14: led lived with those same experience so that you can
Speaker 14: create those meaningful relationships and find supports. John and the
Speaker 14: team tells me that those peer workers are out there
Speaker 14: on the streets right now in Centertown providing these important supports.
Speaker 14: Program is about saving lives. It is about making sure
Speaker 14: that the most basic need that's required is there and
Speaker 14: the support. This is about enhancing public and community safety,
Speaker 14: to make sure that those who live in the community
Speaker 14: who want to make sure that everybody is looked after,
Speaker 14: is looked after and that allows for our businesses, local
Speaker 14: business to thrive and residents to live in safety as well.
Speaker 14: That is the work that we are doing. I am
Speaker 14: thankful to operation come home to do this very important
Speaker 14: but difficult work, especially at this time of the year.
Speaker 14: It's an honor for me to be to learn from them,
Speaker 14: to be in partnership with them, and I'm really thankful
Speaker 14: to govern Enough Canada to make this important funding available
Speaker 14: so that we can provide real supports as they are
Speaker 14: needed in our community every single day. Once again, thank
Speaker 14: you very much for being here, and thank you to
Speaker 14: all of you for the work that you do. And
Speaker 14: please extend my gratitude to all the peers who are
Speaker 14: out there, the caseworkers on the streets providing these important
Speaker 14: services in some really difficult circumstances.
Speaker 13: Merciboku, thank you very much, and pac So. I get
Speaker 13: to work with some excellent people as yes, sir it's said,
Speaker 13: to implement this program and to help deliver this. On
Speaker 13: the Health Canada side, we work with some wonderful people
Speaker 13: in the Substance Use and Addictions program recruiting Erica and
Speaker 13: Schubert and the team over there, who have been tremendous
Speaker 13: and who we feel very strongly are one hundred percent
Speaker 13: behind this as much as mp NACFI and the team
Speaker 13: here at Operation Come Home are. I also get to
Speaker 13: work with some people we talked about here in the
Speaker 13: building my calling. Katie Price is the coordinator of the
Speaker 13: program and is here to able, is here to offer
Speaker 13: a couple of extra words about it. So welcome Katie,
Speaker 13: It's reidjest.
Speaker 15: Thank you John on behalf of Operation Come Home. We
Speaker 15: would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the Health Canada.
Speaker 15: To Health Canada for their generous funding support.
Speaker 16: So SUI.
Speaker 15: Detained that time objective with.
Speaker 16: A felt progress news that it accord in ZESI A
Speaker 16: preple impact positive is significatif my name is Katie Price
Speaker 16: and I work at as the harm Reduction Coordinator, which
Speaker 16: means I am coordinating this project.
Speaker 15: I've worked at Operation Come Home for almost eight years,
Speaker 15: which means that I have seen a lot of trends
Speaker 15: change over the over the time that I've been here.
Speaker 15: So this funding well we have received through HOW Canada
Speaker 15: will help us to address some of the areas that
Speaker 15: need some extra support. Currently, we are developing a new
Speaker 15: program that will employ five additional staff, four peer case
Speaker 15: sorry for peer support case managers and a counselor. For
Speaker 15: the youth engaging in this program, they will be matched
Speaker 15: with a peer support case manager who will meet them
Speaker 15: where they are at and will work with them from
Speaker 15: a harm reduction perspective. In addition, any individual accessing this
Speaker 15: program will have the option of working with a counselor
Speaker 15: who will work in a collaborative manitor with the youth
Speaker 15: in order to reach their goals. This work is very
Speaker 15: needed in our city. I'm sure most of you have
Speaker 15: witnessed the difficulties our city and community members have been
Speaker 15: facing lately. We may often pass people on the street
Speaker 15: who may be living in a tent or asking for money,
Speaker 15: and it is so easy to look away. But that
Speaker 15: young woman that you just walk by is someone's daughter, sister, friend.
Speaker 15: She has graduated from post secondary. She is looking for
Speaker 15: work and housing while living on o W and living
Speaker 15: in a shelter. She loves working with animals and has
Speaker 15: goals for a future career. And if you are in
Speaker 15: a privileged position like me and the people here at
Speaker 15: o H, you get to witness her secure hosing, have
Speaker 15: a child, work a full time job, and overcome her
Speaker 15: substance use disorder. It's these stories that we miss when
Speaker 15: we look the other way. These are the stories we
Speaker 15: are so luckily to witness at Operation Come Home. Lafinosm
Speaker 15: acol Dipa Canada, Permetta Opera, ro Trio, fue da Frere,
Speaker 15: jen la Possibility, dedrave A vacuum person capab de lafour
Speaker 15: neer social ibratic nusams ravi de dispose program qu palmetra
Speaker 15: de trava usi a vectajanvois impact positive a rasula community
Speaker 15: nasi thank you.
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