President Biden’s final speech to the UN

President Biden addressed the UN General Assembly meeting on September 24 for approximately 25 minutes.  Watch the speech and read the text below the video.

Watch the full speech:

*The text was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning at C-Span.com.

President Joe Biden:  My fellow leaders today is the fourth time I’ve had the great honor of speaking to this assembly as president of the United States. It will be my last.

I’ve seen a remarkable sweep of history. I was first elected office in the United States of America as US senator in 1972. Now I know I look like I’m only 40. I know that. I was 29 years old.

Back then we were living through an inflection point. Moment of tension and uncertainty. The world was divided by the Cold War, Middle East was headed toward war.

America was at war in Vietnam at that point. The longest war in America’s history. Our country is divided and angry and there were questions about our staying power and our future.

But even then I entered public life, not out of despair, but out of optimism. The United States and the world got through that moment – wasn’t easy or simple without significant setbacks. But we go on to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons throughout, through arms control and then go on to bring the Cold War itself to an end.

Israel and Egypt went to war but then forge a historic peace.

We ended the war in Vietnam the last year in Hanoi I was met with the Vietnamese leadership. We elevated our partnership to the highest level. It’s a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the capacity for reconciliation that today the United States and Vietnam are partners and friends as proof that even from the horrors of war, there is a way forward, things can get better. We should never forget that. I’ve seen that throughout my career.

In the 19 eighties, I spoke out against apartheid in South Africa. Then I watched the racist regime fall in the 19 nineties. I worked to hold Milosevic accountable for war crimes. He was held accountable.

At home I wrote and passed the violence against women Act to end the scourge of violence against women and girls, not only in America but across the world as many of you have as well. But we have so much more to do especially against rape and sexual violence as weapons of war and terror.

We were attacked on 911 by Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden, we brought him justice. Then I came to the presidency in another moment of the crisis and uncertainty. I believe that America had to look forward, new challenges, new threats, new opportunities are in front of us.

We need to put ourselves in a position to see the threats to deal with the challenges and to seize the opportunities as well.

We need to end the era of war that began on 911. As vice president to President Obama he asked me to work to wind down the military operations in Iraq. And we did painful as it was.

When I came to office as President Afghanistan had replace Vietnam as America’s longest war. I was determined to end it and I did. It was a hard decision but the right decision. Four American presidents had faced that decision but I was determined not to leave it to the fifth. It was a decision accompanied by tragedy. 13 brave Americans lost their lives along with hundreds of Afghans in a suicide bomb. I think those lost lives. I think them every day. I think of all the 2461 U.S. military deaths over a long 20 years of that war, 20,744 American servicemen wounded in action. I think of their service, their sacrifice and their heroism. I know other countries lost their own men and women fighting alongside us. We honor those sacrifices as well.

To face the future I was also determined to rebuild my country’s alliance in the partnerships to a level not previously seen. We did, we did just that from traditional treaty alliances to new partnerships like the Quad with the United States, Japan, Australia and India.

I know I know many look at the world today and see difficulties and react with despair but I do not. I won’t. As leaders we don’t have the luxury.

I recognize the challenges from Ukraine to Gaza, to Sudan and beyond. War hunger, terrorism, brutality, record displacement of people, the climate crisis, democracy at risk strange in our societies, the promise of artificial intelligence and a significant risk. Well, this goes on but maybe because all I’ve seen and all we have done together over the decades, I have hope. I know there is a way forward.

In 1919, the Irish poet, William Butler Yeats described the world and I quote, where things fall apart, the center cannot hold mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. End of quote. Some may say those words describe the world not just in 1919, but in 2024. I see a cri a critical distinction. In our time the center has held. Leaders and people from every region and across the political spectrum have stood together. Turn the page. We turned the page in the worst pandemic in a century. We made sure COVID no longer controls our lives.

We defended the UN Charter and ensured the survival of Ukraine as a free nation. My country made the largest investment in climate clean energy ever anywhere in history. There will always be forces to pull our countries apart and the world apart aggression, extremism, chaos and cynicism desire to retreat from the world and go it alone. Our task, our test is to make sure that the forces holding us together are stronger than those who are pulling us apart. That the principles of partnership and we came here each year to uphold can withstand the challenges that the center holds once again.

My fellow leaders, I truly believe we’re at another inflection point. World history. For the choices we make today will determine our future for decades to come. Where we stand behind the principles of unite us. We stand firm against aggression. We well, we end the conflicts that are raging. Today. We take on global challenges like climate change, hunger and disease, what we plan now for the opportunities and risk of a revolutionary new technologies.

I want to talk today about each of these decisions and the actions in my view, we must take to start each of us in this body has made a commitment to the principles of the UN Charter to stand up against aggression. When Russia invaded Ukraine, we could have stood by and merely protested. But Vice President Harris and I understood that that was an assault on everything this institution is supposed to stand for. And so my direction, America stepped into the breach, providing massive security and economic and humanitarian assistance. Our NATO allies and partners and 50 plus nations stood up as well. But most importantly, the Ukrainian people stood up. I ask the people in this chamber to stand up for them. The good news is Putin’s war has failed and his and his core aim. He set out to destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is still free. He set out to weaken NATO. But NATO is bigger, stronger and more united than ever before with two new members, Finland and Sweden. But we cannot let up. World now has another choice to make. Will we sustain our support to help Ukraine win this war and preserve its freedom or walk away and let aggression be renewed and the nation be destroyed. I know my answer. We cannot grow weary, we can not look away and we will not let up on our support for Ukraine not until Ukraine wins of just adorable peace, the UN Charter.

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We also need to uphold our principles as we seek to responsibly manage the competition with China. So it does not veer into conflict. We stand ready to co operate on urgent challenges for the good of our people and the people everywhere. We recently resumed cooperations with China to stop the flow of deadly synthetic narcotics. I appreciate the collaboration. It matters to the people of my country. Many others around the world.

On matters of conviction, the United States is unabashed, pushing back against unfair economic competition against military coercion of other nations and in the South China Sea. And maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan straits and protecting our most advanced technologies so they cannot be used against us or any of our partners. At the same time, we’re going to continue to strengthen our network of alliances and partnerships across the Indo Pacific. These partnerships are not against any nation. There are building blocks for free, open, secure and peaceful Indo Pacific.

We’re also working to bring greater measure of peace and stability in the Middle East. The world must not flinch from the horrors of October 7th. Any country, any country would have the right responsibility to ensure that such an attack could never happen again, thousands of armed Hamas terrorists invaded a sovereign state, slaughtering and massacring more than 1200 people including 46 Americans in their homes and at a music festival des despicable acts of sexual violence. 250 innocents taken hostage. I’ve met with the families of those hostages. I’ve grieved with them. They are going through hell. Innocent civilians in Gaza are also going through hell. Thousands and thousands killed including aid workers. Too many families dislocated, crowding into tents facing a dire humanitarian situation. They did not ask for this war that Hamas started. I put forward with Qatar and Egypt, the cease fire and hostage deal. It’s been endorsed by the UN Security Council. Now is the time for the parties to finalize the terms bring the hostages home and secure security for Israel and Gaza free of Hamas script, ease the suffering in Gaza and end this war.

On October 7th. –

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Since October 7th We’ve also been determined to prevent a wider war that engulfs the entire region. Hezbollah unprovoked joined the October 7th attack launching rockets into Israel. Almost a year later too many on each side of the Israeli Lebanon border remain displaced. Full scale war is not in anyone’s interest. Even the situation has escalated a diplomatic solution is still possible. In fact, it remains the only path to last the security to allow the residents from both countries to return to their homes and the border safely. And that’s what we’re working, that’s what we’re working tirelessly to achieve.

As we look ahead, we must also address the rise of violence against innocent Palestinians on the West Bank and set the conditions for a better future including a two state solution where the world where Israel enjoys security and peace and full recognition and normalized relations with all its neighbors where Palestinians live in security dignity and self determination in a state of their own.

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Progress towards peace will put us in a stronger position to do with the ongoing threat posed by Iran. Together we must deny oxygen to terror terrorist proxies which have called for more October 7th and ensure that Iran will never ever obtain a nuclear weapon.

Gaza is not the only conflict that deserves our outrage. In Sudan a bloody civil war unleashed one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. 8 million, 8 million on the brink of famine. Hundreds of thousands already there. Atrocities are for and elsewhere. The United States has led the world in providing humanitarian aid to Sudan and with our partners, we’ve led diplomatic talks to try to silence the guns and avert and avert a wider famine. The world needs to stop arming the generals to speak with one voice and tell them, stop tearing your country apart, stop blocking aid to the Sudanese people. End this war now.

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But people need more than the absence of war. They need a chance, a chance to live in dignity. They need to be protected from the ravages of climate change, hunger and disease. Our administration awry has invested over $150 billion to make progress and other sustainable development goals. It includes 20 billion for food security. Over 50 billion for global health. We mobilize billions more than private sector investment. We’ve taken the most ambitious climate action in history. We’ve moved to rejoin the Paris Agreement on day one and today my country is finally on track to cut emissions in half by 2030. On track to honor my pledge to quadruple climate financing to developing nations with $11 billion thus far this year. We’ve rejoined the World Health Organization donated 700 million doses of COVID vaccine. 217 countries, we must now move quickly to face M-pox outbreak in Africa. We’re prepared to commit $500 million to help African countries prevent and respond to M-pox and to donate 1 million doses of M-pox vaccine now. We call on our partners to match our pledge and make this a billion dollar commitment to the people of Africa.

Beyond the core necessities of food and health, the United States, the G7 and our partners have embarked on an ambitious initiative to mobilize and deliver significant finance to the developing world. We’re working to help countries build out the infrastructure to clean energy transition to the digital transformation to lay new economic foundations for a prosperous future. It’s called the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. We’ve already started to see the fruits of this emerge in Southern Africa and Southeast Asia and in the Americas, we have to keep it going. I want to get things done together in order to do that, we must build a stronger, more effective and more inclusive United Nations. The UN needs to adapt and bring new voices and new perspectives. That’s why we support reforming and expanding the membership of the Un Security Council.

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My UN ambassador just laid out our detailed vision to reflect today’s world, not yesterday’s. It’s time to move forward. The Security Council like the UN itself needs to go back to the job of making peace of brokering deals to end wars and suffering.

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And to stop the spread of the most dangerous weapons of stabilizing troubled regions in East Africa. From East Africa to Haiti, to Kenya led mission that’s working alongside the Haitian people to turn the tide.

We also have a responsibility to prepare our citizens for the future. We’ll see more technological change I argue in the next 2 to 10 years than we have in the last 50 years, artificial intelligence is gonna change our ways of life, our ways of work and our ways of war. You could usher in scientific progress that a pace never seen before and much of it could make our lives better. But AI also brings profound risks from deep fakes to this information, to marble pathogens, to bio weapons. We’ve worked at home and abroad to define the new norms and standards. This year, we achieved the first ever general assembly resolution on AI to start developing global rules. Global rules of the road. We also announced a declaration of on a responsible, responsible use of AI joined by 60 countries in this chamber. But let’s be honest, this is just the tip of the iceberg. What we need to do to manage this new technology. Nothing is certain about how AI will evolve or how it will be deployed. No one knows all the answers. My fellow leaders with humility, I offer two questions.

First, how do we as an international community govern AI as countries and companies race to uncertain frontiers. We need an equally urgent effort to ensure AI safety, security and trustworthiness. As AI grows more powerful, it must grow also must grow more responsive to our collective needs and values benefits of all must be shared, equitably. Should be harnessed to a narrow not deepen digital divide.

Second, we ensure that AI support rather than undermines the core principles that human life has value and all humans deserve dignity. We must make certain that the awesome capabilities of AI will be used to uplift and empower everyday people – not to give dictators more powerful shackles on human and the human spirit. In the years ahead. there may be may well be no greater test of our leadership and how we deal with AI.

Let me close with this. Even as we navigate so much change, one thing must not change. We must never forget who we’re here to represent. We the people. These are the first words of our constitution, the very idea of America. They inspired the opening words of the UN Charter. I made the preservation of democracy the central cause of my presidency. This summer, I faced a decision whether to seek a second term as president. It was a difficult decision. Being president has been the honor of my life. There’s so much more I want to get done. As much as I love the job I love my country more. I decided after 50 years of public service, it’s time for a new generation of leadership to take my nation forward.

My fellow leaders let us never forget. Some things are more important than staying in power.

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It’s your people, it’s your people that matter the most. Never forget we are here to serve the people, not the other way around. Because the future, the future will be won by those who unleash the full potential of their people to breathe free, to think freely, to innovate, to educate, to live and love openly without fear. That’s the sole democracy. It does not belong to any one country. I’ve seen it all around the world and the brave men and women who entered apartheid brought down the Berlin Wall fight today for freedom and justice and dignity. We saw that universal yearning for rights and freedom in Venezuela for millions cast their vote for change that hadn’t been recognized, but it can’t be denied.

The world knows the truth we saw in Uganda lbgt activists demanding safety recognition of their common humanity. We’ve seen citizens across the world peacefully choosing their future from Ghana to India to South Korea nations representing one quarter of humanity will hold elections this year alone. It’s remarkable the power of we the people that makes me more optimistic about the future than I’ve ever been since I was first elected to the United States Senate in 1972 every age faces its challenges. I saw it as a young man. I see it today, but we are stronger than we think. We’re stronger together than alone. And what the people call impossible is just an illusion. Nelson Mandela taught us and I quote, “it always seems impossible until it’s done.” It always seems impossible until it’s done. My fellow leaders. There is nothing that’s beyond our capacity. If we work together, let’s work together. God bless you all and may God protect all those who seek peace. Thank you.

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