Following are quotable quotes from the speakers at the General Debate of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 20: [Special coverage]
"I am struck, today, after several years facing the global war on terror, with the lack of understanding of the true nature of Islam that I find among many Western officials, think tanks, media leaders and policymakers. I find myself starting the obvious again and again: False perceptions of Islam and of Muslims will fuel the terrorists' agenda of a global struggle, by polarising and factionalising societies, East and West -- each side stigmatising the other, each driven deeper into mistrust and intolerance." -- King Abdullah II of Jordan.
"In Syria, Iraq, and many countries suffering in the grip of terrorism and war, hundreds of thousands of children, women, young and elderly continue to be killed. Refugees running away from death and tyranny face the degrading treatment in European cities." -- Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey.
"Sustainable development, human rights protection as well as peace and security -- these are the goals pursued by the United Nations whose achievement has been mankind's yearning. By adopting in the previous year the Agenda 2030 and the new Sustainable Development Goals we demonstrate that we are capable of acting as an international community and attain success, as well as confront new ambitious goals."-- Andrzej Duda, the president of Poland.
"The United Nations was formed because leaders across the world knew that they could only deliver security for their citizens at home if they could cooperate, as a community of nations, to deliver security across the globe." -- Theresa May, the prime minister of the United Kingdom.
"For a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) such as Fiji, this is as pressing as the need to address the challenges of climate change. And deal with the extreme weather events and rising seas that pose such a threat to our way of life in the SIDS and other vulnerable parts of the world." -- Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, the foreign minister of Fiji.
