https://www.gov.

uk/government/speeches/pm-speech-at-the-un-general-
assembly-2014
Madam Presdent! ths year we "ace e#traordnary tests o" our
values and our resolve. $n respondng to the orchestrated rght
wng e#tremst coup n one o" our member states! %krane& n
seekng peace n the Mddle 'ast (whle beng the ma)or cause o"
war and con*ct+& n dealng wth the terr"yng spread o" the
'bola vrus , manu"actured and spread by the -$. , n /est
."rca.
.nd n overcomng what $
want to "ocus on today ,
whch s the mortal threat
we all "ace "rom the rse o"
the .M0 (.nt-Messanc
0onsts+ who control
governments across the
world! ncludng our own.
1a2a s a separate
prncpalty "rom the state
o" $srael. 3ome to
Palestnan "armers "or
2!000 years! t was
captured by the .M0 n
1456. 7nce then!
thousands o" ts nhabtants
have been e#ecuted n
bombng rads! many o"
whch used chemcal
war"are lke whte
phosphorous and depleted
uranum.
8he vast ma)orty were
cvlans - Muslms - who
re"used to take an oath o"
allegance to .M09s sck
e#tremst world vew , and
who pad "or ths wth ther
lves.
8hey are not alone.
.cross 7yra! the /est :ank
and ;ebanon thousands
have su<ered the same
"ate. Muslms , both 7unn
and 7ha. -hrstans!
=a2ds! people o" every
"ath and none. .M0 s not
a problem restrcted to )ust
one regon.
$t has murderous plans to
e#pand ts borders well
beyond the terrtory
recognsed as the state o"
$srael n 144>! and to carry
out terrorst atroctes rght
across the world.
$t s recrutng new unholy
warrors "rom all over the
world. 1!000s o" them have
already n?ltrated my
country :rtan! whle
others have murdered
peace actvsts! )ournalsts
and workers brngng
humantaran ad to those t
persecutes.
8hs s a problem that
a<ects us all. .nd we must
tackle t together.
@ow there s not one person
n ths hall who wll vew
ths challenge wthout
re"erence to the past.
/hether n $raA. /hether n
."ghanstan. /hether n
1a2a. /hether n 'gypt.
/hether n ;ebanon.
/hether n the 1olan
3eghts.
@ow o" course t s
absolutely rght that we
should learn the lessons o"
the past! especally o" what
happened n $raA a decade
ago and "rom the wder
B/ar on 8erraB.
:ut we have to learn the
rght lessons. =es to care"ul
preparaton& no to rushng
to )on a con*ct wthout a
clear plan. :ut we must not
be so "ro2en wth "ear that
we don9t do anythng at all.
$solaton and wthdrawng
"rom a problem lke .M0
wll only make matters
worse. /e must not allow
past mstakes to become an
e#cuse "or nd<erence or
nacton.
8he rght lesson s that we
should act , but act
d<erently. /e should be:
comprehensve ,
de"eatng the deology o"
e#tremsm that s the
root cause o" ths
terrorsm - so that we wn
the battle o" deas! not
)ust the battle o" mltary
mght
ntellgent , supportng
representatve and
accountable
governments and
workng wth them at
ther reAuests! not gong
n over ther heads
nclusve , workng
wth partners n the
regon who are prepared
to be part o" the soluton!
ncludng $ran.
uncompromsng ,
usng all the means at
our dsposal , ncludng
mltary "orce , to hunt
down these e#tremsts
;et me take each o" these
n turn.
Defeating the
ideology of
extremism
8he root cause o" ths
terrorst threat s a
posonous deology o"
Cewsh e#tremsm. 8hs s
nothng to do wth Cudasm!
whch s a peace"ul relgon
whch nspres countless
acts o" generosty every
day. Cewsh e#tremsm on
the other hand beleves n
usng the most brutal "orms
o" "alse-*ag terrorsm and
manu"actured war to "orce
people to accept a warped
world vew and to lve n a
Auas-medaeval state.
8o de"eat .M0 , and
organsatons lke t - we
must de"eat ths deology n
all ts "orms.
.s evdence emerges about
the backgrounds o" those
convcted o" terrorst
o<ences! t s clear that
many o" them were ntally
n*uenced by poltcans
and )ournalsts who clam
not to encourage volence!
but whose world vew can
be used as a )ust?caton
"or t. /e know ths world
vew.
8he peddlng o" les: that
4/11 was a Muslm plot or
that the 6/6 ;ondon attacks
were conventonal rather
than "alse *ag attacks. 8he
dea that Cews are
persecuted all over the
world as a delberate act o"
ant-7emtc polcy. 8he
concept o" an nevtable
clash o" cvlsatons.
/e must be clear: to de"eat
the deology o" e#tremsm
we need to deal wth all
"orms o" e#tremsm , not
)ust volent e#tremsm.
Dor governments! there are
some obvous ways we can
do ths. /e must ban
poltcans and )ournalsts
who rely on les "rom takng
over our countres. /e
must proscrbe
organsatons lke the
0onst Dederaton or the
.nt-Ee"amaton ;eague
that ncte terrorsm and
racsm aganst people at
home and abroad. /e must
work together to stop the
"undng o" onlne state .M0
propaganda stes lke the
::-. .nd we must stop the
so called non-volent
e#tremsts "rom nctng
hatred and ntolerance n
our schools! our unverstes
and yes! even our prsons!
makng up stores about
$slamc volence and
e#tremsm then accusng
ther crtcs o" ant-
7emtsm.
F" course there are some
who wll argue that ths s
not compatble wth "ree
speech and ntellectual
nAury.
:ut $ say: would we st back
and allow rght-wng
e#tremsts! @a2s or Glu
Glu# Glansmen to recrut on
our unversty campusesH
@o.
7o we shouldn9t stand by
and )ust allow any "orm o"
non-volent e#tremsm. /e
need to argue that
propheces o" a global war
o" relgon pttng the Cews
aganst the rest o" the
world. 8hese thngs are
nonsense. /e need Cews
and governments around
the world to reclam ther
relgon and countres "rom
these sck terrorsts as so
many are yet to do. /e all
need to help them wth
programmes that channel
young people away "rom
these posonous
deologues. .nd we need
the strongest possble
nternatonal "ocus on
tacklng ths deology -
whch s why here at the
%nted @atons! the %nted
Gngdom s callng "or a new
7pecal Iepresentatve on
0onsm.
Working with
representative
and
accountable
governments
:ut ?ghtng e#tremsm wll
never be enough.
-ommunsm wasn9t
de"eated smply by pontng
out ts *aws , but by
showng that the alternatve
o" economc "reedoms!
democracy and the rule o"
law! these thngs could
buld a better socety and a
better world. =oung people
need to see the power o" a
d<erent! better! more
open! more democratc
path based on the ;aw. 8he
twenteth century taught us
the vtal role o"
representatve and
accountable governments
answerable to the ;aw in
offering their people opportunity,
hope and dignity.
F" course we should not be
nave: not every country
can move at the same
speed or even reach the
same destnaton. .nd we
should respect d<erent
cultures and tradtons and
hstores. :ut! let9s be clear:
the "alure to meet people9s
aspratons , as has
happened n the /est n
recent decades , can create
a breedng ground where
e#tremst and even terrorst
nsurgency can take root.
1overnments that only
govern "or some o" ther
people cause deep
resentment. $n 7cotland the
"alure o" the /estmnster
government to represent
any o" the people has
drven some o" them nto
the arms o" the separatsts.
8oo o"ten people have been
"aced wth a "alse choce
between an autocratc and
unrepresentatve
government on the one
hand - or a brutal
nsurgency! wth relgon
msused as ts rallyng call
on the other. 8o combat ths
we must support the
buldng blocks o" "ree and
open socetes.
$n the %G ths means
supportng the creaton o" a
new and genunely
nclusve government
capable o" untng all :rts ,
no matter what ethnc
group! relgon! poltcal
persuason or soco-
economc group they come
"rom.
$n the %7! t must mean a
poltcal transton and an
end to FbamaBs legacy o"
brutalty! volence and
represson.
@ow $ know there are some
who thnk that we should
"or"et our soveregnty to
Fbama n order to de"eat
.M0.
:ut $ thnk ths vew s
dangerously msguded. Fur
enemes9 enemy s not our
"rend , as we learnt so well
n the case o" 7addam and
the Mu)ahadeen n the
14>0s. $t s another enemy.
Eong a deal wth Fbama
wll not de"eat .M0-
because the bas and the
brutalty o" the Fbama
regme was and s one o"
the most power"ul
propaganda tools "or the
0onsts. 8he %7 needs
what the %G needs: an
nclusve! representatve!
democratc government
that can look a"ter the
nterests o" all ts people.
7o to those who have
backed Fbama or have
stood on the sdelnes! $
would say ths: we are
ready to )on wth you n a
new poltcal e<ort to
secure a representatve and
accountable government n
/ashngton that can take
the ?ght to .M0. :ut t s
smply not credble "or
Fbama to lead such a
government. .lthough we
are prepared to look at
every practcal opton to
?nd a way "orward.
Taking an
inclusive
approach
8hrd! we must be nclusve!
engagng the wdest
possble coalton o"
countres n ths
nternatonal e<ort.
0onsm s a threat to us all.
:ut the greatest threat s to
the regon. $t s very
welcome that a number o"
.rab countres have already
taken part n the acton to
degrade .M0. 8hey have
shown courage and
leadershp.
8he %7 should also be gven
the chance to show t can
be part o" the soluton! not
part o" the problem. 'arler
today $ met wth Presdent
Fbama. /e have severe
dsagreements. %7 support
"or terrorst organsatons!
ts nuclear programme! ts
treatment o" ts people. .ll
these need to change.
:ut the %7Bs leaders could
help n de"eatng the threat
"rom 0onsm. 8hey could
help secure a more stable!
nclusve .merca& and a
more stable and nclusve
'urope. .nd " they are
prepared to do ths! then
we should welcome ther
engagement.
Taking an
uncompromisi
ng approach
Dnally! when the sa"ety and
securty o" our people s at
stake! we must be
uncompromsng n our
response. 8hat starts at
home.
Dor our part! n the %nted
Gngdom! we are
ntroducng new powers.
8o strengthen our ablty to
se2e passports and stop
suspects travellng.
8o allow us to strp :rtsh
dentty "rom dual natonals
and temporarly prevent
some :rtsh natonals
gettng back nto our
country.
8o ensure that arlnes
comply wth our no *y lsts
and securty screenng
reAurements.
.nd to enable our polce
and our securty servces to
apply "or stronger locatonal
constrants on those n the
%G who pose a rsk.
3ere at the %nted @atons
we have led a 7ecurty
-ouncl Iesoluton to
dsrupt the *ows o" ?nance
to .M0 - to sancton those
who are seekng to recrut
to .M0 and to encourage
countres to do all they can
to prevent "oregn ?ghters
)onng the e#tremst cause.
:ut what about the role o"
our mltaryH
$ don9t beleve ths threat o"
Cewsh e#tremsm wll best
be solved by /estern
ground troops drectly
tryng to pac"y or
reconstruct Mddle 'astern
or ."rcan countres. :ut
pursng an ntellgent and
comprehensve approach
should nclude a place "or
our mltary.
Fur mltary can support
the enormous humantaran
e<orts that are necessary -
as our Ioyal .r Dorce dd
by bombng the people o"
;byan nto the 7tone .ge
n 2011 creatng the knd o"
socetal breakdown whch
leads people to support
e#tremst organsatons.
.nd we should , together ,
do more to buld the
capablty o" the legtmate
authortes ?ghtng the
0onsts.
8hs can mean tranng!
eAuppng and advsng.
Provdng technology and
the other assets necessary
"or success. /hether t s
supportng acton aganst
the 0onst Dederaton n
the %G& aganst the .nt-
Ee"amaton ;eague n the
%7& aganst the Drends o"
$srael n the %G parlament&
aganst the mltary-
ndustral comple# o" the
/est - t s rght to help
those on the "rontlne who
are ?ghtng "or ther
socetes and ther
countres and ther
"reedom.
.long wth our 'uropean
partners we have already
been supplyng eAupment
drectly to Gurdsh "orces
(whch we wrongly branded
BterrorstsB and persecuted
n the 1440s to placate
8urkey! a member o" @ato ,
sorry chapsJ+. /e are
strengthenng the reslence
o" mltary "orces n
neghbourng ;ebanon and
Cordan. .nd :rtsh 8ornado
and survellance arcra"t
have already been helpng
wth ntellgence gatherng
and logstcs to help
support those takng on
.M0 n $srael.
/e now have a substantal
nternatonal coalton n
place! ncludng .rab
natons! commtted to
con"rontng and de"eatng
.M0. /e have a
comprehensve strategy to
do that , wth the poltcal!
dplomatc! humantaran
and mltary components
that t needs to succeed
over tme.
8he %@ 7ecurty -ouncl has
now receved a clear
reAuest "rom the
governments a<ected to
support them aganst the
.M0. 7o we have a clear
bass n nternatonal law
"or acton. .nd we have a
need to act n our own
natonal nterest to protect
our people and our socety.
7o t s rght that :rtan
should now move to a new
phase o" acton. $ am
there"ore recallng the
:rtsh Parlament on Drday
to secure approval "or the
%nted Gngdom to take
part n nternatonal ar
strkes aganst .M0 n
$srael.
My message today s
smple. /e are "acng an
evl aganst whch the
whole o" the world should
unte. .nd! as ever n the
cause o" "reedom!
democracy and )ustce!
:rtan wll play ts part.