New Zealand's taken some very significant decisions in relation to defence in the last two years.

The Pacific had great hope that when the former President Mitered decided to halt nuclear testing, we had put behind us the issue of nuclear states testing their weapons in our Pacific region.

The world has been gradually reducing its nuclear arsenals. Testing must stop so that progress on the destruction of nuclear weapons may begin.

The Platform for Action gives due emphasis to the fact that women globally have continued to have insufficient access to the resources necessary to achieve economic independence.

Too often the desire for peace has been expressed by women while the stewardship of the mechanisms which are used to attempt to secure peace in the short and medium term are dominated by male decision-making structures and informal arrangements. This must change.

I can't for the life of me see that by being permissive you actually assist anyone.

On many occasions New Zealand has spoken about the need to ensure that women's concerns are fully integrated into all aspects of the United Nations' activities and structures, not marginalised in one part of the Secretariat.

Ten years ago in Nairobi we said that the participation of women in the decision-making and appraisal processes of the United Nations was essential if the organization was to effectively serve women's interests.

Peace is a fragile thing. It takes courage to secure it. It takes wisdom to maintain it.

The decision by France to resume nuclear testing in the South Pacific has destroyed this hope and raised a storm of protest at home, in the South Pacific and thankfully around the world.

The government's position was that we have frigates that have got a useful life until 2006. There is no necessity for us to make final decisions until 2002.

The serious problems facing the world today will never be solved until women are able to use their full potential on behalf of themselves, their families, and their global and local communities, as the World Bank and others have discovered.

Equality and development will not be achieved however if peace is not understood from women's' point of view.

With the adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the international community sent out a clear message that gender based violence will not be tolerated.

The Open Skies issue is something that's ongoing and we understand that there are issues in Australia that need to be sorted out. It's something that I think over time there's an opportunity for us and we'll work on that in a progressive way.

Hollow commitments to action in the future are insufficient. Deferring difficult issues must not be tolerated. Our children and grandchildren expect us to speak and act decisively.

By and large, women in New Zealand are fortunate compared with some other countries, including many in our own region. But there is still progress to be made.

NGOs have a significant role to play, alongside governments, in improving the status of women.

It is important to remember that the Pacific Ocean covers a quarter of the world's surface and that each Pacific country has its own cultural, historical and ethnic identity.

New Zealand's taken some very significant decisions in relation to defence in the last two years.

Chinese people as consumers, while they've always valued food and beverage for the health food qualities, they are also now wanting it in terms of other values: 'Does this speak about my position in society? Am I now middle-class, and does this matter to me?'

Diversity is not a politically correct idea. Diversity in a boardroom or in a Parliament means that you just have different minds, different life experience, different ways of thinking about patients or customers or voters so that when you bring that intellect, you look at opportunity and risk, and then you have it in much better balance.

Every second, every day, every year, we fail to address demand for reproductive health and family planning services. Lives are lost, and girls' opportunities to thrive and contribute to their country's development shrink. These are real people.

I am not a supporter of the rhetoric of, 'Dear, dear, the toys have got lead paint.' If I had a manufacturer in China that allowed that to happen, I'd fire them instantly.

I hear so many people talking about what's wrong, whether it's climate change or whatever, but so few say, 'Well, look, we've got this problem, so let's find the solution. Let's find a scientist, let's find politicians who are prepared to shape the future, or try and keep up with it.'

What we need is to understand that women won't often apply for a job until they're almost 95% qualified. So they tick the box and say, 'If I can't do it all, I can't be qualified.' Men look at the same job, and as long as they get to about 60%, they'll apply.

When I hear people flatteringly say, 'You're an expert on East Asia...' I'm certainly an observer of East Asia, and central Asia, and ASEAN, and to a lesser extent South Asia and the Gulf, but there's always something behind the wall in China.

We Finns represent a very transparent and open-minded way of reaching political decisions.

The association promotes a way of life, not causes; a harmony in living, not political faiths; a bilateral loyalty, not commercial or social projects. Yet it is an association for as noble a purpose as any involved in any prior decisions.

Within the last three years the amount of classified materials has doubled to 15.6 million decisions to classify documents.

The decisions and problems of Uruguay will be resolved by Uruguayans.

If you stop and think about our history, one of the reasons we had an American century and there is an American dream was because at key points in our history we made very bold decisions about making sure that there was very broad, universal access to quality education.

We know that the decisions we reach will have a profound impact on the communities hosting our military installations, and more importantly, on the people who bring those communities to life.

And yes, there's a simplicity to writing books because you're not a member of a team, so you make all the decisions yourself instead of deferring to a committee.

What I thought we ought to try to do in a book like this is to focus closely on Lincoln, himself, to see what he knew, how he knew it, how he came to make the decisions that he did, and how he implemented them.

We exercise great caution in airing an audio- or videotape released by a terrorist organization holding a hostage. These are decisions made by CNN's editorial staff and not by any third party.

I never participated in far-reaching political decisions, since I never belonged to the circle of the closest associates of Adolf Hitler, neither was I consulted by Adolf Hitler on general political questions, nor did I ever take part in conferences about such problems.

When better business decisions are made, economists won't make them.

There's no wobble in Bush. If anything, the opposite. Right after hello, the next words out of his mouth are: I've never been more convinced that the decisions I made are the right decisions.

Give people enough guidance to make the decisions you want them to make. Don't tell them what to do, but encourage them to do what is best.

The people who make policy decisions should damned well know what they are talking about before they make the decisions. There is nobody who is an expert on cloning who would be afraid after seeing Attack of the Clones.

I'm strongly for a patient Bill of Rights. Decisions ought to be made by doctors, not accountants.

This administration in Washington... clearly believes that government is not only the answer to every need but it's the most qualified to make essential decisions for every American in every area. That mix of arrogance and audacity that guides the Obama administration is an affront to every freedom-loving American.

Difficult times require difficult decisions. But supporting this bill shouldn't be a difficult decision.

A surprising number of government committees will make important decisions on fundamental matters with less attention than each individual would give to buying a suit.

We're on the verge of a financial collapse unless we balance the budget, and that means some really, really tough decisions.

There are a lot of things going on with my life right now that don't just have to do with career. So I have a hard time making decisions about work. That's really a luxury problem.

The basis of computer work is predicated on the idea that only the brain makes decisions and only the index finger does the work.

Hitler's economic revolution in Germany had reduced financial considerations to a point where they played no role in economic or political decisions.