Rudolph Giuliani: The era of moral relativism on terror must end

From an address given by the Mayor of New York to the United Nations General Assembly

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Giuliani's ultimatum to the world: You have a moral duty to back US

This was not just an attack on the city of New York, it was an attack on the very idea of a free, inclusive and civil society, a direct assault on the founding principles of the United Nations itself. This vicious attack places in jeopardy the whole purpose of the United Nations.

I have been heartened by the spontaneous response to the attacks demonstrated by the leaders and peoples of UN member states. Your support for New York and America, and your understanding of what needs to be done to remove the threat of terrorism, gives us great, great hope that we will prevail.

It is tragic and perverse that the United States was under attack because of its ideals. The best long-term deterrent to terrorism, obviously, is the spread of the principles of freedom and democracy and the rule of law, and respect for human rights.

The United Nations must hold accountable any country that supports or condones terrorism, otherwise you will fail in your primary mission of peacekeeper.

Come with me to the thousands of funerals we are having in New York City – thousands – and explain those insane, maniacal reasons to the children who will grow up without fathers and mothers, and to the parents who have had their children ripped from them for no reason.

This is not a time for further study or vague directives. The United Nations must draw a line. The era of moral relativism between those who practice and condone terrorism and those who stand up against it must end. I ask each of you to allow me to say at those funerals that your nation stands with America, to make a solid promise and pledge that we will achieve an unconditional victory over terrorism.

The UN must hold accountable any country that supports or condones terrorism, otherwise you will fail in your primary mission as peace-keeper. It must ostracise any nation that supports terrorism, it must isolate any country that remains neutral. World leaders should learn from the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's failed dealings with Hitler. Hitler's wave of terror was only encouraged by attempts at appeasement. At the cost of millions of lives, we learned that words alone, although important, are not enough to guarantee peace.

The evidence of terrorism, brutality and inhumanity, is lying beneath the rubble of the World Trade Centre less than two miles from where we meet today. Look at that destruction, that massive, senseless, cruel loss of human life. And then I ask you to look in your hearts and recognise that there is no room for neutrality on the issue of terrorism. You're either with civilisation or with terrorists

America emerged from all your nations. A United Nations delegate could probably find a native from their home country somewhere in New York. The strikes were a direct attack on the purpose of the UN and part of a persistent and deliberate violation of fundamental human rights.

We are right and they are wrong. It is as simple as that. With one clear voice, unanimously, we need to say "we will not give in to terrorism". We don't let fear make our decisions for us. We choose to live in freedom.