Allow me
first to congratulate the President on his assumption
of the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-
ninth session. I would also like to thank Mr. John
Ashe for his work during his presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. Our appreciation
also goes to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his
annual report on the work of the Organization (A/69/1).
We meet today on the eve of the seventieth
anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, to
which my country had the honour to contribute. That
milestone reminds us of the need to draw lessons and
explore the best ways to put an end to war and violence
and to mobilize international efforts to combat terrorism
and terrorists.
I wish to convey the concerns of my country,
Lebanon, which is at the crossroads of a turbulent
region. Today Lebanon is the target of a fierce terrorist
onslaught being perpetrated by obscurantist and criminal
groups. They have attacked many parts of Lebanon and
caused the loss of military and civilian lives, as well
as considerable material damage. Last month, terrorists
kidnapped a number of soldiers and security officers.
They took them hostage in order to bring pressure to
bear on and to blackmail the Lebanese authorities. They
brutally executed three of the detainees. Such crimes
have impeded the ongoing indirect negotiations that
my Government was conducting with the assistance of
friendly countries to secure the release of the soldiers.
I would like to underscore that compromise on our
firm beliefs is not an option. We remain focused on the
release of our soldiers, while preserving the sovereignty,
territorial integrity and security of our country.
In combating terrorism, the Lebanese people stand
united with its armed forces, which represent the main
pillar on which we depend to safeguard our national
sovereignty, security and peace. Our Government
continues to rally the necessary support for its forces
to be able to fulfil their duty. In that regard, Lebanon
values the generous donation of the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia to support our armed forces. We also pay
tribute to the initiative of the Secretary-General, who
launched the International Support Group for Lebanon
last September here in New York city. We express our
satisfaction and reassurance over the outcomes of the
meetings held by the Support Group this year in Paris
and Rome.
The current international mobilization against
terror reflects the international community’s awareness
of the alarming situation in our region and the need
to extinguish the flames of violence and prevent the
spread of such attacks. Lebanon underscores the
need for regional and international cooperation to
fight terrorism. We welcome the Security Council
resolutions on the subject, in particular resolutions 2170
(2014) and 2178 (2014). Lebanon calls on its brothers
and friends around the world to safeguard and protect it
from regional power struggles.
Our fight against terrorism is not new. For years,
Lebanon has suffered under the threat posed by political
crimes, which have targeted many of its leaders, in
particular former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and
prominent media figures and intellectuals. We continue
to follow the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
We look forward to the establishment of the truth in
order to put an end to impunity, enable justice to be
served and deter criminals.
The events unfolding in vast areas of Syria and Iraq
constitute human crimes that cannot be understood
or accepted by any intellect or faith. Perpetrated in
the name of Islam, such crimes have cost the lives of
tens of thousands of Muslim civilians and have caused
unprecedented waves of displaced people. In addition,
those crimes have destabilized national entities, divided
societies and destroyed human and material resources.
That terrorist onslaught targets religious groups
that since time immemorial have been an essential
component of the social fabric of the region and a
fundamental part of the social and cultural diversity
that has long characterized the eastern Mediterranean.
In the past few months, the entire world has witnessed
attacks against Christians and Yazidis in Iraq, their
forced expulsion and the destruction of their property
and holy sites. Lebanon considers attacks against
religions, their followers and sacred places to be an
offence against human dignity and a violation of the
freedom of religious belief and practice enshrined in
the Charter of the United Nations and the International
Bill of Human Rights, respect for which is guaranteed
by our Lebanese Constitution.
Lebanon is proud to be the only country in the
Arab and Islamic worlds where the President of the
Republic is a Christian citizen. That confirms that our
country, despite its political crises, has been a paragon
of diversity in the Middle East, an exceptional example
of coexistence and interaction among followers of
different religions and sects and a model totally opposed
to the notion of a racist State. I take this opportunity
to reiterate before the General Assembly the Lebanese
Government’s call for the election of a new Christian
President of the Republic as soon as possible.
The painful and worrisome war in Syria, which
has continued for more than four years, has driven
nearly 1.5 million displaced Syrians to Lebanon — a
number that is equivalent to one-third of the Lebanese
population. In order to fully understand the dimensions
of that situation, one would have to imagine 100 million
people flooding into the United States of America
and spreading out randomly through its cities, towns,
schools and parks, with their related urgent needs
and requirements, posing an unbearable burden at the
economic, humanitarian, social, educational, health
and security levels.
That huge number of displaced people weighs
heavily on the Lebanese infrastructure, which already
has structural problems. It puts pressure on the national
economy, where growth has dropped to almost 0 per
cent owing to the regional situation, which represents
a loss of $7.5 billion for Lebanon, according to World
Bank estimates. This reality constitutes a national
disaster for us. The problem of the displaced Syrians,
with all its serious economic, social and security
implications, is not — and should not be — a purely
Lebanese problem. It is a major regional crisis that we
put before the international community, which must
share that enormous burden with Lebanon. Such a
burden cannot be borne by any country alone, no matter
how large.
Lebanon reiterates its concern for the unity,
sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of
Syria. In our Government policy statement, we have
reaffirmed our commitment to the policy of keeping
our distance in order to protect ourselves from the
repercussions of the crisis in the neighbouring country.
On the eighth anniversary of the adoption of Security
Council resolution 1701 (2006), Lebanon asserts its
commitment to implementing all of the resolution’s
provisions. We believe that it will strengthen stability
and security in southern Lebanon and contribute to
extending the State’s authority over its entire territory.
We renew our appeal to the international community
to compel Israel to fulfil all its obligations in that
regard, to stop violating Lebanese sovereignty from the
land, the sea and the air and to fully cooperate with
the United Nations peacekeeping forces of the United
Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in order to
demarcate what is left of the Blue Line and immediately
withdraw from the area north of Ghajar, the Sheba’a
Farms and the Kfar Shouba Hills.
We also wish to reaffirm Lebanon’s full rights to its
territorial waters and the natural oil and gas resources
within its exclusive economic zone. Lebanon cannot
fail to acknowledge the role of UNIFIL and the ongoing
cooperation and coordination between UNIFIL and
the Lebanese army. Lebanon would like to thank all
nations that contribute to the Force, the Force leaders
and the members of the Force for their dedication in
the service of the stability and security of civilians in
southern Lebanon.
Last month, the Gaza Strip was subjected to a new
Israeli aggression, which killed hundreds of civilians,
displaced more than a quarter of the population and
destroyed homes, hospitals and infrastructure. Lebanon,
which has paid dearly as a result of the repeated Israeli
attacks, calls for legal accountability for the war crimes
committed by Israel and for that country to be held
accountable for its actions in order to prevent impunity.
Lebanon believes that Israel is responsible for
frustrating all efforts to reach a peaceful settlement
based on the two-State solution. It stresses the need
for a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the
conflict in the Middle East, based on Security Council
resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), the Madrid terms
of reference for peace and the Arab Peace Initiative,
adopted at the Beirut summit in 2002.
Today, the Levant seems to be the stage for
dark and arbitrary tragedies, where the most recent
manifestations of human savagery are being played out.
Today, the Levant seems to be hostage to ignorance,
extremism and obscurantism, plunged into a hatred
arising from a distant past and guided by a fanaticism
and instincts that yield only bloodshed. However, that
troubled area was, is and will be home to many people
who, like all other human beings, have land, homes,
tales, dreams and a history. They are individuals who
are eager to live as free and equal citizens in free and
stable countries. They have sons and daughters who
seek better opportunities for engagement in the world
and a better place to live.
Humankind owes a debt to our Levant. We gave
humankind enlightenment when darkness, extremism
and ignorance were crippling the other side of the
world. We still have much to offer and to add to the
tremendous development of human progress and
creativity. The world must stop counting our dead. It
must meet its obligation and seek to establish peace in
that tormented part of the world — a peace that is based
on law, justice, respect for the sovereignty of nations
and the protection of their security and territorial
integrity, the safeguarding of the fundamental rights
of individuals and groups, including their right to enjoy
their wealth, and the protection of religious and ethnic
diversity.
We, the Lebanese people, both at home and in
every corner of the world, look to the United Nations
for assistance. At the same time, we are determined to
overcome the current crisis, as we have done so many
times before. We are confident that, together, we will
not allow any person, any circumstance or any party
to extinguish the beacons of freedom, democracy,
diversity, pluralism, knowledge and human rights in
Lebanon.