113. Sheikh ALHEGELAN (Saudi Arabia) I wish at the outset to
convey to you, Sir, our sincere congratulations on your well-deserved
election to the presidency of the thirty-seventh session of the
General Assembly. That election was indeed a wise decision and
testifies to your great competence for this post. 1 cannot fail to
pay a tribute to the outgoing President of the thirty-sixth session
of the general Assembly, Mr. Kittani, and to express to him my
country's very great appreciation of his untiring efforts in
presiding over the proceedings of the general Assembly. 1 also thank
him sincerely for his successful presidency of that session. It gives
me great pleasure, too, to express on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia our sincere congratulations to Mr. Perez de Cuellar on his
election as Secretary-General. We wish to express to him our hopes
for his success in strengthening the effectiveness of the
Organization so that it can achieve the purposes and principles of
the Charter.
114. The thirty-seventh session has opened in an atmosphere of
tension and anxiety. International conflicts and crises are becoming
all the more complex and interlinked, and the factors that divide
nations outweigh those that bring them together. The agenda of the
Assembly is replete with complex problems that involve a genuine
danger to international peace and security. A careful consideration
of the international situation reveals to us clearly that the gap
between our aspirations to a peaceful world, where relations between
peoples are based on right and justice, and the actual situation,
dominated by criteria of force, the policies of hegemony and attempts
to impose apartheid exists and has indeed probably widened.
113. International relations at present are characterized by grave
indications of cold war. Polarization breeds instability in the world
and detente, which marked relations between East and West in the last
decade, has turned into confrontation, with unforeseeable
consequences.
116. There is an escalation in the arms race. The use and threat of
force and terrorism have become dominant characteristics in
international relations. On the other hand, the continued stagnation
of the North-South dialogue and the resultant widening of the gap
between the industrialized and the developing countries have resulted
in a further deterioration of the international situation, which has
dashed the hope of establishing a more stable world. In short, the
world is gliding back to the old system based on zones of. political
and economic influence based on hegemony, domination and dependence.
There is no doubt that this is a source of anxiety and fear. Hence we
must master all our resources to tackle this grave situation.
117. Is it not ironical that man, who in this age has been able to
achieve incredible progress in science and technology, is unable to
solve some of the problems that he himself has caused? Is that not
enough to make us intensify our efforts to face these challenges and
seek ways of ensuring stability, peace and security for the
international community and of protecting the interests of peoples
and nations? It is not enough simply to draw attention to
international crises and problems. In order to solve and eliminate
them it is necessary, after taking objective stock of the
international situation, to put forward practical concepts and
positive ideas which will enable the international community to face
the dangers that confront it.
118. As pointed out by His Majesty King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz in hi&
address to the Saudi people last August, we in the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia,
... work on the comprehensive international scene within the
framework of the United Nations, its agencies and organs. We abide by
its Charter, support its efforts and fight any abnormal action aimed
at weakening it and restricting the force of international law with a
view to replacing it by the force of arms and the language of
terrorism. Our actions have effectively reflected and will continue
to reflect our sense of commitment to the international community, as
one family, no matter what the difference in interests, and our
belief in the principles of peace based on right and justice. We
believe that international security and political stability are
linked to economic justice.
119. Proceeding from that premise, we believe that the following
conditions must be fulfilled in order to erect a solid edifice of
relations between States through which it will be possible to reduce
international tension and overcome many of the dangers that threaten
international peace and security.
120. First, we join those who insist on the need for reform of the
present political system and believe that in this respect the
following must be taken into account.
121. One of the main things that encourage nations to try to
acquire zones of influence and to adopt a policy of force to solve
problems is that they do not accept the rule of law or respect moral
and ethical principles. Therefore if such States really want to
maintain peace and stability in the world and ensure prosperity,
progress, wealth and well-being for the peoples, they must
scrupulously observe moral principles and be guided by them in the
labyrinthine complexities of contemporary international relations. In
this respect, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia offers its experience to
the international community as its contribution to ensuring stability
and peace and eliminating the problems that jeopardize the very
existence and survival of nations.
122. As pointed out by His Majesty King Fahd,
Saudi Arabia is one of the Islamic nations and was created so that
the law of God would be respected and God has honoured it by allowing
it to serve as His house of worship and the sanctuary of His Prophet.
Thus its responsibility was increased, its policy became set and its
duties expanded. It performs those duties on the international scene
by respecting God's way of wisdom and morality. Islam is a religion
of mercy, of mind and of strength; it fights terrorism and overcomes
disorder, weakness and humiliation.
123. The United Nations is the principal body for the promotion of
freedom, peace, and justice, security and international co-operation.
Therefore we must make available to it all that it needs to face the
challenges that confront it. It should become an effective instrument
for promoting world peace and economic and social progress for all.
If the Organization is to continue as an effective instrument of
peace, the peoples of the world should place their trust in it, and
our commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter should
be beyond discussion or doubt.
124. The arms race and the magnitude of the resulting expenditure
has increased tension in the world, and that has forced many
countries, and especially the least developed, to devote a great
portion of their limited resources to defence, at the expense of
their progress and economic and social development. We hope that the
efforts which the international community expects the Organization to
exertand the positive role that it can play in this respect will lead
to concrete progress which will protect humanity from the dangers
which threaten it and will spare the developing countries the
conflicts and struggles for influence that have become a danger to
humanity in general.
125. Secondly, one of the important goals of our contemporary
world and for the future is the establishment of a new and more
equitable international economic order which will meet the
aspirations of the peoples of the world to higher standards of living
and a better life. In order to establish such a system we must
grapple with the many important economic subjects that demand our
attention.
126. The agenda includes many subjects and issues of extreme
importance as regards international economic co-operation for
development. Therefore we deem it important that the launching of a
new round of global negotiations be accelerated in a serious attempt
to improve the economic performance and increase the efficiency of
international co-operation for development.
127. It is regrettable that the general Assembly's efforts aimed
at the launching of a new round of global economic negotiations have
been hampered by the existence of differences over certain procedural
questions which we had earnestly hoped would be solved in the light
of the conclusions of the International Meeting on Co-operation and
Development, which was held at Cancun in 1981, for the establishment
of confidence between developed and developing countries. We also
maintain that real efforts should be exerted to achieve the
objectives of the International Development Strategy for the Third
United Nations Development Decade and to support in every way
FAO, WFC, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and WFP
in their efforts to overcome world food problems in general and to
increase food and agricultural aid to Africa.
128. I should also like to stress the importance of economic and
technical co-operation among the developing countries. In Saudi
Arabia we consider it to be complementary to but not a substitute for
co-operation between developed and developing countries. The
international community should pay careful Attention to this.
129. Thirdly, word peace, security and stability are affected by a
number of international problems at present afflicting the
international community. If we really want to maintain international
peace and security and to make progress, well-being and prosperity
available to the countries and peoples of the world, we must,
intensify international efforts and work tirelessly to find rapid and
equitable solutions for those problems. These problems increase and
worsen with the passing of time and increasingly threaten world peace
and security.
130. In South Africa, the racist regime continues to enforce a
policy of racial discrimination and M against the vast majority
of that country's population. That violates the most elementary
international norms and humanitarian principles. While we support the
people of South Africa, we call on the international community to
exert the necessary pressure on the States which support the racist
South African regime in order to put an end to it and to force the
regime to submit to the will of the international community. South
Africa must cease its invidious practices, immediately halt launching
attacks on neighbouring African countries, put an end to its
occupation of Namibia and comply with relevant United Nations
resolutions.
131. We further call on the international community to take a firm
stand against the aggressive attitude manifested in the present
co-operation between South Africa and Israel, especially in the
nuclear field, and in their joint nuclear tests in particular. That
poses a direct threat to the peoples of Africa, to the Arab nations
and to the rest of the peoples of the world.
132. One of the most serious problems facing the international
community and requiring an effective, urgent solution is that of
Afghanistan. The continued foreign military interference in the
internal affairs of Afghanistan constitutes a flagrant violation by a
superpower of the sovereignty and independence of a small,
non-aligned country. Today, after almost three years of Soviet
interference in Afghanistan-coupled with continuous acts of
aggression against the Afghan people, against mosques and peaceful
villages, bombardment with incendiary bombs, the use of chemical
warfare, and violations of the most elementary principles of human
rights-we once again urge the Soviet Union to withdraw from
Afghanistan so that the fraternal Afghan people may regain its
freedom and independence and have the final say in the choice of its
leaders and representatives and so that it may exercise sovereignty
over its own land.
133. The raging war between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran
is another problem which troubles us. Saudi Arabia is pained by that
war, because it is being waged between two Islamic countries. In this
regard, we wish to express our hope that the Iranian Government will
respond to Iraq's offers and to the missions of good offices of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference, the United Nations and the
non-aligned movement, so that a just settlement may be achieved, thus
ending the bloodshed and destruction, establishing a good-neighbourly
policy. That solution would be based on the principles of
non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and
international law.
134. One of the gravest problems threatening international peace and
security, one which is prejudicing stability and prosperity, not only
in the Middle East but throughout the world, stems from Israel's
continuing aggression and its terrible racist settlements policy.
Israel's continuing defiance and its aggression constitute a most
dangerous factor in the Palestinian issue, which is an important
issue for all those who believe in the right of every people to
self-determination and the right to expression of free will. When we
speak of Israeli aggression, we do net describe it merely as
aggression against a secure people settled in its own homeland, or as
usurpation of that people's territory and property, or as disregard
for all human ideals, or as a flagrant violation of and challenge to
the resolutions of the Organization. We describe it as aggression
against the Charter of the United Nations and all the ethical and
humanitarian principles enshrined therein.
133. I do not wish to go into the history of the Palestinian
question, which stretches back over 34 years. We in Saudi Arabia
consider this our primary cause, but it has rightly become the cause
of the whole world. It has absorbed more of the efforts of the
Organization than any other issue. Despite recognition by most of the
countries and peoples of the world of the inalienable rights of the
Palestinian people, including its right to self-determination and to
the establishment of an independent State on its own territory, and
despite the fact that the international community has come
increasingly to recognize the PLO as the sole legitimate
representative of the Palestinian people, Israel persists in its
aggressive policy and its imperialist settlement policy on the land
of Palestine.
136. By means of its policy of physically liquidating the
Palestinian people, and its attempts to distort the history of
Palestine and destroy its religious and cultural institutions, as
well as to bring about changes in the demographic pattern there,
Israel is attempting to put an end to Palestinian identity, with no
respect either for international public opinion or for the United
Nations.
137. If Palestine is our primary cause, the Holy City of Jerusalem
is its essence. In this connection, Saudi Arabia, on its own behalf
and on behalf of the Islamic countries which are members of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference, reaffirms its determination
to preserve the Islamic Arab character of Jerusalem and to return the
Holy City to Arab sovereignty, under which it was always a meeting
place for all believers in the three revealed religions and a place
of hope, tolerance and coexistence for the followers of the various
religions.
138. Israel persists in following a policy of force and aggression,
and it does not confine its aggression against the Palestinian people
to occupied Palestine. It goes far beyond that territory to commit
acts of aggression against neighbouring Arab countries. The flagrant
and barbaric act of aggression against the fraternal people of
Lebanon, and all the consequent massacres, which constitute a source
of shame for all of humanity, are a violation of the principles and
norms of international law and signal a return to the law of the
jungle. They are a setback for the principles and ideals which the
international community has observed, enshrined and safeguarded.
139. Israel's use, in its barbaric aggression against Lebanon, of
the most destructive and deadly weapons against civilians-women,
children and the aged- does not merely reveal Israel's malicious,
aggressive, terrorist and evil nature; it also lays responsibility at
the door of the countries that supply Israel with weapons.
Sophisticated weaponry flows to Israel under the fallacy, which has
been spread throughout the Western world and of which Israel has been
able to convince the highest-level politicians, that it is needed for
Israel to secure its safety. But that is a very dangerous policy and
Israel's arsenal and nuclear capability have become a direct threat
to world peace and security.
140. Israel's theory of security is the most dangerous and
aggressive that has been seen in our era. It is no less dangerous
than the Nazi and Fascist theories which dragged the world into a
destructive war. Today in the Middle East, the Zionists are trying to
apply the same theories as the Nazis applied in Europe before the
Second World War.
141. The barbaric acts committed by Israel in west Beirut, to
which thousands of Palestinian refugees -women, children and the
aged-have fallen victim in the Shatila and Sabra camps, are but
further confirmation of Israel's aggressive nature and criminal
character. These massacres of innocent and defenceless civilians were
not only aimed at the Palestinian and Lebanese people, but are a
shameful stigma for humanity itself. They have given the lie to
Israel's calumny and its fallacious claims that Israeli troops
entered west Beirut to maintain peace and security. For it has been
proved beyond doubt that this flagrant act of aggression was aimed at
liquidating the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.
142. We call on the international community to support Lebanon, to
assist it in regaining its sovereignty and securing the unconditional
withdrawal of the Israeli invading forces from its territory, and to
take all necessary measures against Israel so that it will be unable
to pursue the policy of hegemony and force that it has tried to
impose in the Middle East. The international community should be no
less courageous than the voices heard in Israel itself in denouncing
Israel's aggressive practices in Lebanon and requesting that they
leave. The absence of international deterrence and the abuse of the
veto in the Security Council encouraged Israel to persist in its
arrogance and to depend on force to achieve its expansionist aims and
ambitions. We call on all countries, especially those which support
the Zionist entity and provide it with political, military and
economic help.
to stop that help forthwith so as to put an end to Israel's
aggressive policy in the Middle East.
143. Israel should not be allowed to continue its unlawful acts
with impunity. It is time for the international community to go
beyond the stage of condemnation and take effective measures to stop
such conduct. Those who blatantly support the Zionist entity
encourage the most hateful and dangerous theories against humanity
and its rights and support aggression and expansion.
144. The Arab world is eager to maintain the principles of peace,
stability, right and justice. We wish to live in peace on our
territory and to have equal and proper relations in order to achieve
those goals, and to choose our friends and enemies on these noble
principles. Thusthe Israeli aggression which seeks to impose hegemony
in the area is met by a genuine trend in the Arab countries, seeking
the consolidation of stability and peace in the Middle East and the
world as a whole.
145. The Arab position is based on the principles adopted at the
Arab summit conferences, especially the Twelfth Conference held in
Fez last month, the resolutions of which have confirmed that the
Arabs seek to achieve right, peace and justice and to exert every
effort to maintain a peace which is just and comprehensive in the
Middle East in compliance with the resolutions of the United Nations.
146. The resolutions of the Fez Summit Conference reaffirmed the
Arab will for peace based on justice because it took into account the
true situation in the area and that involved the principles and bases
which could be an objective starting point for establishing a just
and lasting peace. Among those principles is the inalienable right of
the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment
of an independent State on its own territory and under the leadership
of the PLO, its sole legitimate representative. This is in accordance
with the principles of right and justice and the resolutions of the
United Nations. Thus at a time when the Arab countries reaffirm by
resolution adopted at Fez their will to establish peace base on
justice, Israel proves, through its conduct, that it does not wish
peace but rather seeks more expansion and more occupation of
territory. It has become clear that Israel is not the party that
seeks security. Those who look for security are the Arabs.
147. Peace will not be achieved as long as there is a people
suffering oppression, occupation, humiliation, racism, imperialism
and other forms of domination. History has taught us that the people
who have been deprived of their basic rights have stood resolutely in
defence of those rights. That resistance has taken different shapes
and forms. Genuine peace in the Middle East will not be established
unless there is a complete recognition of the right of the
Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of its
own independent State, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all
Arab occupied countries, including the Holy City of Jerusalem. There
will hot be genuine peace in the Middle East so long as Israel
persists in violating the simplest principles of human rights in the
occupied territories and in Lebanon. Peace will not be realized so
long as Israel adheres to its expansionist designs and racist policy.
148. Last, but not least, finding a comprehensive and just
solution to the Palestinian question will be a starting point for the
solution of many international problems which pose a danger to
international peace and security. If such a solution is not reached,
then international tension and a deterioration of the situation in an
unpredictable way will be a constant source of danger.
149. If we want to keep the world away from the edge of the abyss
and from the policies of extremism, force and aggression, then wisdom
and reason should prevail in all our conduct and we should also
observe all the principles and bases that can lessen international
tension and overcome many of the dangers to international peace and
security to which I have referred. We should co-operate to find a
solution for all international problems and conflicts, in order to
establish an international community which enjoys stability,
progress, peace and security.