Yemen

It gives me pleasure to extend to Mr. Udovenko our heartfelt congratulations on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-second session. We are confident that his experience and wisdom will contribute to the successful and efficient conduct of the deliberations of the Assembly and help us achieve our desired objective. I am also pleased to address our thanks and appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Razali Ismail, Permanent Representative of sisterly Malaysia, for the manner in which he conducted the work of the previous session. I take this opportunity to express my country’s appreciation to Secretary-General Kofi Annan for his valuable efforts in serving the interests of the international community, strengthening international peace and security and striving to attain the noble principles and objectives of the United Nations. I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to pay tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, for the positive and important role he played in carrying out the tasks and responsibilities of the United Nations Secretariat. If we were to define the general trend characterizing the fifty-second session of the General Assembly, we would say it is the great attention paid to the Secretary- General’s report on the financial and structural reforms of the United Nations and its related agencies. This points to the fact that the Secretary-General’s reform proposals are of great significance and not just an ordinary matter. Indeed, they aim at preparing the Organization to usher in the twenty-first century with more vigour and competence, thus enabling it to achieve the noble objectives of the Charter. The Republic of Yemen, in principle, supports these proposals. However, we have to underline certain basic considerations that should not be forgotten or overlooked under the rubric of financial and administrative reforms of the Organization. It is first and foremost necessary to emphasize that the purpose of these reforms should be to reinforce the United Nations ability to shoulder its responsibilities within the framework of the noble objectives for which it was established under the Charter, which we all have accepted and pledged to abide by. As a least developed country itself, the Republic of Yemen expresses its concern regarding some indications in the report that the United Nations role in the field of development may be reduced and its responsibilities limited in the field of social justice and the task of narrowing the huge gap that separates the developing and developed industrialized countries — all on the pretext that some of these responsibilities have been shifted elsewhere. Any move in this direction is bound to encourage certain dangerous phenomena that we have been witnessing of late, including legal and illegal emigration from developing to developed countries, that could sow the seeds of social, ethnic and cultural conflict. Any diminishing of the United Nations role in development will lead to an increase in the population of developing countries, which, in the absence of such basic needs as food, clothing and shelter, could lead to a further deterioration of the environment. For these reasons, we would like to confirm in the name of the Republic of Yemen that the development tasks undertaken by the United Nations and its related agencies constitute an integral part of the main objective behind its establishment: to achieve international peace and security on this planet. 21 With regard to the question of reforming and expanding the Security Council, which has been under much discussion for some time and is referred to in the Secretary-General’s report, we strongly support the expansion of the representative basis of the Council, either by accepting Japan and Germany as new permanent members or by increasing the number of permanent members through an increase in the representation of geographic groups and by allowing each group to rotate its permanent seat among the countries of that group. We support what has been said about the need to reduce the use of the power of veto by permanent members. Indeed, its use should be limited to matters that directly affect the highest national interests. In this way, we can avoid the arbitrary use of the veto power in matters that are irrelevant to such interests, but affect narrow regional calculations or temporary political gains unrelated to issues of international peace and security. It is known to all that our Organization was created in 1945 to implement the principles of its Charter, which stipulates that its main task is to maintain international peace and security, settle international conflicts, protect human rights and the dignity of man and respect the commitments emanating from international conventions and pacts. During the 50-plus years of its life, this Organization has witnessed ethnic and national wars and conflicts as well as rivalries and polarizations that have led to controversies because of what was then known as the cold war between the super-Powers. No one can deny the fact, however, that the wars that raged from Latin America in the west to the African continent and even to East Asia have indeed subsided, thanks to the undeniably worthy efforts of the international Organization itself and of efforts made from outside the Organization, but mostly under its umbrella. Yet, one important question that threatened peace and security in our region even before the creation of this international Organization still constitutes a looming danger to international peace and security. It is the question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict, with all its complexities. The international Organization has failed to solve this question and has been forced to be a mere onlooker before the various attempts that have been made but have yet to reach a comprehensive, durable and just peace. The displacement of millions, the occupation of their territories, the establishment of settlements, the confiscation of their properties, the arrest of tens of thousands of Palestinians and the violation of their most basic human rights, all of which result from the Arab-Israeli conflict, constitute a flagrant breach of all the noble principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and a challenge to the resolutions of international legitimacy emanating from the Security Council and this Assembly. We believe that it is the right of all people in general, and of every citizen in the Middle East in particular, to speculate about the secret behind the inability of the international community to tame a State whose population is less than half the population of this city in which we are meeting to adopt legitimate international resolutions. Even more peculiar is that, when a candle of hope flickered and lit the dark fierce night of the struggle that started early this decade — that is, when the world felt some optimism following the announcement of the Oslo agreement, the signature of the Jordanian-Israeli peace agreement and the progress achieved in the talks on the Syrian track to a stage described by President Hafez Al- Assad of Syria as at times encompassing fewer points of divergence than of convergence — after that slim beam of hope, the new Israeli Government came all of a sudden to extinguish it and decided to send the whole region back to square one: conflict and destruction. On the other side of the spectrum of what is being called today the “new world order”, we are all asked, and without exception, to implement the harshest sanctions against the Iraqi people, even seven years after the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Can anyone tell us which lands the Iraqis are still occupying now and why the Iraqi people should be displaced and deprived of their most basic legitimate rights? Is it not high time for the humanitarian conscience of some of us, particularly the permanent member States, to be awakened and for an end to be put to the sufferings of the Iraqi people? In accordance with its positive stand in support of the peace process in the Middle East, which is in line with the position of the Arab Summit Conference held in Cairo in June 1996, the Republic of Yemen reiterates its commitment to seeing the process for a just and comprehensive peace completed as stipulated by the Madrid Conference, in the resolutions of international legitimacy — particularly Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978) — and in subsequent relevant agreements and protocols, and in keeping with the principle of land for peace. 22 This principle would ensure the complete Israeli withdrawal from all the occupied Palestinian territories; the establishment by the Palestinian people of its own independent State, with East Jerusalem as its capital; the return of the Palestinian refugees; the release of prisoners; the dismantling of the settlements built by the Israeli occupation authorities in the occupied territories in defiance of the resolutions of international legitimacy; and full withdrawal from occupied Golan and occupied southern Lebanon. Furthermore, we affirm that Israel should respect the sovereignty of brotherly Lebanon, should release the Lebanese prisoners and detainees in the Israeli camps, and should compensate Lebanon for all the damages caused by the Israeli aggressions against its peoples and lands. Since it gained its unity and strove to consolidate the democratic direction it has adopted, the Republic of Yemen held the second parliamentary elections on 27 April this year. The elections took place in a free and fair atmosphere, as confirmed by national and international observers. These elections will have positive effects at all levels — national, regional, Arab and international — for they represent a new and advanced turning point in strengthening the democratic direction that is based on a multi-party political system, freedom of the press, respect for human rights, and the institutional consolidation of the modern Yemeni State. Our people is still waging its most important and most difficult struggles to implement the programmes set up by the newly elected Government and approved by the elected house of representatives. These programmes focus on pursuing reform efforts — economically, financially and administratively — and on continuing cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In this regard, our objectives are to correct the economic, financial and structural imbalances; to achieve steadiness and stability in the economy as a whole; to activate the role of the private sector in the competitive free-market economy; to achieve sustainable development; to foster stable environments so as to attract foreign investments; to upgrade the basic necessary services of society; and to build the new State and improve the standards of living of all citizens. Following these elections and the formation of a new Government, Yemen has persisted in its efforts in the implementation of the advanced stages of its economic and administrative reform programmes. These programmes have been welcomed by the international financial institutions and by the Brussels conference of donor countries, which pledged $1.8 billion in support of the Yemeni Government’s efforts over the next three years. Our thanks go to all donor Governments and organizations that have manifested their support for and solidarity with the Yemeni people. The British Prime Minister Henry Palmerston is reported to have said that the foreign policy of a country is the reflection and expression of its internal policy. And since economic and social development constitutes the backbone of the internal policy of the Republic of Yemen, the success or failure of the Yemeni foreign policy could therefore be measured by its ability or inability to bring in foreign support in order to realize the main objective of its internal policy. This leads me to say that a country such as Yemen, which mainly depends on foreign aid to carry out its internal policy — that is, its economic, social and cultural development — has to take into account, in seeking the financial and technical assistance needed to achieve the objectives of the internal policy, certain basic considerations that might seem to others supplementary and not mandatory. Allow me to say in this respect that within the parameters of a foreign policy there exists a red line that should not be violated when realizing an internal objective. Most important among these considerations is the need to safeguard sovereignty and not to become mortgaged to others when seeking national interests. Foreign support should not be sought at the expense of the regional and international commitments of the country. Correspondingly, there are also certain basic considerations that are unanimously recognized by the international community which cannot be ignored or overlooked, as this would adversely affect the interests of that country and damage its relations with the international community. Included in those considerations is the need to abide by international pacts and conventions and to respect human rights. Equally, the fight against terrorism and violence in all their forms and manifestations, regardless of their origins or perpetrators and regardless of where they are committed, has become a basic consideration that cannot be overlooked by any country seeking foreign assistance or even mere acceptance by the international community. 23 In a similar manner, the relation between a Government and its citizens has a direct and strong bearing on its relations with the donor countries that are to provide assistance and support. We need not be too idealistic, however, for the requirements of national interest of some donor countries have been placed above those idealistic principles. As a result many countries that have had extremely bad relations with their peoples have still managed to get a considerable amount of financial aid, although this occurred more during the cold war than now. The Republic of Yemen is therefore fully committed to the consolidation of security and stability at both regional and international levels. This can best be reflected in its position regarding its conflict with Eritrea and its endeavours to solve border problems with its neighbours in a peaceful manner. The Republic of Yemen supports the process of a comprehensive and just peace in the Middle East and the principle of land for peace. But, like other Arab countries, it categorically rejects the principle of peace for peace. The Republic of Yemen has condemned all forms of terror, be it terror committed by an individual, by a group or by a State. These are the foundations and the principles of the foreign policy of the Republic of Yemen. At the internal level, the relation between the Government and its citizens is based, as I said before, on constitutional legitimacy; on equality among all citizens, whether male or female; on equality in rights and obligations of men and women alike; on the freedom of individuals and groups; on the freedom of association to parties, trade unions and civilian community organizations; on freedom of the press; and on the protection of human rights. On the basis of its deep understanding of the noble principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Republic of Yemen is pursuing a foreign policy that is based on mutual respect, positive cooperation, common interests, rejection of violence in international relations, peaceful coexistence, maintenance of security and stability, good neighbourliness, and consolidation of the role of Yemen in attending to the needs of our nation and in standing for the causes of righteousness, justice and peace in the world under the wise leadership of His Excellency President Ali Abdullah Saleh. In this regard we are satisfied with the results of our efforts to improve our relations and to cooperate with our brothers and friends. Here we take pride in having been able to solve the border problem between our country and the sisterly Sultanate of Oman, and to reach a final solution acceptable to both parties. This can be an example to be followed by brothers and neighbours in solving border problems. This is what we are trying to do now with our brothers and neighbours in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We hope that we will be able to achieve what we all are looking for: to serve the interests and aspirations of our two brotherly and neighbourly peoples and to consolidate stability and peace in the region. With the aim of reaching a peaceful solution that safeguards legal, historical and geographic rights, the Republic of Yemen has endeavoured to avoid escalation and to dissipate tension. It has demonstrated a sincere desire and exerted great efforts both in dealing with the Eritrean occupation of the Yemeni Greater Hanish island in the Red Sea in mid-1995 and all along in the negotiations between the two countries. We did not rush to use force, but rather have sought to pursue all peaceful ways and means. We have opted for dialogue through official mediation and international arbitration in order to save our neighbouring peoples the scourge of war. While the Republic of Yemen expresses its solidarity with the brotherly Somali people, the Yemeni leadership represented by His Excellency President Ali Abdullah Saleh has added its efforts to those of the League of Arab States, the Organization of African Unity and the Inter- Governmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) to achieve peace in Somalia. Just last August, President Saleh received the United Nations envoy to Somalia when he visited to our capital. At that time the Republic of Yemen expressed its special interest in the Somali question and discussed its efforts to find a suitable solution to the conflict in Somalia, not only in view of the historical and social links between Yemen and Somalia, but also in view of the negative effects this crisis could have on our countries and the fact that thousands of Somali refugees have come to Yemen. The Republic of Yemen has affirmed its readiness to cooperate with the United Nations with a view to normalizing the situation in Somalia and enabling that country to become an active member of the international community. Our joint efforts have resulted in noticeable progress in this respect. Our political leadership has 24 received a number of Somali leaders and has sought to solve outstanding differences in Somalia. This is because of our belief in the need to safeguard the unity and territorial integrity of Somalia and to achieve justice and equality among its citizens. From this rostrum we hereby call upon our Somali brothers to take the initiative themselves and to demonstrate a greater political will and sincere desire to find a peaceful solution to the conflict and to attain stability so that Somalis can restore their national institutions and reconstruct their country. In this way it will be possible for Somali refugees to return to their regions and be resettled in their country. We also call upon the international community to increase its effort and to provide the necessary assistance and support to rebuild the State institutions within a framework of national consensus that is acceptable to all Somalis. When we met last year Yemen welcomed the memorandum of understanding that was signed between Iraq and the United Nations in May 1996 to implement Security Council resolution 986 (1995) on the oil-for-food formula, it being the first step to alleviate the sufferings of the Iraqi people. Yemen was optimistic that this agreement, which was reached after arduous negotiations, would be implemented without delay. But we find now that the implementation of that agreement often faces great difficulties, which has compounded the agony of the Iraqi people. The Republic of Yemen, while reaffirming the need for Iraq to implement all the resolutions of international legitimacy and to continue its cooperation with the United Nations, finds it necessary and urgent to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people caused by the embargo imposed on that country. This leads me to talk about the air embargo and other measures imposed on the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and about the damages and sufferings inflicted upon the brotherly Libyan people in consequence of this unfair embargo. We would like to affirm our call for an end to this embargo in the context of the resolutions of the League of the Arab States, the Organization of African Unity and the Non-Aligned Movement. Concerning Sudan, my country would like to express its happiness about and support for the new developments and changes regarding the Khartoum peace agreement, which should receive the support and backing of the United Nations and the international community. We in the Republic of Yemen look with much admiration and respect on the way in which democratic elections were held recently in the Islamic Republic of Iran. We congratulate its new President on his election, and we applaud its Government for the approach it has adopted towards the region. However, we call upon our brothers in the Islamic Republic of Iran and in the United Arab Emirates to continue their direct dialogue in order to reach a final and peaceful solution to the question of the three islands, in accordance with the United Nations Charter, the principles of international law and the principle of good-neighbourliness. The maintenance of international peace and security, the achievement of sustainable development and respect for human rights depend, first and foremost, on the political will of the Member States of this Organization. Yet the selectivity used by the powerful Members of the Organization in dealing with others will strip the new world order, whose characteristics are not yet ascertainable, of its humanity and the justice to which we all aspire. Therefore this rostrum and this Organization represent the real safety valve for the security and safety of all mankind.