I am grateful
to the Almighty Allah, who has granted me once more
an opportunity to appear before the General Assembly.
I have the pleasure to express my sincere thanks to His
Excellency Mr. Joseph Deiss, President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-fifth session, for his tremendous
efforts during his tenure. I would also like to
congratulate His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz
Al-Nasser on his election as the President of the
Assembly at its sixty-sixth session.
Let me seize this opportunity to pay tribute to all
those who lost their lives in the past year as a result of
natural disasters, in particular the victims of the tragic
famine in Somalia and the devastating flood in
Pakistan. I urge everyone to intensify their assistance
to the affected populations in those countries.
Over the past years, I have spoken about different
global issues and the need to introduce fundamental
changes in the current international order. Today,
considering international developments, I will try to
analyze the present situation from a different angle.
As everyone knows, the superiority of human
beings and their dominance over other creatures lie in
the very nature and the truth of humankind, which is a
divine gift and a manifestation of the divine spirit
embodying faith in God, the everlasting Creator and
Planner of the entire universe who shows compassion,
generosity, justice and integrity in both words and
deeds; the quest for dignity to reach the pinnacles of
perfection, the aspirations to elevate one’s material and
spiritual status and the longing to realize liberty;
defying oppression, corruption and discrimination and
trying to support the oppressed; seeking happiness and
lasting prosperity and security for all.
Those are some of the manifestations of common
divine and human attributes that can clearly be seen in
the historical aspirations of human beings to create a
heritage of art and literature, both in prose and poetry,
and in the socio-cultural and political movements of
human beings throughout the course of history. All
divine prophets and social reformers have invited
human beings to tread on this righteous path. God gave
dignity to humankind in order to elevate its status so
that it can assume the role of His successor on Earth.
It is vividly clear that, despite all historical
achievements, including the creation of the United
Nations, which was the product of untiring struggles
and the efforts of free-minded and justice-seeking
individuals and of international cooperation, human
societies remain far from fulfilling their noble desires
and aspirations. Most nations of the world are unhappy
with the current international circumstances. Despite
the general longing and aspiration for peace, progress
and fraternity, wars, mass murder, widespread poverty
and socio-economic and political crises continue to
infringe upon the rights and sovereignty of nations,
leaving behind irreparable damage to all nations
worldwide.
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Approximately, 3 billion of the world’s people
live on less than $2.50 a day, and over 200 million
people live without even having one proper meal per
day. Forty per cent of the world’s poorest populations
only share 5 per cent of global income, while 20 per
cent of the richest people share 75 per cent of
economic earnings worldwide. More than 20,000
innocent and destitute children around the world die
every day because of poverty. Eighty per cent of
financial resources in the United States of America are
controlled by 10 per cent of its people, while only
20 per cent of those resources belong to 90 per cent of
the population.
What are the causes and reasons behind these
inequalities? How can one remedy such injustice?
Those who dominate and run the centres of global
economic power put the blame on peoples’ religious
aspirations and the pursuit of the path of divine
prophets, or on the weakness of nations and the poor
performance of a number of groups or individuals.
They claim that only their views, approaches and
prescriptions can save humankind and the world
economy. I ask everyone here whether they think that
the root cause of the problems can be solved in the
prevailing international order of the way the world is
governed.
I want to draw attention to the following
questions. Who abducted by force tens of millions of
people from their homes in Africa and other regions of
the world during the dark period of slavery, making
Africans the victims of the materialistic greed of the
United States and Europe? Who imposed colonialism
on the world for over four centuries? Who occupied
lands and massively plundered other nations’
resources, destroyed talents and obliterated native
languages, cultures and national identities? Who
triggered the First and Second World Wars, which left
70 million dead and hundreds of millions injured or
homeless? Who created the wars in the Korean
peninsula and Viet Nam?
Who imposed, through deceit and hypocrisy, the
Zionist agenda and almost 60 years of war,
homelessness, terror and mass murder on the
Palestinian people and the countries of the region?
Who imposed and supported for decades military
dictatorships and totalitarian regimes on Asian, African
and Latin American nations, and established friendly
relations with all of them? Who used atomic bombs
against defenceless people and then stockpiled
thousands of warheads in their arsenals? Whose
economies rely on waging wars and selling arms?
Who provoked and encouraged Saddam Hussein
to invade and impose an eight-year war on Iran, and
who assisted and equipped him to deploy chemical
weapons against our cities and our people? Who used
the mysterious 11 September incident as a pretext to
attack Afghanistan and Iraq, killing, injuring and
displacing millions in those two countries, with the
ultimate goal of bringing the Middle East and its oil
resources under its domination?
Who undermined the Bretton Woods system and
printed trillions of dollars without the backing of gold
reserves or an equivalent currency, a move that
triggered inflation worldwide and was intended to prey
on the economic gains of other nations? What
country’s annual military spending exceeds $1 trillion
annually — more than the military budgets of all
countries of the world combined? Which Governments
are the ones most indebted in the world, and which
Government threatens all nations and countries on any
pretext?
Who dominates the policymaking establishments
of the world economy? Who are the ones who are
responsible for the world economic recession and are
imposing its consequences in the United States and
Europe on Asian, African, Latin American and all other
nations? Which Governments are ever ready to drop
thousands of bombs on other countries but ponder and
hesitate to send a bit of food aid to famine-stricken
people in Somalia or elsewhere? Who are the ones
dominating the Security Council, which is ostensibly
responsible for safeguarding international security?
There exist dozens of other similar questions, and
of course the answers are clear. The majority of nations
and Governments of the world have had no role in the
creation of the current global crisis, and in fact are
themselves the victims of such policies. It is as clear as
daylight that the same slave-masters and colonial
Powers that once triggered the two World Wars have
caused widespread misery and disorder, with far-
reaching effects across the globe since then. They
continue to control the international political centres
and the Security Council.
Do those arrogant Powers really have the
competence and ability to run or govern the world? Is
it acceptable that they call themselves the sole
defenders of freedom, democracy and human rights,
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while they attack and occupy other countries
militarily? Can the flower of democracy blossom from
NATO’s missiles, bombs and guns?
If some European countries still use the
Holocaust — after six decades — as an excuse to pay
ransom to the Zionists, should it not be an obligation of
the slave masters and colonial Powers to pay
reparations to the affected nations? If the damage and
losses of the period of slavery and colonialism were
indeed compensated for, what would happen to the
manipulators and behind-the-scenes political powers in
the United States and Europe? Would the gaps between
the North and the South remain? If only half of the
military expenditures of the United States and its allies
in NATO were cut to help solve the economic problems
in their own countries, would they be experiencing any
symptoms of the economic crisis? What would happen
if the same amount were allocated to poor nations?
What is the justification for the presence of
hundreds of United States military and intelligence
bases in various parts of the world, including 268 bases
in Germany, 124 in Japan, 87 in the Republic of Korea,
83 in Italy, 45 in the United Kingdom, 21 in Portugal
and hundreds of other bases in other parts of the
world? Is that anything other than military occupation?
Do not the bombs deployed in the United States bases
undermine the security of other nations?
The main question is the root causes of such
attitudes. The prime reason should be sought in the
beliefs and tendencies of the establishment, which is
made up of people in conflict with their inner human
instincts and disposition, who also have no faith in God
and in the path of the divine prophets to replace their
lust for power and materialistic ends with heavenly
values. To them, only power and wealth prevail. Every
attempt must be made to bring into focus those sinister
goals.
Oppressed nations have no hope to safeguard or
protect their legitimate rights against those Powers.
Those Powers seek their progress, prosperity and
dignity through the poverty, humiliation and
annihilation of others. They consider themselves
superior to others, enjoying special privileges or
concessions. They have no respect for others and
casually violate the rights of all nations and
Governments. They proclaim themselves the
indisputable custodians of all Governments and nations
through intimidation, recourse to threats and force, and
the abuse of international mechanisms.
They insist on imposing their lifestyle and beliefs
on others. They officially support racism. They weaken
countries through military intervention and destroy
their infrastructure in order to plunder their resources
by making them all the more dependent. They sow the
seeds of hate and hostility among nations and people of
different pursuits in order to prevent them from
fulfilling their goals of development and progress.
All cultural identities, lives and values, as well as
the wealth of nations and human values, including of
women, children and youth, are sacrificed to their
hegemonistic tendencies and their inclination to
enslave and capture other nations.
Hypocrisy and deceit are allowed in order to
secure their interests and imperialistic intentions. Drug
trafficking and the killing of innocent human beings
are also allowed in pursuit of such diabolical goals.
Despite NATO’s presence in occupied Afghanistan,
there has been a dramatic increase in the production of
illicit drugs in that country.
They tolerate no question or criticism and,
instead of presenting a reason for their violations, they
always put themselves in the position of a claimant.
By using their imperialistic media network,
which is under the influence of colonialism, they
threaten anyone who questions the Holocaust and the
event of 11 September with sanctions and military
action.
Last year, when the need to form a fact-finding
team to undertake a thorough investigation concerning
the hidden elements involved in the 11 September
incident was brought up — an idea also endorsed by all
independent Governments and nations, as well as by
the majority of people in the United States — my
country and I were pressured and threatened by the
Government of the United States. Instead of assigning
a fact-finding team, they killed the main perpetrator
and threw his body into the sea.
Would it not have been reasonable to bring to
justice and openly try the main perpetrator of the
incident in order to identify the elements and reasons
behind the safe space provided for the invading aircraft
to attack the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center?
Why should it not have been allowed to bring him to
trial so as to help efforts to recognize those who
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launched terrorist groups and brought wars and other
miseries into the region? Is there any classified
information that must be kept secret?
They view Zionism as a sacred notion or
ideology. Any question concerning its foundation and
history is condemned by them as an unforgivable sin.
However, they endorse and allow sacrileges and insults
against the beliefs of other divine religions.
Real freedom, justice, dignity and well-being and
lasting security are the rights of all nations. Those
values can be achieved neither by reliance on the
current inefficient system of world governance nor
through the intervention of the world’s arrogant Powers
or the gun barrels of NATO forces. Those values can be
realized only through independence, the recognition of
others’ rights, harmony and cooperation.
Is there any way to address the problems and
challenges besetting the world by using the prevailing
international mechanisms and tools so as to help
humankind achieve its long-standing aspirations of
peace, security and equality?
All those who tried to introduce reforms while
preserving the existing norms and tendencies have
failed. The valuable efforts made by the Non-Aligned
Movement, the Group of 77 and the Group of 15, as
well as by some prominent individuals, have failed to
bring about fundamental changes, although they did
have their respective impacts and effects.
The governance and management of the world
require fundamental reforms, but what has to be done
now? Efforts must be made, with firm resolve and
through collective cooperation, to map out a new plan
on the basis of principles and the very foundation of
such universal human values as monotheism, justice,
freedom, love and the quest for happiness, on the basis
of happiness for all.
The idea of creating the United Nations remains a
great and historic achievement of humankind. Its
importance must be appreciated and its capacities must
be used for our noble goals, to the extent possible. We
should not allow the Organization, which reflects the
collective will and shared aspirations of the community
of nations, to deviate from its main course and play
into the hands of the world Powers.
The necessary groundwork must be laid to ensure
collective participation and the involvement of nations
in efforts to promote lasting peace and security. The
shared and collective management of the world must
be achieved in its true sense and be based on the
underlying principles enshrined in international law.
Justice must serve as the criterion and the basis for all
international decisions and actions.
All of us should acknowledge the fact that there
is no way other than the shared and collective
management of the world to put an end to today’s
worldwide disorder, tyranny and discrimination. This is
indeed the only way to ensure the prosperity and
welfare of human society, which is an established and
vivid truth. While acknowledging that truth, one should
note that acknowledgement alone is not enough. We
must believe in it and spare no effort towards its
realization.
The shared and collective management of the
world is the legitimate right of all nations. As their
representatives, we have an obligation to defend their
rights. Although some Powers continuously try to
frustrate all international efforts aimed at promoting
collective cooperation, we must nevertheless
strengthen our belief in achieving the desired goal of
establishing shared and collective cooperation to run
the world.
The United Nations was created to enable the
effective participation of all nations in international
decision-making processes. We all know that this goal
has not yet been fulfilled, owing to the absence of
justice in the current management structures and
mechanisms of the United Nations.
The composition of the Security Council is unjust
and inequitable. Therefore, changes that include the
restructuring of the United Nations are considered as
the basic demands of nations and must be addressed by
the General Assembly.
During last year’s session, I emphasized the
importance of this issue and called for the designation
of the present decade as the decade of shared and
collective global management, and for all capacities
and resources to be mobilized in that direction. I would
now like to reiterate my proposal. I am sure that,
through international cooperation, the efforts of
committed world leaders and Governments, an
insistence on justice and the support of all other
nations, we can expedite the process of building a
bright common future. This movement is certainly on
the rightful path to its creation, and carries with it the
assurance of a promising future for humankind. That
19 11-50865
future will be built when humankind sets off on the
path of the divine prophets and the righteous, under the
leadership of Imam Al-Mahdi, the ultimate saviour of
humankind and the heir to all divine messengers and
leaders and to the pure generation of our great prophet.
The creation of a supreme and ideal society with
the arrival of a perfect human being who is a true and
sincere lover of all humankind is the guaranteed
promise of Allah. He will come with Jesus Christ to
lead those who love freedom and justice to eradicate
tyranny and discrimination and promote knowledge,
peace, justice, freedom and love across the world. He
will present to every single individual all the beauty of
the world and all good things that bring happiness, the
promise of a better tomorrow and the sweet taste of life
to all humankind.
Today nations have been awakened and, with the
increase in public awareness, they no longer submit to
oppression and discrimination. The world today is
witnessing more than ever a widespread awakening in
Islamic lands, in Asia, in Europe and in America.
Every day, those movements are expanding their scope
and influence to pursue the realization of justice,
freedom and the creation of a better tomorrow.
Our great nation, with its millennial civilization
and history, stands ready to join hands with other
nations to march along that beautiful path, in harmony
and in line with the shared aspirations of humankind.
Let us salute love and freedom, let us salute justice and
knowledge and let us salute the bright future that
awaits humankind.