It is my pleasure to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Abdulla Shahid on assuming the presidency of the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session and to wish him every success. I also express our appreciation to His Excellency Mr. Volkan Bozkir for his efforts in leading the work of the General Assembly at its seventy-fifth session. I congratulate as well His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres on his re-appointment as Secretary-General. We emphasize our support for him in accomplishing his mission.
Today’s meeting, which is being held in-person rather than virtually under the theme “Building resilience through hope”, represents an important event regarding the return to normal life without giving up the means of protection and prevention after the difficult period the world has faced due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has caused millions of victims and countless humanitarian, social and economic crises.
The difficult experience that humankind continues to face has revealed gaps and vulnerabilities of our collective security system, while imparting upon us many lessons, including the importance of striking a balance between concern for people’s health and maintaining economic cycles to secure their livelihoods. It has also taught us the importance of integration between the role of the State within its borders, on the one hand, and its role in confronting cross-border issues and implementing joint commitments to overcome challenges, crises and disasters, on the other.
We reaffirm our support for achieving the priorities of this session, while emphasizing the need for the equitable distribution of vaccines, while ensuring their accessibility for the countries of the South and treatment for all. Efforts to combat the other pandemics must be coordinated as well, namely, fake news, conspiracy theories and the unprecedented scepticism concerning vaccines’ effectiveness, which has also spread throughout the world during the crisis and continues to hinder the critical distribution of vaccines amid the continued COVID-19 pandemic.
In that regard, the State of Qatar has adopted a balanced and effective approach to addressing the pandemic and its impacts on health and the economy at the national level. Experience has shown that success in this fight depends upon the policies and the capabilities of the State, especially in the field of public health, and on citizens’ sense of responsibility and their level of awareness.
Based on our partnership with the international community to confront global crises, the State of Qatar has spared no effort to provide support to the relevant international institutions and countries affected by the pandemic. We have continued to provide medical supplies and to cater to other needs related to tackling the pandemic through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. We also provided support to the World Health Organization and the humanitarian initiative to provide vaccines for the most vulnerable groups and countries most in need.
The issue of conflicts is a concern for the United Nations and has placed many burdens on it since its founding. Unfortunately, the Middle East region is a source of many of those burdens. Qatar therefore believes that contributing to the peaceful resolution of conflicts, including by proposing concepts of collective security, is one of its priorities, as there can be no security, stability, development or decent human life under conflicts.
We have always striven to establish an environment of peace, stability and cooperation in the region. For example, in the Gulf region, our immediate environment, we have repeatedly stressed the importance of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) and our commitment to settling any differences through constructive dialogue. The Al-Ula declaration, issued by the leaders of the GCC countries last January, embodies the principle of resolving differences through dialogue based on common interests and mutual respect. We are confident of consolidating that consensus reached among brothers.
Meanwhile, we believe that there is no solution to the disagreements and differences over viewpoints with Iran except through rational dialogue based on mutual respect. That also applies to the issue of returning to the nuclear agreement with Iran. I do not think that there is any alternative to that approach, including among those who oppose returning to the agreement.
This year has witnessed numerous Israeli violations in occupied East Jerusalem and the recurrence of attacks on Islamic and Christian holy places, particularly the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan, and the seizure of Palestinian homes in the context of the Judaization and settlement policies. That was followed by a dangerous military escalation in the Gaza Strip, which caused hundreds of casualties among unarmed civilians, exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation there.
The international community bears responsibility for achieving a comprehensive, just and peaceful settlement of the Palestinian question by establishing a Palestinian State on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, alongside the State of Israel, and by ending the occupation of Arab lands, as well as a just solution to the refugee issue. That is what the international community has agreed upon for decades;
yet it has not been reflected on the ground despite the risks posed by this question if it remains unresolved.
As a result of such continuous procrastination, there occasionally appear some people who believe that it is possible to marginalize the Palestinian question on the international agenda or circumvent such a deeply rooted national question by proposing ideas such as improving the economic situation of the population under occupation instead of ending the occupation.
Recently, the issue of evacuating the residents of the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighbourhoods, the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by settlers and the Palestinian, Arab and international angry popular response reaffirmed the centrality of the Palestinian question and that there is no way to circumvent it.
The United States decision to withdraw from Afghanistan following negotiations with the Taliban constituted an extremely critical turning point for that country. The responsibility lies, first, with the Afghan people, with all their factions, and, secondly, with the international community to work systematically and persistently to achieve a comprehensive political settlement and pave the way for stability in the country, which has long suffered the ravages of war.
As Member States know, Qatar has spared no effort in helping to evacuate thousands of individuals and families of various nationalities during the past weeks. It was our humanitarian duty. However, most important is the fact that we were confident that war offers no solution and that, ultimately, there would be dialogue. We acted on that basis when we hosted the Taliban office following a request from our international partners to open and support a direct dialogue between them and the Taliban in Doha. That position has been proved correct.
In coordination with our international partners, we will continue to do whatever we can to ensure that the tangible gains achieved within the Doha path are maintained, and it is necessary that the parties abide by their commitments during it.
The State of Qatar reaffirms its firm position regarding the need to protect civilians, respect human rights, combat terrorism and achieve a comprehensive political solution to ensure security and stability for the sake of the brotherly Afghan people. In that regard, we emphasize the importance of the international community’s continued support to Afghanistan at this critical stage and of separating humanitarian aid from political differences. We also stress the need to continue dialogue with the Taliban, because a boycott will lead only to polarization and reactions, whereas dialogue could have positive results.
The issue in Afghanistan is not a matter of victory or defeat but rather the failure to impose a political system from outside. Regardless of intentions, the efforts made and the money invested, that experience in Afghanistan has collapsed after 20 years. The world has reached the correct conclusions in that regard. However, it is important to avoid slipping into counter-extremism by major Powers not abandoning their duties regarding issues of world peace, ensuring the implementation of international conventions and protecting civilians from war crimes. There is a difference between imposing trusteeship on other countries and major Powers carrying out their duties to implement international resolutions and conventions. It is also unreasonable for major Powers to impose on other countries by force of arms a form of political system that they deem appropriate, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to give up supporting countries that have adopted the same system of Government desired by the will of their peoples without external interference.
A decade has elapsed since the start of the Syrian crisis, which unfolded with a peaceful uprising and then turned into a humanitarian catastrophe due to the war launched by the regime against its people and the extremist armed forces that took advantage of the situation. The continuation of the crisis poses immense perils, including exacerbating the threat of terrorism to Syria itself and to the peace and security of the region and the world.
The Syrian issue should not be neglected, and neither should the international community turn its back on the suffering of the Syrian people, as happened recently during the bombing of the city of Dara’a and other areas. There may come a day when we remember such incidents with great regret.
The international community must redouble its efforts to put an end to this crisis through a peaceful solution, in accordance with the first Geneva communique (S/2012/522, annex) and the implementation of resolution 2254 (2015) and all its elements, and through maintaining the national unity, territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Syria.
With regard to Libya, the positive developments it has witnessed during past year inspire cautious optimism. The ceasefire, the convening of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, the election of representatives of the interim executive authority and the winning of a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives by the interim Government of National Unity are all positive developments. We call on all Libyan parties to maintain those gains and to ensure the full implementation of what has been agreed upon on the political, economic and security tracks, as well as the successful holding of elections while working to achieve comprehensive reconciliation.
With regard to the crisis in Yemen, where the war has led to a tragic humanitarian situation and risks of division that may, in turn, lead to the outbreak of other conflicts, the State of Qatar reaffirms its support for Yemen’s unity and territorial integrity. We maintain our firm position that the only way out of the crisis is through negotiation among the Yemeni parties based on the outcome of the Comprehensive National Dialogue, the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and the relevant Security Council resolutions, in particular resolution 2216 (2015).
Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of Qatar’s becoming a State Member of the United Nations on 21 September 1971. During the past five decades, the relationship between Qatar and this international Organization has been characterized by close cooperation and the establishment of exemplary partnerships in various fields. Qatar’s bet on international institutions and multilateral cooperation is a strategic one. In that context, we emphasize that we will continue our support to United Nations entities and fulfil our commitments to the issues identified as priorities by the international community at this stage.
We are pleased that Doha has become a hub of international multilateral action in our region, which is in dire need of the work and efforts of United Nations agencies and international institutions. Their offices in Doha have assumed their functions, and we look forward to inaugurating the United Nations House in Doha soon.
On the topic of the United Nations and the global issues facing humankind as a whole, which highlight the need for its role, I would like to refer to the participation of the State of Qatar in international efforts to combat terrorism and address its causes through support for education and by addressing poverty and unemployment among youth and resolving conflicts, which also constitute a breeding ground for terrorism.
I refer also to the world’s increasing dependence on information technology and modern communication in all aspects of life, from education to security and the economy. On the other hand, the world has felt the effects of the misuse of cyberspace, including breaching private domains by individual and international piracy and the serious threat it poses to the security and stability of the international community. From that standpoint, we reiterate the call for the United Nations to lead the process of unifying efforts to prevent the misuse of the scientific progress in cybersecurity and regularize this vital aspect according to the rules of international law.
Climate change remains one of the most critical challenges of our time, as it causes disastrous impacts on all aspects of life for the current and future generations. We must continue our joint efforts to confront those impacts. We look forward to the upcoming twenty- sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be held in Glasgow in the United Kingdom, being a turning point towards realizing the ambitions of the international community.
In that respect, we note that the State of Qatar has placed climate change at the top of its priorities, and it continues to take the necessary measures to develop climate change-related technologies and clean energy. We will present all that at the conference in November.
In conclusion, our joint responsibility and the shared destiny of humankind require dedication to the values of partnership in international relations to achieve the interest of our peoples and the good of humankind.