At the outset, let me
say that it is my pleasure to join previous speakers in
congratulating you, Sir, on your election as President
of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. I am
confident that your experience in international affairs
will contribute to the success of the current session.
We stand ready to offer our full support during your
presidency. I would also like to take this opportunity
to commend your predecessor, Mr. John Ashe, for his
wise leadership of the General Assembly at its sixty-
eighth session. I also would like to thank Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon and United Nations staff around
the world for their continued efforts to promote global
peace and security and to achieve development and
well-being for all people.
We meet today, as we do each year, to renew
our commitment to the principles enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations, the basis on which
the Organization was founded, and to reiterate our
firm belief in its objectives, including creating a
peaceful and secure world and achieving prosperity
and development for all peoples. We believe that those
noble objectives can be achieved by doing two things.
The first is playing an effective and responsible role in
regional and international issues through constructive
dialogue, positive engagement and the peaceful
resolution of disputes. The second is by creating a
suitable environment for international relations, based
on the principles of good-neighbourliness, moderation,
tolerance and non-violence.
The United Arab Emirates is gravely concerned about
current forms of extremism, terrorism and sectarian
divisions in our region, which have become a grave
threat to international peace and security. In addition to
being a violation of human rights, terrorism threatens
the integrity and values of States, undermines their
social fabric, disrupts their security and development,
and erodes their cultural and human heritage. The acts of
terrorist organizations — indiscriminate killings, mass
executions, kidnappings and intimidation of innocent
women and children — are heinous criminal acts and
are strongly condemned by the United Arab Emirates.
The United Arab Emirates also denounces the brutal
methods used by such groups in the name of Islam, as
Islam rejects such crimes, which are inconsistent with
Islam’s moderate approach and principles of peaceful
coexistence among all peoples.
As the international community must be aware,
besides the increased incidence of terrorist and
extremist acts in our region, most notably those
perpetrated by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham
(ISIS), the threats posed by those terrorist and extremist
groups are expanding beyond our region to threaten
the rest of the civilized world. Various countries in
the region, including Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen,
Iraq, Syria, Libya and the States of the African Sahel,
are suffering at the hands of terrorist takfiri groups,
which have exploited unstable conditions in those
countries to create an environment that they believe
will guarantee them steady funding, logistical support,
training and recruitment. Those extremist and terrorist
organizations promote obscurantism, exclusivity and
an illicit ideology, and they perpetrate brutal acts to
impose their control and increase their influence in
order to achieve their goals. The current collective
action against the threat of ISIS and other terrorist
groups reflects the international community’s shared
conviction of the need to confront the imminent danger.
Civilized communities have no other option than to
stamp out that threat. It is a test in which we must
succeed.
With regard to Libya, the United Arab Emirates is
concerned about the deteriorating security conditions
and their repercussions on the stability of neighbouring
countries. We strongly oppose the terrorist acts that
have undermined the work of legitimately elected
institutions in Libya. The United Arab Emirates’s policy
towards Libya is to provide full and unconditional
support for the legitimate decisions taken by the
Libyan people through their nationally elected House
of Representatives.
The latest developments in our brother country,
Iraq, are increasingly alarming. ISIS has exploited
the sectarian practices of the former Government in
Iraq to garner the support of affected communities
in expanding their influence over large parts of the
country with extreme brutality. While the terrorist
groups are threatening the sovereignty of Iraq and its
social, cultural and religious fabric, they continue to
exploit the chaos in Syria to achieve their purposes
without any regard for sovereignty or national borders.
In that context, the United Arab Emirates believes
that the current collective action will address the
growing threat of extremist fighters in Syria as well as
in Iraq. In that regard, I welcome the recent decision
of the Security Council to confront and block the
extremist groups. The threat posed by extremist
fighters has increased in the midst of the violence
inflicted by the Syrian regime on the Syrian people.
At this critical juncture, we must support the moderate
Syrian opposition as part of an effective strategy to
counter extremism and terrorism.
From this platform, we express our deep concern
at the grave developments taking place in Yemen. The
Houthis, who are using violence to try to undermine
the political process and the constitutional legitimacy
of the Yemeni State, compel us to take a firm and
immediate stand against attempts to change the reality
through violence and force. We have to realize that an
exclusively sectarian and individualistic approach is
not an acceptable option to the Yemeni people, who
aspire to build an inclusive civil State that is capable
of committing to a national dialogue and continuing
the implementation of the Gulf Cooperation Council
initiative and its mechanisms. The United Arab Emirates
will continue to support the political transition process
in Yemen and will assist the efforts of the Yemeni State
to achieve stability and development.
In the light of the recent developments in the region,
it is incumbent on us, as nations that have pledged
to abide by the principles enshrined in the Charter,
to focus our efforts on combating that dangerous
scourge. The United Arab Emirates therefore calls
on the international community and Member States
to cooperate in combating terrorist groups and to
take comprehensive measures to fight them through
a clear, unified strategy. Those efforts should not
be limited to Iraq and Syria alone, but must also be
directed against the locations of those groups wherever
they exist. We wish also to stress the futility of taking
gradual measures to address those challenges. We must
intensify our efforts in order to combat the terrorist
groups promptly and effectively.
While our attention should be fully focused on
countering terrorism, the United Arab Emirates
believes that providing support to Governments facing
serious security challenges is of critical importance.
Active participation is also required to provide the
necessary assistance to restore peace and security in
those countries by helping them to strengthen their
legitimate institutions. In that context, we continue to
highlight the importance of respecting the sovereignty
and independence of States and supporting all political
efforts aimed at achieving peaceful settlements of
ongoing conflicts and disputes. Without those efforts,
violence will continue. The United Arab Emirates hopes
to see security and stability prevail in and throughout
all countries.
I once again reiterate the firm position of the
United Arab Emirates in rejection of terrorism and
extremism in all their forms. My country is fulfilling
its responsibilities and is committed to participating
constructively at the national, regional and international
levels to combat violent extremism and affiliated
beliefs and terrorist acts. The United Arab Emirates,
through its membership in the Global Counterterrorism
Forum, cooperates with international organizations and
with concerned countries to ensure that the territories
of the latter are not exploited by those who facilitate or
execute terrorist acts, as well as other related crimes,
such as the financing of terrorism, human trafficking
and the recruitment of people to commit those egregious
crimes. By hosting the Hedayah Centre for training,
dialogue and research to combat violent extremism,
the United Arab Emirates continues to support the
international community in building capacities and
exchanging best practices on that issue.
My country also continues to develop its national
policies and its legislative and executive systems in
order to deter and confront all terrorist acts, eradicate
the roots of terrorism and protect our youth from being
lured into a cycle of extremism and violence. To that end,
the United Arab Emirates recently adopted a federal law
on combating terrorist crimes. The law provides strict
penalties for those found guilty of inciting terrorism or
committing terrorist acts. The United Arab Emirates is
also strengthening preventive policies by establishing
centres for the rehabilitation of people influenced by
extremist and terrorist ideologies.
The United Arab Emirates hopes for the recovery
and restoration of security and stability in the region
so that Governments can carry out their duties and
obligations and their peoples can resume their normal
lives in a constructive way. That hope is driven by the
remarkable progress achieved by the new Government
in Egypt and its good governance in implementing its
political road map. Despite the challenges facing Egypt,
the signs of normalcy in public life and the revived
economy and culture are promising. Therefore, the
United Arab Emirates regrets the statements of some
representatives and their unacceptable questioning of
the legitimacy of the Egyptian Government.
The present Egyptian Government was freely
elected by the Egyptian people, who believe in its ability
to fulfil their aspirations. Questioning the Egyptian
people’s will and right to choose their representatives
is an interference in the internal affairs of Egypt and
undermines its stability. Accordingly, I emphasize that
the stability of our region depends on the stability of
Egypt.
The United Arab Emirates therefore calls on the
international community to provide the necessary
support to the Egyptian Government and its economy
in order to boost Egypt’s efforts to achieve progress and
prosperity. I would also like to commend the generous
initiative of the King of Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the
Two Holy Mosques, in convening the economic summit
to support the Egyptian economy. His is a visionary
approach to promoting Egypt’s future and maintaining
moderation in the region.
The United Arab Emirates expresses its
disappointment over the failure of the peace negotiations
between Palestine and Israel. We strongly condemn
Israel’s aggression against Gaza, especially the
destruction directed against the civilian population and
infrastructure, including some United Nations facilities.
We demand a thorough, transparent and independent
investigation to determine legal responsibility for the
damage. We hope that the continued failure of the peace
negotiations will not lead to a resurgence of violence
and the return to the region of a new and more brutal
form of terrorism.
The establishment of peace and security in the
region is a key element in achieving global stability
and a priority of our foreign policy, which derives
its principles from the Charter of the United Nations
and the provisions of international law. On the basis
of those principles, my Government again rejects the
continuing Iranian occupation of three islands that
belong to the United Arab Emirates — Greater Tunb,
Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa. We demand restoration
of the full sovereignty of the United Arab Emirates
over the islands and emphasize that all actions and
measures taken by the Iranian authorities are contrary
to international law and custom and to all our common
human values. In that respect, we note that the Islamic
Republic of Iran has recently hoisted the Iranian
flag on the part of Abu Musa island allocated to the
United Arab Emirates under the 1971 memorandum of
understanding, in violation of the memorandum. My
country strongly condemns that action as a flagrant
violation of the memorandum of understanding and
regards it as devoid of any legal effect.
We therefore renew our call to the international
community to prevail on Iran to respond to the repeated
peaceful, sincere calls of the United Arab Emirates for
a just settlement of the issue, either through direct,
formal negotiations between the two countries, or by
referral to the International Court of Justice to finally
settle the dispute in accordance with the purposes and
principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the
provisions of international law.
The United Arab Emirates welcomes the ongoing
negotiations between the five permanent members of the
Security Council and the Islamic Republic of Iran aimed
at reaching a comprehensive settlement concerning the
Iranian nuclear programme. We affirm that, in order
to avert an arms race in the region, a final and strict
agreement must be achieved; the region cannot afford
further tension and instability. Nevertheless, the United
Arab Emirates believes that the peaceful use of nuclear
energy is a necessity in meeting the world’s growing
energy demands. My country is proud to be a pioneer in
this field and to successfully harness the peaceful use
of nuclear technology in compliance with the highest
standards of transparency, safety and security.
Despite the challenges facing the region, my
country has always sought to remain a model of
moderation, tolerance and peaceful coexistence in the
region, consistent with current international efforts. We
strongly believe that investment in human development
is important in the long term, and we therefore attach
great importance to the negotiations on the post-2015
development agenda and the sustainable development
goals. We welcome the results of those consultations,
which have placed the eradication of poverty at the
heart of the development agenda.
My country also supports the inclusion of goals
that would provide sustainable energy for all, develop
green economies, promote food security, supply
safe drinking water and ensure gender equality and
women’s empowerment. The United Arab Emirates is
committed to pursuing economic and social policies
aimed primarily at achieving the development of the
individual, providing all means necessary for a person
to lead a decent and productive life, and promoting
prosperity. In that context, I note that Dubai has been
chosen as the venue of the 2020 World Expo. It is a
great honour for us to act as host to this event, and we
thank all the countries that supported our candidacy.
We look forward to working with Member States to
organize an exhibition that meets the aspirations of all.
Comprehensive and sustainable development
cannot be achieved unless all segments of society
participate in the national development process.
Accordingly, the United Arab Emirates pays special
attention to women’s empowerment. My country now
occupies a prominent place among the countries of the
world in terms of women’s achievements and success
in all areas of life. Our efforts are not limited solely to
empowering women in the United Arab Emirates, but
also include supporting women throughout the region
and around the world.
Abu Dhabi will host a UN-Women Liaison Office
with the support and leadership of Her Highness
Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak. We are also assisting
UN-Women in the preparations for the high-level
review on women, peace, and security. Those efforts
reflect the interest and participation of the United Arab
Emirates in international efforts to empower women
as effective partners and agents in preventing war and
resolving conflict, keeping in mind that women play a
key role in countering violence and promoting peace
and security throughout the world.
We must continue to devote special attention
to the issue of climate change. Recent international
reports indicate that the effects of climate change have
become a major challenge to development. But there
is still some time left to mitigate the impact through
international cooperation. In that context, we welcome
the outcome of the recent Climate Summit held a
few days ago at the United Nations. We are grateful
to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his efforts to
advance that important issue prior to the start of the
general debate of the General Assembly, and we thank
all the participating parties. We also urge all parties
to abide by the agreements reached and stress that the
developed countries must take the lead in that respect.
The efforts of the United Arab Emirates in the field
of renewable energy are seen in various parts of the
world. We host the International Renewable Energy
Agency in Abu Dhabi and make available more than
$500 million in the form of grants and low-interest loans
for renewable energy projects in developing countries.
We also have extensive and varied international
commercial investments totalling billions of dollars
in the renewable-energy sector. Such initiatives,
investments and grants all contribute to addressing
climate change and its impact throughout the world.
In conclusion, I would like to underscore that the
United Arab Emirates will continue to make every
effort to achieve our aspiration to contribute to a secure
and stable world, in which people can live in dignity,
peace and happiness.