Jordan

Allow me, at the outset, to congratulate you and the Government and people of Uruguay on your election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, for his successful and distinguished management of the last session. I would be remiss if I failed to pay tribute as well to the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, for his efforts to promote the authority of this Organization and achieve its noble aims and objectives and those of its Charter. I note in particular his report on the work of the Organization, and I emphasize that he may count on the full support and cooperation of my delegation in his efforts to establish peace and security in the world. Jordan has always believed in the noble aims and objectives of the Charter of the United Nations. We have made every possible effort to maintain international peace and security, particularly in the Middle East, a volatile region whose peoples have, for over half a century, suffered from the scourge of war and from conflicts and disturbances and who have lived under difficult circumstances characterized by confrontation and polarization. Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Hussein Ibn Talal, has always been an oasis of security and stability. It has always raised the voice of reason and moderation and as a result has had to shoulder heavy burdens that have exhausted its natural, financial and economic resources and placed an additional strain on its development process. Throughout the past decades, Jordan has made continuous efforts to achieve a peaceful and honourable settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It continues to strive towards that goal by upholding the peace treaty which it reached with Israel within the framework of the Madrid Conference, and it continues to support efforts to reach an agreement on the Palestinian, Israeli and other tracks. However, the peace process remains deadlocked, despite the efforts to move it forward, including the initiative being made by the United States on the Palestinian track. As we recognize the centrality of the Palestinian track as regards the peace process, we value the positive stand taken by the Palestinian leadership and its sincere desire to reach an agreement that would end 5 the deadlock on this track and result in the full and clear acceptance of this initiative. We therefore demand that the Israeli Government declare its full acceptance of the United States initiative, carry out its commitment under the agreements and remove all obstacles to reaching an agreement on redeployment and other outstanding issues. This would make it possible to achieve real progress on this track with a view to ending the deadlock, resuming and attaining the objectives of the peace process and ensuring the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to establish their independent State on their national territory. Citing security considerations as pretexts for obstructing actual progress will further undermine the security of every party in the region. Security cannot be enhanced except through a just and honourable peace, one which is convincing to the peoples of the region and one which they can defend. The occupied city of Jerusalem has been the most important component of the Arab-Israeli conflict throughout its various stages. It is part of the Arab territories occupied in 1967. Therefore, any consideration that apply to those territories also apply to Jerusalem, in particular Security Council resolution 242 (1967). We call upon Israel to cease and void all actions that would change the status of the Holy City. Under the Oslo accords concluded between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, it was agreed that the final status of the city was to be decided in final status negotiations. Any unilateral actions taken before the conclusion of those negotiations would constitute a violation of the Oslo accords and of all resolutions of international legitimacy. Until the status of the city is finally decided, it should remain open to all adherents of the three divine, monotheistic religions. Jordan has for many years assumed responsibility for maintaining the sanctity of the city of Jerusalem and has also taken it upon itself, under the circumstances of the occupation, to take care of and preserve the Holy Places. On the other hand, Israel should desist from all unilateral actions against the Palestinian people, such as closures, sieges, arrests, the demolition of homes, the confiscation of land and the building of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem. Israel must lift the restrictions that hinder the development of the Palestinian economy and enable the Palestinian people to start establishing normal economic relations with the outside world, free from domination and from economic control. It must also deal with the Palestinian people as its partners in the peace process, partners who are looking forward to living side by side with Israel on the basis of good neighbourliness and equality, not as a people under occupation. With regard to negotiations on the other tracks, Israel must prove its seriousness about resuming negotiations with Syria and Lebanon from the point at which they ended, ensuring its withdrawal from the Syrian Arab Golan to the borders of 4 June 1967, implementing Security Council resolution 425 (1978) by unconditionally withdrawing from southern Lebanon and reaching peace agreements with both of them, on the road towards achieving a comprehensive peace in the region. Five decades have passed since the tragedy of the Palestinian refugees began. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) continues to carry out its duties towards the Palestinian refugees — a recognition by the international community of its responsibility with regard to this tragedy. However, in recent years UNRWA has been suffering from severe financial crises, which sometimes threaten to suspend or put an end to its services and the completion of its work. We would therefore like to emphasize once again that Jordan attaches the utmost importance to the continuation of UNRWA?s work, especially given the fact that Jordan hosts the largest number of Palestinian refugees and provides services to them above and beyond the budget of UNRWA. Jordan has consistently called for UNRWA to continue its work until the refugee problem is completely resolved through the return of refugees to their land and homes and/or their compensation in accordance with General Assembly resolution 194 (III). The expiry of the five-year transitional period under the Oslo accords does not mean that UNRWA?s mission is over or that there is no longer any need for it to exist. The basic condition for the end of UNRWA?s mission is an agreement on a final solution to the refugee problem and on the full and complete implementation of that agreement. We understand the continued existence of UNRWA and its work from three perspectives: the human, the political and the legal. To ignore any of them would prejudice international responsibility for the tragedy of the refugees, who have been displaced from their homes. We therefore appeal to the donor countries to continue to make contributions to UNRWA, increasing them as much 6 as possible in proportion to the natural increase in the numbers of refugees and the need to satisfy their basic humanitarian needs. We also appeal to all financially able States to provide the necessary financial support to UNRWA. We draw your attention to the fact that were UNRWA to stop providing services to refugees, this would in itself constitute an additional obstacle to the peace process, in addition to destabilizing the region through the frustration caused by increased poverty among the refugees and the deterioration of their economic situation. It is indeed sad that while the world celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights we still talk about the deteriorating situation of the Palestinian refugees and their human basic rights. On this occasion, we are called upon to work for increased commitments to respect and to find an effective international mechanism to implement international instruments relative to human rights, away from selectivity and double standards. We are also called upon to establish a balance between these international instruments, on the one hand, and the national systems and laws in force in various countries of the world, without prejudice to the principle of State sovereignty, on the other. We therefore feel that we should recall the appeal made from this rostrum by His Royal Highness Crown Prince El- Hassan for the establishment of a new international humanitarian order. In this spirit, my country participated and supported the adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court in Rome earlier this year. Cooperation and coexistence among different religious and ethnic groups requires a formula for dialogue among civilizations and religions to replace the concepts of conflict and fear of foreigners which has emerged recently. Dialogue among religions will highlight the common denominators among the different beliefs of the world?s peoples and would explain their foundations to the other parties, thereby making it easier to understand and to coexist with one another. The desired inter-religious dialogue is the best way to confront the incipient manifestations of animosity and the attempts to distort the image of Islam and Muslims, whether those living in their home countries or those who have emigrated to non-Muslim countries. It is necessary to have a deeper understanding of Islam and the Muslims, away from the blind bigotry which leads to unfair generalizations about, and the stereotyping of, over one billion Muslims. From that narrow view, bigotry leads to animosity towards Islam and the Muslims on the basis of actions committed by a minority which is farthest removed from Muslims and the tolerant concepts of Islam. The question of human rights leads us to mention the continued suffering of the Iraqi people over the past eight years as a result of economic sanctions. While we call upon the Government of Iraq to fully and meticulously comply with all Security Council resolutions, to cooperate fully and constructively with the United Nations towards that end and to commit itself to repatriating Kuwaiti prisoners of war and missing persons, we call upon the international community to relieve the suffering of the Iraqi people. We also emphasize the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of both Iraq and Kuwait. Other peoples in the region, like the Libyan and Sudanese peoples, have suffered and continue to suffer from sanctions. Others who were not targeted by sanctions have also suffered from the impact of these sanctions. My country, Jordan, was the first to suffer tremendous damage to its economy as a result of the sanctions imposed on Iraq. Nevertheless, we have not only patiently persevered; we have made our best efforts to abide by Security Council resolutions out of respect for international legitimacy. Weapons of mass destruction constitute a dangerous source of tension and instability. The Middle East region has been afflicted with the existence of these weapons. Perhaps the ideal solution to dispose of weapons of mass destruction and to end the tension and instability caused by their presence is by concluding international treaties establishing zones free from nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in various regions of the world, including the Middle East. We view with utmost concern nuclear tests carried out recently in South-East Asia in the context of an arms race which, if continued, would have extremely dangerous consequences. A majority of the world?s countries have for a long time committed themselves to international guarantees that would prevent the proliferation and use of nuclear weapons. It is very unfortunate that some would depart from this moral commitment which had previously prevented them from falling into the trap of a vain nuclear arms race in that region. In this regard, we call upon all countries that have not yet done so to accede to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in order to safeguard international peace and security and 7 contribute to the attainment of the goal of general and complete disarmament. This would enable humanity to rid itself of the terror of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. We view with particular sensitivity the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction. Israel possesses and is developing a nuclear-weapons arsenal. The possibility of a confrontation between it and other States that have such weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, such as chemical and biological weapons, makes us live under the threat of these weapons and the dangers of their use at any moment. Therefore we demand that a regional security mechanism be established and that a forum be established to discuss this matter in a way that would ensure the removal of this threat. In this context, there is a need to establish conflict-resolution and conflict-prediction centres in the region to anticipate such disputes before they occur and to prevent them from happening and escalating. The comprehensive concept of security — a concept that is in conformity with the new developments and concepts that have matured recently, particularly after the end of the cold war and the disappearance of the policy of polarization — has become a wide concept that carries within it all concerns and problems — economic, social, political and humanitarian. These problems may lead to the marginalization and frustration of large sectors of society that would in turn sow the seeds of instability and disturbances which lead to the escalation of existing disputes and the creation of new ones. It would also lead to the growth and spread of terror to a disturbing extent. Jordan has for so long called for the rooting out of the scourge of terrorism by eliminating its causes and by establishing justice and political solutions, accepted and preserved by peoples. We have also called for confronting terrorism with all the firmness needed and for the concerted and systematic international action required under the umbrella of the United Nations, guided by its Charter, to find appropriate and effective mechanisms to combat terrorism. We therefore condemn the two terrorist attacks in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam. We also condemn most strongly terrorist acts of all kinds and forms wherever they originate. In this context, it is worth noting the ceaseless efforts made by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, as emphasized at its Twelfth Summit Conference, held at Tehran in December 1997, to establish a code of conduct that would unify State views on terrorism and action by these States to combat and eradicate it. The General Assembly is meeting while the world witnesses conflicts and struggles in various regions like the Balkans, Asia and Africa. In Kosovo, massacres are still being committed against innocent civilians despite the recent Security Council resolution on that question. In Afghanistan, the Congo and other places, fighting continues despite international efforts to stop the bloodshed and find solutions within the framework of the Charter and the principles of international law. Peacekeeping operations are among the most important activities undertaken by our Organization for the promotion of world peace, security and stability. Jordan has always believed in the noble goals of these activities and for several years has participated in them. The world has made important steps towards the disposal of anti-personnel landmines, which every year kill thousands of innocent people and leave thousands more with permanent disabilities, preventing them from exercising their natural right to life. In recognition of the importance of the Convention banning anti-personnel mines, Jordan has decided to accede to it. Her Majesty Queen Noor has sponsored the international effort to rid humanity of this dangerous threat, thereby embodying Jordan?s belief in the humanitarian dimensions and the noble goals of the Convention. During the past few years we have witnessed developments that have left a deep impact on the world economy, including the transition to a market economy, the removal of economic barriers and the trend towards a globalized economy. Such developments place burdens on developing countries and their economies. This requires finding the necessary means to avoid the negative impact of these developments on these countries and to help them adapt their economies to the changes and prepare them to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Among these modalities is a commitment by wealthy countries to increase official development assistance, to find comprehensive solutions to the problem of external debt, to integrate developing countries into the world free- trade system, and to improve terms of trade. As a developing country, Jordan has suffered from economic problems, which grew worse following the Gulf war of the early 1990s. With the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Jordan has pursued structural adjustment policies that have resulted in tangible progress. Jordan has succeeded in reducing its budget deficit and 8 the size of its external debt. It has improved its macroeconomic indicators, reformed financial regulations in its banking sector and energized the role of the private sector. Yet we still face a difficult economic situation owing to regional conditions and to the impact on our economy of the crisis in countries of South-East Asia, with many of which we maintain close economic ties. Our exports to those countries have been adversely affected by the crisis. Improving the economic situation in our region requires the removal of barriers and restrictions that obstruct the flow of goods and services among the countries of the region, and cooperation among those countries in confronting the economic and environmental challenges before us. We are all aware that the problems and challenges we are confronting are increasing in scope and in complexity; most of them defy individual or immediate solution. We need increased cooperation to deal with them on the basis of the interdependence and interrelationship of events throughout the world. We live in one world, a world in which distances are shrinking and barriers disappearing. For international cooperation in the interest of humanity to be sustainable, we must all avoid confrontation and abide by international law. No State should be above the law. We must therefore foster democracy in the international system; that system should be free of hegemony and inequality. The United Nations should be viewed as the framework of that cooperation; this would build smaller States? confidence in justice. As we stand on the threshold of the third millennium, we hope that dialogue among peoples and civilizations will be strengthened. We hope that attitudes and actions will be defined by the fact that what we do today will affect future generations. Our concern for future generations obliges us to create conditions that are better than those of the past. We can do this only with mutual understanding and coexistence, and only with the political will to create a better world. We are confident that future generations deserve that from us, and we are confident that we can provide it.