I would like
first to congratulate His Excellency Mr. John Ashe on
his election as President of the General Assembly at its
sixty-eighth session, and I wish him every success in his
mission. I would like also to express our appreciation
to His Excellency Mr. Vuk Jeremi., President of the
Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, for his efforts
for the success of that session. I would like also to
commend the efforts of His Excellency the Secretary-
General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, to strengthen the role of the
United Nations.
The international community faces many different
problems related to peace and security, in addition to
challenges facing the efforts made to solve disputes
peacefully. This calls for strengthening the United
Nations capacity to tackle these challenges and
problems.
Peoples from different regions of the world are
expecting the institutions of the international community
to dedicate their efforts to finding solutions to the issues
of poverty, hunger and sustainable development in a way
that goes beyond simply convening conferences and
adopting resolutions, and even beyond the necessary
collective attention and campaigns that are called for
from time to time, important as they might be.
Recently, the Arab region has experienced many
historic events and accelerating change. It has witnessed
turbulent events arising from popular movements and
their forceful entry into the public and political arenas.
Stalemate continues to characterize the Arab-
Israeli conflict. That conflict is at the forefront of the
issues threatening international peace and security,
owing to the continued Israeli occupation and the
injustices inflicted upon the Palestinian people, as
well as the failure to reach a just and lasting peace in
accordance with resolutions of international legality.
The continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian and
Arab territories cannot be accepted as normal. Its
practices include the changing of the demographic
conditions in those territories, particularly through the
expansion of settlement activity, the Judaization of the
city of Jerusalem, the unjust embargo against the Gaza
Strip, and intensification of settlement activities in the
occupied Syrian Golan and changing its status quo and
demographics. This is not simply because such actions
represent flagrant violations of international laws and
covenants, but also because the Palestinian cause is a
just cause and the historical injustice inflicted upon the
Palestinian people must end.
The major international bodies were established
on the basis of the right to self-determination in the
aftermath of two world wars. It is unreasonable that
they cannot do anything about the last remaining
colonial issue in the world.
Israel should realize that coercion and de facto
policies do not bring security. It is wrong for it to
establish a State that believes that the prospect for
peace lies in subjugating other peoples, denying their
rights and making that a priority over peace.
There can be no security without peace. True
peace can come about only through coexistence among
peoples on the basis of good-neighbourliness, mutual
respect and respect for the interests of all. The peace we
desire is built upon dignity, justice and the principles
of international legality, as well as United Nations
resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, the principle
of a two-State solution and the withdrawal of Israel
from all occupied Arab territories. The experiences
of different nations and peoples confirm that unjust
settlements do not endure but only lead to new conflicts.
The continued de facto policy in Palestine will not
make the issue disappear. It is actually becoming more
complicated, because continuing settlement activities
are leading to the destruction of the foundation for
the establishment of a Palestinian State. The current
status quo resembles a situation of apartheid under the
domination of one State or even within a single State.
That cannot but be grounds for fresh conflict, as no
people could accept continued injustice and remain
silent.
The inalienable national rights of the Palestinian
people to establish their independent State, with
Jerusalem as its capital and within the limits of 1967
borders, as well as the right of return for Palestinian
refugees, are not only an Arab demand; they also
represent an international standard for testing the
credibility of international legality, which should not
be divisible. Just as the international community has in
the past applied the principles of international legality
to other crises in the world, we should apply the same
legal principles to all issues. We therefore call upon
the Security Council to uphold its responsibility to
maintain international peace and security and to take
the decisions necessary to stop all illegitimate Israeli
practices.
Destructive actions and appalling massacres,
including the policy of scorched earth and the
destruction of cities, continue to be carried out by the
Syrian regime against its peoples, crossing all red lines
dictated by ethics and mandated by law, particularly in
view of the regime’s use of chemical weapons against
the Syrian people.
It is unfortunate that the perpetrators of those
brutal crimes and massacres, which have shocked every
human conscience, are, undeterred, enjoying impunity
from accountability. That raises questions about the
credibility of the human rights and international legality
mechanisms of the international community.
The issue is not whether or not Syria possesses
chemical weapons, because Syria is a State that is in
conflict with another State that possesses chemical,
biological and even nuclear weapons. The issue is the
use of such weapons by the regime against its own
people. The Syrian people did not rise up in order to
place Syrian chemical weapons under international
supervision. They did so in order to get rid of despotism
and corruption and to put an end to the injustice they
have been facing.
We all know that the responsibility for the failure
to impose the political settlement we would all prefer
for Syria is due basically to the Security Council’s
inability to take the decisions required to put an end
to the bloodshed and to the continued intransigence of
the Syrian regime and its rejection of all regional and
international initiatives.
From that perspective, the decision-making process
in the Security Council must change, since it lacks
fairness and objectivity. It has also become a major
obstacle to the maintenance of international peace and
security and to the punishment of war criminals and
perpetrators of crimes against humanity. We therefore
reiterate the importance of accelerating comprehensive
reform of the Security Council in order to make it more
capable of dealing objectively with global challenges
and responding to the aspirations of peoples. That can
be achieved only through equitable representation of
the international community in the Council, so that it
can become expressive of democracy in international
multilateral efforts.
While it is obviously impossible for any decision
to be taken in the Council without the support
of the majority of the permanent member States,
decision-making should not be monopolized in the long
term by one or two States.
I take this opportunity to call upon our Syrian
brothers to unify their ranks in order to initiate a
transitional period leading to the establishment of
a governing system that guarantees freedom and
dignity for all Syrians, without discrimination on the
grounds of gender, nationality, sect or creed. These
large numbers of martyrs have not fallen and all these
sacrifices have not been made by this great people so
that despotism could be exchanged for chaos or another
kind of despotism.
The Arab Spring revolutions, during which the
Arab people have risen up, calling for freedom, dignity
and social justice, are now facing difficulties that seem
to be aimed at reversing the march of time. As such
difficulties had been anticipated, it is strange that
certain politicians have not been able to avoid even
expected problems.
Anyone who knows the reality of the issues in the
Arab region and their historical context knows that these
revolutions have taken place in the context of a long-
term historical process similar to those experienced
previously by various peoples in Europe, America, Asia
and Africa. The path to a just rule and to meeting the
demands of peoples in all States of the world has never
been easy; it has always been replete with sacrifices.
It is not easy to follow such a path with patience and
determination. Rarely have there been revolutions that
have not been followed by desperate attempts by former
regimes to abort them. That is why wise people always
prefer that regime change should take place through a
process of gradual reform.
But we also know very well that in some cases, in
our region and in other regions of the world, change
could not have taken place through reform. We should
not jump to hasty conclusions about the future of the
Arab revolutions. This is a historical necessity and a
long-term one. It is clear that things in the Arab world
will not revert to the way they were and that the Arab
peoples have become more aware of their rights and
more involved in the public domain.
The State of Qatar has always opted to be an active
and effective party playing a constructive role at the
international level through its balanced economic
and political relations at the bilateral and multilateral
levels. We will continue to take that approach, so that
the State of Qatar can uphold its responsibilities and
commitments at the national, regional and international
levels. The State of Qatar aims to be a hub for dialogue
and discussion among various parties to conflicts and
not to be a party to such conflicts. We aim also to create
opportunities for cultural and informational dialogue
between peoples.
In that context, the process of reform and
modernity initiated by Qatar, which has made it a State
of institutions and one that is interacting positively
with the international community, was achieved
only through a genuine commitment to applying
the rule of law and principles of good governance,
combating corruption, protecting human rights and
basic freedoms, empowering women to participate in
public life on an equal footing with men, and creating
a healthy environment for children. In addition, our
national policies have always focused, as a priority, on
the concerns of young people and on creating a suitable
educational environment for them aimed at ensuring
the maximum use of their capacities.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
in particular nuclear weapons, in the Middle East is
a very alarming issue. In that context, I affirm the
position of the State of Qatar that every State in the
region has an absolute right to use nuclear power for
peaceful purposes in accordance with the standards
and procedures of the International Atomic Energy
Agency. We also look forward to convening the Helsinki
conference as a step that contributes to the efforts
aimed at making the Middle East a zone free of nuclear
weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
The issue of climate change remains at the top of
our concerns, with all its ramifications for the global
system as a whole. In that regard, I would like to
confirm and reiterate the commitment of the State of
Qatar to continued cooperation with the international
community in facing that challenge and implementing
the measures agreed upon during the eighteenth
session of the Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
which was hosted by Qatar at the end of last year, in
order to develop a road map for tackling the negative
environmental and economic consequences of that
dangerous phenomenon.
It is worth mentioning that the State of Qatar has
gone a long way towards implementing the initiative
of the Global Dry Land Alliance, which it launched
in order to establish an international organization that
would tackle the implications of that phenomenon.
That proposed organization will complement the work
of the other relevant international organizations in
combatting desertification and drought and preserving
the environment without duplicating their work. I call
upon all Member States to support that initiative.
The State of Qatar participates as an active and
effective partner in efforts to achieve sustainable
development at the international level. We have pledged
to allocate the required percentage of our gross national
product for the least developed countries, in addition
to the humanitarian and relief assistance that our State
provides in cases of emergency and disaster.
In that context, the State of Qatar has achieved the
majority of the Millennium Development Goals and is
working towards achieving all the Goals before 2015, as
demonstrated by United Nations and regional reports in
that field.