It is my pleasure to
take this opportunity to congratulate the President of
this session, who is the Permanent Representative of
our sister State of Qatar, for his election as President of
the sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General
Assembly. I am confident that his experience in
international political and diplomatic affairs will
contribute to the success of this session’s work. I wish
him every success. I also wish to commend his
predecessor, His Excellency Joseph Deiss, for his
outstanding leadership of the previous session of the
General Assembly. In addition, I would like to
congratulate His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-Moon on the
renewed confidence in him and his reappointment as
Secretary-General of this international Organization for
a second term. I would also like to take this
opportunity to congratulate the Republic of South
Sudan for joining our international Organization as a
State Member of the United Nations, along with the
people of Libya for their Transitional National
Council’s taking Libya’s seat in the United Nations.
Addressing enormous international challenges
depends on the extent of consolidated and collective
work, with the participation of all States, including the
small and developing ones, in international decision-
making structures, institutions and mechanisms, based
on the principles of equality, justice and transparency.
My country has therefore undertaken extensive
preventive diplomatic efforts in order to contain the
tensions and disputes occurring in its surroundings and
beyond. The United Arab Emirates vigorously seeks to
enhance its humanitarian and economical programmes
to several developing countries, particularly to those
countries undergoing conflicts or natural disasters, in
addition to its other effective contributions to
peacekeeping operations, protection of civilians, and
re-building efforts. Those contributions represent our
significant partnership with several parties, and our
dedication to achieve the noble objectives of
maintaining and consolidating international peace and
security.
The solid strategic political approach adopted by
the United Arab Emirates is not limited to bilateral and
regional cooperation; it is also evident in the way we
handle all issues. My country seeks to establish peace
and security, eliminate tensions from the region and
enhance confidence-building measures. We apply the
same approach in dealing with the occupation by the
Islamic Republic of Iran of the three Emirate islands of
Abu Musa, and the Greater and Lesser Tumbs. Since
the illegitimate occupation of those islands in 1971, my
country has adopted a flexible diplomatic approach to
resolve this issue through peaceful means, either
through direct bilateral negotiations, or by referring the
11-51390 8
matter to the International Court of Justice. This has
been our approach throughout the last four decades.
However, the United Arab Emirates expresses its
deep concern over the lack of progress in direct,
regional and international contacts made so far with the
Islamic Republic of Iran with a view to reaching a
peaceful, just and permanent solution. The actions
taken by Iran with the aim of changing the legal,
physical and demographic situation of the islands are
null and void and have no legal effect whatsoever.
Those Iranian actions also constitute a violation of
international law, as well as of the United Nations
Charter. Therefore, we call on the Islamic Republic of
Iran to enter into serious and direct negotiations
between the two countries, or to refer the issue to the
International Court of Justice in light of its continuous
illegal occupation of the three islands, which are an
integral part of the territorial sovereignty of the United
Arab Emirates.
We have been closely monitoring the major
developments and complications surrounding the
Palestinian issue, which unfortunately resulted in
halting the efforts and chances of resuming peace talks.
It is time to resolve this issue in all its humanitarian,
legal and political aspects. The core of the solution for
this issue lies in the establishment of a full-fledged
sovereign State within the 4 June 1967 borders, with
East Jerusalem as its capital. Comprehensive and just
peace between Arab countries and Israel would greatly
assist in reducing tensions and deprive the voices of
extremism and violence from using this ongoing issue
as a major justifications for their extremism and
violence.
My country has been closely monitoring the
recent events in the brotherly Kingdom of Bahrain,
which have adversely affected its peace and stability.
While we are extending every required support to the
Kingdom of Bahrain, we denounce any external
intervention in Bahrain’s internal affairs.
We believe that the measures and good efforts
undertaken by His Majesty King Hamad bin Issa
Al Khalifa of Bahrain to promote national dialogue
among all segments of Bahraini society are important
steps that seek to maintain peace and stability in the
Kingdom, preserve civil peace, strengthen national
unity and pursue reforms and progress, in a manner
that will realize the hopes and aspirations of all the
people of Bahrain.
We emphasize that the sovereignty, security and
territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Bahrain are an
integral part of the security and stability of the Arabian
Gulf region, and also part of the responsibilities of the
Arab Gulf Cooperation Council in the region. All
members of the Council are keen to consolidate good
neighbourly relations with all States, based on the
principles of international law and other international
instruments.
The United Arab Emirates renews through this
international platform its full commitment to the
sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and
national unity of Libya. We also stress our commitment
to Security Council resolutions 1970 (2011) and 1973
(2011) with regard to the protection of civilians. Since
the beginning of the Libyan crisis, we have focused on
the humanitarian assistance aspect and the protection
of civilians. We realized these goals within the efforts
of the international community. We will continue to
support Libya and its people in the upcoming
reconstruction phase. We believe that the honourable
people of Libya and its leadership are capable of
identifying the characteristics of next phase in order to
enhance Libya’s stature within the international
community and strengthen its development and
stability. To this end, my country calls on our
international partners to intensify their efforts to
release the remaining Libyan frozen assets.
My country has also made substantial direct
contributions for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, for
restoring peace and stability in the country and for
alleviating the suffering of its people. Success in this
regard will be a focal point in countering extremism,
militancy, and international terrorism in the Arabian
Gulf region. In addition, peace and security in
Afghanistan have a direct impact on regional security
and on the security of the Arab Gulf region. From this
platform, I call on all Afghani parties to cooperate in
achieving a process of comprehensive national
reconciliation and extending the control of the
Government over all Afghani regions. We also look
forward to the international conference on Afghanistan
to be held in Bonn next December.
Food security is one of the biggest challenges
facing the world today. It is estimated that in 2010
more than 900 million people worldwide suffered from
chronic hunger. The recent tragedy of famine in the
Horn of Africa has demonstrated the urgent need for
concrete efforts on the part of the international
9 11-51390
community to ensure protection for the most
vulnerable peoples in times of crisis.
In a serious discussion of the issue of food
security, we cannot overlook the significance of water
security, especially in view of the fact that agricultural
production consumes around 70 per cent of fresh water
resources globally. My country therefore deems it
important to include the issue of water scarcity and
security in future plans aimed at increasing food
production worldwide. Living as we do in a region that
suffers from a scarcity of water, we are more aware of
its importance, which prompts us to stress the need for
the international community to tackle this challenge
decisively and urgently.
In December, my country will celebrate its
fortieth anniversary. One of the major successes and
positive indicators of human development that we have
achieved has been the advancement and empowerment
of Emirati women. With the support of our leadership
and society, we have been able to arrive at the optimum
balance between our traditions and the demands of
development and participation required to build our
society. In this context, I would like to take the
opportunity commend the establishment of the United
Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women (UN-Women). In support of
this newly established and promising entity, the United
Arab Emirates hereby announces its contribution of
$5 million to the UN-Women fund.
In conclusion, we hope that our deliberations at
this session of the Assembly will contribute to the
promotion and development of all forms of
understanding, solidarity and international cooperation
aimed at addressing the global issues on our agenda.