It gives me
great pleasure to address the General Assembly of the
United Nations this year, at a time when its President is
a son of the State of Qatar, His Excellency Mr. Nassir
Abdulaziz Al-Nasser. I take this opportunity to
congratulate him on his election and to wish him every
success in his mission. I would also like to express my
thanks to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Joseph
Deiss, for his hard work during his presidency of the
previous session. Let me also congratulate His
Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon for the trust that all
Member States expressed in him by reappointing him
as Secretary-General of the United Nations for a
second term.
I come to the Assembly from a region brimming
with great expectations and hopes that is navigating
through strong currents, a region whose peoples are
calling for reform so that they can achieve their goals,
assume their responsibilities and take their place in the
partnership of the future of humankind, with all of its
challenges and prospects.
We have been aware of our role from the very
beginning and we have acted within its parameters. We
are for the promotion of dialogue among cultures and
civilizations. We are for strengthening and consolidating
relations among peoples. We are for the consolidation
of rapprochement among Powers on the basis of the
principles of right and justice and within the
framework of rightful cooperation. That cooperation
must be governed by the principles, laws and
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international charters and covenants that have been
developed by humankind over the centuries to ensure a
better future for the world.
All members of the Assembly are aware that the
blossoming of the Arab Spring — with all that it
represents in Arab and human history — has presented
everyone with heavy responsibilities that they have to
assume, as well as positions that they have to take. We
were among those who made a choice. On the one
hand, we have always had a clear policy with regard to
the rules that govern our Arab, regional and
international relations. Those rules are based on
understanding, reconciliation and harmony among
peoples and nations. On the other hand, like others, we
have been unable to turn a deaf ear or a blind eye to the
calls of the wounded seeking help from near and far
against an entrenched oppression and injustice.
For our part, we exhausted each and every means,
until the only option left for us was to hear and
sympathize, and to watch and help. We knew that this
was not a solution, but rather an emergency situation in
the context of one of the most critical issues in the
Arab world today, by which I mean the issue of
change.
We know that our principled choices are stable
and strong. We also know that our subsequent response
to the prevailing situation stems from urgency, and that
it is a situation that needs to be settled on the basis of
the rules and laws that govern international relations in
the contemporary world. It is a situation that should
shift responsibilities from States acting individually to
an international community acting in accordance with
its rules and laws.
We have already expressed our views here,
during previous sessions of the Assembly, that the
United Nations system needs to evolve in a manner
consistent with the situations that reflect the realities of
a new world. That world is not one linked with
interests alone, but one where it is imperative to have
an agreement that confirms the principles that govern
civilized behaviour, while simultaneously preserving
the unity of those interests.
The major problems in the Middle East region are
the question of Palestine and the continued Israeli
occupation of Arab territories in the West Bank, the
Golan Heights and the Shaba’a farmlands in southern
Lebanon, in addition to the threat of war and the
strangulating Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
For over four decades, all peace efforts that have
been deployed have resulted in failures to reach a just
settlement that would ensure a lasting and
comprehensive peace in the region. This is because of
Israel’s intransigent position, which seems to be that its
military might enable it to guarantee peace and
security, and its insistence to play for time and to use
the negotiations to preserve the status quo by
continuing Jewish settlement.
Faced with this stalemate in the Palestinian cause,
the continued suffering of the Palestinian people under
occupation and persistent violations of their human and
national rights, we urge all Member States of the
United Nations to listen to the voice of right. We urge
them to respond to the Palestinians’ legitimate request
for a Palestinian State that will become a full-fledged
member of the United Nations, on an equal footing
with all other Member States. This will pave the way
for the realization of peace in our region.