Jordan, 2004

First, I

wish to warmly congratulate you, Sir, on your election

as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth

session.

The most recent Arab Human Development

Report of the United Nations Development Programme

identified the pressing challenges facing the Arab

world both now and in the future. Thus, it contributed

to triggering a broad debate on the future of reform in

the Middle East.

Partly in response, the Tunis Arab Summit

adopted in May 2004 a document on the process of

development, modernization and reform in the Arab

world with a view to improving joint Arab action. That

platform paper highlighted the need to consolidate

democratic principles and to broaden the base of

political participation. It also called for intensifying

efforts to improve performance in the political,

economic, social and educational areas by: giving more

attention to youth issues, the advancement of women

and the modernization of social institutions throughout

the Arab world; improving education; completing the

Arab common market plan; and laying out a pan-Arab

economic development strategy. Jordan, for its part,

supports this vision, which is in line with the plans we

have already been pursuing within our national reform

agenda.

Jordan believes that for reform to be truly

meaningful it has to emanate first and foremost from

within society and be sensitive to the particular

characteristics and needs of each country. Accordingly,

we in Jordan sought to develop an integrated agenda

that addresses the primary issues of concern to our

citizens throughout the country. Those include broader

political development and personal freedoms, greater

roles for women and youth, a more efficient judiciary

system, educational reform and the achievement of

steady economic growth with a view to improving the

living conditions of all individuals, leading to a more

progressive, open and tolerant society.

Within the same framework, the Government of

Jordan sought to strengthen the partnership between

the public and private sectors, both inside Jordan and at

the larger, Arab regional level. The most recent inter-

Arab initiative was launched by Arab private sector

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and grass-roots civil organizations, with active

Jordanian participation, in Amman on the margin of the

World Economic Forum, which was convened at the

Dead Sea last May. That initiative laid the foundation

for the delineation of a vision for the Middle East for

the year 2010. A well-developed plan of action will be

laid out at the Davos World Economic Forum in 2005.

The plan will provide a framework for pooling and

analysing constructive inputs and proposing answers

for the challenges facing Jordan and the region in

general.

However, the series of reform measures currently

under way in Jordan will be inadequate without the

support of the international community. The help we

need involves support for our development projects,

direct assistance to the Jordanian economy and foreign

debt relief. Of special significance in this regard is the

aid needed and expected from the Group of Eight

industrial Powers to Jordan’s plans and initiatives,

which have been based on positive, realistic and

sustainable goals.

The long-standing status quo in our region has

made virtually impossible all serious efforts to forge

ahead with the overall Middle East reform exercise.

The creation of a favourable climate that helps

accelerate regional development and progress depends

on the termination of the Israeli occupation of Arab

land on the basis of international legality with a view

to ensuring security and stability in the region.

The time has indeed come to focus on starting the

peace process on the basis of the road map and the

terms of reference it contains, including the Arab peace

initiative and implementation by both the Israeli and

Palestinian sides of their respective obligations under

the road map. In fact, the road map provides a well-

defined vision of the ultimate solution of the

Palestinian-Israeli conflict, namely the vision put

forward by President George Bush of the United States

of two States living side by side in peace. President

Bush reaffirmed that position in a letter he sent last

May to His Majesty King Abdullah Bin Al Hussein.

The letter also elaborated the firm position of the

United States, which rejects any measures that would

prejudice the outcome of final status negotiations on

the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967)

and 338 (1973).

The launching of any serious political process

requires immediate action on the part of all parties to

put an end to violence and to all forms of killing of

civilians. Let me recall here that, according to the road

map, the obligations of both sides must be carried out

in concert. For its part, Israel should fulfil its

commitments, beginning with the cessation of all

settlement building and all extrajudicial killings. At the

same time, the Palestinian side should complete the

reforms required to control the security situation in the

occupied Palestinian territories and bring violence to

an end. In that regard, we welcome the decision to

consolidate the Palestinian security apparatus. Israel’s

announcement of its unilateral withdrawal from Gaza,

however, must be effected as an integral part of the

road map and within its terms of reference. The

withdrawal must be coordinated with all parties

concerned, especially the Palestinian side, in order to

ensure a smooth transfer of power.

It has become abundantly clear, now perhaps

more than ever before, that there is a real need to

develop an effective monitoring mechanism, operated

by the Quartet, to ascertain whether all parties meet

their mutual obligations and to ensure the scrupulous

implementation of the road map by the two sides in

their progress towards a successful conclusion. Here, I

wish to pay tribute to the Quartet for its persistent

efforts to maintain the momentum of the peace process.

Once again, I wish to reaffirm Jordan’s

commitment, along with that of all other Arab States,

to the Arab peace initiative which the Arab Summit

adopted in Beirut in 2002 with a view to putting an end

to the Arab-Israeli conflict through the conclusion of a

collective peace agreement providing for the security

of all countries in the region and laying the foundation

for the establishment of relations with Israel. The

agreement would also create a framework for a

solution to the Palestinian refugee problem on the basis

of General Assembly resolution 194 (III), a full Israeli

withdrawal from the Arab territories occupied in 1967

and the establishment of an independent, sovereign and

viable Palestinian State.

Jordan stresses the need to respect and implement

the advisory opinion of the International Court of

Justice (ICJ) on the separation wall being built by

Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories. The

pronouncement of the International Court of Justice is

the law, and no peaceful settlement of the Palestinian

question can be realized unless it is based on

observance of the rules of international law and the

recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian

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people, including the right to self-determination. In

that regard, the Court’s opinion was both clear and

specific on the following points.

First, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is

an occupied territory and, under international law,

Israel is an occupying Power. Accordingly, the claim

that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is a

“disputed territory” has been dismissed once and for

all.

Second, the relevant rules of international

humanitarian law are applicable to the occupied

Palestinian territories, including The Hague

Regulations of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva

Convention of 1949, which, according to the

International Court of Justice, are legally applicable to

that territory.

Third, the Palestinian people have the right to

self-determination and Israel is violating that right in

contravention of the binding norms of international

law.

Fourth, the Israeli settlements built in the

territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem,

are in breach of the rules of international humanitarian

law.

Fifth, the construction by Israel of the wall in the

occupied Palestinian territories, including East

Jerusalem, is illegal. Furthermore, Israel must cease its

violations relating to the construction of the wall by,

inter alia, dismantling those portions of it erected in the

occupied Palestinian territories, reinstating the rights of

the owners whose lands were lost and compensating

those who incurred losses as a result of Israel’s illegal

actions.

Sixth, the construction of the wall and its route

create a fait accompli on the ground which could

become permanent and which, in that case, would be

tantamount to the actual annexation of the occupied

Palestinian territories.

Seventh, the international community is under a

legal obligation to refrain from abetting Israel in its

illegal activities and is prohibited from recognizing the

illegal situation effected by the construction of the

separation wall.

Accordingly, Jordan welcomes General Assembly

resolution ES-10/15 and considers it an important step,

reflecting the international community’s recognition of

the legal conclusions of the International Court of

Justice and its desire to take practical steps to enforce

it.

The separation wall threatens the national

security of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The wall

is not only a barrier to the establishment of a viable

independent Palestinian State, but it also partitions the

West Bank into three distinct, isolated sections.

Moreover, and in view of the arbitrary Israeli closures

and restrictions on movement, the occupied Palestinian

territories are witnessing an unprecedented level of

deterioration in every aspect of their political, social,

economic, security and humanitarian situation. This is

bound to have a spill-over effect on neighbouring

countries, especially Jordan.

That is the backdrop against which Jordan

supported the efforts leading to the adoption of the

International Court of Justice advisory opinion and

Assembly resolution ES-10/15. Jordan will continue to

support the Palestinian people in its efforts to establish

an independent State on its national territory, on the

basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338

(1973), 1397 (2002) and 1515 (2003), the principle of

land for peace, the road map and the Arab peace

initiative. We also stand ready to provide any

assistance that the Palestinian side might seek to help it

to reform its administrative and security structures with

a view to fulfilling its obligations under the road map.

Jordan welcomes the formation of the interim

Iraqi Government and the restoration of Iraqi

sovereignty at the end of last June. In that regard, we

wish to pay tribute to the Secretary-General of the

United Nations and his Special Adviser, Mr. Lakhdar

Brahimi, for their unrelenting efforts, which

culminated in the formation of the interim Government

despite the enormous odds they encountered at every

stage of the process.

Jordan underscores its support for the

Government of Iraq and stands ready to lend all

possible assistance to Iraq, its people and Government

in the forthcoming phase in order to enable the country

to rebuild its institutions, manage its own affairs and

recover its regional and international status. The

ongoing transition in Iraq and the need for it to develop

its political and economic processes require the

cooperation of all parties. With support, the Iraqi

people will be able to determine their political future

without external intervention, gain control of their

14

natural resources and preserve Iraq’s territorial

integrity.

Despite overwhelming odds and the current

instability, it is our hope that elections for the

transitional national assembly and the formation of a

transitional Government will be completed by the end

of January 2005. Jordan calls upon all States to provide

every possible assistance towards the achievement of

those goals. The United Nations obviously has a

pivotal role to play in ensuring a successful outcome.

In that regard, we welcome the appointment by the

Secretary-General of his Special Representative for

Iraq, Mr. Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, and express our

willingness to fully cooperate with him in order to

ensure the complete and smooth fulfilment of the

United Nations mandate in Iraq as set forth in Security

Council resolution 1546 (2004).

In the meantime, Jordan strongly condemns

violence, the killing of civilians and beheadings in

Iraq. We remain committed to helping our Iraqi

brothers in the training of Iraqi police and army units

in order to enable them to improve their capacity to

restore control over the security situation, as well as

through the provision of necessary humanitarian

assistance. It is indeed regrettable that there is still a

tiny minority representing extremist movements and

organizations that seek political power by means of

intimidation and violence under the false pretext of

Islamic action. Such groups exploit Islam as a means

of achieving political or even personal gain by

resorting to violence and terrorism and thus,

unfortunately, tarnishing the image of Islam, a faith of

moderation and tolerance.

We also condemn all acts of terror, including

those gruesome and blind acts perpetrated in Madrid

and Beslan, which require our firm collective stand in

combating them.

The events of 11 September 2001 marked a new

era of immense challenge to the international

community in terms of dealing with the repercussions

and implications of such events. Fighting international

terrorism entails taking measures that affect

international relations and the principles that have

guided States since the creation of the United Nations

and the adoption of its Charter.

In our view, a meaningful and effective global

campaign against terrorism requires consensus on the

following principles: Respect for the provisions of the

Charter and the rules of international law, and non-

transgression against the sovereignty of States; striking

a balance between the counter-terrorism measures

taken by States and the principles of human rights,

public freedoms and non-abuse of the state of

emergency to justify counter-terrorism measures;

providing a clear and specific legal definition of

“terrorism” as well as of the concept of “terrorist

groups” that would not allow any legal justification for

the commission of terrorist acts. By the same token,

such definitions should not compromise the rights

envisioned in the Charter and in the provisions of

international humanitarian law, such as the right to

self-determination.

In the same vein, combating global terrorism

ought not be a tool for discrimination against the

followers of any creed or a cover for assault against

their religious beliefs. Finally, the “no justification for

terror” policy should not lead to disregard for its

underlying causes. Rather, an effective battle against

terrorism would require global cooperation in

addressing its root causes and the genesis of the

phenomenon.

I am pleased to announce that the Government of

Jordan has welcomed the formation of the High-level

Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change to examine

the modalities for improving the performance of the

United Nations in the maintenance of international

peace and security and its reform in general. We

support the exercise undertaken by the Panel and look

forward to receiving its recommendations at the end of

the year.

We share the vision, laid out by the Secretary-

General in his reports to the General Assembly, that

reform is a continuous, comprehensive and dynamic

process that must include all political, economic,

administrative and financial activities of the United

Nations. We also believe that, if reform is to succeed,

genuine partnership between Member States

represented by the regional groups and the Secretariat

of the United Nations is required. In this regard, we

believe that the thrust of reform should be an

upgrading of efficiency and not a reduction in the

expenditures or in the budget of the Organization.

Therefore, a set of benchmarks must be developed to

assess performance. In the meantime, there should be

no room for the random setting of agenda priorities or

for selectivity in implementing reform.

15

Regarding reform of the Security Council, I

would be remiss if I failed to commend the Open-

ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable

Representation on and Increase in the Membership of

the Security Council and Other Matters related to the

Security Council. Jordan supports the principle of

increasing membership in both permanent and rotating

seats in order to make the Council more representative

of the United Nations membership.

In this regard, Jordan is of the view that the

responsibilities of Council members should be

reconsidered in order to ensure that all members have

the capacity and political will to contribute effectively

to peacekeeping operations by way of meeting their

obligations under the Charter. The contribution by

Security Council members of human resources to

peacekeeping field operations, not just of financial and

equipment inputs, is an essential requirement for the

success of those operations. This is indeed a primary

responsibility that must be met by members of the

Security Council, especially the permanent ones. In

addition, we think that effective operations require the

development of a flexible mechanism that allows the

adoption of clear resolutions by the Council, in close

coordination with troop-contributing countries that are

not members of the Council, as well as functioning in a

transparent framework.

In closing, let me once again thank you, Sir. I

would also like to wish this session of the General

Assembly every success as I pray to almighty God to

guide us to better serve our people and to live up to the

responsibilities entrusted to us.