Jordan, 2006

May I extend

the warmest congratulations to you, Sheikha Haya, on

your election as President of the General Assembly.

Allow me also to say a word of gratitude and

admiration to Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Jordan

applauds the progress achieved in United Nations

reform under Secretary-General Annan’s tenure. In

particular, we welcome the recent creation of the

Human Rights Council and of the Peacebuilding

Commission.

I come before the Assembly today with a deep

sense of urgency. Never has it been more important for

the world community to act decisively for peace in my

region. The recent crisis in the Middle East is a crisis

for all nations. There can be no just global order when

aggression and occupation are permitted to take the

place of international law. When these occur in a

region as strategic as the Middle East, the shockwaves

run worldwide. Our young people are asking, where is

the justice, where is the will, of the global community?

We must answer them by establishing a lasting peace

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based on the international legality that we have

pledged to uphold.

That means a new focus on the core problem. The

region’s contemporary crises are outgrowths of a

central grievance felt throughout the Middle East and,

indeed, the world. That grievance, plain and simple, is

Israeli occupation and the denial, over decades, of

Palestinian rights. Until we end that wrong, conflict

will breed more conflict, year after year.

The Middle East conflict has repeatedly come

before this institution. And the United Nations position

has been repeatedly articulated in resolutions

condemning aggression and occupation, affirming

Palestinian self-determination and supporting a process

for peace. Yet, each year without progress has brought

us another crisis, more suffering and more division. It

is time to take a better path.

We must, of course, respond immediately to help

those who suffer the terrible destruction of conflict. In

Lebanon we must ensure that the Government can

extend its sovereignty and control over all Lebanese

territory. The Arab world and the international

community must make every effort and must support

reconstruction and development. Those are vital

measures; but in the Middle East they are only partial

measures.

We can solve the Arab-Israeli conflict only by

addressing the issue at its core: the restoration of

internationally recognized Palestinian rights. In 2002,

the 22 Arab States — agreeing unanimously — led the

way with a breakthrough peace proposal. Our vision

and our commitment is a viable and independent

Palestinian State living side by side with a secure

Israel. Under the Arab peace initiative, Israel’s security

would be guaranteed and the occupation of Palestine

would end, in accordance with United Nations

resolutions.

Events show clearly that there can be no

unilateral solution to the conflict. There must be a

genuine partnership among all parties, in the context of

international legality and justice.

Such a global partnership for peace is directly

connected to the global partnership for development.

Around the world, nations at peace are moving forward

with economic growth and development: investing in

education, building communities and helping to shape

the future of the world. But no nation succeeds in

isolation. All nations and all people — especially our

young people — must be able to share in a promising

future.

We must make peace a priority. We must do so

now. No session of this great institution could make a

greater contribution to a future of justice and hope.