Lebanon, 2002

It

gives me pleasure to begin by congratulating

Mr. Kavan on his election as President of the General

Assembly at its fifty-seventh session. I wish him every

success as he embarks on this task. I would also like to

thank his predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo, who so ably

steered the work of the General Assembly at its fifty-

sixth session, which was convened amidst acute and

grave circumstances.

I would be remiss if I failed to express my

appreciation to Secretary-General Kofi Annan for his

tireless work to enhance the role of our international

Organization.

It is also my pleasure to congratulate the Swiss

Federation on its admission to membership of our

international Organization.

Lebanon considers the United Nations to be the

main body entrusted with the realization of

international peace and security and with upholding

respect for the rules of international law. The United

Nations is a safe haven for States, particularly small

ones, which find in its Charter the reassurances they

need in a turbulent world. Therefore, any departure

from the Charter, circumventing, disregarding, or

overstepping its authority; any selective handling of its

resolutions; or any attempt to impose settlements on

and solutions to conflicts and disputes outside its

framework flagrantly undermines the credibility of the

Organization and its organs, particularly the Security

Council. Such acts are a devastating blow to the pillars

of international order.

Lebanon believes that there is a causal

relationship between security and sustainable

27

development and calls for a renewed effort, under

United Nations auspices, to eliminate poverty and

disease, bridge the gap between the North and the

South, and reduce social disparities. These are the

scourges that are often manipulated by those who

harbour ill intentions towards humanity. In this context,

Lebanon welcomes the establishment of the African

Union and supports the principles on which the New

Partnership for Africa's Development was built.

The work of this session coincides with the first

anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks and the

terrible tragedy that struck the United States of

America. The world is still suffering from their terrible

repercussions. On behalf of Lebanon, I avail myself of

this opportunity to reiterate our sympathy with the

bereaved families. Like us, they are heartbroken over

the loss of their sons, relatives and loved ones. We also

renew our commitment to cooperating with the

international community to combat international

terrorism in accordance with the provisions of Security

Council resolution 1373 (2001) of 28 September 2001

and other relevant United Nations resolutions.

The events of 11 September 2001 impeded the

convening of the ninth summit of the Francophonie,

scheduled to be held last year under the theme of

“Dialogue among civilizations”. My country is proud

to be hosting the conference in mid-October. There is

no doubt that the choice of theme for the conference

before these dramatic events arose from the foresight

of its members and participants and from their

conviction of the need to interact and to engage in

dialogue, far removed from the logic of confrontation

and hostility.

Lebanon itself was the target of terrorist acts

prior to 11 September 2001 and its army stood up to

the perpetrators and overcame them. Lebanon and its

Arab brothers have been suffering from the State

terrorism continuously practised by Israel without

international deterrence since the Deir Yassin massacre

and the massacres in the Qana and Jenin camps.

Israel has recently begun to manipulate the tragic

events of September 2001 and the international

campaign to combat terrorism, using them shamelessly

as a pretext for persecuting the Palestinian people and

depriving them of their right to self-determination.

Israel has launched a slanderous campaign of threats

against Lebanon and its legitimate resistance, as well

as against Syria, while the origin of the conflict in the

region is the Israeli occupation of Arab territories.

The reality is that Israel has continuously defied

resolutions of international legitimacy. Israel has

disregarded Security Council resolution 425 (1978) for

more than 22 years and has refused to implement the

Security Council resolution calling for the

establishment of a fact-finding mission to investigate

the Jenin camp massacre. It has resorted to terror and

violence to implement expansionist and settlement

policies. It has accumulated weapons of mass

destruction in an arsenal primarily stacked with

nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. It continues

to oppose all attempts to reach a just and

comprehensive peaceful solution to the Middle East

issue, and remains, nonetheless, in total impunity,

never held accountable or punished for its actions. That

situation can only strengthen the impression among

Arab Governments and peoples that there is a double

standard at play in international affairs, and that,

regrettably, Israel is allowed to remain outside and

above the law.

Shimon Peres today accused Hezbollah of

terrorism because it has effectively contributed to the

legitimate resistance against Israeli occupation and to

forcing Israeli forces to withdraw from most occupied

Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah is represented in Lebanese parliament

and participates in the political, economic and social

life of Lebanon.

Mr. Peres is in fact the last person who should

have the right to talk about terrorism. He is the one

responsible directly for the killing of 102 women,

children and elderly at Qana when Israel bombed the

UNIFIL tent where they had sought safety and shelter.

Israel should be held accountable for such crimes.

Israel was founded on terrorism and has used it to

occupy land and establish faits accomplis.

If Israel's perpetration of the massacres of Dair

Yasin, Qana and Jenin is not terrorism, then what is

terrorism?

Is not Israel's daily breaking of the sound barrier

over Lebanese cities and villages a form of terrorism

and intimidation?

28

Is not Israel's kidnapping of Lebanese citizens

from their homes and detaining them in Israeli prisons

as hostages another form of terrorism?

Is not leaving hundreds of thousands of

landmines in south Lebanon to kill civilians a form of

terrorism that should be strongly condemned?

Is not Israel's constant threat of invading

Lebanon and destroying its civil institutions,

infrastructure and development projects a terrible form

of terrorism, devastating to our hopes in reconstruction

and rehabilitation?

As if occupying Arab lands and terrorizing their

civilian populations were not enough, Israeli greed

prompts Israel to usurp our natural wealth and water

resources, contravening international laws and

instruments. The Israeli Prime Minister directly

threatened to attack Lebanon, using the pretext that we

are diverting the course of the Hasbani and Wazzani

rivers. However, the fact is that Lebanon is trying to

draw limited amounts of water for some poor southern

villages that have suffered from the Israeli occupation

for many years, which will lead us to pump a total of

approximately 9 million cubic metres annually. By all

standards, that amount is far below our legitimate

rights, it represents only one tenth of our right.

Lebanon again rejects those Israeli threats and

draws the attention of the Assembly and the Security

Council to the danger those threats represent and to

their direct negative impact on international peace and

security. It is difficult for any human society to strive

for security in the absence of political, economic and

social justice. We, therefore, believe that security

approaches and partial interim solutions alone cannot

possibly succeed in resolving the Middle East conflict.

Therefore, we call for the adoption of an approach that

takes into account the priority of the political

dimension of the conflict and the need to arrive at a

just and comprehensive solution to the conflict in the

region in all its aspects.

In that context, Arab leaders unanimously

adopted an integral, indivisible peace initiative at the

Arab Summit, held in Beirut on 28 and 29 March 2002,

based on the following conditions.

First, Israel must withdraw completely from the

occupied Arab territories, including the occupied

Syrian Golan, to the border of 4 June 1967, and from

the territories it still occupies in southern Lebanon;

secondly, it must reach a just solution to the problem of

the Palestinian refugees, to be agreed upon in

accordance with General Assembly resolution 194

(III); thirdly, it must agree to the establishment of an

independent and sovereign Palestinian State in the

Palestinian territories occupied since 4 June 1967 in the

West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as

its capital.

Subsequently, the Arab States will consider the

Arab-Israeli conflict ended, will enter into a peace

agreement with Israel, will ensure security for all the

countries of the region and will establish normal

relations with Israel in the context of that just peace. A

central element of the Arab peace initiative is securing

an agreement not to allow any type of resettlement of

Palestinian refugees that is incompatible with the

particularities of the host Arab countries.

It is unfortunate that Israel has responded to that

initiative by increasing its aggression and reoccupying

the West Bank, relentlessly targeting human lives and

property in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Simultaneously, others have chosen to ignore or

override the initiative, despite its comprehensiveness,

unanimous acceptance by Arabs and broad

international support.

The Beirut Summit established a special

committee to implement the Arab peace initiative.

Once formed, the committee requested a meeting with

the Quartet to present the initiative and confirm its

status as a point of reference for the settlement of the

Arab-Israeli conflict. The initiative contains all

previous references dating back to the Madrid Peace

Conference, held in 1991, and is based on resolutions

of international legitimacy. We seek to submit it to the

Security Council for adoption and for the subsequent

establishment of an international mechanism to

implement it.

A meeting was held yesterday between the

Quartet and a delegation of the committee at United

Nations Headquarters. We hope that this will pave the

way for a mechanism of prior consultations and joint

effort based on resolutions of international legitimacy

and the Arab peace initiative.

The Arab peace initiative, which we uphold and

which was adopted unanimously by the Arab countries,

represents a historic opportunity that may not present

itself again. It cannot be replaced by partial or interim

approaches, the futility of which has been proven

29

throughout decades. Instead of leading to the long-

awaited peace, they have led to renewed violence. We,

therefore, call upon the international community to

adopt this initiative and to support it, as it represents an

opportunity for achieving our aspirations — a just and

comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

Submitting disputes before the United Nations

and implementing United Nations resolutions,

particularly those of the Security Council, can

guarantee the peaceful settlement of any given conflict.

By following that course, the parties could be spared

the need to settle their dispute by military means. It

may not be easy to contain the tragic ramifications of

military action in a given region. That is particularly

true of Iraq, which also was the subject of deliberations

at the Beirut Arab Summit. It was also decided there

that the solution to the Iraqi problem must be achieved

through dialogue between Iraq and the United Nations.

Iraq should not once again be a theatre of war, which

would increase the suffering of its people. The Arab

leaders consider an attack against any Arab State a

threat to the national security of all Arab countries.

As president of the Arab Summit, Lebanon hopes

that Iraq's compliance with the will of the international

community and allowing the return of the international

weapons inspectors will lead to the end of the suffering

of its people and to a comprehensive solution that will

lead to the implementation of Security Council

resolutions and to the lifting of sanctions. We also hope

that that will enable the Middle East to rid itself of

weapons of mass destruction and will avert the threat

or use of force against Iraq, thus preserving and

respecting its sovereignty, independence and territorial

integrity.

Lebanon takes pride in its strong and positive

relationship with the United Nations, being one of its

co-founders and having contributed to the drafting of

its Charter as well as to the drafting of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights. As members may be

aware, since 1978, the Organization has deployed the

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in

the aftermath of the Israeli occupation. In May 2000,

UNIFIL had the opportunity to begin fulfilling its

mandate after Israel had been forced to withdraw from

most of the territories in the south. That withdrawal

was possible thanks to our people's solidarity, their

legitimate resistance to the Israeli occupation and the

fact that our Government embraced their heroic efforts

for liberation, and the international support for their

just cause. The Lebanese Shebaa Farms, at the foot of

Mount Hermon, and other points along the withdrawal

line remained under occupation.

Another important aspect of UNIFIL's mandate

that has yet to be fulfilled is the restoration of

international peace and security. That task remains

hampered by Israel's continued occupation, threats

against Lebanon and provocations, as seen daily in the

repeated violation of Lebanon's sovereignty over its

land, airspace and territorial waters. Israel continues to

occupy the Syrian Golan and to ignore the right of

Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. It has

rejected every initiative to find a just and

comprehensive solution to the Middle East problem. I

should like to take advantage of this opportunity to

commend the efforts of the United Nations and

UNIFIL's important role as it fulfils its mandate.

The liberation of Lebanese territories from Israeli

occupation will remain incomplete unless we address

the heinous legacy of occupation and succeed in

finding a just solution to the problem of Palestinian

refugees, in particular those who live in Lebanon. Such

a solution should be based on their right to return and

on a rejection of their settlement in Lebanon. Failure to

factor the refugees into the equation of a solution based

on the right to return and on the rejection of

resettlement in host countries would create a time

bomb. It would undermine the security that we are all

striving to attain in the Middle East on the basis of a

peaceful, comprehensive and just settlement of the

conflict.

We should like to stress here that a solution to the

question of Palestinian refugees cannot be found

through exclusive bilateral Palestinian-Israeli

negotiations. Guaranteed respect for the rules of

international law and the permanence of any solution

require that host and other concerned countries,

including Lebanon, be involved in the negotiating

process.

With regard to mine clearance, Lebanon is

stepping up its cooperation with the United Nations to

assist in clearing the mines that the Israeli occupying

forces are responsible for laying in our territories. I

will note that Israel failed to hand over complete maps

and records indicating the specific locations of those

mines.

We in Lebanon attach the highest importance to

the release of Lebanese citizens who are unduly

30

detained in Israeli prisons. They were kidnapped by

Israel and incarcerated as hostages, in flagrant defiance

of the rules and instruments of international law.

It is no secret that the Israeli occupation of

southern Lebanon has taxed our endurance. Our

citizens' lives have been tragically shattered, their

properties have been destroyed, their infrastructures

have been decimated and our development has been

hampered. Increased international assistance is

required to revitalize our economy and to increase our

opportunities for growth. Lebanon reserves the right to

demand compensation for the damage caused by Israeli

occupation and acts of aggression, in accordance with

established procedures in international political and

judicial forums.

The reconstruction and rehabilitation of the

liberated Lebanese territories and the revitalization of

Lebanon's economy are among our Government's

highest priorities. Lebanon continues to work for the

recovery of its economy and for the reform of its

taxation system through the adoption of carefully

developed measures and legislation, including the

value-added tax on goods and services and the gradual

reduction of tariffs, in addition to the direct tax levy

and the rationalization of spending. Lebanon's

parliament recently adopted the Privatization Act,

which regulates that aspect of economic activity and

defines its conditions and field of application. Such

legislation, including the two recently adopted acts,

joins a series of laws developed to enhance investors'

confidence in the free-market system, which we are

keen to preserve.

Along the same lines, those in positions of

responsibility in the Lebanese Administration are

subject to strict accountability and liability rules,

including money-laundering and the prohibition of

illegitimate gain. It is worth mentioning here that, over

the years, the Lebanese internal security forces have

destroyed all illegitimate crops, including hashish. But

Lebanon did not receive the assistance, provided to

others, that would have enabled our farmers to live in

dignity.

Lebanon signed a partnership agreement with the

European Union last June after acceding to the Greater

Arab Free Trade Zone, to which most Arab States

currently belong. Preparations are under way for us to

join the World Trade Organization, in which we

currently enjoy observer status.

We gather here under the roof of the United

Nations, our common home, to engage in dialogue on

the best ways to translate into reality the great values

of the Charter. Lebanon takes pride in its firm belief in

those values and in the fact that, in its national unity, it

embodies the plurality of its society. It stands for a rich

human experience, both civilized and pioneering, of

which we are proud and which the international

community is surely keen to preserve.

Lebanon looks forward to cooperating with other

Members to contribute to this session's success and to

finding constructive solutions to the problems and

challenges that we face, while upholding the principles

of liberty, justice and peace around the world,

particularly in the Middle East region. Finding a just

and comprehensive solution to the Middle East conflict

in all its aspects will surely liberate our States and

peoples from the grip of a protracted problem that has

depleted their resources and hampered their

development.