Lebanon, 2014

Allow me

first to congratulate the President on his assumption

of the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-

ninth session. I would also like to thank Mr. John

Ashe for his work during his presidency of the General

Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. Our appreciation

also goes to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his

annual report on the work of the Organization (A/69/1).

We meet today on the eve of the seventieth

anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, to

which my country had the honour to contribute. That

milestone reminds us of the need to draw lessons and

explore the best ways to put an end to war and violence

and to mobilize international efforts to combat terrorism

and terrorists.

I wish to convey the concerns of my country,

Lebanon, which is at the crossroads of a turbulent

region. Today Lebanon is the target of a fierce terrorist

onslaught being perpetrated by obscurantist and criminal

groups. They have attacked many parts of Lebanon and

caused the loss of military and civilian lives, as well

as considerable material damage. Last month, terrorists

kidnapped a number of soldiers and security officers.

They took them hostage in order to bring pressure to

bear on and to blackmail the Lebanese authorities. They

brutally executed three of the detainees. Such crimes

have impeded the ongoing indirect negotiations that

my Government was conducting with the assistance of

friendly countries to secure the release of the soldiers.

I would like to underscore that compromise on our

firm beliefs is not an option. We remain focused on the

release of our soldiers, while preserving the sovereignty,

territorial integrity and security of our country.

In combating terrorism, the Lebanese people stand

united with its armed forces, which represent the main

pillar on which we depend to safeguard our national

sovereignty, security and peace. Our Government

continues to rally the necessary support for its forces

to be able to fulfil their duty. In that regard, Lebanon

values the generous donation of the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia to support our armed forces. We also pay

tribute to the initiative of the Secretary-General, who

launched the International Support Group for Lebanon

last September here in New York city. We express our

satisfaction and reassurance over the outcomes of the

meetings held by the Support Group this year in Paris

and Rome.

The current international mobilization against

terror reflects the international community’s awareness

of the alarming situation in our region and the need

to extinguish the flames of violence and prevent the

spread of such attacks. Lebanon underscores the

need for regional and international cooperation to

fight terrorism. We welcome the Security Council

resolutions on the subject, in particular resolutions 2170

(2014) and 2178 (2014). Lebanon calls on its brothers

and friends around the world to safeguard and protect it

from regional power struggles.

Our fight against terrorism is not new. For years,

Lebanon has suffered under the threat posed by political

crimes, which have targeted many of its leaders, in

particular former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and

prominent media figures and intellectuals. We continue

to follow the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

We look forward to the establishment of the truth in

order to put an end to impunity, enable justice to be

served and deter criminals.

The events unfolding in vast areas of Syria and Iraq

constitute human crimes that cannot be understood

or accepted by any intellect or faith. Perpetrated in

the name of Islam, such crimes have cost the lives of

tens of thousands of Muslim civilians and have caused

unprecedented waves of displaced people. In addition,

those crimes have destabilized national entities, divided

societies and destroyed human and material resources.

That terrorist onslaught targets religious groups

that since time immemorial have been an essential

component of the social fabric of the region and a

fundamental part of the social and cultural diversity

that has long characterized the eastern Mediterranean.

In the past few months, the entire world has witnessed

attacks against Christians and Yazidis in Iraq, their

forced expulsion and the destruction of their property

and holy sites. Lebanon considers attacks against

religions, their followers and sacred places to be an

offence against human dignity and a violation of the

freedom of religious belief and practice enshrined in

the Charter of the United Nations and the International

Bill of Human Rights, respect for which is guaranteed

by our Lebanese Constitution.

Lebanon is proud to be the only country in the

Arab and Islamic worlds where the President of the

Republic is a Christian citizen. That confirms that our

country, despite its political crises, has been a paragon

of diversity in the Middle East, an exceptional example

of coexistence and interaction among followers of

different religions and sects and a model totally opposed

to the notion of a racist State. I take this opportunity

to reiterate before the General Assembly the Lebanese

Government’s call for the election of a new Christian

President of the Republic as soon as possible.

The painful and worrisome war in Syria, which

has continued for more than four years, has driven

nearly 1.5 million displaced Syrians to Lebanon — a

number that is equivalent to one-third of the Lebanese

population. In order to fully understand the dimensions

of that situation, one would have to imagine 100 million

people flooding into the United States of America

and spreading out randomly through its cities, towns,

schools and parks, with their related urgent needs

and requirements, posing an unbearable burden at the

economic, humanitarian, social, educational, health

and security levels.

That huge number of displaced people weighs

heavily on the Lebanese infrastructure, which already

has structural problems. It puts pressure on the national

economy, where growth has dropped to almost 0 per

cent owing to the regional situation, which represents

a loss of $7.5 billion for Lebanon, according to World

Bank estimates. This reality constitutes a national

disaster for us. The problem of the displaced Syrians,

with all its serious economic, social and security

implications, is not — and should not be — a purely

Lebanese problem. It is a major regional crisis that we

put before the international community, which must

share that enormous burden with Lebanon. Such a

burden cannot be borne by any country alone, no matter

how large.

Lebanon reiterates its concern for the unity,

sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of

Syria. In our Government policy statement, we have

reaffirmed our commitment to the policy of keeping

our distance in order to protect ourselves from the

repercussions of the crisis in the neighbouring country.

On the eighth anniversary of the adoption of Security

Council resolution 1701 (2006), Lebanon asserts its

commitment to implementing all of the resolution’s

provisions. We believe that it will strengthen stability

and security in southern Lebanon and contribute to

extending the State’s authority over its entire territory.

We renew our appeal to the international community

to compel Israel to fulfil all its obligations in that

regard, to stop violating Lebanese sovereignty from the

land, the sea and the air and to fully cooperate with

the United Nations peacekeeping forces of the United

Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in order to

demarcate what is left of the Blue Line and immediately

withdraw from the area north of Ghajar, the Sheba’a

Farms and the Kfar Shouba Hills.

We also wish to reaffirm Lebanon’s full rights to its

territorial waters and the natural oil and gas resources

within its exclusive economic zone. Lebanon cannot

fail to acknowledge the role of UNIFIL and the ongoing

cooperation and coordination between UNIFIL and

the Lebanese army. Lebanon would like to thank all

nations that contribute to the Force, the Force leaders

and the members of the Force for their dedication in

the service of the stability and security of civilians in

southern Lebanon.

Last month, the Gaza Strip was subjected to a new

Israeli aggression, which killed hundreds of civilians,

displaced more than a quarter of the population and

destroyed homes, hospitals and infrastructure. Lebanon,

which has paid dearly as a result of the repeated Israeli

attacks, calls for legal accountability for the war crimes

committed by Israel and for that country to be held

accountable for its actions in order to prevent impunity.

Lebanon believes that Israel is responsible for

frustrating all efforts to reach a peaceful settlement

based on the two-State solution. It stresses the need

for a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the

conflict in the Middle East, based on Security Council

resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), the Madrid terms

of reference for peace and the Arab Peace Initiative,

adopted at the Beirut summit in 2002.

Today, the Levant seems to be the stage for

dark and arbitrary tragedies, where the most recent

manifestations of human savagery are being played out.

Today, the Levant seems to be hostage to ignorance,

extremism and obscurantism, plunged into a hatred

arising from a distant past and guided by a fanaticism

and instincts that yield only bloodshed. However, that

troubled area was, is and will be home to many people

who, like all other human beings, have land, homes,

tales, dreams and a history. They are individuals who

are eager to live as free and equal citizens in free and

stable countries. They have sons and daughters who

seek better opportunities for engagement in the world

and a better place to live.

Humankind owes a debt to our Levant. We gave

humankind enlightenment when darkness, extremism

and ignorance were crippling the other side of the

world. We still have much to offer and to add to the

tremendous development of human progress and

creativity. The world must stop counting our dead. It

must meet its obligation and seek to establish peace in

that tormented part of the world — a peace that is based

on law, justice, respect for the sovereignty of nations

and the protection of their security and territorial

integrity, the safeguarding of the fundamental rights

of individuals and groups, including their right to enjoy

their wealth, and the protection of religious and ethnic

diversity.

We, the Lebanese people, both at home and in

every corner of the world, look to the United Nations

for assistance. At the same time, we are determined to

overcome the current crisis, as we have done so many

times before. We are confident that, together, we will

not allow any person, any circumstance or any party

to extinguish the beacons of freedom, democracy,

diversity, pluralism, knowledge and human rights in

Lebanon.