Oman, 1994

Mr. President, please allow me at the outset to congratulate

you on your assumption of the Presidency of the forty-ninth

session of the General Assembly. Your unanimous election

to this high office attests to the respect accorded by the

international community to your friendly country, Côte

d’Ivoire. We are confident, in view of your qualifications

credentials and diplomatic skills, that you will steer the

work of this session to a successful conclusion which will

further the noble causes and principles of the United

Nations, which are aimed at bringing peace and prosperity

to the world. I would like to assure you of my delegation’s

cooperation with your endeavours to achieve this common

goal.

I should like also to take this opportunity to express

our appreciation to His Excellency Samuel R. Insanally,

the Permanent Representative of the friendly country of

Guyana, for the exemplary manner in which he presided

over the work of the previous session of the General

Assembly. Furthermore, on behalf of the Government of

the Sultanate of Oman, I should like to pay special tribute

to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his dedicated and

continued efforts aimed at resolving complicated conflicts

by peaceful means.

This forty-ninth session is being held amid

increasing prospects for and optimism about the creation

of a world in which atmosphere of peace, interdependence

and peaceful settlement of disputes will prevail. Our

Arab region is currently witnessing radical and important

changes where hatred and animosities between the Arabs

and Israel are slowly vanishing and giving place to a new

climate of understanding, dialogue and coexistence.

We are totally convinced that there is no alternative

means by which the Arabs and Israel may resolve their

differences other than negotiation. While some promising

and positive results have been achieved, we are still at the

beginning of a long process and we have a long way to

go towards resolving deep-seated differences. We

therefore appeal to the international community to

continue to lend its support to the efforts aimed at

bringing peace and security to the region.

In South Africa, my country has participated with

many other countries of the world in the inauguration

ceremony of President Nelson Mandela. That historic

event could not have taken place were it not for the

courageous policies of both President Mandela and Vice

President de Klerk in their approach to power-sharing

based on equality.

Thanks to the positive steps taken and the wise

policies pursued by President Mandela in forming a

National Coalition government that embraces various

political parties, South Africa has been able to resume its

rightful place in this Assembly, and can now play its

natural role in regional and international forums.

In Mozambique, the peace process is making

significant progress. Moreover, we are witnessing an

increasing normalization of relations amongst Asian

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countries. We also witness more integration and

interdependence in the economic relations in Europe and in

North America. And last but not least, we note with

satisfaction the peaceful resolution of conflicts in Latin

America and the unprecedented tendency of its peoples to

opt for peace, development, and social and economic

betterment in their countries.

We have to cover a lot of ground before we achieve

the building of the world envisaged by the Charter of this

Organization. The prevailing climate of concord affords us

an opportunity to enable this Organization to face up to the

challenges and unresolved problems and to address such

problems in the light of the new realities.

My country views with satisfaction the steps that have

been achieved so far on the Palestinian-lsraeli track. We

have always called for a just, lasting and peaceful solution

to the situation between the Arabs and Israel through direct

negotiations. Therefore, my country has welcomed the

outcome of the Palestinian-lsraeli negotiations which

culminated in the signing of the Cairo Agreement on the

implementation of self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.

This Agreement is now being implemented, the Palestinian

Authority is now a concrete reality and is exercising its

different functions in such areas as education, health,

taxation, tourism and social affairs. There are other

functions stipulated in the Agreement which, we hope, will

be exercised at the earliest possible time, by the Palestinian

Authority. The expansion of the competence of the

Palestinian Authority to other Palestinian areas in the West

Bank will undoubtedly strengthen the peace process and

contribute positively to security and stability in the area.

Such significant steps could never have been achieved

had not the Palestinian Liberation Organization honoured its

obligations under the Declaration of Principles signed in

Washington and under the Cairo Agreement. In order to

achieve peace and enable the Palestinian people to take

advantage and reap the benefits of the vigorous efforts

exerted in this context, the international community should

extend the necessary assistance to the Palestinian Authority

so that it may be able to discharge its many responsibilities

and rebuild the infrastructure, which has been severely

damaged. Support for the Authority will not only serve the

cause of security and stability in the self-rule areas alone

but in the region of the Middle East in its entirety.

The desired just and lasting peace will prevail only

through complete withdrawal by Israel from the entirety of

the occupied Arab territories, in accordance with Security

Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and

425 (1978), and in application of the land-for-peace

principle.

My country has followed with interest another

significant step in the peace process, namely that on the

Jordan-lsraeli track, which was highlighted by the signing

by His Majesty King Hussein of Jordan and the Israeli

Prime Minister of a declaration that ends the state of war

between the two countries and masks the movement

towards the establishment of a comprehensive peace. My

country has supported these positive and important steps.

Mindful of the fact that comprehensive peace is an

aspiration of the present and future generations, we

emphasize the critical importance of a complete Israeli

withdrawal from the occupied Jordanian territories. We

believe that it is crucial for Israel to demonstrate the

necessary flexibility to reach an agreement on the

question of water in order for both countries to move

forward towards the long-awaited lasting peace.

We look forward to similar positive and important

steps in the peace process on both the Syrian-Israeli and

Lebanese-Israeli tracks. We are confident that the co-

sponsors of the Middle East peace process as well as the

parties concerned are fully aware of the fact that unless

significant and substantive progress is made on those two

tracks, the peace process will remain incomplete and will

make the region’s peoples prey to suspicions, mistrust and

instability. Therefore, efforts must be made in the

coming phase, to achieve concrete progress in this

direction. Israel must declare its readiness to withdraw

completely from the Syrian Golan Heights and from the

Lebanese territories it now occupies. We are confident

that if Israel were to take such an undoubtedly positive

step in the peace process, the peoples of the Middle East

would be able to work together towards the consolidation

of peace and the promotion of economic development on

a large scale in the region.

Mindful of the need to support the peace process and

given the awareness that national and regional security are

inseparable, the Sultanate of Oman has actively

participated in the meetings of the five working groups

emanating from the multilateral negotiations. Although

the latter are no substitute for bilateral negotiations, they

constitute a significant tributary that has the potential of

giving a rather significant boost to the process in the

direction of the desired just and comprehensive peace in

the Middle East.

17

Given the pivotal importance of water resources for

the future security and peace of the Middle East, the

Sultanate of Oman accords a very high priority to the

discovery and development of new water resources side by

side with the promotion of sea-water desalination

technology in order to make such technology more cost

effective. Within the framework of multilateral negotiations

in the Middle East, my country hosted the fifth meeting of

the Working Group on Water Resources held from 17 to 20

April 1994. The meeting resulted, inter alia, in the

endorsement of the Omani proposal to establish in Muscat,

the Omani capital, a regional centre for the research aimed

at the development of desalination technology.

Given the great significance we attach to the

establishment of that centre, as it will have a decidedly

positive impact on the economic development of the States

of the Middle East, we look forward to the cooperation of

all in this regard in order to make the transfer of water-

resources technology cost effective to the region so as to

help in raising the standards of social and economic

development and, thereby, in consolidating the peace and

stability of the region.

We in the Gulf region are committed to the

achievement of the highest level of stability, cooperation

and development in all our countries and to the

development of our multilateral and bilateral relations. This

naturally embraces the settlement of all bilateral differences.

Consequently, we view with satisfaction the agreement

between the State of Bahrain and the State of Qatar to have

recourse to the International Court of Justice with regard to

their differences over the disputed islands and the maritime

borders. We also hope that the Islamic Republic of Iran

and the United Arab Emirates would settle their differences

regarding the islands of Abu Moussa, the Greater Tumb and

the Lesser Tumb as soon as possible, in an amicable and

peaceful fashion. This could include having recourse to

international arbitration in view of the mutual interests the

two countries share in various spheres. There is no doubt

that such regional efforts will contribute to the

consolidation of regional security and serve the cause of

international peace.

We have noted recently that there has been

considerable progress in Iraq’s implementation of the

resolutions relating to the destruction of weapons of mass

destruction, particularly the agreement on the installation of

a long-term monitoring system, which should now be put

into effect for a suitable period. In the meantime, the

Security Council should proceed to make the necessary

contacts with both Iraq and Kuwait to implement its

resolution 833 (1993) regarding the demarcation of

international borders between the two countries through

the acceptance and legal ratification by the parties in

accordance with established international norms and

practices in matters relating to international borders.

We believe that it is an opportune time to take more

positive steps to enable Iraq to perform its regional and

international role in a peaceful context and to help the

brotherly Iraqi people to put behind it the years of

embargo and to make up for what it has lost in terms of

social and economic development.

The future of the region should be based on the

conviction that it is imperative for States to develop and

further their relations and to overcome their outstanding

differences in a manner that safeguards the interests of all

parties.

The interdependent nature of today’s world makes it

impossible for States to pursue an individualistic approach

that disregards the interests of others. We therefore

believe that the peaceful conduct of relations and the

pursuit of constructive political dialogue are the best

guarantees for present and future security and stability in

the region.

We aspire after a more stable, more developed world

that would be totally free from ethnic and regional

conflicts, a world that would be able to ensure the

progress of mankind towards a better way of life by

channelling the disposable economic resources to the

financing of scientific research which may benefit social

and economic development. While we are fully aware of

the fact that the international community has made real

progress in changing to the better in many important

areas, it is nevertheless regrettable that there remain many

factors which make other parts of the world prey to

political, ethnic and regional conflicts. It is now

abundantly clear that the United Nations is losing its

ability to address all these crises. While we sympathize

with the sufferings of many peoples that are victims of

such crises, we believe it is high time the international

community set up a new and unambiguous rule that

should be followed in dealing with such problems. It is

evident that the present mechanisms available to the

United Nations and other international organizations are

no longer able to perform their humanitarian role. It is

not possible for the United Nations to go on feeding

whole peoples indefinitely, and it is, therefore, high time

for the leaders of countries immersed in such tensions and

conflicts to realize that the United Nations will not be

18

responsible for their actions towards their peoples, and that

the States of the international community are no longer able

to rebuild for them what they themselves have destroyed.

Funds should not be made available to rebuild countries

which destroy their own infrastructures with their own

hands. All peoples should contribute effectively to the

development of the world economy rather than be a burden

on it.

The United Nations cannot play a peace-keeping role

in each and every conflict that erupts in the world. Peace-

keeping forces should not be dragged into regional conflicts

except to the extent to which regional organizations and

States are willing to shoulder their full responsibility in this

regard. If deemed necessary, this should take place only

following the consent of the parties to conflict and on the

basis of clear goals and mandates linked to a definite time-

frame.

Regional organizations have a vital role to play in the

resolution of the disputes that exist in many parts of the

world. Although that role parallels and is complementary

to the efforts of the United Nations, we have noted that,

regardless of how important and necessary it is, it is almost

non-existent in the political arena. While we value the

efforts of the peace-keeping forces in Somalia, we believe

it would have been possible to avoid the negative aspects

that became evident in that operation had full use been

made of the Organization of African Unity, the competent

regional organization qualified to bring about national

reconciliation and the establishment of national authority.

The United Nations could have lent a helping hand by

providing expertise and advice, as well as political,

financial and humanitarian support.

Regional arrangements, whether in Asia, Africa or in

any other continent, in no way detract from the role of the

Security Council as the principal body responsible for the

maintenance of international peace and security. Rather,

such regional arrangements could help lighten the Council’s

workload and instil a sense of partnership and a spirit of

caring into international affairs.

As the possibility of the failure of some peace-keeping

operations cannot be ruled out, it is necessary to face the

facts and to draw object lessons from them if the United

Nations is to avoid sliding into the repetition of the same

mistakes.

Tragic events are taking place in Rwanda as a result

of the continuing political and ethnic strife that has led to

the outbreak of violence, to the horrendous massacres,

which claimed hundreds of thousands of innocent lives,

and to the destruction of the infrastructure of that

country’s economy. Great numbers of Rwanda’s people

are now living in refugee camps in neighbouring countries

under unimaginably tragic circumstances. Hunger and

disease claim the lives of hundreds daily. In view of this

horrendous suffering, my country calls upon the

Rwandese parties to stop the bloodshed and work towards

national reconciliation in accordance with the Arusha

Peace Agreement so that peace and stability may be

restored in Rwanda.

The mediation efforts undertaken so far to bring

about peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina have proven to be

insufficient, due mainly to the imbalance of power

between the Bosnian parties. The main cause of

imbalance in this regard is the denial to the people of

Bosnia and Herzegovina of their right to fight for their

existence through the imposition of a comprehensive arms

embargo on that small State, in total disregard of its right

of self-defence enshrined in Article 51 of the United

Nations Charter. The arms embargo should be imposed

on the aggressor. And who is the aggressor in the

Bosnian case? All the facts available to the United

Nations and its agencies regarding the situation in

Sarajevo and in other Bosnian cities prove that the Serbs

are the aggressors, and in the most inhuman terms.

While my country welcomes the structural reforms

undertaken with a view to ensuring the optimum

utilization of the resources available to the United Nations

with the greatest degree of efficiency and flexibility, it

feels that the ability of the Organization to discharge its

duties and perform its role depends to a very large extent

on the willingness of the Member States to live up to one

of the main responsibilities of membership - the prompt

payment of their financial contributions, including their

prompt contribution to peace-keeping operations.

As we approach the second summit meeting of the

Security Council, we ought to accord due attention to the

issue of the expansion of the Council’s membership in

accordance with the different trends prevailing in the

world, while constantly preserving the principle of

equitable geographic balance without prejudice to the

level of decision-making in the Council. We therefore

subscribe to the view that no hasty decision should be

taken in this respect and that more time should be given

to the regional groups to expound their views in this

regard.

19

My country has noted with satisfaction the successful

conclusion of the Uruguay Round and the long-range

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1994 and the

establishment of the World Trade Organization. This has

helped prevent the world economic order’s turning into a

hotbed of tension and strife between the various regions.

However, my country and the developing countries in

general, some of which have acceded to those agreements

or are in the process of so doing, request that their

particular circumstances be taken into consideration when

implementing the new agreements.

It is expected that our developing countries will have

to make sacrifices in order to support the world economic

order arising out of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs

and Trade, particularly in the short and medium terms.

Therefore, we hope to find support from the new World

Trade Organization that would be proportionate to what we

have to offer. We are particularly interested in the

developmental aspect of these agreements, as we are

interested in strengthening and developing the service sector

in our countries through the assistance offered by the

advanced economies and the international organizations.

In the area of disarmament, we hope that the

international support to the Convention on the Prohibition

of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of

Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction will give

impetus to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva to

draft a comprehensive test-ban treaty that would be an

important step towards ridding the world of nuclear terror.

In this context, we support the efforts aimed at establishing

nuclear-weapon-free zones, particularly in the Middle East,

which is one of the world’s most sensitive regions.

At present, thanks to the prevailing spirit of concord

and the ending of the cold war between the East and West,

we witness a robust movement towards the consolidation of

peace and security. The world is beginning to realize that

a climate of concord and harmony is the most viable means

of establishing an international community characterized by

constructive cooperation and mutual benefit, and that such

a development will be in the interest of mankind and its

well-being.

Today, on the threshold of the fiftieth anniversary of

the founding of the United Nations, we hope that the

outcome of this session will be more compatible with the

principle of international partnership and solidarity so that

humanity may be able to lessen and cure the ailments that

sill undermine the twentieth century and thus ensure that

the twenty-first century will be a century of hope, peace

and security for all human beings wherever they may be

on the face of the Earth.