Oman, 1996

At

the outset and on behalf of my delegation, allow me to

congratulate Ambassador Razali on his election as President

of the General Assembly at its fifty-first session. Oman has

long enjoyed close friendly relations with his country,

Malaysia, and we are confident that given his leadership

and vast diplomatic experience our deliberations will

reach a meaningful and successful conclusion, to which

end we shall cooperate in every way.

I would like to take this opportunity to pay special

tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral,

the representative of the fraternal country of Portugal, for

the exemplary manner in which he steered the work of

the previous session.

We also wish to convey our sincere thanks and

appreciation for the unwavering support of the Secretary-

General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. He has enhanced

and reinvigorated the role of the United Nations in all

areas of interest, in spite of the problems and obstacles

faced by the international Organization as a result of its

recent financial crisis.

Our celebration last year of the fiftieth anniversary,

the Nations golden jubilee, offered us a unique

opportunity to review and contemplate the tremendous

and substantial achievements of this body over the past

five decades, during which this international Organization

has made vigorous efforts to save the international

community from the scourge of war and to alleviate the

sufferings of vulnerable peoples throughout the world. We

are fully confident of the United Nations capability to

discharge the responsibilities entrusted to it in future by

the international community.

Although the world widely considers the Middle

East to be a region of great significance, a comprehensive

peace has not yet been achieved there. The international

community witnessed an important breakthrough with the

convening of the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference aimed

at reaching a comprehensive and peaceful solution to this

issue. Since then, concerted and positive steps have been

taken to achieve that long-awaited objective, such as the

signing of many agreements and conventions between the

main parties to the conflict, particularly on the

Palestinian-Israeli and Jordanian-Israeli tracks. Such steps

have made the peace process in the Middle East more

deep-rooted and irrevocable.

All these attempts have been made through the

courageous and strenuous efforts of the concerned parties

in the Middle East, with the help of international support

and assistance. My country’s contribution has included

support and encouragement of these steps through its

contacts with the concerned parties at the bilateral and

multilateral levels of the peace negotiations, notably the

agreement to establish commercial ties with Israel and

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other accords with the Palestinian Authority, as well as the

agreement reached by the group of founder countries to

establish a Middle East research centre for water

desalination.

Because of the procrastination and hesitation of the

newly elected Government of Israel fully to implement all

previous agreements, the peace process in the Middle East

requires, now more than ever before, the support of the

international community.

The peace process in the Middle East is a mutual

responsibility of and full partnership between the Arab

countries and Israel. In a partnership, every party must reap

the fruits of peace or bear the risks and losses. Proceeding

from this understanding, all parties must be treated on an

equal footing. Furthermore, my country sees no justification

for Israel’s continued blockading of the Palestinian cities,

both from the humanitarian point of view and because it

undermines all relations between the Palestinian people and

their Israeli counterparts, as was recently seen in the bloody

confrontations that occurred in Al-Quds following the

opening of a tunnel by the Israeli Government at an Islamic

holy site. Moreover, the expansion of hostilities at the

expense of the peace negotiations will serve no one but the

enemies of peace and the supporters of confrontation and

animosity.

Given such unacceptable measures, my country’s

efforts to promote the principles of confidence-building and

mutual cooperation in this area will be hampered and

delayed. We call upon the Government of Israel to close

the tunnel. At the same time, we hope that the summit to

be hosted today by President Clinton in Washington will be

successful.

My country calls upon Israel to assume its primary

responsibility for revitalizing the peace process by resuming

the peace negotiations and taking credible steps towards the

tangible and practical implementation of all agreements

reached in this regard. It also hopes that the progress

achieved at the Madrid Peace Conference will have a

positive impact on all tracks, including the Syrian-Israeli

and Lebanese-Israeli tracks. We believe that it is high time

for the concerned parties to capitalize on the lessons of the

past and work together in order to restore the momentum

of peace and achieve a comprehensive settlement of this

issue. In order to preserve the momentum of the peace

process, my country will stand ready to extend every

possible assistance and to take positive steps to enhance the

peace process in the Middle East.

My country expresses its satisfaction with the

situation in Iraq in the aftermath of the recent events and

developments in the north of the country, which raised

tensions and nearly destabilized the region again. We call

upon all concerned parties to abide by international law

and to focus on the implementation of the relevant

Security Council resolutions on Iraq, as well as to resume

and activate the negotiations between the conflicting

parties, in order to maintain the sovereignty and territorial

integrity of Iraq.

On the other hand, we welcome the memorandum of

understanding signed between Iraq and the United

N a t i o n s , a l l o w i n g I r a q t o i m p l e m e n t

resolution 986 (1995). In our view, if implemented, that

resolution will help alleviate the suffering of the brotherly

people of Iraq. While drawing the international

community’s attention to the irrelevant linkage between

the implementation of the aforementioned resolution and

recent events in northern Iraq, and to the humanitarian

appeals inside the country, we call on Iraq to cooperate

fully with the United Nations in a manner that guarantees

the effective and swift implementation of this resolution.

Iraq is also requested to cooperate with the United

Nations in implementing other international resolutions on

the release of Kuwaiti detainees and properties and the

nationals of other countries detained in Iraq, in the hope

that Iraq’s full compliance and further cooperation with

the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq will pave

the way for the possible lifting of the international

embargo and the restoration of peace and stability in the

region.

With regard to the question of disarmament, the

United Nations has played an important role in diffusing

the threat of weapons of mass destruction and promoting

an equitable balance between the regional Powers. My

country has participated in the Commission on

Disarmament’s meetings on regional security as part of an

international effort to reactivate peace negotiations in the

Middle East. While actively supporting the Commission,

the Sultanate of Oman would point out that such efforts

alone cannot guarantee equitable security in the region if

they are not paired with other effective and practical

measures to eliminate weapons of mass destruction there

and to promote comprehensive and unconditional

acceptance of international monitoring and inspection of

all activities related to this matter.

The Sultanate of Oman was also among the first

countries to sign the Convention on the Prohibition of the

Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of

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Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction and the first

country in the Middle East to ratify it. This is a clear

indication of my country’s distinctive role in enhancing

security and stability in the region and throughout the

world. Similarly, it is a great honour for me to announce to

this international forum the Sultanate’s decision to accede

to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

(NPT), in the hope that other countries that have not yet

done so will follow the same course before the end of the

year so as to ensure the Treaty’s universality and to secure

a world free of all weapons of mass destruction in which

all mankind can live in peace, love and prosperity. My

country, like many others, voted in favour of this Treaty

and, while we salute all who contributed to this major

achievement, we call on the United Nations not to stop

here, but to continue its efforts to free the world once and

for all from all nuclear weapons and weapons of mass

destruction. We call upon the nuclear-weapon States in

particular to implement time-bound programmes in order to

achieve this noble objective as soon as possible.

We would like to express our deep concern and regret

vis-à-vis terrorist acts that target the lives of innocent

people — including children, women and the elderly — and

violate their legitimate right to live in peace and prosperity.

The international community should take immediate and

collective action to combat this phenomenon. We support

all sincere and faithful efforts to convene an international

conference to address and eliminate this problem and

related aspects and to ensure that the perpetrators of such

terrorist acts do not go unprosecuted and are brought to

justice.

The Dayton Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina,

signed a year ago, has proved to be the optimal solution for

putting an end to that tragic four-year war, which killed,

wounded or displaced many Bosnians. My country

welcomes this historic Agreement and made every possible

effort as a Security Council member and at regional and

international forums to put an end to the suffering of the

Bosnian people and the atrocities committed against them

and to restore security, stability and prosperity to all the

peoples of the Balkans. We hope that the results of the

elections held recently in Bosnia will pave the way for a

better and prosperous future in which the people of Bosnia

and Herzegovina can live in peace, tranquillity and

cooperation.

Effective participation in international and regional

conferences on environmental issues is one of the ways in

which the Sultanate of Oman is helping to improve and

coordinate its environmental policies. My country has

played an active role in many of these conferences and

has hosted some as a contribution to increasing public

awareness at the national, regional and international

levels. We are fully convinced that, through concerted

efforts, the international community can preserve the

environment and the world’s ecosystems. We emphasize

the need for all countries to participate effectively in the

international agreements and conventions aimed at

conserving the ecological system, preventing

environmental degradation, enhancing international

scientific exchange and creating an international

information network.

In Oman, we focus consistently on the development

of human resources, the improvement of our technical and

vocational education, the encouragement of the private

sector and economic diversification. Our fifth

development plan, initiated at the beginning of this year,

has several objectives, including the improvement of

technical and vocational education in Oman, the

encouragement of the private sector and economic

diversification and the establishment of an economic

balance conducive to foreign investment. We have also

updated our tax systems in accordance with an equation

that would establish a level playing field for foreign

investments. A financial centre has recently been

established in Muscat to deal with the activities of foreign

trade and investments in Oman. The commercial and

regional economic groups have had a major impact on

international efforts to expand the range of mutual

economic interests and influence the free flow of trade

and investment throughout the world. In this context, my

country has participated with its sister countries of the

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in exploring every

possible means to promote and expand free trade and

investment among these countries or between any other

international groups.

My country has also participated actively in

founding a new economic group of the littoral States of

the Indian Ocean, including several African countries, to

trigger commercial activity among these countries,

develop economic cooperation and maximize

opportunities for the present and future investment and

exploitation of their natural and human resources in the

best interests of their peoples. We are confident that the

establishment of such a new economic group, which

embraces many countries with deep-rooted historic and

cultural ties, will ultimately enhance cooperation between

its member States and affect other economic factors, such

as raw materials, human resources and energy.

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Here I would like to talk about Africa. A number of

African countries are still suffering from the aftermath of

the cold war, which resulted in internal political turmoil and

crisis, leading to a decline in gross national products.

Africa’s role is indispensable. We have to help it assume its

natural place on the international scene. We therefore call

upon the United Nations and the international community

to continue to extend assistance to Africa through further

cooperation with all its regional organizations.

Technological progress has greatly speeded

communications between countries and economic

advancement. My country welcomes the outcome of the

summit of industrial countries held last June in Lyon,

France, at which these countries reaffirmed their solidarity

with the international community’s efforts to solve the

problems and reduce the burdens associated with

globalization. Similarly, the developing countries should

benefit from the outcome of the Uruguay Round.

The developing countries are pushing to adopt market-

economy policies and undertaking further structural

economic reforms in support of free trade and investment.

They are also looking forward to the capital flows and

technology transfers that can help strengthen their economic

and social development, improve the quality of their

productivity and upgrade their services. This in turn will

enable these countries to increase their development, widen

their markets and enhance the international competitiveness

of developing countries, creating a more independent world

in which stability and prosperity will prevail.

My Government has already requested full

membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). We

have been following its work for a year now. Our accession

to WTO membership would be a big step for us. It would

enhance our development, promote our services and

upgrade our productivity standards to the fullest level

possible. To that end, we must guarantee a reasonable

balance between our national interests and regional and

international benefits. In this context, the Sultanate of

Oman, as a developing country, has been looking forward

to receiving the global support and assistance which, under

the generalized system of preferences, the international

community extends to developing countries to help them

address the challenges posed by economic reforms and

structural adjustment. In both the short and long terms, the

international community should continue to enhance this

system.

As can be seen in its national legislation and norms,

such as the national law of commercial signs and the

patenting system which governs new inventions within the

countries of the GCC, Oman has played a commendable

role in protecting intellectual property. Furthermore, a law

to protect copyrights and publications has been enacted

in the general context of updating and improving the

legislation and norms of trade and investment in Oman.

Given Oman’s support of the principles embodied in the

new global trend to protect intellectual property rights and

its desire fully to participate and cooperate in this regard,

my Government has decided to accede to the World

Intellectual Property Organization.

As we approach the twenty-first century, we are

prompted by hope to continue to work and cooperate

collectively in maintaining international peace and

security to enhance life for the current and future

generations. Such an objective cannot be achieved without

the firm commitment of the international community to

reviewing and adopting clear economic guidelines for an

urgent and serious approach to the establishment of a

permanent, effective economic mechanism to deal with

this matter for the benefit of all of mankind. The United

Nations should assume the primary responsibility of

addressing these great challenges and discharge in an

effective manner the global duties entrusted to it by the

international community.

We appreciate the complexity of the task of

reforming the United Nations and its organs, but we also

believe that it can be accomplished through the

establishment of dynamic and cost-effective mechanisms

for achieving selected goals and meeting the urgent needs

of future development plans.

We support the Secretary-General’s medium-term

proposals for an objective strategy for the programmes of

the future work of the United Nations. In this connection,

we express our concern regarding the deterioration of the

financial situation of the United Nations. We urge

Member States to fulfil their financial obligations and

thus enable the United Nations to carry out its functions

effectively. We would also emphasize the responsibility

of the Security Council — its permanent members in

particular — to their financial commitments to

peacekeeping operations, in coordination with the various

regional and international bodies of the United Nations,

which collectively endeavour to secure appropriate

solutions to international conflicts. We call on the

international community to accelerate its efforts to review

and reform the administrative organs of the United

Nations in a manner that conforms to the global

aspirations and expectations of the forthcoming century.