Qatar, 1996

It

gives me pleasure, Sir, to extend to you our sincere

congratulations on your election to the presidency of the

General Assembly at its fifty-first session. We are

confident that you will lead the work of the Assembly to

success. I cannot fail to pay tribute to your predecessor,

Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral of Portugal, for his

leadership during the Assembly’s historic fiftieth session.

I would also like to express our appreciation to

His Excellency the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros

Boutros-Ghali, for his tireless efforts in the service of the

purposes of the United Nations in the maintenance of

international peace and security and the achievement of

its lofty ideals.

A series of internal conflicts and explosive situations

has threatened certain States. The world faces ethnic

extremism and national conflicts caused by mass

migrations, flows of refugees, environment deterioration

and natural disasters. Such problems have not been met

with the rapid economic and political changes that would

form the cornerstone of the new international order to

which the whole world aspires. A complete vision of that

order, its rules and means, has not yet materialized. We

should all work towards an international system that is

just, balanced and comprehensive.

The vital and effective role played by the United

Nations in dealing with international issues, in the

maintenance of international peace and security and in

other areas, the value of which cannot be denied or

underestimated for the establishment of the principles of

that international system, requires reform of the United

Nations if we are to achieve the desired results. Reform

should begin with reactivating the General Assembly to

enable it to act effectively in a manner that would enhance

its credibility in the eyes of world public opinion.

We have also mentioned the need to reform the

Security Council and increase its effectiveness in a manner

that would reflect the geographic, economic and political

situation of certain States, in a manner that would reflect

the new international order, and would equip the Council to

bear its heavy responsibilities.

The task of maintaining international peace and

security is particularly important at a time of international

change; the international community should take steps to

deploy early preventive measures, since this is the best way

to avoid the eruption and conflagration of conflicts, instead

of resorting to political or military measures to end them,

which can only lead to incomplete and unjust solutions.

Therefore, it is important to reiterate the vital and effective

role that could be played by regional organizations in the

context of the maintenance of international peace and

security in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter.

Cooperation between the United Nations and other

regional organizations such as the Organization for Security

and Cooperation in Europe, the Organization of African

Unity, the League of Arab States and the Organization of

the Islamic Conference should be promoted, since

preventive diplomacy and early warning are the best way to

prevent conflicts from erupting and to find peaceful

solutions.

The question of disarmament is of great importance in

terms of the establishment of international peace and

security. It can be achieved only by curbing the arms race

and, in particular, the race in weapons of mass destruction.

We believe that the indefinite extension of the Treaty on

the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) requires

more support and ratification by all States to give the

Treaty a global character. The State of Qatar reaffirms the

need for Israel to join the NPT and to place its nuclear

facilities under the safeguards system of the International

Atomic Energy Agency as an initial step towards

establishing a Middle East free from nuclear weapons and

weapons of mass destruction. We believe that the interests

of the stability and security of the region should compel

Israel to do this.

The State of Qatar, on the basis of the wise approach

of His Royal Highness, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-

Thani, reaffirms its regional and international commitments

and undertakes to work through international and regional

organizations to promote international peace and security.

We associate ourselves with our brothers in the Gulf

Cooperation Council and other friendly States in the quest

to promote peace and security in the Gulf region, due to

its vital importance to the whole world. We are also

making tireless efforts to establish friendly and

constructive relations with all States of the region, based

on good-neighbourliness, mutual respect, non-interference

in the internal affairs of other States, respect for

legitimacy and the solution of conflicts through dialogue,

mediation or international law through the International

Court of Justice.

On the basis of this principle, we support the attempt

to find such a solution to the dispute between the United

Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Iran on the

islands of Abu Musa and Lesser and Greater Tunb. We

have expressed our great satisfaction at the agreement

signed between the Republic of Yemen and Eritrea in

Paris last month regarding the peaceful settlement of the

dispute over Greater Hanish through international

mediation and arbitration, peacefully and in accordance

with the Charter of the United Nations and international

law, in a manner that will serve the security and stability

of the Red Sea region and promote bilateral relations,

good-neighbourliness and common interests between those

two countries and bolster international peace and security.

At the same time, we would like to express our

appreciation to the friendly Government of France for its

efforts towards a peaceful settlement of this dispute.

The State of Qatar has expressed its brotherly

feelings and sympathy with the people of Iraq, who are

living under extremely difficult conditions due to the

sanctions imposed on them. On the basis of that, we have

welcomed the oil-for-food agreement between Iraq and

the United Nations regarding the application of Security

Council resolution 986 (1995), since this would mitigate

the suffering of the Iraqi people and enable them to meet

their need for food and medication. We call upon the

United Nations to create the conditions necessary for

implementation of that resolution.

We would also like to reaffirm our commitment to

the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq, and the principle

of non-interference in its internal affairs. Yet at the same

time, Iraq is required fully to implement all Security

Council resolutions, which should stay within the context

of international legitimacy and the norms of international

law.

We express our great concern at the suffering of the

people of Libya due to the sanctions imposed on them.

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We associate ourselves in this regard with many other

Member States regarding the approach followed in the

implementation of the sanctions, and we call for the

creation of necessary guarantees for the equitable

application of the sanctions so that international interests

are safeguarded and the suffering of the people as a result

of the sanctions is alleviated.

The State of Qatar has worked to promote the

achievement of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in

the Middle East. We therefore took part in the Arab

Summit Conference in Cairo in June 1996, when Arab

leaders reaffirmed that the achievement of peace requires

full Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Palestinian

territories, including Arab Jerusalem, conditions for the

Palestinians to establish an independent State of its own

with Jerusalem as its capital, and the full and unconditional

withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Syrian Golan and

southern Lebanon pursuant to Security Council resolutions

242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1975) and in accordance

with the principle of land for peace accepted by the Arabs

and by Israel as a serious basis for peace in the Middle

East.

From this rostrum, we would like to call upon the new

Israeli Government to continue its efforts to ensure a

successful peace process in the Middle East and to take

account of United Nations resolutions, especially those that

were the background of the Madrid Conference, and the

principle of land for peace, in accordance with agreements

already reached. We would like the Israeli Government to

reconsider its position in order to give momentum to the

peace process, to establish conditions conducive to

cooperation among the peoples of the region and to achieve

a lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

We call upon the two co-sponsors of the peace process

and the international community in its entirety to support

the peace process while at the same time providing the

necessary economic and political assistance to the

Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority.

The State of Qatar expresses its deep concern at

Israel’s continued confiscation of Palestinian territories, the

establishment of settlements in the occupied Arab territories

and the bringing in of settlers in violation of international

decisions, the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention

relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of

War and the provisions adopted at the Madrid Conference.

These settler activities in the Syrian Golan, the

occupied Palestinian territories and Arab Jerusalem should

cease without delay. We would also like to reiterate our

rejection of any attempt to change the demographic

character of the Arab city of Jerusalem or its legal status,

specifically its geographic and geopolitical status before

4 June 1967. We call upon the international community

to guarantee Israel’s implementation of binding

international resolutions regarding Jerusalem, in particular

Security Council resolution 252 (1968), since the

establishment of a comprehensive and just peace in the

Middle East cannot be achieved without solving the issue

of Arab Jerusalem and the problems of the Palestinian

refugees, who should be granted the right to return in

accordance with binding international decisions and the

resolutions of the United Nations.

Qatar believes that the process of establishing

comprehensive and just peace in the region is the only

strategic option and that the decision of the Israeli

Government to open a tunnel adjacent to Al-Aqsa Al-

Sharif is a violation and desecration of sacred Islamic

sites and a provocation of Arabs and Muslims all over the

world. It runs counter to the peace process, is a violation

of the Fourth Geneva Convention and threatens to freeze

the peace process and return the region to tension and

violence.

From this rostrum, we call upon the co-sponsors of

the peace process and the international community to put

a speedy end to Israeli actions against the Palestinians in

the occupied territories in order to safeguard the rights of

the Palestinian people. We furthermore call upon all

parties to continue negotiations and implement all the

provisions of the agreements reached so far. We look

forward to a successful conclusion of the Washington

meeting and to tangible measures that would lead to the

permanent closing of the tunnel and the immediate

withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian areas.

The Middle East region and the whole world have

suffered greatly from terrorism. We condemn terrorism in

all its forms and have always supported international

efforts to deal with this phenomenon. We are committed

to promoting all initiatives to convene an international

conference on this problem. Our participation in the

Sharm el-Sheikh Conference was yet another testimony to

our interest in this issue. However, we would like to

reiterate that resisting occupation and aggression should

not be stigmatized as terrorism, since it is done in defence

of international rights.

We pay tribute to the people of Bosnia and

Herzegovina, who have defended their entity and their

3

honourable ideals of tolerance and justice through more

than four years of aggression and genocide. We reiterate

our commitment to the unity of the territory of Bosnia and

Herzegovina, and to its sovereignty within its

internationally recognized borders. We likewise call upon

all parties to completely implement the provisions of the

Dayton Agreement and make efforts to bring war criminals

to justice.

The State of Qatar welcomes the agreement reached to

put an end to the bloodshed in Chechnya, and we hope that

the parties concerned will work for the establishment of

peace and security in that region.

Developments in the world economy and the new

prospects they offer, starting with the signing of the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the

establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO),

require further measures to help fragile economies to

develop and to give momentum to the global economy.

It is important therefore to reconsider the issues of

the cost of weapons and the settlement of disputes by

peaceful means, such as preventive diplomacy and the

provision of the necessary material and human resources.

The costs saved in this manner must be rechannelled to

assist developing countries to bolster their economies and

raise the living standards of their citizens. Assistance from

developed and rich countries should be used to combat

poverty and underdevelopment.

The issues of poverty, underdevelopment and

deprivation also threaten the environment. The

overpopulation of our world has been a constant threat for

many years and can only lead to a deterioration of the

environment and to the spread of poverty in many countries

of the world. Huge resources are squandered on non-

essentials that cannot help to bridge the gap between rich

and poor countries. The situation is getting more serious

every day, and we should all be aware that a solution to

these problems requires a reconsideration of the

squandering of these resources in ways that do not alleviate

human suffering or even meet human needs in poor

countries all over the world. Developed countries and

international organizations should bear the responsibility in

finding the proper solutions to these problems to raise the

standard of living of poor peoples. The new world order

should not add to suffering and poverty in poor countries.

We reaffirm our confidence in the United Nations and

our support for this unique international institution that

bears the responsibility of dealing with grave humanitarian,

social, economic and political problems and that attempts

to find effective solutions to these problems in accordance

with the high ideals contained in the Charter for the

establishment of a peaceful, secure and prosperous world

in which cooperation should prevail.