Qatar, 2025

The Assembly will hear an address by His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar. I request protocol to escort His Highness and invite him to address the Assembly. In the name of God, most compassionate, most merciful, Your Excellency, President of the General Assembly, Your Excellency, Mr. Secretary General, may the peace of God be upon you. The United Nations has been established eight decades ago on the basis of principles that humanity has reached after two world wars. These rules are based on the maintenance of international peace and security and the respect for human dignity and state sovereignty and a non-interference in internal affairs and to cooperate for the benefit of our peoples. This means if we allow violations to continue, it means allowing the rule of the jungle where perpetrators and violators enjoy benefits just because they can. This is the political realism that we are facing that has been reduced to the ability to impose a status quo. This is a crisis. Such conduct finds that violators consider that tolerating them is a weakness. What must prioritize the discussion in the international community now is how to restore collective security as per the UN Charter and how to restore the legitimacy of the international system. Your Excellencies, as you know, Doha on the 9th of September has suffered a treacherous attack that targeted the negotiating delegation of Hamas in a residential neighborhood that includes schools and diplomatic missions. As a result of this attack, six martyrs have fallen including a Qatari national who serves in the internal security forces and 18 people have been injured. This aggression was a violation against our sovereignty and a blatant violation that is unjustified of international law. But the whole world was shocked because of the circumstances of this heinous act which we have classified as state terrorism. Unlike the claim of the Prime Minister of Israel, this attack is not a legitimate right to follow perpetrators of terrorism. It is an act of a diplomacy that is dedicated to political assassinations and it undermines any diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the genocide against the people in Gaza. It is also an attempt to kill politicians who are members of a delegation that engages in negotiations with Israel while they were studying an American proposal. As you know, Qatar hosts, as a mediator during the negotiations, hosts delegations of Hamas and Israel. Qatari mediation has in fact achieved in cooperation with Egypt and the USA the release of hostages and the last agreement was negated by Israel unilaterally, preventing an ability to reach a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages and the withdrawal of the occupying forces from the Gaza Strip and the humanitarian access and the release of Palestinian prisoners. They visit our country and plot to attack it. They negotiate with delegations and plot to assassinate the members of the negotiation teams. It is difficult to cooperate with such a mentality that does not respect the most minimum standards of cooperation. It is impossible. Is this not the definition of a rote government? They consider negotiations a continuation of war in other means and a way to delude the Israeli public opinion. If the release of Israeli hostages is the end of war, the government of Israel is abandoning the notion of releasing the hostages. Their goal is to destroy Gaza so that it is unlivable and where no one can study or receive treatment, in other words, and the viability of the Gaza Strip to displace its population. Therefore, the Israeli leader wants to continue war. He believes in what is called greater Israel. He believes that war is an opportunity to expand settlements and to change the status quo in the holy sites, in Al-Quds Sharif. He also plots for attacks in the West Bank and expansion. This imposition is the goal of this war. This treacherous attack against the sovereignty of a Gulf state thousands of miles away has confirmed that the Israeli Prime Minister, who takes pride in changing the face of the Middle East, reveals a manifestation of Israel's ability to intervene wherever, however it desires. Arab countries and Muslim countries that have held an emergency summit in Doha have warned against the consequences of this delusion. Israel is not a democratic country surrounded by enemies, but in fact it is an enemy to its surrounding neighbors and it's engaged in a genocide and its leader is proud of preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state and he promises that such a state will never be established and he takes pride in preventing peace with the Palestinians and that he will prevent such peace in the future. Israel is surrounded by states either who have signed a peace agreement or who are committed to the Arab Peace Initiative, but Israel does not make do with truces and settlements. It desires to impose its will on its surrounding Arab neighbors and everyone who opposes its will is either anti-semitic or a terrorist. Even Israel's allies realize this fact and reject it and here we are today where we witness an international solidarity movement that is similar to the international movement against apartheid last century and I would be remiss not to express my appreciation with the solidarity we have received in Qatar after the attack including the statement by the Security Council that has condemned the attack. Distinguished excellencies, Qatar will remain true to its history and legacy opposing the crimes that take place we believe in the ability of reconciling interests with security. We will continue to speak truth and we will engage in diplomacy when our enemies find it easier to use weapons. We have engaged to mediate an end to the war and allow for humanitarian access and release hostages and we have faced disinformation campaigns. However, these campaigns will not deter us. We will continue our efforts in cooperation and partnership with Egypt and the United States of America. We are firmly convinced that peace can only be achieved in our region through a firm position from the Security Council from accepting and tolerating the occupation's crimes until allowing to the Palestinian people to enjoy their right to self-determination and establish their state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the borders of 1967 as per UN resolutions and the two-state solution that has been the consensus of the international community. We appreciate the role of states that have recognized the state of Palestine. There is no doubt that such recognition is morally important because it sends a message that violence and more violence will not succeed in liquidating a just cause such as the cause of Palestine and we urge more states to recognize the state of Palestine. We believe that instability knows no border and that humanity's destiny is intertwined. Therefore, Qatar has continued its diplomatic efforts to contribute to the settlement of other crises such as in Ukraine and wars in Africa and our persistence have continued with partners in Africa in order to draft peace agreements. Most importantly was the signing of a declaration of principles in Doha between the DRC and the Congo River Alliance in March. Our efforts support the leadership of the U.S. to achieve a peace agreement in the east of the country and Qatar will continue to engage as an international partner in order to achieve the peaceful settlement of conflicts and to seize opportunities to establish global peace. Your Excellencies, some states in our region still suffer the lack of security and stability. However, there is hope through some positive developments in our dear Syria since the end of last year is going through a new phase that we hope will be a path towards achieving the aspirations of the Syrian people towards stability, development, and the rule of law. After the end of a dark phase of the country's history, Egypt has stood by the Syrian people throughout the previous years. I recalled and urged to support Syria from this podium even when it seemed to fall off the international agenda. The international community is called upon to assist Syria now in order to succeed through the transition phase after decades of suffering. Our experience in other Arab countries has taught us that building state institutions and establishing relations between a state and others is based on equality and internal stability on the basis of respect for diversity are paramount issues at this stage. Qatar will not spare an effort to provide the necessary support to our brothers and sisters in Syria and we have no doubt that the Syrians will be able to overcome this phase and to reject sectarianism in all its forms and that they will reject external interference, especially the Israeli attempts to divide Syria and the conduct of Israel that is as though all areas south of Damascus are areas of Israeli influence. The Middle East has also witnessed positive developments through the election of President Imad Joseph Aoun in Lebanon and the appointment of Mr. Nawsalam as a Prime Minister, which is a step towards stability in the country. Qatar will continue to support Lebanon, government and people and institutions and will continue to support the Lebanese army. We emphasize the need to implement Security Council Resolution 1701 and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the areas that occupied during the last war and to end Israeli interference in internal Lebanese affairs. For Sudan, the people in Sudan continue to suffer an unprecedented humanitarian crisis because of the continued violence. We call once again on all parties to prioritize the national interest and to engage in a comprehensive dialogue that leads to a permanent peace and that preserves the unity of Sudan and its territorial integrity and independence and that achieves development and stability. We declare our support for all international efforts that aim to achieve this goal. Distinguished Excellencies, Doha has always been a global capital that hosts major events in all spheres and an area where leaders convene and decision makers from around the world to engage in negotiations and the formulation of solutions. Doha will host the Second World Summit for Social Development from the 4th to 6th November this year and we look forward to welcoming you all during this conference. There is no doubt that the trust of the international community in Qatar is based on our successes in the past throughout the years and accordingly based on this legacy we have submitted our application to host the Olympics believing that sports is not just competition but a bridge between cultures and a means to promote peace and understanding and as such we have also organized and hosted the FIFA World Cup proving that we are able of hosting sporting events of this magnitude. In conclusion, the state of Qatar realizing the seriousness of the challenges facing the international community commits to our partnership in seeking truth, peace and justice in international relations. Thank you and may the peace of God be upon you. On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the Emir of the state of Qatar. Thank you.