Saudi Arabia, 2012

At the outset, it gives me great pleasure

to convey to Mr. Vuk Jeremić my sincere congratulations

on his election as President of the General Assembly at

its sixty-seventh session. We wish him every success

in the performance of his duties and responsibilities,

particularly under the current critical circumstances

in which the international community finds itself at

present. I would also take this opportunity to express

my deep gratitude and appreciation to his predecessor,

Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of

the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session, who

fulfilled his mandate with wisdom and professionalism.

Moreover, it gives me pleasure to commend once more

the great efforts of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in

serving the Organization and promoting its message

aimed at achieving international peace and security,

especially under difficult and critical circumstances.

The Palestinian issue, which is at the core of the

Arab-Israeli conflict, has been a constant challenge

for the United Nations since its inception more than

60 years ago. The cause of the stalemate is Israel’s

attitude. We all know how intransigent Israel has been

in its positions, which have undermined negotiations

and have emptied all discussions of any meaning.

Moreover, Israel has taken unilateral actions that could

lead to more complications in the occupied Palestinian

territories and to undermining the efforts of Arab

countries and others in the international community

to reach a just, comprehensive and lasting solution by

establishing an independent, viable and contiguous

Palestinian State, with Jerusalem as its capital.

The situation requires that the international

community, as represented by the United Nations,

move quickly in order to put an end to the calamity that

the situation represents for the Palestinian people and

provide all manner of support and assistance for the

Palestinian Authority. My country finds that Palestine

must receive full membership in the United Nations, as

that is its natural and legitimate right, and we should all

help the Palestinians to achieve that objective. For its

part, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is sparing no effort

in fulfilling its commitment to the peace process with

respect to our Palestinian brethren by providing various

types of support and assistance.

The issue of Syria is a very complex and exacerbated

one and has led to the killing and displacement of tens

of thousands of people. The international community

has shown its inability to act, because of divisions in the Security Council and because of the failure of all

Arab and international initiatives as a result of the

intransigence of the Syrian regime, which still believes

that it can use the power of its security apparatus to

end the crisis without taking into account the high

humanitarian cost.

Since the first day of the crisis, my country has

been dealing with it in accordance with the framework

and resolutions of international legitimacy and with

full respect for the principles of human rights and

international humanitarian law, through the Gulf

Cooperation Council, the League of Arab States, the

United Nations and the outcomes of the Organization

of Islamic Cooperation summit meeting, held in Mecca

in August, on the status of Syria.

The success of Joint Special Representative Lakhdar

Brahimi’s efforts will depend on the implementation of

a new strategy and a clear plan that aims at achieving a

peaceful transition of power. The Security Council must

provide him with the support he needs to deal with the

Syrian crisis at both the political and the humanitarian

levels.

We call upon our brothers in Yemen to continue to

take the same positive and constructive approach and to

stand against any foreign interference in their internal

affairs in order to achieve security and stability and

economic development throughout Yemen. Meanwhile,

we call upon the international community to fulfil its

pledges to Yemen by providing it with all forms of

support and assistance to achieve those goals. Saudi

Arabia reaffirms its full support for all international

efforts undertaken in that context. We hosted the donors’

conference, held earlier this month, and participated

in the Friends of Yemen conference held at the United

Nations on 27 September 2012.

The Iranian nuclear crisis is one of the most

important challenges threatening international peace

and security in general and the security and stability

of the Arab Gulf region in particular. In that context,

my country supports the ongoing efforts of the five

plus one group to peacefully resolve the crisis in a

manner that guarantees Iran and all countries in the

region the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy,

in accordance with the criteria and procedures of the

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and

under its supervision. On the other hand, we urge

Iran to respond to those efforts and to implement the

relevant Security Council resolutions by cooperating with IAEA inspectors monitoring its nuclear facilities

in order to put an end to the crisis.

In that regard, Saudi Arabia reaffirms the

importance of making the Middle East a zone free

from nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass

destruction. We also stress the need for Israel to place

its nuclear facilities under the international inspection

and safeguards of the IAEA and to sign the Treaty on

the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The security and stability of the Arab Gulf region

will be reached only through the establishment of

good relations based on good-neighbourliness and

constructive cooperation. Also, Iran must end its

occupation of the three islands belonging to the United

Arab Emirates. We must solve that issue peacefully,

either through bilateral negotiations or by referring the

issue to the International Court of Justice.

The phenomenon of terrorism is one of the most

important challenges that we currently face and the most

important issue confronting the entire international

community. We must eliminate terrorism in all its forms

and sources. In order to fight that scourge and uproot

it completely, the efforts of the Kingdom have not

been limited to fighting it locally. We have reinforced

efforts at all levels, whether regional or international,

including by hosting an international conference in

2005 that resulted in many recommendations, including

the establishment of the United Nations Counter-

Terrorism Centre, which was launched in New York on

19 September 2011.

Our world today urgently needs to spread the

culture of tolerance and understanding and dialogue

between the followers of different religions. Our

efforts in that regard are led by the Custodian of the

Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz

Al-Saud, aimed at achieving a dialogue between

religions and cultures. That was reflected in the 2008

World Conference on Dialogue, held in Madrid. There

was also a call for a high-level meeting hosted by the

United Nations to promote dialogue and tolerance

between different cultures and religions. Our call for

mutual understanding, the acceptance of others and

coexistence has led to the establishment in Vienna of the

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for

Dialogue among Followers of Religions and Cultures.

In addition, the foresight of the Custodian of the Two

Holy Mosques was demonstrated by his announcement

of the establishment of a centre for dialogue among Islamic sects at the fourth special session of the Islamic

Summit Conference, held in Mecca in August 2012.

In that regard, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

strongly condemns the production by an irresponsible

group of an offensive movie about the Prophet

Muhammad — peace be upon him. The Kingdom

asserts its rejection of all acts that offend or disdain

religions and their sacred symbols. In that context, the

Kingdom renews its call to enact the necessary laws

and legislation that forbid the defamation and disdain

of religions and their sacred symbols.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

condemns the acts of violence against the United States

foreign missions and any attack against any foreign or

diplomatic mission around the world for any reason,

regardless of the disagreement involved. Such acts

prevent missions from carrying out their diplomatic

functions and international interests.

In the light of the ongoing discussion on the question

of global economic, social and human development, the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through its participation

in the Group of Twenty, emphasizes its support of

the efforts aiming to stabilize the global economy, to

advance world trade, to take further action to liberalize

trade and to avoid protectionist policies that impede the

efforts to end the global financial crisis. Meanwhile,

we should not ignore the matter of helping developing

States to overcome the consequences of that crisis.

Furthermore, my country believes that efforts

to reform the international financial, monetary and

trade system should be channelled through existing institutions in order to build a global economic system

that is based on a new partnership between developing

and developed countries. That partnership should

be established on the basis of cooperation, justice,

equality, transparency and mutual benefits.

Concerning energy security, the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia has spared no effort in the pursuit of stability in

the world oil markets in a manner that has served the

development and growth of the global economy. In that

regard, we cannot ignore the fact that energy security

is not limited to the security of supply, but includes the

security of demand as well. My country believes that

there should be a dialogue between energy producers and

consumers in order to avoid volatility and speculation

in prices, and to avoid imposing discriminatory taxes

on oil. We welcome the establishment of the Secretariat

of the International Energy Forum headquarters in

Riyadh in order to promote such dialogue.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as one of the United

Nations founding countries, has since its inception

participated in its meetings and conferences on the

basis of its belief in the Organization’s noble principles

and the role it can play in service to humanity and its

advancement.

In conclusion, I would like to reaffirm that the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be at the vanguard of

any international efforts aimed at implementing and

achieving the principles and purposes of the United

Nations and achieving the security, stability and

prosperity to which we all aspire.