Egypt, 2009

Mr. President, on behalf of the African continent, allow

me at the outset to congratulate our sisterly country,

Libya, and you personally, on your assumption of the

presidency of the General Assembly, and to express our

confidence that your leadership will lead to achieving

the success to which we aspire. I would also like to

reaffirm the full support of Egypt and the Non-Aligned

Movement for you in the fulfilment of your mission.

Our session this year convenes against the

backdrop of international crises unprecedented in their

nature and scope. The list of global challenges we are

facing, such as climate change, the food crisis and the

crises in international peace, is supplemented by

additional emerging global challenges that make it

essential for us to redouble our efforts in a coordinated

and collective manner.

The global financial crisis, together with the

spread of diseases, such as the H1N1 virus, threatens

public health worldwide. Meeting this challenge

requires a high degree of conscientious collective work

and a shared awareness of the effect that such a crisis

could have in many of our countries on stability in the

economic, social, even political, and perhaps security

spheres.

With regard to collective work on the

international level, we should not overlook the fact that

the current international structures designed to manage

the realities of the global economy must reflect a

balance between the present and future. Therefore,

those structures must be subject to change, so as to

become more compatible with current reality.

The change I refer to here is a gradual and

strategic shift, one which would make membership in

41 09-52586

such structures accessible to a larger number of

developing countries and would grant them a stronger

and more effective voice in determining the course of

the world economic order and its future.

A few days ago, we all took part in the climate

change summit, convened upon the initiative of the

Secretary-General, and listened to all the pledges made

and the concerns expressed. While Egypt is aware of

the seriousness of the phenomenon in question and the

gravity of the challenges that climate change is

imposing on all of us, we believe in the possibility that

collective work could provide new opportunities for

advancing development in developing societies in a

manner that would allow the agreed sustainable

development principles to be fulfilled. In this respect,

we look forward, as was stated by President Mubarak

at the L’Aquila summit in Italy in July 2009, to

arriving at a fair and balanced deal at the upcoming

Copenhagen conference in December that would take

into consideration the aspirations and rights of

developing countries and, at the same time, address all

crucial issues, including mitigation, adaptation,

financing and technology transfer.

A fair and balanced deal should further ensure the

fulfilment of commitments by developed countries, and

enable our developing countries to implement their

voluntary commitments within the framework of

honest application of the principle of common but

differentiated responsibility.

The world financial crisis did not originate in, nor

was it caused by, developing countries. However, they

are all suffering from its consequences in different

forms and at different levels as a result of the decrease

in the volume of international trade, the tightening of

international credit terms and the decline in tourist

inflows and monetary remittances.

The current international economic recession has

no doubt negatively affected most States. However,

States of the South remain the most affected, due to the

negative repercussions of the recession on public

spending in health care, education and sustainable

development in general. The parallel economic,

financial and food crises that we are still confronting

undoubtedly compound the hardships faced by the

countries of the South in particular, and place

enormous burdens on us in terms of preserving

economic and social security in our countries.

To confront such challenges, serious and genuine

international support and solidarity are required, based

on enhancing agricultural development with a view to

increasing production and productivity. Furthermore,

there is an urgent need to launch an international

dialogue between exporting and importing countries in

the developing and developed worlds alike, in order to

agree on an international strategy to confront the crisis,

and to formulate an international code of conduct to

review the policies that govern the use of biofuels. In

addition, we must reach an agreement under the

umbrella of the World Trade Organization that

eliminates agricultural subsidy programmes that are in

operation in some developed countries.

To confront the energy crisis, it is important to

have a genuine, broad dialogue among the relevant

parties to identify the best available options. The

situation requires securing increased development

assistance and further investments in the markets of

energy-producing developing countries, as well as

confronting irresponsible speculation on international

markets.

In this context, Egypt hopes that the 2010 high-

level meeting to follow up on the implementation of

the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will

expedite renewal of international commitment and

solidarity towards achieving the Goals. A

comprehensive assessment of what has been achieved

thus far in the implementation of the MDGs must be

carried out and a mechanism established to follow up

on implementation. This should lead to full

implementation by 2015, particularly in Africa, which

is witnessing low implementation rates, an issue which

needs to be effectively addressed.

Undoubtedly, all of these challenges oblige the

countries of the South to strengthen mutual

cooperation. As current Chair of the Non-Aligned

Movement, Egypt will work to enhance South-South

cooperation in coordination with the Group of 77 and

China. We look forward to a successful United Nations

conference on South-South cooperation, to be held in

Kenya later this year, aimed at further strengthening

this cooperation.

Having spoken of the interlinked crises facing the

world today, I would like to address an important issue

related to the human rights architecture of the United

Nations system. Despite the radical reform ushered in

by the establishment of the Human Rights Council,

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Egypt is still dissatisfied with respect to the

politicization of human rights issues. This

politicization weakens the potential to reach consensus

on a variety of issues that should not be subject to

differences as they are of concern to us all and affect

the credibility of the work of the United Nations in this

vital field. Hence, Egypt is determined to exert its

utmost effort to engage with other States in order to

bring divergent views closer together and to establish

common ground to restore the international consensus

that binds us all, which forms the basis for our actions

in this important area in the Human Rights Council and

in the General Assembly.

In that context, we look forward to a greater role

for the Human Rights Council. Every one of us should

address the issue of the incitement of religious hatred

and racism under the pretext of freedom of expression.

We look forward to, and in fact have already begun to

seek, commonly agreed language for a draft resolution

on freedom of expression, to underscore the

importance of this freedom as an indispensable

cornerstone of any democratic society, while avoiding

the depiction of acts of incitement to religious, racial

and other forms of hatred as legitimate acts of freedom

of expression. We categorically reject such a depiction.

Turning to issues of international peace and

security, I will begin with disarmament. Egypt attaches

great importance to a successful conclusion of the 2010

Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), in the

hope that nuclear disarmament and the nuclear

non-proliferation regime will be put back on the right

track. This will depend on dealing effectively with the

decisions and the resolutions of the 1995 and 2000

Review Conferences, in particular the resolution on the

Middle East.

It is crucial that the international community as a

whole support the current active momentum in the

international arena with regard to disarmament issues,

especially in the light of developments in the positions

of the main nuclear-weapon States, in particular the

United States. We have listened to their statements, in

particular the address by President Obama to the

Assembly on 23 September (see ), and we

hope that these evolving positions will provide an

opportunity for making historic progress in this regard.

In the same context, it is necessary to effectively

deal with the issues of regional stability and security,

mainly through eliminating the incomprehensible and

unjustified lassitude in dealing with the issue of Israeli

nuclear capabilities and the persistent threat they pose

to security and stability in the Middle East. This is

especially true in the context of intensified efforts to

expand the commitments of the non-nuclear States

parties to the NPT, without due regard for the need to

achieve the Treaty’s universality — and if there is no

commitment, there should be no universality — and to

subject all nuclear facilities in the Middle East to the

comprehensive safeguards regime of the International

Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Egypt will continue its

diligent work to address this situation in all relevant

international forums and to highlight the risks, with the

aim of effecting changes in the situation.

The situation in the Middle East region is still

dominated by considerable tension, a tendency towards

confrontation and lack of stability. Notwithstanding the

tireless efforts exerted to stabilize the situation, many

parties still consider it beneficial to exacerbate that

tension.

The question of Palestine clearly remains far

from being resolved, despite international concern and

all the serious efforts, pressure, contacts, visits and

meetings. Since I questioned in this Assembly last year

(see A/63/PV.13) the existence of genuine Israeli

determination to achieve a just peace with the

Palestinians, events have thus far justified our

scepticism.

Throughout this year, Israel has shown a lack of

the political will necessary to engage in serious and

credible negotiations that aim at reaching a final

settlement to the conflict, a settlement which

encompasses all the elements, tracks and topics and

which leads to the establishment of an independent

Palestinian State on the complete Palestinian national

territory, occupied since 1967, with East Jerusalem as

its capital.

In this respect, I would like to sum up the

Egyptian view of the situation with the following

elements, including what we hope to achieve.

First, intensive work during the coming period is

necessary in order to resume the negotiating process as

soon as possible. The international community should

put forward a formula for a final settlement to the

conflict — the so-called end game — cognizant of the

need to waste no more time in studying details that

43 09-52586

everyone knows will not help to realize the desired

settlement.

Secondly, Israel’s commitment to completely

freeze settlement activity in all occupied Palestinian

territories, including East Jerusalem, must be secured,

not only because such activity is contrary to

international law and should be halted, but also in

order to build a climate of trust between the two

parties, thus allowing final-status negotiations to bear

fruit. Such Israeli commitment would pave the way to

restoring lost credibility in efforts to achieve peace. On

the other hand, any retreat from that commitment

would inflict severe harm on the prospects for peace in

the coming period.

Thirdly, the freeze of Israeli settlement activity

should occur simultaneously and in parallel with the

negotiations, in order to bolster Palestinian trust in

Israeli intentions.

Fourthly, if an agreement is reached on the final

borders of the State to be established on the Palestinian

national soil occupied in 1967, on the understanding

that the State’s borders are essentially those of 1967, as

had been agreed by both parties during the 2008

negotiations with the participation of the United States,

that agreement could be gradually implemented at a

pace to be agreed upon by both parties and within a

time-bound framework.

Fifthly, East Jerusalem is an integral part of the

occupied Palestinian territories. As one of the issues to

be included in final status negotiations, it should under

no circumstances be excluded from any future

negotiations.

Sixthly, Israel’s engagement in a serious,

credible, clear and time-bound negotiating process

would restore the situation on other issues to that

which prevailed in the 1990s in terms of Arab

interaction with Israel, with a view to enhancing

mutual trust and thus boosting negotiating efforts as a

whole.

Egypt is closely following the situation in sisterly

Sudan with the same high level of interest, not only

because of the historical bonds between our two

peoples and nations but also out of concern for the

Sudan’s future, stability and territorial integrity and our

awareness of the numerous threats facing it. Egypt is

working earnestly with all Sudanese parties, foremost

among which is the Sudanese Government, and in

coordination with influential regional and international

stakeholders to resolve existing problems. Our sons

take part in the United Nations forces in South Sudan

and in Darfur, and we contribute — out of our limited

resources — to efforts to support development and

provide health care to our brothers and sisters in the

south and west of the Sudan. We hope that the

Sudanese people, in their wisdom and with the support

they receive from their neighbours and international

partners, will be able to weather the upcoming critical

phase, so that the Sudan’s unity can withstand all

future tests and so that unity becomes the first and the

most attractive option for all Sudanese. This is an

important objective, which Egypt is working diligently

to achieve.

We cannot conclude our comments on the Middle

East without referring to security in the Arab Gulf

region, which is among Egypt’s main interests and at

the top of its foreign policy priorities. This focus is not

only based on the strong bonds that connect us with the

member States of the Gulf Cooperation Council

(GCC), but also on our firm conviction that Egypt

represents a strategic asset for its Arab brothers in the

Gulf area. For this reason, Egypt will work with GCC

countries to ensure Arab regional security and that any

security arrangements that are being contemplated by

international or regional parties will correspond fully

to the needs and concerns of the Arab Gulf States.

In conclusion, the fifteenth Summit Conference

of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned

Countries, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on 15 and

16 July 2009, adopted four main declarations. The first

is the Sharm el-Sheikh Declaration, which contains our

member States’ clear vision on the most critical current

issues that constitute a priority for our work within the

United Nations. These include in particular the issues

of disarmament and international security,

peacekeeping and peacebuilding, human rights and

democracy, the right of peoples to self-determination,

the situation in the Middle East and the Palestinian

question, the reform of the United Nations, unilateral

sanctions, the global financial and economic crisis,

internationally agreed development goals, food

security, Africa’s special needs, diseases and

pandemics, the role of civil society, climate change,

energy, human trafficking, international terrorism and

dialogue among civilizations and religions. The second

declaration is on the necessity of ending the economic,

commercial and financial embargo imposed by the

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United States of America against Cuba. The third is on

designating 18 July as International Nelson Mandela

Day. The fourth is a declaration on Palestine. These

declarations will be issued as official documents of the

United Nations.

Last July, following the chairmanship of the

friendly country of Cuba, Egypt assumed leadership of

the Non-Aligned Movement for the next three years.

We are determined to implement the provisions of the

Summit’s final document according to the priorities set

out in those declarations. We shall put forward at this

session the pertinent draft resolutions and decisions to

implement those documents. The delegation of Egypt

will be pleased to work with all Member States in a

spirit of openness and determination to make this

session a success. We extend a hand to all States with

an open mind and the resolve to achieve success on the

international agenda before us.