Lebanon, 2000

It

gives me pleasure, Sir, to congratulate you on your

election as President of the General Assembly at its

fifty-fifth session. I am confident that your vast

experience and unswerving efforts will guarantee the

achievement of the best results at this session.

I would also like to thank your predecessor, Mr.

Theo-Ben Gurirab, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the

Republic of Namibia, for having wisely and

successfully conducted the deliberations of the fifty-

fourth session. I would be remiss if I failed to express

to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, our thanks

and appreciation for his efforts to preserve the

principles and purposes of the Charter with a view to

consolidating the prospects for peace and stability

around the world.

A new century has been ushered in. Our peoples

and countries believe in the United Nations and in its

ability to embrace new visions and concepts. We have

high hopes that a reinvigorated Organization will

promote a new world order forged, in essence, by the

new forces at play. This will be a world order free from

the new power play in order to consolidate the

prospects for international peace and security in

different parts of the globe and to meet the costs of

development, which is the right of each and every

individual. This can only be accomplished if we

succeed in reactivating the central role of the United

Nations. The primary organs of the Organization,

namely, the Security Council and the Economic and

Social Council, must be entrusted with containing and

checking the dangers that face humanity and that

threaten its social and economic peace as well as its

security.

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I am pleased to announce that, towards the end of

next year, Lebanon will host the summit of the

International Organization of La Francophonie to be

held in the context of the Dialogue among

Civilizations. Lebanon's experience in coexistence, its

pluralistic nature and its openness to the world are, in

our view, the best expression of such a dialogue.

We all agree that the United Nations is an

indispensable international institution, notwithstanding

its inability to settle many disputes since its inception.

The United Nations has at times been lax in enforcing

its own resolutions, and at others it has been influenced

by the international balance of power, which made it

blind to the double standards at play. But what is

indisputable is that the United Nations, with its

mandates and its multifaceted world activities,

constitutes a major human achievement and tradition.

We must build upon this achievement by evincing the

necessary will to lead the world towards reconciliation

whilst maintaining the necessary balance between the

collective interests of States, large and small.

Our actions must be based on the principles of

solidarity, equality and justice enshrined in the Charter.

This is of particular importance at this crucial juncture

in our human existence. While vast regions of the

world are plagued by poverty, deprivation and disease,

others are enjoying a social and economic boom rarely

matched in the history of mankind. It is therefore

important to jump start the different United Nations

organs and specialized agencies, which have already

impressed us with daily records of achievement that

stand as a true measure of our collective spirit of

solidarity . This solidarity must be the cornerstone of a

new humanitarian world order capable of protecting the

individual and of respecting all aspects of his rights.

In this context, we highly value the steps taken to

restructure some of the development organs of the

Organization. Such steps have introduced into their

work programmes the concept of cooperation with the

institutions of civil society and with international

financial institutions, the private sector and the donor

community.

In the second half of May this year, Lebanon and

the United Nations witnessed a historic event when my

country recovered most of its occupied territories in the

south and in western Bekaa. Thanks to the resistance

and steadfastness of the Lebanese people and the

support of the international community, Israel had to

withdraw from these territories after a ferocious

occupation that lasted more than 22 years. It left behind

a trail of devastation and destruction of infrastructure,

private property and the environment, as well as a

collapse in local production centres. Lebanon has paid

dearly for its liberation. Thousands fell as martyrs on

the road to victory and thousands more were injured or

disabled.

Human and material losses were not confined to

the areas that were immediately under occupation. For

30 years, the Israeli arm of aggression has stretched far

to reach all Lebanese territories. Repeated Israeli

strikes terrorized our civilian population, destroyed

civilian and vital establishments and wreaked havoc on

our economic and service sectors. The Israeli

withdrawal came in the wake of 22 years of continued

refusal to comply with Security Council resolutions

425 (1978) and 426 (1978), which called upon Israel to

withdraw immediately and unconditionally from

Southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa to the

internationally recognized borders, with strict respect

for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political

independence of Lebanon.

For the first time since 1978, the United Nations

Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was allowed to

fulfil its mandate under resolution 425 (1978). To do

this, the United Nations had to identify a line for the

purpose of confirming the Israeli withdrawal.

Regrettably, in three locations, this line did not

conform to the internationally recognized boundary

line demarcated in 1923 between Palestine and

Lebanon under the French and British Mandates. The

United Nations border line also leaves the Shabaa

farmlands outside UNIFIL's area of operation in

Southern Lebanon.

Lebanon has seriously cooperated with the United

Nations to fulfil the requirements for the

implementation of Security Council resolution 425

(1978). Despite Israel's repeated violations of the

withdrawal line and its obstructive practices, which

hindered the deployment of the international work

force for weeks, the force was at long last able to

deploy, accompanied by the Lebanese armed forces.

At this juncture, I see it fit to recall Lebanon's

civilized stance and the wisdom and tolerance

graciously shown by its valiant people after its victory

and the withdrawal of the Israeli forces. Contrary to

dire predictions, no mayhem or acts of vengeance

3

ensued. This has earned us the appreciation and

admiration of the international community.

On this occasion, allow me to pay tribute to the

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi

Annan, to his assistants and to the officers and soldiers

of UNIFIL for the tireless and unswerving efforts they

have been making in fulfilment of their noble task and

in compliance with the resolutions of international

legitimacy.

In this context, I would like to underline the

importance of the following points. First, Lebanon

insists that its internationally recognized borders

remain intact. They are the borders demarcated in

accordance with the 1923 Paulet-Newcomb maps, and

reaffirmed later in the 1949 Israeli-Lebanese General

Armistice Agreement. Second, Lebanon confirms its

reservations on three locations on the blue line of

withdrawal adopted by the United Nations as the

withdrawal line. This reservation is included in the

report submitted by the Secretary-General to the

Security Council on 16 June 2000.

Third, Lebanon insists on its right to sovereignty

over the Shaba'a farmlands, which are an integral part

of Lebanese territories. Fourth, Lebanon insists on its

sovereignty and authority over the locations set by the

United Nations inside the United Nations

Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) line in the

Mount Hermon area.

Fifth, Lebanon demands the immediate release of

all Lebanese detainees from Israeli prisons. They are

kept as hostages in violation of the terms of the 1949

Fourth Geneva Convention, of the relevant Protocols

and of the Hague Convention of 1907. Lebanon

believes that the release of the detainees will be a

completion of the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and

will therefore be a fulfilment of Security Council

resolution 425 (1978).

Sixth, the liberation of Lebanese territories from

Israeli occupation shall remain compromised unless a

just solution is found to the problem of Palestinian

refugees residing in Lebanon. The solution lies in

allowing these refugees to return to their homeland, as

provided for in the resolutions of international

legitimacy.

Israel must compensate Lebanon for the human,

material and economic losses sustained as a result of

Israeli occupation and other acts of aggression, in

accordance with international and customary laws and

with the principles of the United Nations Charter. In

this regard, we recall Security Council resolution 262

(1968), which entitled Lebanon to appropriate redress

for the enormous destruction it suffered when Israel

attacked Beirut's International Airport in late 1968. In

that attack, Israel destroyed 13 civilian Lebanese

aircraft. The Lebanese firmly believe in their right to

receive adequate and fair reparations for the substantial

loss and devastation inflicted upon them after many

long years of occupation and repeated acts of

aggression. Those acts have been perpetrated by Israel

since 1978 in stark defiance of the will of the United

Nations.

Lebanon will therefore resort to the International

Court of Justice (ICJ), which is the proper organ to

which to address its claims. We hope that the ICJ will

be able to endorse our request for adequate reparations

and we appeal to the international community to

support our just and fair demands.

The question of the reconstruction and

rehabilitation of the Lebanese liberated territories

enjoys a high priority on the Lebanese agenda. It also

enjoys tangible international support. In this context, I

would like to recall the preparatory meeting of the

donor community, held in Beirut on 27 July in

cooperation with the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) and the support of the World Bank

and the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan. This

meeting was attended by representatives of 40 States

and international financial institutions. The participants

discussed the question of providing urgent financial

assistance to help restore normalcy to the liberated

territories. The preliminary deliberations were

promising and we hope to see them materialize at the

donors' conference to be held at the ministerial level in

October.

The Lebanese feel that the international

community did not exert adequate efforts to compel

Israel to comply with Security Council resolution 425

(1978), which called upon Israel to end its occupation a

long time ago. Due to this delay, Lebanon as a whole

had to suffer the dire consequences of occupation. Our

resources plummeted, our economy crumbled and our

people endured untold suffering. From this rostrum, I

appeal to the donor countries, to international financial

institutions and to the United Nations specialized

agencies to provide sufficient assistance for the

reconstruction and rehabilitation of South Lebanon.

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This will be a token of solidarity on behalf of the

international community.

We thought that the prospects for the realization

of a just and comprehensive peace in the region were

real following the recent rounds of negotiations.

Regrettably, the results were disappointing. The

negotiations for peace floundered and the process was

derailed on all tracks. This was due to the fact that the

Israeli leaders gave the logic of No's' precedence

over the principles of right and justice. This is

particularly unfortunate in the light of the many

achievements made in bringing the negotiations so

close to an optimal solution, especially on the Syrian

track.

The prerogatives of peace are not commensurate

with the Israeli No's'. These No's' run counter to the

resolutions of international legitimacy that provided for

the return to Syria of the entire Golan up to the line of

4 June 1967. These resolutions also recognized the

need to enable the Palestinian people to recover their

inalienable rights, including their right to self-

determination, the establishment of their independent

State on their own national soil, with Jerusalem as its

capital, and their right to return to their homeland in

Palestine.

The liberation of most of the Lebanese territories

from Israeli occupation will not affect Lebanon's

commitment to the process of peaceful settlement of

the Middle East question. Lebanon upholds its position

with regard to the inseparability of the Syrian and

Lebanese tracks. We believe that the opportunity for a

just and comprehensive peace remains, provided that

Israel complies with the resolutions of international

legitimacy and the Madrid terms of reference.

Lebanon believes that Israel has forfeited the

achievements made in its negotiations with the Arab

side due to the conflicting domestic agendas of various

Israeli political groups. This will hinder the settlement

process in the region, and will further compromise our

protracted pursuit of peace. Lebanon calls on the co-

sponsors of the peace process the United States and

the Russian Federation and the European Union to

renew their efforts to relaunch the peace process from

the point where it left off in 1996.

Lebanon cannot fail to stress once again that in

order to achieve a peaceful settlement, the Palestinian

refugees, particularly those hosted by Lebanon, must

be allowed to return to their homeland. Ignoring their

problem or attempting to resettle them in Lebanon will

further exacerbate the tension and the volatility of the

region. This would in turn threaten the prospects of a

just and lasting peace.

More than 10 years have passed since the Iraqi

invasion of Kuwait. Nevertheless, the question of the

release of the Kuwaiti detainees and prisoners of war

still awaits a solution. We in Lebanon have condemned

this invasion. We believe that, in addition to other

measures required of Iraq, the release of prisoners will

be an important step towards improving relations with

that country. Lebanon calls for lifting the sanctions

imposed on Iraq in order to alleviate the suffering of

the brotherly Iraqi people and to allow them to restore

their security, stability and prosperity.

There is a favourable trend in the relationship

between Iran and the Gulf States. That trend must be an

incentive to settle the dispute over three islands that

has been going on between the Islamic Republic of Iran

and the United Arab Emirates for over three decades. It

should be settled in the context of good-

neighbourliness and the common interests promoted by

the League of Arab States and the Organization of the

Islamic Conference.

The Millennium Summit was convened as part of

a global effort to foster the credibility of the United

Nations and its ability to seek solutions to the problems

of all countries and peoples. The international

Organization must be capable of keeping up with the

demands and challenges of the new millennium,

whenever and wherever they arise. The deliberations of

the Millennium Summit made it clear that what was at

stake was the individual. Attempts to arrive at a global

vision may differ in the details, but should definitely

agree on the substance. In our view, the Millennium

Declaration embodied creative ideas and principles that

must be embraced in a global blueprint and translated

into reality. Such a blueprint introduces novel

approaches to the purposes and working methods of the

United Nations.

Lebanon agrees with the conclusions of the

Summit. The main challenge we face today is to

guarantee that the benefits of globalization are shared

by all peoples of the world. The correct approach is for

us to stand united so that globalization and its

manifestations and results will have a human face.

Adequate controls must be developed and must take

into account the different cultures, traditions and real

5

needs of the peoples of the world. The costs and

benefits of globalization must be fairly and equally

distributed.

Lebanon also believes that the protection of our

common environment presents a different kind of

challenge. Careful strategies must be developed for

water-resource management, combating desertification,

respecting and preserving ecosystems and combating

environmental pollution. Those strategies must be

governed by new ethics. God has privileged Lebanon

with a scenic landscape and an optimal geographic

location. Regrettably, we have had our share of

environmental degradation. We therefore attach

increasing importance to environmental issues. Laws

are currently being enacted for the preservation of the

environment pursuant to the decisions of relevant

international conferences. We need the support of the

international community in our endeavours.

Development has become the main preoccupation

of the developing and least developed countries. It

must be linked to an open and just global trading

system within an institutional framework that

guarantees unobstructed investment and capital flows,

as well as the transfer of technology.

We must develop an international mechanism

within the United Nations to address the indebtedness

of developing countries.

In our view, there is an inherent link between the

maintenance of regional and international peace and

security and the process of development and peace-

building. Hotbeds of tension and protracted armed

conflict in some regions of Africa, the Balkans and the

Middle East impede the realization of integrated

development. Our international Organization must

therefore dedicate more efforts to defusing tensions and

to resolving crises by reforming and invigorating the

roles of its two primary organs, namely, the Security

Council and the Economic and Social Council.

In conclusion, Lebanon is a founding Member of

the United Nations and has contributed to the drafting

of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Today,

Lebanon looks forward to playing a distinct role in the

regional and international arenas. We are anxious to

reconstruct and rehabilitate our vital and civil

institutions and productive sectors after the liberation

of our land from the Israeli occupation. We in Lebanon

are striving for a just and comprehensive peace in the

Middle East that will bring back stability to our region

and allow us to play a positive role in building a new

world in which we aspire to live.