Lebanon, 2004

As the

head of Lebanon's delegation to the General Assembly,

I am pleased to congratulate Mr. Ping on his election as

President of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth

session. I wish him success in his presidency. I also

want to acclaim the special relationship that my

country has with his and to express our gratitude for

the support which his country, Gabon, gives to our

large Lebanese community working there and enjoying

its hospitality.

I also wish to thank his predecessor, Mr. Julian

Hunte, for his effective leadership as President of the

Assembly at the fifty-eighth session.

Secretary-General Annan has earned our respect

and appreciation for the efforts he has made to further

the United Nations goal of working for a just, secure

and peaceful world.

In past years, we in Lebanon used to come to this

forum seeking United Nations help. The United

Nations has always come to our support, adopting

resolutions affirming Lebanonís independence,

sovereignty and territorial integrity. We must express

our gratitude to the United Nations for dispatching the

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, stationed on

our frontiers with Israel, and for the continuing and

effective aid we get from the Organizationís

specialized agencies.

Today, we come to this forum with a different

objective. Our country is in good shape. It has regained

its position in the region. We have moved from

destruction to construction, from rule by the militias to

the rule of law, from anarchy to stability and security,

and from division to unity. In the 1970s and 1980s,

ìLebanonizationî became a bad word. It stood for

anarchy and infighting. Now, however,

ìLebanonizationî has regained its true, original

meaning as a term standing for democracy, freedom,

pluralism and recognition of the other.

Early this month, the Security Council adopted its

resolution 1559 (2004), concerning Lebanon. The

resolution has two dimensions, one regional, the other

internal. As for the regional dimension, the resolution

calls for the withdrawal of all foreign forces still in

Lebanon. There are Israeli forces occupying part of

Lebanon: the Shebaía farms and the surrounding area.

Together with the rest of the Assembly, we call for the

immediate withdrawal of those forces. From this

rostrum, we also call upon Israel to halt its daily

violations of our airspace.

There are also Syrian forces in Lebanon. Those

forces are on our territory at the request of the

Lebanese Government and in accordance with

agreements signed by the two parties. Lebanon will

accept the presence of those troops as long as the

security situation in the region merits it. It is Lebanonís

policy that not a single non-Lebanese soldier should

remain on its soil. Our disagreement with the United

Nations concerning the withdrawal of Syrian forces

lies in the timing of the withdrawal; it is not a

disagreement on the principle of withdrawal. The

timing is under continuous discussion between the

Lebanese and Syrian Governments; it will depend on

their assessment of the security situation in the region.

It is also the policy of Lebanon to support the national

resistance movement, which played an important role

in forcing Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon.

As for the Council's resolution's internal

dimension - relating to the amendment of our

Constitution - we consider it an unacceptable

intervention in our internal affairs. Our Constitution,

which was promulgated in 1926, may be the oldest

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democratic constitution in the entire Middle East.

Successive Lebanese Parliaments have amended it

many times, always in accordance with its own

amendment mechanisms and by absolute majorities.

Lebanon is a civilized democratic country. It

abides by international law and reveres the moral

principles and values on which it is based. My country

was a founding Member of the United Nations in 1945.

It played a leading role in the formulation of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. And,

from this rostrum, Lebanon has exposed and opposed

all destructive and disruptive ideologies and

movements that we felt impeded the course of

civilization and the future of humanity.

Today, we stand together with the United Nations

in opposing international terrorism in all its forms.

Lebanon has witnessed the horrors of terrorism on its

soil; it has witnessed innocent people being kidnapped,

tortured and killed. It knows what terrorism is all

about, and, as a result of first-hand knowledge, it

condemns it in the strongest terms. We also condemn

those who wilfully confuse terrorism with the struggle

for national liberation and independence. There are

those who exploit the universal revulsion against

terrorism to smear national liberation movements by

branding them as terrorist. National liberation is a right

and an honour; terrorism is a crime and cowardice.

Lebanon has recovered its stability and freedom.

We are not here to ask anything specific for ourselves.

We do, however, ask that the United Nations devote

more attention to our region. The region is in turmoil,

and it looks to the United Nations to help establish

peace. The Organization has been granted legitimacy

by all nations in its quest to ensure peace and stability.

We ask the following of the United Nations. First,

the Organization should increase its efforts to solve the

Middle East problem. It should do so by implementing

its resolutions concerning Israel's withdrawal from the

territories it occupied in 1967, by giving the

Palestinians an independent sovereign State and by

ensuring the return of Palestinian refugees to their

homeland. The more the Middle East conflict is

allowed to fester, the more difficult it will be to resolve

and the more danger and war there will be in the

region.

Secondly, the United Nations should assume

greater responsibility in resolving the violent conflict

in Iraq and in restoring peace, stability and unity to the

Iraqis. The Iraqis have suffered greatly, and they

deserve strong and continuing support from the United

Nations so that they can build a free, just and

democratic order.

Thirdly, the Organization should help the Middle

East region to achieve a new stable order based on just

and equitable solutions and on the right to self-

determination, since that region is the birthplace of the

three monotheistic religions. The United Nations

should also put an end to the arms race and to the

waste of capabilities and rid the region of weapons of

mass destruction.

Fourthly, the United Nations should encourage

the establishment of civil organizations as a necessary

first step in the process of reform and democratization.

It is difficult to build an accountable democratic

system without diverse and pluralistic civil institutions.

Democracy is based on political parties, trade unions,

civil institutions, humanitarian organizations and

associations of all kinds, which are the foundations of

reform and democracy.

Lebanon has a clear vision about the future of the

region and of its civilization. It wants to play a decisive

role in that future, as it did in forging an Eastern

civilization in the region, based on the most profound

principles of Christianity and Islam.

Lebanon is an international country, bigger than

its size and population, due to its emigrants, who

inhabit every nook and cranny of the world. Wherever

they may be, the Lebanese are emissaries of innovation

and production. Some countries may take pride in

exporting weapons and in deploying armies, but

Lebanon, since the dawn of history, has prided itself on

exporting its precious young people, who, in all

continents, assume the highest posts in universities,

research centres, industries and businesses.

Lebanon supports the United Nations because of

its universal views on humanity and its future. In the

past, my country may have suffered precisely because

of its universalism, its openness and its freedom.

Because Lebanon has given much, Lebanon deserves

much.

Finally, I wish the General Assembly and its

Main Committees every success in addressing the

many important items on the agenda. Lebanon will

participate actively in all these proceedings, in any way

that will help to attain the objectives of the United

Nations and advance the universal cause of freedom

and peace.