Lebanon, 2007

Allow me to congratulate

you, Mr. President on your election as President of

General Assembly at its sixty-second session. I wish

you every success. I would also like to offer my

gratitude to your predecessor, Sheikha Haya Al-Khalifa

for the outstanding job she has performed as the first

Arab woman to ever preside over this austere body.

Finally, I would like to thank His Excellency

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for all his efforts on

behalf of world peace and security.

A year ago, I spoke from this podium about

Israel’s brutalities against my country and its atrocious

33-day war. I had hoped then that those tragic events

that we had bitterly lived and suffered through in

Lebanon would pave the way for activating the Middle

East process based on the Arab Peace Initiative that

was endorsed at the Beirut Arab Summit in 2002.

Regrettably, nothing thrives in our region more

than violence and grudges, and nothing deafens more

than the sound of war, while all calls to stimulate the

peace process find no response. It is against that

gloomy background and with a mix of anticipation and

reservation that we await the results of the Middle East

peace conference that is to be held in the near future.

In that respect, I would like to reaffirm certain realities

that cannot be ignored in any settlement, because I

believe that unless we learn from our past mistakes, we

will not be able to take full advantage of present

opportunities.

First, for any settlement to the Middle East crisis

to succeed, it must be lasting, just and global.

Secondly, a viable solution must call for the

implementation of all United Nations resolutions that

pertain to the withdrawal of Israel from all occupied

Arab territories. Thirdly, paramount to all Arab rights

is the right of return of the Palestinian refugees in

accordance with resolution 194 (III) and the rejection

of all calls for their resettlement in their temporary host

countries.

The resettlement of the Palestinians is contrary to

the expressed will of world legitimacy as embodied in

the General Assembly. Moreover, and more specifically

in Lebanon, it would dangerously alter the delicate

balance of Lebanon’s existence as a nation based on

diversity and the coexistence of a large number of its

sects, which have lived side by side in harmony and

enjoyed mutual respect.

In this regard, Lebanon fully rejects efforts to

empty the Beirut Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 of its

contents, namely by excluding the right of return for

Palestinians. The Initiative, we believe, contains a

realistic and global solution to the Middle East

conflict, and its implementation could bring about

stability and security for all parties.

A year ago, the Security Council adopted resolution

1701 (2006), which put an end to Israel’s aggression

against Lebanon. We were quick to abide by that

resolution. Our armed forces have closely cooperated

with the units of the United Nations Interim Force in

Lebanon, as stipulated in their mission statements and as

recounted in the reports of the Secretary-General on the

implementation of resolution 1701 (2006).

Today, as I stand here again to reiterate

Lebanon’s commitment to implementing that

resolution, I wonder why we are still in the phase of

the cessation of hostilities and have not yet moved into

the ceasefire phase, as called for in the resolution. That

matter remains suspect to many Lebanese, especially

since Israel continues, up to this very moment, to

violate our land, sea and skies. So far, there have been

over 500 breaches since the adoption of the resolution.

I call upon the world community to remain vigilant

regarding any malicious intentions harboured by Israel

against Lebanon, as that could lead to another

conflagration in the region.

Despite the fact that the Lebanese recall with

pain, agony and distress last year’s destructive and

hostile war against their country, they are proud of

their national resistance and their army, who were able

to jointly claim a historic victory over one of the

world’s strongest military arsenals, which had violated

all international and ethical norms and wanted to

terminate Lebanon’s role as a nation characterized by

coexistence among all its religious sects.

With regard to securing the full implementation

of resolution 1701 (2006), we in Lebanon believe that

that will only happen when our nation regains its

occupied Sheba’a farms, the Kfar Shouba Hills and

some northern parts of the village of Ghajar; when we

secure the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli

jails; when Lebanon’s legitimate rights to its water

resources are restored; and when Lebanon is given

maps of the landmines and the sites of cluster bombs.

In this regard, we welcome efforts made by the

United Nations in terms of studying documents and

maps related to the Sheba’a farms, and we express our

relief over the progress made so far in verifying their

Lebanese identity. We look forward to practical

measures that would end Israeli occupation and hand

over those territories and water rights to Lebanon.

The United Nations has always shown Lebanon

special concern, and such concern is clearly manifested

in all United Nations resolutions on Lebanon. The

Lebanese, who reiterate their commitment to the

implementation of those resolutions, wish to see those

resolutions implemented in a fair manner and on a real

and constant basis. As you know by now, the Special

Tribunal for Lebanon, which was established to try the

assassins of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, had

been a controversial issue with regard to the

circumstances of its establishment. We referred to that

in detail in our letters to the Secretary-General and

asked that copies be handed over to all Security

Council Member States and other copies be kept as

reference documents at the United Nations.

We did this in the belief that international justice

should be reinforced. Since the very first moment of

the heinous crime of the assassination of former Prime

Minister Hariri, we have attempted to seek the whole

truth, and I was probably the first to ask the then

Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, to set up an impartial

international investigation commission.

I believe the best way now to enable all to

overcome the controversy caused by the international

tribunal would be to hold an impartial, transparent and

just hearing that seeks to determine the whole truth.

Only then would the Lebanese be assured that the

tribunal is just.

Lebanon is about to hold democratic presidential

elections in which the Lebanese will make their choice

in a free and responsible manner. Unfortunately, there

have been attempts by international parties to intervene

in Lebanon’s domestic affairs in a way that contradicts

international norms. Such interference could instigate

hatred and increase tensions on the Lebanese scene,

which might have negative repercussions not only on

upcoming presidential elections but also on the safety

of the Lebanese.

Lebanon welcomes all foreign assistance and

pays tribute to those countries that have stood by it in

the wake of last July’s destructive Israeli war. Lebanon

hopes, however, that any foreign assistance to Lebanon

is made to all the Lebanese people, without any

discrimination, in order to stop possible divisions

among them. Foreign aid to Lebanon should be made

as a gesture of support to the restoration of Lebanon’s

sovereignty and the unity of the Lebanese people.

That is why we urge the international community,

through its commitment to the Charter of the United

Nations, to stop foreign intervention in the domestic

affairs of Member States. Consecutive events in

Lebanon have shown that the Lebanese are capable of

making their own decisions and their own choices and

can live side by side and interact peacefully within

institutional framework established by their civic

bodies and protected by their security institutions,

namely their national army.

Since we are referring to the national army, we

should highlight the heroic confrontations of the army

with an extremely dangerous terrorist organization in

the past three months, an organization equipped with

updated weapons and believing in destructive

objectives that targeted Lebanon and many other States

in the region. The costly price paid by our national

army in terms of human losses and injuries aimed at

reinstating Lebanon’s national goals of confronting and

fighting terrorism. Lebanon has and will always be a

nation that supports peace and justice and promotes

democratic values. However, to enable Lebanon to

confront and curb terrorism, real assistance should be

given to its national army in order to accomplish its

national and security goals.

In a world that witnesses the daily bloodshed

known as “the conflict of civilizations”, and in a world

that is sharply and deeply divided between East and

West, I find myself addressing the international

community as a man of experience. From here, I urge

the world community not to allow Lebanon to fall,

because the falling apart of Lebanon would mean a

collapse of moderation and a victory for those who

favour the use of force. Lebanon remains a unique

message to the world, a country where religions and

cultures interact peacefully, so that we can live

together, as noted by His Holiness the late Pope John

Paul II.

As a citizen of Lebanon, a small country that has

survived against all odds, I urge you not to retreat in

the face of adversity and to support what is right and

just. A last glimpse of a burning Middle East, where

the flames devour the meek and the mighty, should

allow you to reflect upon the choices ahead, lest it

become too late.