Libya, 2012

At the outset, I am

pleased to congratulate Mr. Vuk Jeremić on his election

as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-

seventh session. I would like to commend Mr. Nassir

Abdulaziz Al-Nasser for his leadership as President

at the sixty-sixth session. I also wish to express our

profound gratitude and appreciation to His Excellency

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his valuable efforts

to achieve the purposes and principles of the Charter of

the United Nations.

Three years ago, a despot who ruled my country for

42 years with tyranny and oppression stood at this very

rostrum and tore up a copy of the Charter, saying that he

did not recognize the authority of the document. Today,

I am standing on the very same rostrum to assure the

Assembly of my delegation’s support and respect for

the Charter.

Today, I stand before the Assembly and the whole

world to apologize for all the harm and the crimes

committed by that despot against so many innocent

people, as well as to apologize for the extortion and

terrorism he inf licted on so many States. I want to

assure the Organization that the Libyan people are

determined to build a State that respects its neighbours,

its international obligations and human rights, and that

believes that genuine peace in the world will not be

realized unless the conscience of every individual is

brimming with peace. Libya will be a land of peace and

security and a strong force for peace.

I am speaking today before this international

gathering to convey the greetings of the Libyan

people, whose revolt on 17 February 2011 turned into

a comprehensive, explosive revolution that shook the

very foundations of the regime of the despot Muammar

Al-Qadhafi, who declared that he would burn and

destroy Libya and make it swim in a sea of blood. He

killed thousands of civilians, recruited mercenaries

from everywhere, assaulted peoples’ honour, ordered his

militias and mercenaries to rape minors, and destroyed

cities. However, our people did not kneel; they did not

back down. Thousands of martyrs were lost among the

wounded and missing. The price of freedom was paid in

blood, lives, amputated limbs and lost youth.

In this forum, on behalf of the Libyan people, I

salute the United Nations system, which stood with our

people, with the will of freedom against blood lust and

annihilation, and adopted Security Council resolutions 1970 (2011) and 1973 (2011) to protect the innocent

people in Libya from crimes against humanity and

violations of human rights.

I stand before the Assembly today representing

the Libyan people, who are building the institutions

of democracy after the fall of dictatorship. The whole

world has witnessed the first free, transparent elections

in Libya, when the General National Congress was

elected and I was honoured to be elected as its President.

The world, through the United Nations, has given us

complete, genuine support for that achievement.

In our revolution of freedom and in the challenge

of establishing democracy, the conscience of the world

was with us, both in deeds and in thoughts. Support was

offered from everybody and from everywhere.

Among those offering help was Ambassador Chris

Stevens, a voice of reason and conscience, a man of

love and a messenger of friendship, who came to Libya

after the outbreak of the revolution for freedom. He

touched people’s emotions in Benghazi and travelled

from Tripoli to the western mountains and back and

all across Libya. Chris Stevens spoke with everyone

in Arabic; he always smiled and showed the utmost

concern. This humane diplomat has found his place in

the consciousness and emotions of the Libyan people.

It was a day of sadness throughout Libya when he was

assassinated, along with three of his aides. We would

like to express our deepest condolences to the friendly

American people for the grave loss. It was a loss for

Libya as it was a loss for the United States of America.

We assure the Government and the people of the

United States that this tragedy will only increase our

solidarity to entrench the hopes and objectives in

which Ambassador Chris Stevens believed. We will

defeat the schemes of the backward terrorists, who

do not represent Libya or Islam. Islam is a religion of

tolerance, peace and love. As President Obama said

from this rostrum two days ago, “our future will be

determined by people like Chris Stevens, and not by

his killers” (A/67/PV.6, p.11).

In that context, I would like to express my

condolences to the Libyan people, particularly the

people of Misrata, on the death of Imran Juma Shaban,

who joined the long list of martyrs some five days ago.

I would like to express our profound appreciation

for the understanding shown by the United States

Administration following that incident, and to assure it that my country is determined to pursue the perpetrators

and bring them to justice. We will spare no effort to

strengthen the necessary protection for the diplomatic

and consular missions and all guests and ensure the

safety of their staff and facilities. That tragic incident

does not at all represent the feelings of the Libyan

people, who are known for their moderation, hospitality

and gratitude. Perhaps the massive demonstrations

condemning that abominable crime that took place in

Benghazi and other Libyan cities best represent the

genuine feelings of the Libyan people and their total

rejection of all forms of violence and extremism.

Libya will never become an incubator for radical

extremist groups and will remain a peaceful Muslim

country where moderation prevails. The new Libya

will be based on democracy, openness, transparency,

combating corruption and empowering women and

youth. The new Libya will be by, and for, one and all.

Meanwhile, it would be remiss of me not to

condemn the campaigns against Islam and to defame

the Prophet Muhammad. Such campaigns foment hatred

and aim to provoke tensions among civilizations. They

go beyond the concept of freedom of expression and

opinion and require that the General Assembly adopt

a legal document to criminalize the defamation of all

religious symbols and figures. We Muslims have an

absolute belief in the unity of humankind and solidarity

among all human beings. We express our support for

the dialogue among religions and for cooperation,

tolerance and eternal humanitarianumanitarian values

and ideals. My country therefore supports all efforts

carried out within the framework of the dialogue among

civilizations, cultures and religions under the United

Nations and relevant international organizations.

Since the revolution of 17 of February 2011, Libya

has witnessed many changes due to the uprising of its

people against social injustice and political tyranny. It

has not only achieved a change of the tyrant regime but

has progressed towards a genuine democratic regime

based on respect for and promotion of human rights,

political pluralism and peaceful transfer of power, as

well as on commitment to the principles and provisions

of international law and the Charter of the United

Nations.

The Assembly may have followed the sequential

political developments that Libya experienced during

the past few months along the path to democratization.

Those include the rebuilding of State institutions; the election of the General National Congress, which

will, through a constituent committee, draft Libya’s

permanent constitution; and the formation of the

first interim Government following elections that

were commended by international observers as fair,

democratic and transparent.

We shall work to rebuild, reorganize and reform

State institutions, primarily the police, the national army

and the judiciary. Various programmes and plans are

being implemented towards disarming, demobilizing

and reintegrating the former revolutionaries within

the ministries of defense and interior and other State

institutions.

For the first time since independence, political

parties have emerged on the political stage, as have

freedom of the press and expression, unconditional

freedom to demonstrate, freedom of assembly and

freedom to establish civil institutions, trade unions and

intellectual, political and social organizations without

restrictions. That has led to free dialogue and the active

participation of all segments of the people throughout

the country.

For four decades, the former regime f lagrantly

violated human rights through torture, detention

without trial, extrajudicial killing, forced disappearance

and ill-treatment of citizens and violations of their

dignity. The outbreak of the 17 February revolution

in the form of peaceful protest was confronted by the

security brigades of the former regime with bullets and

brutal repression, in f lagrant violation of international

humanitarian law and human rights law.

The Human Rights Council decided to suspend

Libya’s membership in the Council and formed an

international fact-finding committee that voiced

the condemnation of the international community

of such violations. The Council certified violations

of human rights by the regime’s forces and by some

revolutionaries, which has required the new Libyan

authorities to give the human rights file particular

attention and to take many specific measures.

Some may wonder whether the Arab Spring was

worthy of support. To them I say, would it have been

better for the corrupt, dictatorial regimes to continue

for decades more with their practices of tyranny,

oppression, injustice, arbitrary treatment, corruption,

exploitation, and violations of the most basic human

rights? Should they have been allowed to continue

pillaging the wealth of their peoples, pushing some of the oppressed towards extremism or a certain agenda

incompatible with peace and security, an agenda that

promoted violence and terror to achieve its objectives?

Democracy did not prevail in France a year, or even

a decade, after the French Revolution. That pattern has

been repeated in other States that have gained their

freedom. A period of liberation was followed by stages

of instability and a sometimes long and bloody civil

war before those States were able to achieve stability

and security and to build their democratic institutions.

At the current stage of building the new Libya, we

are facing extremely serious challenges that threaten

national and regional security. Some are a result of

illegal activities by the sons of Al-Qadhafi and certain

elements of the former regime who are being sought

to face justice but have unfortunately found refuge in

neighbouring countries and some other countries from

where they carry out criminal activities that threaten

security and stability in Libya.

But we in Libya also face other security

threats — trafficking in drugs and psychotropic

substances, illegal immigration and smuggling and

trafficking of weapons. As the Assembly knows, the

nature and scope of such threats to national and border

security require a bilateral and multilateral response that

promotes and strengthens national efforts. Therefore,

last March my country hosted the Regional Ministerial

Conference on Border Security in the North African

and Sahelian Region, which resulted in the adoption

of the Tripoli plan of action. The plan establishes

common mechanisms and structures for cooperation

and exchange of information, consultations, experience

and communications on border security.

Among our national priorities is Libya’s right

to restitution of moneys that were pillaged from the

State treasury and secreted outside the country. Those

funds have been used to finance criminal activities

and operations in order to destabilize the country and

threaten its national security. That has had an impact

upon neighbouring countries as well. We therefore call

on all our friends and on States to allow us to recover

Libyan moneys, investments and property located in

other countries, particularly in some countries in Africa,

Latin America and Asia, where those funds have been

subject to coercive measures by some Governments.

In that context, we call upon all States of the

world to cooperate in combating corruption and

money laundering. We call upon financial institutions, particularly those located in Western countries and

some island States, to shoulder their responsibilities

and not accept suspicious funds, particularly from

Third World dictators who are bleeding the wealth of

their peoples and hiding those funds under fictitious

company names.

In March 2010, Global Financial Integrity issued

a report estimating that the gross offshore deposits

were $10 trillion. We look forward to the signing and

ratification of an anti-corruption convention by 130

States. We believe that that would promote cooperation

among States to combat corruption and bring about the

restitution of stolen funds.

I would now like to pay tribute to the great

contribution made by the United Nations Support

Mission in Libya, previously headed by Mr. Ian Martin,

despite the many challenges and difficulties that were

natural and to be expected in the transitional phase.

We also welcome the appointment of Mr. Tarek Mitri

as the new head of the Mission. We wish him every

success and look forward to further cooperation. We

are committed to providing all the necessary assistance

to him and the Mission.

The new Libya undertakes to respect all of its

commitments contained in the international instruments

and covenants on disarmament and the maintenance

of international peace and security. We are fully

prepared to cooperate transparently and sincerely with

the international community to support efforts, both

regional and international, to implement the provisions

of international conventions and protocols and to

create an international environment that would foster

progress towards definitively eliminating weapons of

mass destruction. We are also determined to review

all other international instruments to which we are not

yet party and take the appropriate decisions thereon as

soon as the permanent constitution is adopted and a

Government and parliament are elected.

We condemn Israel’s measures designed to Judaize

occupied lands and its violations of human rights and

international humanitarian law. The international

community must assume its responsibilities by taking

strong, urgent measures to put an end to Israeli

aggression and ensure the full protection of Palestinians.

It must come up with a radical solution to the question

of Palestine through a just and lasting settlement that

includes Israel’s withdrawal from all occupied lands

and the return of all Palestinian refugees to their homes, as well as the establishment of the independent State

of Palestine with Al-Quds as its capital, in accordance

with the relevant international resolutions.

The suffering of the brotherly Syrian people

is unimaginable. The regime in power is violently

repressing its citizens, shedding their blood and

attacking their dignity, and has thus lost its legitimacy.

In order to put an end to such a tragedy, Libya urges

the Security Council to act promptly, in accordance

with the principle of the responsibility to protect,

to take immediate action to end all forms of murder,

violence and destruction, find a way out of the crisis

through a peaceful transition of power, and fulfil the

legitimate demands of the Syrian people. This can be

achieved only through consensus among members of

the Security Council and support for the efforts of the

Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and

the League of Arab States, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi.

Libya condemns the social and political injustice,

harassment and killings being inf licted on the Muslim

minority in Myanmar on the basis of ethnicity and

religion. That is a f lagrant violation of human rights

and constitutes crimes against humanity. We call on

all relevant human rights institutions to immediately

intervene and put an end to the tragedy. We underline

the necessity of forming an international committee of

inquiry to identify those responsible for such violence

and killings, bring the perpetrators to justice and

ensure that victims are duly compensated and refugees

returned safely to their homes.

States Members of the United Nations have

convened every year at the General Assembly ever since

the Organization was established in order to reflect

on the purposes and principles set out in its Charter.

We have achieved much, but many challenges remain,

such as reforming the United Nations, eliminating

weapons of mass destruction, reducing poverty,

ignorance and disease and wars and armed conflicts,

fighting terrorism and organized crime, protecting

the environment, achieving sustainable development,

respecting human rights, in particular the rights of

women, and ensuring the rule of law and combating

racism, hatred and fanaticism.

Libya wishes to stress its affi nity with Africa and the

importance of shifting its policies towards, and relations

with, Africa and the world — which were once based

on personal whims and acts of extortion — to policies

and relations firmly grounded in the best interests of all peoples. The new Libya dissociates itself from the

repugnant past and extends its hands in freedom and

friendship to build new relationships based on mutual

respect and fruitful cooperation.

In conclusion, let me wish the General Assembly

at its sixty-seventh session full success in solving the

issues on its agenda. I express the hope that a spirit of

solidarity and cooperation will prevail so that we may

create a better world, one blessed with security and

stability.