Oman, 2001

I wish

to express my sincere congratulations to Mr. Han

Seung-soo on his assumption of the presidency of the

fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly. We are

confident that his skills, competence and experience in

international affairs will facilitate his task of leading

and enriching the work of this session and of bringing

it to a successful conclusion with the desired results.

We assure him of our delegation’s cooperation in the

attainment of our shared objectives. We also want to

express our sincerest thanks and appreciation to his

predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri, former Prime Minister

of the friendly country of the Republic of Finland. We

thank him for his efforts in directing the work of the

last session and the various special sessions that took

place during his term.

35

I want to take this opportunity to reiterate my

sincerest congratulations to the Secretary-General, Mr.

Kofi Annan, and to the United Nations itself on being

awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This is a well-deserved

award and a mark of distinction for the contributions

and the remarkable role played by the Secretary-

General and the United Nations in the maintenance and

the strengthening of international peace and security.

On behalf of my delegation, I also want to

express my sincere congratulations to the Secretary-

General on being granted a second term of office at the

head of the Organization. We intend to cooperate with

him in the attainment of our objectives, in the

fulfilment of the purposes and principles of the United

Nations Charter and in the preparation and

development of mechanisms for international

cooperation in all fields.

The terrible events of 11 September that struck

this city, which is host to our Organization, have been

forcefully condemned by my Government. This city

has attracted people from all over the world to a

dialogue among civilizations through our international

Organization, and it therefore deserves to be a city of

peace, not of terror and violence. We therefore take this

opportunity to express once again our sincerest

condolences to the families of the victims and to the

friendly American people, whose sorrow we share. The

world was horrified by this dangerous turn of events —

the terrorist acts that struck such vital sites in New

York and Washington, taking many lives and leaving

great destruction in their wake.

While expressing our solidarity with the friendly

country of the United States of America in its struggle

against terrorism and in the defence of its territory and

its people, and while we understand the reasons for the

military action being taken in Afghanistan, it is our

fervent hope that every effort will be made to spare

innocent civilians the destruction and disasters of war

so that they will not suffer further tragedies. For its

part, the international community must play its role in

protecting the Afghan people.

We must not forget the peaceful means of dealing

with terrorism. Every sincere effort must be made to

eliminate the scourge of terrorism, which will destroy

civilization and all the achievements of humankind if it

is not firmly confronted and if its causes are not

examined and uprooted. We stress that the use of

military force is not the best or the only solution for

eliminating terrorist groups. We appeal for a long-term

vision to prevail so that all elements of the problem can

be dealt with. In this respect, we reiterate our

welcoming of the Egyptian proposal for an

international conference on the fight against terrorism

in order to arrive at an effective, binding international

instrument for States.

In the midst of this tragedy, we have heard certain

opportunistic political circles in States and at the

international level linking terrorism to Islam and

Muslims. We fully and categorically reject this. Islam

is a religion of mercy for all, a religion based on

fraternity and tolerance. Muslims are the bearers of a

civilization, a culture and noble human and

humanitarian values. This is why the Organization of

the Islamic Conference, at its extraordinary session

held in Doha, Qatar, last October, totally dissociated

itself from all terrorism and reiterated its condemnation

of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The

session’s final communiqué reported in paragraph 3

that the Conference

“stressed that such shameful terror acts are

opposed to the tolerant, divine message of Islam

which spurns aggression, calls for peace,

coexistence, tolerance and respect among people,

highly prizes the dignity of human life and

prohibits killing of the innocent. It further

rejected any attempts alleging the existence of

any connection or relation between the Islamic

faith and the terrorist acts as such attempts are

not in the interest of the multilateral efforts to

combat terrorism and further damage relations

among peoples of the world. It stressed as well

the need to undertake a joint effort to promote

dialogue and create links or contacts between the

Islamic world and the West in order to reach

mutual understanding and build bridges of

confidence between the two civilizations.”

In this respect, my delegation wishes to

emphasize its categorical rejection of the calls of all

those who would like to use this human disaster to

settle old scores and old political differences and to

expand the field of military action to other areas under

the pretext of fighting terrorism.

We are concerned about the humanitarian

situation of the friendly Afghan people. International

humanitarian organizations report that the military

action taking place in Afghanistan has caused hundreds

36

of civilian casualties, that hundreds of thousands have

been displaced and that the civilian population is

experiencing severe living conditions. Humanitarian

organizations have warned that a humanitarian disaster

could be imminent for the Afghan people, especially

with the approach of winter. My country supports

international efforts to provide humanitarian aid to the

Afghan people, especially through the recent resolution

adopted at the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the

Conference of the Islamic Conference with a view to

creating a fund for this purpose.

The series of difficult and painful events in the

peace process in the Middle East on all its tracks and at

all its stages, particularly regarding the Palestinian

aspect of the question, confirms that in order to arrive

at a just, comprehensive and lasting peace it is

necessary to work towards implementing Security

Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), as well

as all other relevant United Nations resolutions that

demand the withdrawal of Israel from all Arab

territories occupied in 1967 and recognition of the

legitimate right of the Palestinian people to self-

determination and to the establishment of its own

independent State, with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its

capital. This is a basic, just and legitimate demand for

the purpose of consolidating the pillars of peace and

stability in the region. We express our full support for

these just demands of the Palestinian people who are

fully entitled to use all means available to them to put

an end to the Israeli occupation of their territory.

The Islamic countries also support the right of the

Palestinian people because of the justness of their

cause. Theirs is a legitimate right recognized and

guaranteed by all international norms and instruments.

The Sultanate of Oman invites the United Nations and

the Security Council to assume their full responsibility

to have Israel implement all relevant Security Council

and international resolutions and to stop the collective

punishment of the Palestinian people.

Following the Madrid Peace Conference, in 1991,

the region was full of hope and optimism. It seemed as

though peace were becoming a reality. Many

agreements had been reached, from Oslo to Sharm el-

Sheikh, and all the parties had embarked on dialogue

with one another in circumstances that were not ideal.

Nonetheless, despite all the missteps, peace moved

forward, because peace was the ultimate goal that

everyone eagerly sought. The Arabs believed in peace.

They had agreed to it as an irreversible strategic option

based on the principles of Islam, which advocates

tolerance and peace, and because they were convinced

that peace alone would make prosperity, stability and

development possible.

The Sultanate of Oman has therefore supported

every effort, with a view to achieving that much-

desired peace based on justice, fairness and the legality

of international resolutions and the principle of land for

peace. But Israel deviated from those principles,

inventing its own concept of peace. Israel has used

every possible means of imposing its own kind of

peace. Israel does not really want the peace that the

world is considering. Israel wants its own special kind

of peace. It wants the international community to go

along with the current reality — the occupation of

territory, without giving the Palestinians any role or a

State. This is why violence in the region is a dynamic

of action and reaction. This is why there has been

bloodshed and why life and property continue to be

destroyed. Will the world stand by and watch the

killing of innocents, the murder of the elderly and

children?

The Sultanate of Oman therefore invites the two

sponsors of the peace process — the United States of

America and the Russian Federation — and the

Secretary-General to play their role so that the situation

can return to normal and so that the peace process, in

all its aspects, can be revived and resumed from the

point where it left off.

My Government supports the just position of the

fraternal Syrian Arab Republic. Its actions are aimed at

recovering the occupied territory of the Golan Heights

and at ensuring Israel’s withdrawal to the 4 June 1967

border. In our opinion, it is in Israel’s interest to

resume the negotiations, in accordance with the

principles of international law and international

resolutions including Security Council resolutions 242

(1967) and 338 (1973), as well as the principle of land

for peace, in order to lay the foundation for peace and

security, so that an effective partnership can be built

and a lasting, stable and viable relationship based on

mutual interests among the States of the region can be

established and consolidated.

My Government also asks Israel to work towards

the full implementation of Security Council resolution

425 (1978), which calls upon Israel to withdraw from

all Lebanese territory. The Shab’a farms area is an

integral part of Lebanese territory and is covered by

37

that resolution. It is in Israel’s interest to withdraw

from that territory in order to broaden the prospects of

peace and to strengthen peace and stability, which

everyone desires.

The imposition of sanctions as a political

mechanism means that Governments must fulfil their

obligations under international resolutions. However,

we see that this policy has become a weapon that

jeopardizes the fundamental rights of peoples. This is

unacceptable. Hence, it is important that the Security

Council seek effective policies and mechanisms that

take into account the extent to which resolutions have

been implemented by the countries to which those

resolutions are addressed, such as Iraq, Libya and

others.

Despite all the serious international and regional

efforts to relieve the suffering of the fraternal Iraqi

people, we note that the overall situation in Iraq and

the future of the Iraqi people are becoming increasingly

problematic because of the economic embargo imposed

on them in 1990. That is also the view of the

humanitarian and international agencies and

organizations in Iraq.

The Sultanate of Oman supports all efforts to lift

completely the economic sanctions against Iraq. At the

same time, we call upon the Iraqi Government to

cooperate constructively with the United Nations in

order to implement the remaining relevant Security

Council resolutions, particularly regarding prisoners of

war, missing Kuwaitis and missing persons from third

States.

The Sultanate of Oman warmly welcomes the

wise approach of our brethren in Bahrain and Qatar.

Those two countries have proceeded to implement the

Judgment of the International Court of Justice of 16

March 2001. That positive approach by those two

fraternal countries has eliminated many sources of

tension and has made a genuine contribution to the

establishment of peace, security and stability in the

region.

My Government is gratified by the friendly

official contacts between the United Arab Emirates and

the Islamic Republic of Iran, which will enable those

two countries to agree on joint means to put an end to

their dispute over the three islands belonging to the

Emirates.

The political, economic, social and cultural

changes taking place in today’s world mean that

African countries and their leaders must work hard to

build trust among their peoples and their countries so

that they can cooperate on the basis of common interest

and constructive dialogue and so that they can take

local measures and initiatives to resolve all their

disputes and to solve the refugee problem. We call on

the international community, as represented by the

United Nations, to take equitable measures to improve

the situation in Africa and to make it possible to

resolve its political, economic, social and health

problems.

Because of the great importance that the

Sultanate of Oman attaches to development, we are

pleased that the first International Conference on

Financing for Development will take place in Mexico

in 2002 and that this date is in the near future. We

appreciate the value of dialogue between the rich

countries of the North and the countries of the South

that are bedevilled by social and environmental

problems, and we hope that contacts and dialogue

between the two groups will increase genuine

cooperation and coordination among States in all

fields, with a view to narrowing the economic and

technological gap between their peoples.

Over the past 30 years of Oman’s development

process, my Government has constantly worked to

balance development and environmental protection.

Such efforts have been successful thanks to His

Majesty the Sultan’s declaration of 2001 as the Year of

the Environment. In the framework of our contribution

and of our interest in global environmental issues, we

have pledged that we will sign all conventions and

treaties aimed at protecting the Earth’s environment.

My country today appeals to developed countries to

meet the commitments they undertook at the United

Nations Conference on Environment and Development,

held at Rio de Janeiro, especially with respect to the

provision of technical assistance to developing

countries.

In the light of the importance of integration into

the world economy, my country officially joined the

World Trade Organization on 9 November 2000. We

hope thus to enhance the role and the level of our trade

and industrial organizations and services and to ensure

that they are duly integrated into world markets. My

country has undertaken great economic reforms to

liberalize trade and investment. We have also enacted

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many laws and have strengthened our mechanisms and

regulations in these areas.

I should mention that, on 20 December 2000 at

New York, the Sultanate of Oman signed the Rome

Statute of the International Criminal Court. We hope to

complete the ratification process and thus to accede to

this new organ of international law, which is aimed at

bringing to justice those who violate human rights and

commit crimes against humanity, wherever they may

be.

We thank the Secretary-General for his annual

report on the work of the Organization (A/56/1). It sets

out the achievements of the United Nations while

describing the obstacles in its way, and it charts a

course for the future to strengthen our work towards

the purposes for which the United Nations was

established. In his report, the Secretary-General also

discusses the implementation of the Millennium

Declaration and its ambitious recommendations. We

must be ready now to endorse visions that would

strengthen the United Nations and restructure it in line

with current realities. That includes enlargement of the

Security Council in a manner proportionate to the

overall membership of the international community. In

that way the Organization can serve as an effective

intermediary in international life and a source of

international law.

It is our hope that this session will be successful,

and that it will set out a vision of the future that will

define the contours of future action for the benefit of

all mankind.