Oman, 2002

It gives

me great pleasure to offer, on behalf of the Government

of the Sultanate of Oman, our warmest congratulations

to you, Sir, on your election as President of the General

Assembly at its current session. We assure you of our

fullest cooperation towards achieving the noble goals

and objectives to which we collectively aspire for the

benefit of mankind and the maintenance of

international peace and security.

In this connection, we wish to express our

appreciation for the ongoing tireless efforts of

Secretary-General Kofi Annan on behalf of

international peace and security, the rule of

international law and the work of the Organization in

this regard. We also thank him for his annual report,

which details the achievements of the United Nations,

the obstacles ahead and its vision of the future,

embodying the conscience and aspirations of the

international community.

I also take this opportunity to welcome the

accession of the Swiss Federation and the Democratic

Republic of Timor-Leste to membership of the United

Nations. We are confident that their membership will

22

be an important asset in the promotion of the work of

this Organization in achieving its noble goals of

international peace and security.

Here in the renowned city of New York, we are

commemorating the terrorist attacks of 11 September

2001. Once again, we would like to express our deepest

sympathies and condolences to the families of the

victims of that senseless attack. We wish also to

reaffirm our solidarity with the United States of

America in fighting all forms of terror against innocent

people everywhere.

The Middle East is experiencing increased

tension due to a serious regression in the peace process

on all tracks, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian track.

The primary causes of this are the Israeli Government's

deviation from the fair principles and foundations

established at the 1991 Madrid Conference, and the

desire of successive Israeli Governments since 1996 to

impose peace through excessive force. This runs

counter to Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and

338 (1973), and to the formula of land for peace. Israel

is pursuing a policy of procrastination and intimidation

and is circumventing international instruments and

agreements signed by the parties concerned. This has

resulted in a further escalation of Palestinian

resistance, by all factions and in all forms, to Israeli

occupation.

My Government condemns all terrorist acts,

regardless of their motivation and deplores all acts of

violence against innocent civilians, whether perpetrated

by the Palestinian or the Israeli side. Events have

proven that the use of force against the Palestinian

people will not lead to a fair solution, to an end to

violence or to security, as the Israeli Government

claims; nor will it end the legitimate Palestinian

resistance against Israeli occupation. The end of such

resistance is contingent upon the end of Israeli

occupation.

All Arab States have affirmed that the

achievement of a peace based on the principles of

international law and justice is our strategic choice, and

we have exerted great efforts to that end, the latest

being the Arab peace initiative adopted unanimously at

the Beirut Summit held last March. This historic

initiative was widely welcomed by the international

community because it is in conformity with

international legitimacy and principles, and in

compliance with Security Council resolutions 242

(1967) and 338 (1973), which demand the withdrawal

of Israel from the Arab territories occupied since June

1967, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and the granting to

Palestinian refugees of the right to return, in return for

the recognition of Israel by Arab States and the

normalization of relations with it.

Security Council resolution 1397 (2002) sets out

the concept of establishing a recognized Palestinian

State peacefully coexisting alongside the State of

Israel. In that connection, my Government calls on the

international community, especially Security Council

members, to shoulder their responsibility to ensure that

the Israeli Government will respect and implement

relevant international resolutions and respond seriously

to Arab and international efforts.

My Government supports the just position taken

by the Syrian Arab Republic with respect to regaining

the occupied Golan Heights and its request for Israeli

withdrawal to the line of 4 June 1967. In the same vein,

we support the position of the Republic of Lebanon

with regard to recovering the occupied Shab'a farms

area and its demand that Israel fully implement

Security Council resolution 425 (1978), which calls for

the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from all

Lebanese territory, including the Shab'a farms area.

The overall humanitarian situation in Iraq

remains tragic due to the ongoing economic sanctions

imposed on Iraq since August 1990. Consequently, my

Government emphasizes the importance of a Security

Council review of the international sanctions policy

imposed on countries, a review that would lead to

easing the humanitarian harm that befalls peoples, and

that would take into consideration the status of a

targeted Government's implementation of international

resolutions.

My Government reiterates its call upon the

Security Council to put an end to the human suffering

in Iraq, and in that regard we call for the continuation

of dialogue and discussions between Iraq and the

United Nations with a view to Iraq fulfilling its

remaining international commitments. The Security

Council needs to put in place a clear-cut and specific

mechanism telling Iraq what it needs to do to end the

tragic suffering and to arrive at a final and complete

lifting of the economic sanctions.

We feel optimistic and pleased at the

accomplishments of the Arab Summit in Beirut,

especially in terms of its positive climate in creating a

23

spirit of understanding and rapprochement between

Iraq and Kuwait. In that connection, my Government

welcomes the Iraqi initiative to return the Kuwaiti

national archives and urges the Iraqi Government to

persist with the option of continuous and constructive

dialogue and serious consultations to fulfil its

unfulfilled commitments under Security Council

resolutions, specifically relating to prisoners of war

and missing Kuwaiti and third-country citizens. In that

regard, we urge the Iraqi Government to cooperate with

the Tripartite Commission and the International

Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to deal with this

humanitarian issue.

My Government is confident that the Iraqi file

cannot be closed without continuous diplomatic efforts

by all, through United Nations channels and in any

other political way available. We thus find no

justification for any military operation against Iraq. We

therefore welcome the statement made by President

George W. Bush of the United States at the outset of

the general debate, in which he spoke of addressing the

Iraqi crisis through the Security Council.

My Government follows with great interest and

optimism the official contacts maintained between the

United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Iran

regarding the dispute on the three islands belonging to

the Emirates, Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser

Tunb. We hope that these contacts and negotiations will

lead to an agreement on an effective mechanism for the

settlement of this issue.

My country, along with other countries in the

region, is interested in the establishment of security

and stability in the Indian subcontinent. In that regard,

we place high value on international efforts to contain

the conflict between India and Pakistan, and we urge

those countries to benefit from international diplomacy

to agree on an effective mechanism leading to a

peaceful and final settlement of the Kashmir dispute.

Regarding Afghanistan, we welcome the return of

that country to the international family, and we look

forward to the establishment of security and stability in

its territory under the supervision of a Government

reflecting the aspirations of all parties in Afghanistan.

My Government values international efforts to assist

the Afghan Government and the international

community's ongoing financial and technical assistance

for rebuilding the country and providing for the basic

needs of the Afghan people after so many years of

suffering and war.

My country condemns all forms of terrorism. In

line with the purposes of the United Nations in the

maintenance of international peace and security, we

reaffirm our support for international efforts to fight

terrorism and our commitment to the relevant

international resolutions, including Security Council

resolution 1373 (2001), and all relevant Islamic, Arab

and international treaties and agreements to which my

country has acceded. My delegation expresses its

readiness to cooperate with the United Nations in

fighting international terrorism, in accordance with the

principles of international law and the principle of

national sovereignty, and taking into account the need

to distinguish between terrorism and legitimate

resistance against occupation. The Sultanate of Oman

supports the call for the convening under United

Nations auspices of an international conference on

terrorism in order to agree on a clear international

definition of terrorism and to set up a mechanism to

address and eradicate terrorism.

My country deeply believes that the accession

and commitment of States to treaties and conventions

on disarmament will strengthen and preserve peace and

security on the regional and international levels.

Consequently, the signature of the Sultanate of Oman

remains on the record as a State party to such treaties.

Based on that principle, we emphasize the need to

take practical measures to make the Middle East a

region free from all weapons of mass destruction. In

that connection, we request Israel to join all relevant

treaties, beginning with the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and to subject

its nuclear facilities to the safeguards inspection regime

of the International Atomic Energy Agency. That

would create a positive climate and put an end to arms

proliferation in the region.

My country calls on the United Nations to

continue its broad-based efforts to rid the world

completely of all types of weapons of mass destruction.

We urge nuclear-weapon States in particular to

formulate time-bound programmes to achieve that goal

as soon as possible. In that regard, my Government

commends the United States and the Russian

Federation for having reached an agreement on the

reduction of their nuclear arsenals.

24

My country is currently presiding over the Gulf

Cooperation Council (GCC), and hosted the twenty-

second session of the Supreme Council of the GCC,

held in December 2001 in Muscat. That summit

resulted in the adoption of many decisions and

resolutions and other achievements, including the

signing of an economic agreement among member

States and an agreement on a standardized customs

duty of 5 per cent on all imported goods. That

agreement will take effect when a customs union

among member States comes into force at the

beginning of next year. The Council also took a

decision on a unified Gulf currency. That will enhance

economic structures, facilitate differential trade and

increase the Gulf's competitiveness with other regional

economic groups, in addition to promoting the labour

market and the private sector in our countries. It will

also attract more investors and commercial

partnerships within the great Arab region, with other

friendly States, and in world markets.

Among the prominent results of the Muscat

summit was our leaders' decision to invite the Republic

of Yemen to join a number of Gulf joint

establishments. That decision was taken based on the

mutual desire and deep belief of both parties that the

incorporation of Yemen into the GCC in a gradual and

calculated manner will conform to the economic and

social needs and development circumstances of Yemen

and will serve the common interests of the region.

We are working to preserve the environment. We

have a strong record of achievements and measures

taken by our Government to plan national

environmental protection strategies. However, it is no

secret that many obstacles threaten our environment

internally, regionally and internationally. Among the

challenges is the lack of sufficient water to cope with

population growth, which will endanger our population

and will increase the risk of desertification, making it

necessary that we intensify scientific research and

allocate the resources necessary for that purpose.

We are happy to have participated in the

Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable

Development, and we wish to emphasize our interest in

the outcome documents adopted at the conference. We

also take this opportunity to emphasize the need to

respect United Nations resolutions and decisions as

well as the Charter.