Oman, 2012

At the

outset, I would like to offer the President and his

friendly country, the Republic of Serbia, my warmest

congratulations on his election to the presidency of the

General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. I would

also like to express my appreciation to his predecessor,

Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, from the brotherly

State of Qatar, for the exemplary way in which he

conducted the work of the previous session.

I would also like to take this opportunity to convey

my appreciation to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

for his role and efforts in improving the Organization’s

working mechanisms, and to wish him every success

in his endeavours. The record of the United Nations

includes numerous positive and tangible achievements

that have helped to promote international peace and

security and reach a political consensus on many

regional and international issues.

In our Middle East region, the Syrian crisis

continues to be of great concern, owing to the great loss

of life and property that it has caused and the instability

that it has produced in the region and the world as a

whole. Despite the efforts of the United Nations and

the League of Arab States, the parties involved in the

Syrian crisis have failed to reach a peaceful solution

that could spare the lives of the Syrian people.

We call on our brothers in Syria to renounce

violence, end hostilities and launch a political process

that will fulfil the aspirations and hopes of the

Syrian people and preserve Syria’s security, stability

and unity. At the same time, we call on the Security

Council, the international body primarily responsible

for the maintenance of international peace and security,

to reach consensus on a unified position on the Syrian

crisis, without political disagreements and without bias

towards any side, by way of starting a serious national

dialogue between all political forces in Syria, with no

exceptions. We believe that the principles and guidelines

for a Syrian-led process of transition, as contained in

the final communiqué of the Action Group for Syria

(S/2012/523, annex), issued at its meeting in Geneva in

mid-2012, could form the basis for a solution, if agreed

on and accepted by all Syrian and international parties.

The conflicting interests among some countries

and their disagreements on how to address the Syrian

conflict no longer serve any purpose, because the time

has come to take collective action that can preserve

security, stability and development for every country

in the Middle East, especially since the alternative

would be the spread of violence, killing, destruction

and chaos. We believe that it is not in the world’s best

interests to allow the Middle East to become another

global f lashpoint.

I would also like to take this opportunity to say that

my country welcomes the appointment of Mr. Lakhdar

Brahimi as the Joint Special Representative of the

United Nations and the League of Arab States for Syria.

We hope that he can provide practical and concrete

proposals to pull Syria out of the current cycle of

violence and killing.

We are aware of the complexities that arise in any

discussion of the question of Palestine at sessions of the

Assembly. We all know, however, that while the United

Nations has explored every avenue and adopted many

resolutions and policies on the Palestinian question, that

issue continues to be a cause for concern and a source

of unending threats and conflicts in the Middle East

and beyond. We believe, therefore, that the role of the

United Nations with regard to the question of Palestine

should change from one of managing the crisis to one

of seriously seeking a just, lasting and comprehensive

political solution that would take into account the

interests of both Palestinians and Israelis and lead to

the establishment of a State of Palestine, living side by

side with the State of Israel. In that context, my country

supports Palestine’s application for non-member

State observer status at the United Nations, hoping

that that will usher a new phase in the Palestinian-

Israeli negotiations and one that could make a positive

contribution to settling the issue.

The Somali people have long suffered from an

absence of security, stability and State institutions

and bodies; we therefore welcome the formation of the

new Somali Parliament and the election of Mr. Hassan

Sheikh Mohamud as President of Somalia. We hope

that his Government will be able to achieve national

reconciliation and establish security and stability

throughout Somalia.

provide support and assistance, whether political,

economic or humanitarian, to the Somali people, we

urge the Somali factions and parties from various

political and tribal affiliations and organizations to

reject violence, cease hostilities and place the higher

interest of the nation above all others. We believe that

a national dialogue, involving all parties in the Somali

conflict, regardless of their ideological and political

differences and inclinations, is essential and will

help restore security, stability and nation-building in

Somalia.

We would like to commend the international efforts

to combat piracy and the armed robbery of merchant

vessels in the Indian Ocean, particularly in the Arabian

Sea. The Sultanate of Oman, which is located on the

Arabian Sea, reaffirms its continuing support for

international efforts to eradicate the problem, and will

cooperate with countries that have a naval presence

in the area in order to protect international trade and

navigation.

From the outset, the Sultanate of Oman has

supported the proposal to establish a zone free of nuclear

weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction

in the Middle East. In that regard, we welcome the

Review Conference of Parties to the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, scheduled to be

held in Finland at the end of this year. We hope it will

be able to officially declare the Middle East a zone free

from nuclear and all other weapons of mass destruction,

similar to other such zones that have been established

elsewhere in the world.

At a time when Muslims are trying to promote a

culture of tolerance and coexistence, we note that there

are those who abuse their right to express themselves

by deliberately slandering monotheistic religions and

prophets and messengers of God. My country condemns

the video slandering the Prophet Muhammad — peace

be upon him — which clearly and deliberately sought to

spread a culture of hatred against Muslims. Despite the

gravity of the offence, we reject escalating the reaction

to a level resulting in attacks against diplomatic

missions and representatives, such as those against

United States and other Western diplomatic missions.

Against the backdrop of those events and similar

incidents earlier, we believe that it is incumbent on

the United Nations to adopt international legislation

that would hold accountable those responsible for any deliberate abuse of and slander against the sanctity of

people’s beliefs, with a view to deterring others who

may attempt to spread hatred among people.

The world today is facing a genuine threat of food

shortages, owing to the steady increase in the world’s

population and the problems facing the global economy,

which have resulted in the famines currently plaguing

many parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America. There

is no doubt that addressing that problem will require

us to undertake a practical study of alternatives that

could alleviate the negative impacts of food shortages.

Among the ideas we deem worthy of exploring is

the establishment of a global food reserve system to

deal with food shortages, with food reserve centres

located in various continents of the world and managed

through an international fund specifically established

to support the system. States, international institutions

and sovereign funds that have the capacity to contribute

to the fund would also be allowed to do so. We are of

the view that the Food and Agriculture Organization

of the United Nations, in the light of its expertise in

that field, could be the appropriate body to oversee the

preparation and implementation of such a study.

We would like to take this opportunity to encourage

industrialized countries to increase their investment

in agricultural research and to utilize science and

technology in their search for innovative solutions

aimed at increasing food production so as to keep pace

with the steady increase in the global demand for food.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate my

country’s support for all international efforts to achieve

the aspirations of peoples to a safer, more stable and

prosperous world.