Qatar, 2001

It is my pleasure to address the

General Assembly today in my capacity as the Emir of

the State of Qatar and as Chairman of the Ninth

Summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

It is our duty to make this important session of

the General Assembly a session for rebuilding

confidence and realizing the aspirations and

expectations of our peoples for a world where peace

and prosperity prevail.

I take this opportunity to extend to you, Sir, my

congratulations on your election to the presidency of

this session, and would like to extend my thanks to

your predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri. I must also

congratulate Mr. Kofi Annan on his re-election as

United Nations Secretary-General and on receiving the

Nobel Peace Prize along with the United Nations.

We are all aware of the critical and extraordinary

circumstances in which this session is being held and

of the political situation prevailing in the world in the

wake of the events of 11 September. An analysis of

these terrible events, which we condemn, prompts us to

say that humanity has actually reached a tremendous

turning point.

Personally, I believe that the way to offer the

greatest peace and serenity to the souls of the victims

of that criminal act, the sincerest consolation to their

families and the most effective support to the friendly

United States of America, where these events took

place, is for the international community as a whole not

only to confront what happened but also to act

decisively to avoid the repetition of such acts.

What happened in New York and Washington is

unprecedented and almost beyond our imagination.

There may be some strategic planners who see the

events as confirming their predictions, but for the rest

of us they would have seemed like fiction only a short

time ago. Sadly, the events were all too real, and we

watched with amazement, horror and sympathy as we

realized their full import for the future of humanity.

Dealing with the repercussions of these events

should not be a matter of merely punishing those

whose guilt in masterminding and carrying out these

criminal acts is proved. Inflicting punishment, though

imperative, will not, in my opinion, prevent the

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repetition of similar or even more terrible acts in the

future.

We face an extremely serious situation. We are

seeing what could be described as a globalization of

terrorism through the evil utilization of the revolution

of technology and communications. Thus, we are all

involved in an unconventional war for which we are

not yet prepared.

As we know, terrorism is neither a temporary

phenomenon nor confined to a certain continent, creed,

culture or race; it is everywhere, concealed like time

bombs in our midst.

We should therefore ask ourselves, what have we

done as an international community about this

situation? Have we actually faced up to it? What have

we done to rebuild confidence among people? What

have we done to contain the fear that is demoralizing

our citizens? What are we going to do now to stop the

economic recession and social anxiety that threaten us

all? Furthermore, is this the world we promised at the

Millennium Summit a year ago — a world that would

be ruled by amity, peace and cooperation?

If anything, we have moved away from these

ideals. We now live in a world where liberties are

increasingly restricted, where democracy is in retreat

and where caution and isolation are replacing freedom

and openness.

The State of Qatar, along with all other Islamic

countries, has condemned the terrorist acts that took

place on 11 September. This stand was explicitly

expressed at the emergency meeting of the

Organization of the Islamic Conference Ministers for

Foreign Affairs held in Doha last month. Our

unanimous agreement condemning what happened

emanated from the values of our true Islamic religion

and its sublime sharia, which is based on tolerance,

justice, equality and cooperation among people and

forbids the unjust taking of human life. It urges us to

rebuild and to propagate peace and tranquillity.

In this connection, I would like to stress that what

deepens our conviction and strengthens our stance

towards these eternal cultural values is our realization

and understanding of the geopolitical importance of the

Muslim nation, with its diverse peoples, which makes

it a strategic partner in the process of building balanced

international relations.

In fact, this is what makes Muslims deplore those

who deliberately and desperately try to link Islam with

terrorism. Our peoples condemn and reject terrorism as

well as all attempts to distort the image of Islam, which

is the last of divine faiths, and those who abuse and

terrorize its adherents and jeopardize their lives,

dignity and interests.

Therefore, it is now necessary to stand resolutely

against all forms of harassment against Arab and

Muslim communities in any country that take place

under the pretext of combating terrorism and the

pursuit of terrorists.

We need to have a clear definition of terrorism

and distinguish between this phenomenon, which is

based on criminal practices and attacks against

innocent civilians, and legitimate struggles to throw off

the yoke of colonialism and subjugation.

Terrorism has taken root not only because of our

inability to tackle the sources of tension in the world’s

hot spots, but also because we have tolerated for too

long those who pursue policies of repression and deny

their citizens fundamental liberties and basic human

rights. The seeds of terrorism lie in places where

pluralism is rejected, corruption is allowed to spread,

authority is exploited and political opponents are

hounded in the guise of protecting the security of

homelands and people. It is neither just nor logical for

anyone to claim to improve internal conditions by

resorting to oppressive practices or to suspending

democracy.

In this context, we feel it is high time to put an

urgent end to the tragedy of the Palestinian people at

the hands of the Israeli occupation forces. We call on

the international community to shoulder its

responsibilities in providing the necessary international

protection for these people against the unjustified and

unacceptable daily aggression to which they are

exposed.

That is indispensable if we want to avert an

imminent human catastrophe, which would lead only to

a further cycle of violence, terrorism and destruction in

our region. We urge everyone to support their political

leaders when they call for restraint so as to avoid the

loss of innocent civilian life and so that the right

climate can be created for a just peace to prevail in that

troubled region.

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In this context, we should like to put on record

our support for the positive stance of the President of

the United States, George W. Bush, and his

Administration, with regard to the establishment of a

Palestinian State. We would also like to pay tribute in

this respect to friendly European countries and other

international bodies concerned with the settlement of

the crisis. The ultimate test will be whether they

implement measures reflecting the positions that they

have taken and move from making statements to taking

action.

We must emphasize the need to address the

human tragedy of the people of Afghanistan. We

believe that it is our duty to provide all possible

assistance to those people, most of whom are living

under extremely difficult conditions — conditions that

further exacerbate their suffering, which was already

acute years before the crisis brought about by the

events of 11 September.

We therefore appeal to the international

community to provide assistance and aid to save the

lives of millions of Afghans who are facing a bleak

future. There is an urgent and immediate need for relief

as the Afghan winter approaches. We urge the Taliban

authorities to cooperate fully with relief organizations

to ensure that essential food and medicines can reach

all of their people. We urge the international

community to designate a safe corridor for such

supplies before winter sets in.

In addressing these urgent humanitarian concerns,

we believe that it is essential to seek a long-term

solution of the Afghan problem, as proposed by the

Organization of the Islamic Conference. Such a

solution would be based simply on maintaining the

territorial integrity and Islamic identity of Afghanistan,

and forming a government representing all factions of

Afghan society, excluding none.

It is the responsibility of the international

community to elaborate comprehensive programmes

and plans to confront all forms of global challenges. In

this respect, we are convinced of the necessity of

reforming the United Nations so as to step up the

effectiveness of its organs and agencies and to promote

its efficiency. Equally, as States Members of the

Organization, we are required to shoulder our political

responsibilities and honour our financial and moral

obligations towards the Organization. In this context,

we support the idea of expanding the membership of

the Security Council to make it more democratic and

more representative of the international community in

our contemporary world. We also support the idea of

expanding the permanent membership of the Council in

order to secure wider international representation. We

also support restrictions on the use of the veto on the

part of permanent members, regulating the ability to

exercise that right within limits established by specific

conditions and provisions to be agreed upon by the

international Organization.

From this rostrum, I would like to say that the

time has come for us to take steps immediately to

activate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In

implementing it, international organizations should not

confine their role to merely recording the violations of

its principles. They should move towards a

comprehensive, democratic dialogue that consolidates

its provisions guaranteeing people’s right to participate

in governance, expands its scope and makes it more

responsive, not just for today’s requirements, but also

for those of the future.

The State of Qatar is convinced of the importance

of — indeed, the necessity for — such a dialogue. As

we would be one of those to benefit from the outcome

of such a dialogue, we are willing to contribute in

many different ways in order to make this a year for

democratic dialogue that would truly reflect the

principles of the United Nations Charter at the

beginning of this millennium.

If approached with conviction and resolve, this

endeavour will lead to the interaction of different

views, and could help to unify our efforts against

current threats and future challenges and dangers. In

this way, our cultural distinctions could be turned into

a source of strength and wealth, our social disparities

could become an element of diversity and contribution,

and our political and geographical borders could

become points of cooperation, convergence and

communication among our peoples and nations. That

would provide an opportunity for all of us to live in a

world whose inhabitants take pride in their humanity

and look forward to a future of prosperity and well-

being for their children and grandchildren without any

discrimination or distinction.

May the peace and blessings of God be upon the

Assembly.