Qatar, 2013

I would like

first to congratulate His Excellency Mr. John Ashe on

his election as President of the General Assembly at its

sixty-eighth session, and I wish him every success in his

mission. I would like also to express our appreciation

to His Excellency Mr. Vuk Jeremi., President of the

Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, for his efforts

for the success of that session. I would like also to

commend the efforts of His Excellency the Secretary-

General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, to strengthen the role of the

United Nations.

The international community faces many different

problems related to peace and security, in addition to

challenges facing the efforts made to solve disputes

peacefully. This calls for strengthening the United

Nations capacity to tackle these challenges and

problems.

Peoples from different regions of the world are

expecting the institutions of the international community

to dedicate their efforts to finding solutions to the issues

of poverty, hunger and sustainable development in a way

that goes beyond simply convening conferences and

adopting resolutions, and even beyond the necessary

collective attention and campaigns that are called for

from time to time, important as they might be.

Recently, the Arab region has experienced many

historic events and accelerating change. It has witnessed

turbulent events arising from popular movements and

their forceful entry into the public and political arenas.

Stalemate continues to characterize the Arab-

Israeli conflict. That conflict is at the forefront of the

issues threatening international peace and security,

owing to the continued Israeli occupation and the

injustices inflicted upon the Palestinian people, as

well as the failure to reach a just and lasting peace in

accordance with resolutions of international legality.

The continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian and

Arab territories cannot be accepted as normal. Its

practices include the changing of the demographic

conditions in those territories, particularly through the

expansion of settlement activity, the Judaization of the

city of Jerusalem, the unjust embargo against the Gaza

Strip, and intensification of settlement activities in the

occupied Syrian Golan and changing its status quo and

demographics. This is not simply because such actions

represent flagrant violations of international laws and

covenants, but also because the Palestinian cause is a

just cause and the historical injustice inflicted upon the

Palestinian people must end.

The major international bodies were established

on the basis of the right to self-determination in the

aftermath of two world wars. It is unreasonable that

they cannot do anything about the last remaining

colonial issue in the world.

Israel should realize that coercion and de facto

policies do not bring security. It is wrong for it to

establish a State that believes that the prospect for

peace lies in subjugating other peoples, denying their

rights and making that a priority over peace.

There can be no security without peace. True

peace can come about only through coexistence among

peoples on the basis of good-neighbourliness, mutual

respect and respect for the interests of all. The peace we

desire is built upon dignity, justice and the principles

of international legality, as well as United Nations

resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, the principle

of a two-State solution and the withdrawal of Israel

from all occupied Arab territories. The experiences

of different nations and peoples confirm that unjust

settlements do not endure but only lead to new conflicts.

The continued de facto policy in Palestine will not

make the issue disappear. It is actually becoming more

complicated, because continuing settlement activities

are leading to the destruction of the foundation for

the establishment of a Palestinian State. The current

status quo resembles a situation of apartheid under the

domination of one State or even within a single State.

That cannot but be grounds for fresh conflict, as no

people could accept continued injustice and remain

silent.

The inalienable national rights of the Palestinian

people to establish their independent State, with

Jerusalem as its capital and within the limits of 1967

borders, as well as the right of return for Palestinian

refugees, are not only an Arab demand; they also

represent an international standard for testing the

credibility of international legality, which should not

be divisible. Just as the international community has in

the past applied the principles of international legality

to other crises in the world, we should apply the same

legal principles to all issues. We therefore call upon

the Security Council to uphold its responsibility to

maintain international peace and security and to take

the decisions necessary to stop all illegitimate Israeli

practices.

Destructive actions and appalling massacres,

including the policy of scorched earth and the

destruction of cities, continue to be carried out by the

Syrian regime against its peoples, crossing all red lines

dictated by ethics and mandated by law, particularly in

view of the regime’s use of chemical weapons against

the Syrian people.

It is unfortunate that the perpetrators of those

brutal crimes and massacres, which have shocked every

human conscience, are, undeterred, enjoying impunity

from accountability. That raises questions about the

credibility of the human rights and international legality

mechanisms of the international community.

The issue is not whether or not Syria possesses

chemical weapons, because Syria is a State that is in

conflict with another State that possesses chemical,

biological and even nuclear weapons. The issue is the

use of such weapons by the regime against its own

people. The Syrian people did not rise up in order to

place Syrian chemical weapons under international

supervision. They did so in order to get rid of despotism

and corruption and to put an end to the injustice they

have been facing.

We all know that the responsibility for the failure

to impose the political settlement we would all prefer

for Syria is due basically to the Security Council’s

inability to take the decisions required to put an end

to the bloodshed and to the continued intransigence of

the Syrian regime and its rejection of all regional and

international initiatives.

From that perspective, the decision-making process

in the Security Council must change, since it lacks

fairness and objectivity. It has also become a major

obstacle to the maintenance of international peace and

security and to the punishment of war criminals and

perpetrators of crimes against humanity. We therefore

reiterate the importance of accelerating comprehensive

reform of the Security Council in order to make it more

capable of dealing objectively with global challenges

and responding to the aspirations of peoples. That can

be achieved only through equitable representation of

the international community in the Council, so that it

can become expressive of democracy in international

multilateral efforts.

While it is obviously impossible for any decision

to be taken in the Council without the support

of the majority of the permanent member States,

decision-making should not be monopolized in the long

term by one or two States.

I take this opportunity to call upon our Syrian

brothers to unify their ranks in order to initiate a

transitional period leading to the establishment of

a governing system that guarantees freedom and

dignity for all Syrians, without discrimination on the

grounds of gender, nationality, sect or creed. These

large numbers of martyrs have not fallen and all these

sacrifices have not been made by this great people so

that despotism could be exchanged for chaos or another

kind of despotism.

The Arab Spring revolutions, during which the

Arab people have risen up, calling for freedom, dignity

and social justice, are now facing difficulties that seem

to be aimed at reversing the march of time. As such

difficulties had been anticipated, it is strange that

certain politicians have not been able to avoid even

expected problems.

Anyone who knows the reality of the issues in the

Arab region and their historical context knows that these

revolutions have taken place in the context of a long-

term historical process similar to those experienced

previously by various peoples in Europe, America, Asia

and Africa. The path to a just rule and to meeting the

demands of peoples in all States of the world has never

been easy; it has always been replete with sacrifices.

It is not easy to follow such a path with patience and

determination. Rarely have there been revolutions that

have not been followed by desperate attempts by former

regimes to abort them. That is why wise people always

prefer that regime change should take place through a

process of gradual reform.

But we also know very well that in some cases, in

our region and in other regions of the world, change

could not have taken place through reform. We should

not jump to hasty conclusions about the future of the

Arab revolutions. This is a historical necessity and a

long-term one. It is clear that things in the Arab world

will not revert to the way they were and that the Arab

peoples have become more aware of their rights and

more involved in the public domain.

The State of Qatar has always opted to be an active

and effective party playing a constructive role at the

international level through its balanced economic

and political relations at the bilateral and multilateral

levels. We will continue to take that approach, so that

the State of Qatar can uphold its responsibilities and

commitments at the national, regional and international

levels. The State of Qatar aims to be a hub for dialogue

and discussion among various parties to conflicts and

not to be a party to such conflicts. We aim also to create

opportunities for cultural and informational dialogue

between peoples.

In that context, the process of reform and

modernity initiated by Qatar, which has made it a State

of institutions and one that is interacting positively

with the international community, was achieved

only through a genuine commitment to applying

the rule of law and principles of good governance,

combating corruption, protecting human rights and

basic freedoms, empowering women to participate in

public life on an equal footing with men, and creating

a healthy environment for children. In addition, our

national policies have always focused, as a priority, on

the concerns of young people and on creating a suitable

educational environment for them aimed at ensuring

the maximum use of their capacities.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,

in particular nuclear weapons, in the Middle East is

a very alarming issue. In that context, I affirm the

position of the State of Qatar that every State in the

region has an absolute right to use nuclear power for

peaceful purposes in accordance with the standards

and procedures of the International Atomic Energy

Agency. We also look forward to convening the Helsinki

conference as a step that contributes to the efforts

aimed at making the Middle East a zone free of nuclear

weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

The issue of climate change remains at the top of

our concerns, with all its ramifications for the global

system as a whole. In that regard, I would like to

confirm and reiterate the commitment of the State of

Qatar to continued cooperation with the international

community in facing that challenge and implementing

the measures agreed upon during the eighteenth

session of the Conference of the Parties to the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,

which was hosted by Qatar at the end of last year, in

order to develop a road map for tackling the negative

environmental and economic consequences of that

dangerous phenomenon.

It is worth mentioning that the State of Qatar has

gone a long way towards implementing the initiative

of the Global Dry Land Alliance, which it launched

in order to establish an international organization that

would tackle the implications of that phenomenon.

That proposed organization will complement the work

of the other relevant international organizations in

combatting desertification and drought and preserving

the environment without duplicating their work. I call

upon all Member States to support that initiative.

The State of Qatar participates as an active and

effective partner in efforts to achieve sustainable

development at the international level. We have pledged

to allocate the required percentage of our gross national

product for the least developed countries, in addition

to the humanitarian and relief assistance that our State

provides in cases of emergency and disaster.

In that context, the State of Qatar has achieved the

majority of the Millennium Development Goals and is

working towards achieving all the Goals before 2015, as

demonstrated by United Nations and regional reports in

that field.