Saudi Arabia, 2002

I have the honour to deliver the statement of the

Government of Saudi Arabia on behalf of His Royal

Highness the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

It gives me great pleasure at the outset of the

fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly to

convey to Mr. Kavan personally and to his friendly

country, the Czech Republic, our sincerest

congratulations on his election to the important

position of President of the Assembly. We are

confident that he will preside with great skill and

efficiency over our deliberations.

I wish to take this opportunity to express our

gratitude to his predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo, who

presided over the last session with wisdom and

experience and deserves our gratitude and appreciation.

I also wish to take this opportunity to express our

thanks and appreciation to Secretary-General Kofi

Annan for his tireless efforts to achieve peace and

consolidate security throughout the world and for his

persistent efforts to strengthen the Organization's role

and enhance its efficiency.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes that the

recent admission of Switzerland to membership of this

Organization will enrich the United Nations and

undoubtedly enhance its role, given that country's

remarkable contributions to and experience in

international cooperation.

Our current session coincides with the first

anniversary of the horrendous disaster that befell the

United States of America as a result of a most

despicable act of terrorism that led to the death of

thousands of innocent lives, with enormous material

losses and immeasurable harm from which we are all

still suffering. The pain and suffering of the American

people over the loss of their relatives and loved ones as

a result of this cowardly act was our loss, too, as we

witnessed those events in a state of total shock and

dismay. We felt nothing but absolute condemnation for

those who committed that utterly criminal and barbaric

act.

I therefore convey our sincerest condolences and

heartfelt sympathies to the President of the United

States, to the families of the victims and to the

American people. I assure them that this horrible

experience can only strengthen what we already know

about the inner strength and pride of the American

people. Those feelings of fortitude and resolve, as well

as their determination to confront this challenge and to

move on with resolve, guided by the principles and

values of the founding fathers of their great nation,

were unmistakable when we, along with the American

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people and President, commemorated the first

anniversary of the tragedy.

It was most overwhelmingly painful for us to see

a number of our young people, who were in a position

to contribute beneficially to the development and well-

being of their own country, fall victim to those who led

them astray as they embarked on a road that ended

tragically. Those young men committed a grave offense

against their country and their religion, which totally

and utterly forbids the crime they committed.

May I be permitted here to quote from the letter

sent to United States President George W. Bush by His

Royal Highness Crown Prince Abdullah, in describing

those young men in a most unambiguous and

meaningful manner:

“We in Saudi Arabia felt especially acute pain at

the realization that a number of young Saudi

citizens had been enticed and deluded and their

reasoning subverted to the degree of denying the

tolerance that their religion embraced and turning

their backs on their homeland, which has always

stood for understanding and moderation. They

allowed themselves to be used as a tool to do

great damage to Islam, a religion they espoused,

and to all Muslims.

“I would like to make it very clear that real

Muslims throughout the world will never allow a

minority of defiant extremists to speak in the

name of Islam and distort its spirit of tolerance.

“Your friends in the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia denounced and condemned the attacks of

11 September as strongly as the American people

did. Like them, we are convinced that nothing can

ever justify the shedding of innocent blood or the

taking of lives and the terrorizing of people,

regardless of cause or motive. Therefore, we do

not simply reiterate our sincere condolences to

the victims' relatives; we also assure all of our

continued will and determination to do all we can

to combat that malignant evil and uproot it from

our world. My country will maintain its firm

resolve to combat terrorism unilaterally and

jointly with the international coalition. We shall

pursue the war against terrorism relentlessly. Our

drive emanates from our firm conviction that

terrorism is a pernicious disease that poses a

lethal threat to every human society and every

effort must be made to confront and defeat it.”

Saudi Arabia's position regarding terrorism has

always been very clear, dispassionate and responsible.

That is logical since our country was honoured by God

to be the custodian of the Muslims' holiest sites, and it

is also the birthplace of the heavenly message of Islam.

Thus, we want to uphold the principles and teachings

of the Islamic faith.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reaffirms its total

support for all Security Council resolutions related to

the question of terrorism. It has been cooperating fully

with the international community in implementing

those resolutions, with the aim of combating terrorism.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia has taken the necessary steps

to close any gaps in regulations related to charitable

fundraising that might be exploited for illegal

purposes.

The competent authorities in Saudi Arabia have

put in place all the necessary measures to implement

Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). Moreover, the

Government of Saudi Arabia has lent its support to

every international effort, within the framework of the

Security Council, to crack down on terrorism by all

means approved by the international community.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has itself

suffered from terrorist acts, has enacted regulations that

mete out punishment to the perpetrators of terrorist

acts. Moreover, it has made the fight against terrorism

part of its basic school curricula.

At the regional level, Saudi Arabia was one of the

first countries to sign the Pan-Arab Convention for the

Suppression of Terrorism, adopted by the League of

Arab States in 1998, and it is also a signatory to the

Convention of the Organization of the Islamic

Conference on Combating International Terrorism.

At the international level, Saudi Arabia is a party

to 10 conventions and agreements that deal with

various forms of terrorism. We sincerely look to the

United Nations, which represents all countries of the

world, to make the international effort to combat

terrorism a truly global one, without bias or

discrimination, with the primary goal of serving all

members of the international community and protecting

them from the evils of terrorism, including State-

supported terrorism.

Confronting terrorism, international cooperation

in tracking down terrorist organizations and the

exploration of all ways and means to eradicate it

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represent important steps towards eliminating that

dangerous phenomenon. However, the international

effort against terrorism, regardless of its effectiveness,

will not be capable of totally eradicating that

phenomenon unless it addresses its underlying causes,

including political, economic and social circumstances

that become ground for extremism, violence and

terrorism.

The decision to eradicate terrorism has been

taken, without hesitation or vacillation. However, if our

true objective is to eradicate the possibility of its

recurrence, then attention must be paid to the political,

economic and social conditions that, in many instances,

create grounds for extremism, especially when those

conditions reach serious proportions and the possibility

for peaceful change and development does not exist.

For example, the deteriorating conditions of

oppressed people, whether they suffer injustice and

oppression or are subject to foreign occupation, and the

international community's inability, for one reason or

another, to find just solutions to those problems will

ultimately lead to a situation in which opportunity is

created for people with evil intentions to take

advantage of naïve young men who are led to believe

that violence and terrorism are the only and ideal

means for correcting the injustice that afflict them.

Thirty-five years have passed since the

Palestinian people came under the suffocating Israeli

occupation. The cycle of violence in the occupied

Palestinian territories will never end unless the

legitimate rights of the Palestinians are respected.

Those rights have been acknowledged by the

international community as a whole and are enshrined

in many United Nations resolutions and have become

legally binding through various international

agreements signed by consecutive Israeli Governments

with the Palestinian side.

The obligations contained in those agreements

have been completely ignored by the Israelis, whether

they relate to the continuation of the occupation or the

treatment of the Palestinian people and their legitimate

leadership.

The policy of siege, starvation, military

incursions, the destruction of property and the

desecration of holy places totally contravenes not only

signed agreements, but also international law and

humanitarian norms.

Furthermore, the Government of Ariel Sharon is

marginalizing the Palestinian Authority, established

under the Oslo Accords, isolating the Palestinian

territories and destroying their infrastructure. In

addition, with nothing left to destroy, recently Sharon

has implemented a policy not only of imprisoning, but

also of assassinating, members of the Palestinian

leadership. He recently and blatantly declared that

Israel is no longer bound by any agreement signed with

the Palestinians, including the Oslo Accords.

The situation in the occupied Palestinian

territories will undoubtedly lead to a humanitarian

disaster resulting from the economic siege, the

unchecked spread of disease and the virtual collapse of

public health and security forces.

The most important fact to be recalled by all,

particularly the Israeli people, is that the goal of

security promised by the current Israeli Government

will never materialize. That is due directly to the

policies and practices of that Government, which chose

to ignore dialogue and negotiations and opted for

oppression and violence as a means of resolving the

Palestinian problem.

President Bush's statement to the Assembly

concerning the difficulty of attaining peace between the

Palestinians and Israelis, without providing the

freedom necessary for both, conforms with the current

situation in the occupied territories, which continue to

face a cycle of violence and suffering because one side,

namely the Palestinians, has been denied its right to

freedom and independence.

Therefore, the exit point of that dilemma is

Israel's acknowledgement of the importance of the

existence of a Palestinian State established on a basis

of constitutional legality and capable of conducting

negotiations and resolving pending problems that

cannot be ignored or bypassed. That is the action that

must be taken if we truly intend to put an end to the

crisis in the occupied territories, the price of which is

being paid by both Palestinians and Israelis.

We believe that an independent Palestinian State,

based on a constitution binding on all Palestinians, and

specifying the basis and rules governing their relations

with Israel, will ultimately constitute a guarantee not

only for the Palestinians, but also for the Israelis

themselves, because the Israeli side will have the

assurance of dealing with a legitimate entity with clear

characteristics, structures and institutions. Their future

25

relations will determine their responsibilities. To

achieve this goal, the international community must

move to end the humanitarian catastrophe and suffering

faced by the Palestinian people.

There is also a dire need to halt the violence

raging in the area through a practical and dispassionate

treatment of the security situation. That clearly means

that the international community must hold the Israeli

Government accountable to the same level of security

obligations that is required of the Palestinian Authority.

To limit the security obligations to the Palestinian side

alone is neither practical nor a means of solving the

problem. It is incumbent on all of us to work together

to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians and to take

the necessary practical steps to put the Palestinian

problem on the path to the desired settlement.

As far as the comprehensive settlement of the

Arab-Israeli conflict is concerned, we see in the Arab

peace initiative adopted at the Beirut Arab Summit a

historic move that contains all the requirements for a

just and permanent peace in the Middle East based on

resolutions of international legitimacy and supported

by all Arab States. It would lead to Israel's full

withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories and to

normalization of Arab relations with Israel.

There is another problem that has reached crisis

proportions and has become a source of grave danger

to the security and stability of the Middle East: the

issue of Iraq and its implementation of the relevant

Security Council resolutions. President Bush

mentioned in his speech before the General Assembly

the need to refer this matter to the Security Council in

order to have the appropriate resolutions adopted. That

represents a new and positive approach that we view

with satisfaction. Without a doubt, that step has led to a

new climate, resulting in the decision of the Iraqi

Government to allow the unconditional return of

United Nations weapons inspectors. That development,

which will avert confrontation through diplomatic

means, shows that a positive step will, in most cases,

lead to a reciprocal positive step. At this point, it is

appropriate to express our satisfaction with the Iraqi

Government's prompt response to the call of the

ministerial committee of the League of Arab States,

which met in parallel with the General Assembly. We

believe that it is now the Security Council's

responsibility to undertake serious efforts to alleviate

the suffering of the brotherly people of Iraq. We also

believe that it is now the responsibility of Iraq to

promptly carry out its pledges to allow the return of the

United Nations weapon inspection teams without prior

conditions.

The world has suffered great destruction and

human misery during the last century, which was

characterized by bloody confrontations, hate, conflicts

and violence. In a world of intertwined dependencies

and common interests, the peace and stability of

humankind depend largely upon the international

community's determination to forsake wars, renounce

violence, combat terrorism and settle disputes by

peaceful means and through the promotion of a culture

of peace and dialogue, as well as by consolidating

international cooperation, tolerance and understanding.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia calls for the

establishment of an international humanitarian order

based on a new form of partnership between the

developed and developing countries, on a solid basis of

cooperation, solidarity and international economic

relations built on justice, equality, mutual benefits and

joint responsibilities.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia looks forward to a

twenty-first century governed by the rule of law and

not by brutal force, a century of true pluralism in which

everyone will participate in managing the affairs of the

present and in creating the future, instead of excluding

and ignoring others. We look forward to a year in

which the moral values that govern human behaviour

will prevail and in which the banners of justice, mercy

and interaction among peoples will be raised in order

to achieve security, stability and peace for all humanity.