United Arab Emirates, 2000

I have the honour to convey to you, on behalf

of the United Arab Emirates, our sincere

congratulations and regards on your election to the

presidency of the fifty-fifth session of the General

Assembly. We are confident that your experience in

international affairs will contribute to the success of

this session's proceedings. We also thank your

predecessor, His Excellency the Minister for Foreign

Affairs of Namibia, for the efficient manner in which

16

he directed the work of the previous session. I would

also like to express our appreciation to Secretary-

General Kofi Annan for his prudent leadership and for

the efforts he exerts to strengthen the role of the United

Nations in maintaining peace, security and stability in

the world.

The convening of the Millennium Summit a few

days ago in this world forum was a clear embodiment

of the political will of the leaders of the world to deal

effectively with the problems and challenges that face

the international community, such as the proliferation

of proscribed weapons, armed conflicts and increasing

poverty and debt, as well as other attendant

transnational issues, such as drugs, organized crime,

international terrorism, environmental pollution,

persistent violations of human rights and the disparities

resulting from globalization and information

technology.

The consequences of these prevailing conditions

have, more than ever before, reinforced our awareness

of the importance of adhering to the principles

embodied in the Charter of the United Nations and of

consolidating the rule of international law through the

peaceful settlement of disputes, respect for the

principle of equality and the right to self-

determination, as well as of strengthening the spirit of

cooperation and tolerance among the different cultures,

beliefs and legacies of the various civilizations, for

achieving the desired security, stability and human

development.

The United Arab Emirates reiterates its welcome

of the border treaties concluded between the Kingdom

of Saudi Arabia and both the State of Kuwait and the

Republic of Yemen, as an important political and

historic event that will promote confidence-building

measures and good neighbourly relations. At the same

time, we call upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to

follow the example of those fraternal States and to

respond to our peaceful initiatives that call for either

entering into direct and serious bilateral negotiations

aimed at finding a peaceful solution for ending Iran's

occupation of our three islands Greater Tunb, Lesser

Tunb and Abu Musa, or agreeing to submit the dispute

to the International Court of Justice.

In this context, we would like to reaffirm that all

actions and measures taken unilaterally by the Islamic

Republic of Iran on those three islands and its

continued construction of military and civilian

installations on them, are illegal measures considered

null and void, and do not establish or entail any legal

rights, regardless of the duration of the occupation. In

fact, they represent a violation of the territorial

sovereignty of the United Arab Emirates and

contravene the principles and purposes of the Charters

of both the United Nations and the Organization of the

Islamic Conference, as well as declared Iranian

peaceful intentions in the region.

More than a year has elapsed since the Gulf

Cooperation Council entrusted a tripartite Ministerial

Committee, composed of the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Qatar,

with developing a mechanism for direct negotiations

between the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic

Republic of Iran. Iran has not yet responded to any of

the endeavours of that Committee, thus preventing the

reinforcement of the foundations of peace and security

in the Arab Gulf region.

Despite the fact that almost ten years have

elapsed since the end of the second Gulf War, the Arab

Gulf region is still experiencing the negative effects of

that War. Consequently, it is imperative that political

and diplomatic efforts continue in order to find a

peaceful solution that would lead to ending the human

suffering of the Iraqi people. At the same time, we

invite the Iraqi Government to cooperate by completely

fulfilling its obligations, particularly those relating to

the release of Kuwaiti and other countries' prisoners of

war or detainees and to the restitution of Kuwaiti

property, in implementation of the resolutions of the

Security Council. In this regard, we would like to

underline the importance of respecting the national

sovereignty, territorial integrity and political

independence of both Iraq and Kuwait, as well as

refraining from the threat or use of force, in order to

ensure the entrenchment of security and stability in the

region.

The Middle East peace process recently witnessed

important developments during which major efforts

were exerted with the objective of arriving at equitable

and fair solutions based on the resolutions of

international legitimacy and the principle of land for

peace. Yet, despite all those efforts and all the flexible

and constructive proposals put forward by the

Palestinian side for finding a comprehensive and just

solution to the Palestine issue in all its aspects, the

Israeli Government persisted in its positions of

procrastination, delay and stalling, and in failing to

17

abide by the agreements it had concluded with the

Palestinian side.

Thus, in affirming our position of solidarity with

the fraternal Palestinian people and their leadership,

represented by the Palestinian Authority, we renew our

call to the co-sponsors of the peace process — in

particular the United States of America — and the

other active States to continue exerting political and

diplomatic efforts that support and promote

negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides,

with the aim of finding a just and comprehensive

settlement of the Palestine issue. In particular this

settlement should resolve the issues of Al-Quds Al-

Sharif and the refugees, on the basis of Security

Council resolutions, especially resolutions 242 (1967)

and 338 (1973). This should enable the Palestinian

people to exercise their legitimate and inalienable

rights to return to their homeland and to establish their

own independent State, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its

capital.

Also in this context we reaffirm our unceasing

support of the position of sisterly Syria in its efforts to

regain its Golan territory up to the line of 4 June 1967.

We call on the international community to demand that

Israel resume negotiations on the Syrian track on the

basis of relevant United Nations resolutions, in the

interest of attaining peace, stability and growth for all

the States and peoples of the region.

The United Arab Emirates, in welcoming once

again fraternal Lebanon's regaining of its territory,

expresses support for Lebanon's efforts to complete the

extension of its sovereignty over all of its national soil.

In the same vein, we support the demands of

sisterly Libya that the economic sanctions imposed on

it be lifted, particularly since it has implemented

relevant Security Council resolutions.

We also express our satisfaction at the outcome of

the recent Somali reconciliation conference in Djibouti

and invite all Somali factions to reinforce national

unity for the sake of restoring peace, stability and

sustainable development to Somalia and the rest of the

region of the Horn of Africa.

The growing number of problems resulting from

the continuation of wars, disputes and ethnic cleansing

in some parts of the African continent, the Balkans,

South Asia, Afghanistan and other places is a source of

constant concern for the international community.

Consequently, we support all regional and international

efforts aimed at dealing with these issues by peaceful

means, and we emphasize that just and lasting

resolution of these issues cannot be attained until the

parties concerned demonstrate the necessary political

will to achieve national reconciliation and demonstrate

their commitment to implement relevant Security

Council resolutions.

Despite international unanimity, shown in the

Disarmament Conference and other international

forums, regarding the need to limit the spread of

weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear

weapons, progress in this field remains slow, which is a

matter of concern to us. We are particularly concerned

at this time as some States are striving to outdo each

other in stockpiling certain classes of these weapons, in

particular nuclear arms and ballistic missiles, as a

means of settling their territorial disputes. Since such

actions escalate conflicts and disrupt the strategic

security balance, at both the regional and international

levels, we call upon the States concerned to review

their policies in this respect and to promote the

establishment of zones that are free of weapons of mass

destruction, including nuclear weapons, especially in

the Middle East, the Arab Gulf and the Indian Ocean.

We also urge the international community to demand

once again that the Israeli Government accede to the

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

and agree to subject its nuclear facilities to

International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.

Despite the multidimensional changes that the

world economy is witnessing as a result of the

deregulation of markets, globalization and modern

technology, the economic and social gap between the

developed and developing States still exists and is

growing — thereby exacerbating poverty and

unemployment, environmental degradation and debt

accumulation. Thus, the convening of the Millennium

Summit and the Summit's Declaration highlight the

great importance our countries attach to these issues.

This makes it incumbent on all of us to work

assiduously on carrying out the commitments and

undertakings contained therein regarding the creation

of an environment favourable to development,

elimination of poverty and free access for the exports

of the least developed countries to the markets of

industrialized countries. I confirm the determination of

the United Arab Emirates to support this plan and to

18

work towards narrowing the gap between the rich and

the poor.

The United Arab Emirates continues its sustained

efforts in support of economic- and social-development

projects in many countries of the world, particularly in

Africa and Asia, be it through direct participation in

financing such projects or by supporting international

and regional efforts to attain those goals.

Finally, the ever-increasing burden of economic,

social and human development, which is the first

safeguard of the political stability that we desire,

demands that mechanisms for regional and

international cooperation, foremost among which is the

United Nations, be created. Hence, we call for

continued efforts to carry out the structural reform and

development of the world Organization, in particular

the Security Council and the General Assembly, so that

the Organization can keep pace with the rapid changes

in international relations.