United Arab Emirates, 2012

At the outset, I would

like to congratulate Mr. Vuk Jeremić on his election

as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-

seventh session. I am confident that his experience in

international affairs will enable him to guide the work

of this session wisely and ably, and I wish him every

success in his task.

I would also like to commend his predecessor,

Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, for his

successful and prudent leadership of the sixty-sixth

session of the General Assembly, and to commend the

great efforts made by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

and pay tribute to his tireless efforts and the role of this

international Organization in promoting international

peace, security and development.

Security and stability in the Arab Gulf region are a

high priority for all of us. Our balanced policies are based

on the principles of the Charter of the United Nations

and the provisions of international law, especially those

calling for peaceful coexistence, confidence-building,

good neighbourliness, mutual respect, non-interference

in the internal affairs of other States, and pursuing

peaceful means in resolving conflicts and disputes.

On the basis of those principles, my Government

expresses, once again, its regret regarding the

continued Iranian occupation of our three islands:

Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb. We demand

the restoration of the United Arab Emirates’ full

sovereignty over those islands. We emphasize that all

actions and measures taken by Iran are null and void,

and are in contravention of international law and all

norms and universal human values.

The events unfolding in Syria are for us a cause

for great sadness. They have gone beyond all limits

and norms. The United Arab Emirates is closely, and

with great concern, following the policies of violence,

killing, displacement and expulsion being pursued by

the Syrian regime against its people, which regime

has lost all its legitimacy. We therefore call upon the

international community to consider with seriousness

and firmness what is happening to our Syrian brothers

and to shoulder its humanitarian responsibilities.

We see it as our duty to stop those atrocities against

the peaceful Syrian people. We are convinced that a solution to the crisis can be achieved only through an

orderly transition of power.

That severe humanitarian crisis requires us

to support the people of Syria, in particular the

refugees. The United Arab Emirates has shouldered

its responsibilities and obligations towards the Syrian

refugees in Turkey and Jordan and will continue to do

so by providing relief. We urge all States to contribute

to such humanitarian efforts.

The Middle East holds great importance for us,

and we believe that peace and stability will never be

achieved in that region until the Arab-Israeli conflict

is resolved. That is the central and vital issue to the

people of the entire region, and reaching a just solution

is the key for bringing peace and stability to the whole

area. It cannot be realized without putting an end to

the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian and Arab

territories through Israel’s withdrawal to the lines

of 4 June 1967, including from East Jerusalem, the

occupied Syrian Golan Heights and the remaining

occupied Lebanese territories. The achievement of a

just and comprehensive peace must be carried out in

accordance with resolutions of international legitimacy,

the principle of land for peace, the Arab Peace Initiative

and the establishment of an independent Palestinian

State, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The United Arab Emirates welcomes the

considerable progress achieved in the political process

in Somalia through the completion of the transitional

phase, the convening of the Constituent Assembly,

the adoption of the Constitution of Somalia and the

election of Mr. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the new

President of Somalia. We also reaffirm our support

for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political

independence of Somalia, and look forward to working

with its Government towards achieving security and

stability and countering piracy in a region of such

vital importance, not only with respect to oil and gas

transport but also to the world economy in general.

In the United Arab Emirates, we remain committed

to supporting the security and stability of Afghanistan

and confirm the continuation of our humanitarian and

developmental support to that distressed country. In

that context, we welcome the outcome of the donors

conference that was held in Tokyo, with the hope that

the pledges announced at the conference will contribute

to the process of the reconstruction of Afghanistan. As

we approach the year 2014 and the commitment for

military withdrawal from Afghanistan and for turning

the country over to its people and Government, we

aspire to see an Afghanistan that is free from terrorism,

extremism and violence.

At the same time, the United Arab Emirates

expresses its deep concern over the violence against

the Rohingya Muslim community in Myanmar and

calls upon the international community to urge the

Government of Myanmar to cease all acts incompatible

with the principles of fundamental human rights.

We reaffirm our commitment to all requirements of

nuclear non-proliferation and renew our support for the

efforts aimed at designating the region of the Middle

East, including the Arab Gulf region, a zone free of

weapons of mass destruction — especially the Arab

Gulf region. In that context, we must also call upon

Israel to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons and subject all of its nuclear facilities

to the comprehensive safeguards regime.

In that regard, we urge the Islamic Republic of Iran

to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy

Agency in implementing its international commitments

in order to dispel all fears and suspicions surrounding

its nuclear programme. We look forward to a peaceful

solution to that crisis, ensuring that our region remains

free of tension and conflict, while guaranteeing the

transparency and peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear

programme.

The United Arab Emirates began in 2009 to develop

a nuclear energy programme for peaceful uses in order

to meet the country’s growing demand for energy and to

support economic development projects. It ensured that

the programme’s rules and regulations were based on

the highest standards of sustained safety and security

measures and principles of nuclear non-proliferation.

I take the opportunity to call upon the States of the

region to draw on the experience of the United Arab

Emirates in that field and to study the standards of

transparency, technology, safety and security upon

which the programme is based.

We would like to emphasize the importance of

addressing the implications of climate change, which

involves developing renewable energy technologies to

achieve sustainable development and providing clean

energy for developing countries, which are among

the goals advocated by the United Arab Emirates in

offering various types of humanitarian and development

assistance.

The United Arab Emirates reiterates its firm

condemnation of all acts of terrorism, illicit trafficking

in drugs and arms and human trafficking, as well as

organized crime, which are interlinked phenomena that

feed into each other. It reaffirms its resolve to continue

cooperating with international and multilateral efforts

aiming at the total elimination of those negative

phenomena, which pose a direct threat to international

peace and security.

The United Arab Emirates has announced the

establishment of the International Centre of Excellence

for Countering Violent Extremism, in collaboration with

several inf luential friends and actors, which will begin

its work in Abu Dhabi at the end of the year. Moderation

and tolerance are the basic principles guiding our

political orientation and represent lofty values to the

citizens of the United Arab Emirates and to society as

a whole. In that sense, the United Arab Emirates has

been and will remain committed to moderation in its

approach, and accepts other communities as part of a

diverse world built on mutual respect. Those are the

human values that have formed our convictions with

regard to many issues, such as counterterrorism, human

rights, the empowerment of women and coexistence

among peoples and religious sects.

The United Arab Emirates emphasizes the

importance of consolidating the values of tolerance,

moderation and respect for religions, as well as the

importance of protecting religions against defamation

and contempt and stresses the need to develop the

necessary legislation in that regard. I must condemn,

in the strongest possible terms, abuses against Islam,

as freedom of expression should not be allowed to

undermine any religion or belief, whatsoever. We also

condemn all violent reactions to any such abuse.

Terrorism poses a challenge to international peace

and security and leads to violating the human rights

of ordinary people by depriving them of the right

to live in peace and prosperity. In that context and

based on our commitment to the principles of human

rights, the United Arab Emirates renews its support of

international efforts aimed at ensuring peace, security

and prosperity for all the peoples of the world, and

looks forward to expanding its engagement in that area.

The United Arab Emirates has also been focusing

its efforts on reducing gender discrimination.

Therefore, we look forward to playing an active role

in the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and

the Empowerment of Women, based on our successful national experience in empowering the women of

the United Arab Emirates, who actively participate

in managing the affairs of the State as well as the

community.

In conclusion, I would like to appeal to all

Member States to support the quest of the United Arab

Emirates to host World Expo 2020 in Dubai under the

slogan “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”. We

look forward to receiving the support necessary to

strengthen my country’s candidacy, particularly since it

is the first time that the event will be held in the Middle

East, North Africa and South Asia region.