Yemen, 1993

It gives me pleasure to convey to you, Sir, on my

own behalf and on behalf of the delegation of Yemen, my

most sincere congratulations on your election to the

presidency of the forty-eighth session of the General

Assembly. I have no doubt that you deserve the trust that

has been placed in you by the Member States of this great

international Organization. Your personal qualities, long

experience, sagacity and tact make you eminently qualified

to conduct the deliberations of this session with excellence

and effectiveness. Just as your election attests to your high

standing at the international level, it bespeaks the esteem in

which your country is held by other countries the world

over. We wish you every success in the important tasks

assigned to you and trust this session will achieve its

important goals so as to strengthen the functioning of the

United Nations and its organs and enhance their

effectiveness.

I should also like to take this opportunity to express our

thanks and appreciation to your predecessor, Mr. Ganev of

Bulgaria, for the important role he played in guiding the

work and deliberations of the forty-seventh session of the

General Assembly.

I cannot fail to extend my best wishes to the Secretary-

General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his tireless efforts

aimed at strengthening the work of our great Organization,

upholding the principles and achieving the goals of its

Charter. We should also like to express our appreciation for

his annual report (A/48/1) on the work of the United

Nations, in which he deals with the most important items on

the agenda of this session.

We should also like to avail ourselves of this

opportunity to welcome those States that have recently

joined the United Nations and wish them every success.

Their presence here among us attests to the international and

universal nature of the Organization and contributes to the

attainment of our common goals, in accordance with the

purposes and principles of the Charter.

This is the fourth session in which the Republic of

Yemen is represented by one delegation, whereas in the past

it was represented by two. On 22 May 1990, our country

regained its unity after about two centuries of disunity in the

course of which a power struggle raged between the

occupiers of various parts of the country. This reached its

peak on 30 November 1967, when Yemen was divided into

two States.

Although that miraculous unitary achievement of four

years ago seemed impossible, our people and its wise leaders

were able to bring it about, and other peoples that are still

divided may look upon our example with hope. Our people

fought and made many sacrifices over many generations for

the attainment of that objective. The unity of our homeland

has been characterized by pluralism, multilateralism and

democracy.

Furthermore, on 27 April of this year the Republic of

Yemen crowned its march towards democracy with general

parliamentary elections that were free, impartial and honest.

Representatives of international organizations that defend

democratic ideals participated by following those elections

closely and monitoring their proper procedure. Western and

Arab monitors welcomed that democratic exercise in Yemen,

and The New York Times described the events in our country

as "a true Arab revolution". In the light of all this, we

believe we are justified in feeling a sense of pride as we

take part in this session against the backdrop of such

achievement by a country that has worked two miracles

which no one thought possible only four years ago.

Our success in opting for democracy on the basis of

pluralism and the multiparty system clearly demonstrates that

the seeds of democracy can germinate in any soil once it is

planted and is not the preserve of any special soil. No one

should marvel, however, at the success of democracy in our

country. Yemen, as historians know, was the first cradle of

the practice of "Shura", that is to say parliamentary activity,

from as far back as the days of the Kingdom of Sabã 2,800

years ago. This is attested to in the Holy Koran and other

earlier books of revelation.

Three years have passed since the unfortunate invasion

of Kuwait by Iraq and the second Gulf crisis that ensued.

My country continues to suffer the terrible consequences of

that crisis. One million of our expatriate countrymen had to

return to Yemen as a result of that war, and yet we have not

received any external assistance from any quarter whatever

to lighten the burden of that return. The Republic of Yemen

is and has always been against the use of armed force in

resolving conflicts. We reject the idea of the acquisition of

the territories of others by force. That is why our position

on this situation remains unchanged. We consider that

Kuwait is a sovereign, independent State and not part of any

other State. Since the Republic of Yemen is an Arab

country that, geographically, is part of the Arabian

Peninsula, we have been deeply chagrined by what happened

between the two neighbouring, sister countries of Iraq and

Kuwait, and by the resultant deep cracks in the edifice of

Arab solidarity. For that reason, the Republic of Yemen has

12 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

continued to urge the Iraqi leaders to carry out all that is

called for in international resolutions. In that context the

responsiveness and readiness to cooperate demonstrated until

now by the Government of Iraq are cause for optimism and

should lead us to review the sanctions that are now in place.

Similarly, ensuring the territorial integrity and

safeguarding the sovereignty and independence of the

Republic of Kuwait are an absolute necessity. None the

less, this can never be achieved in a lasting and definitive

manner unless the two countries reach a mutually acceptable

formula of agreement and the Arab countries, in particular,

as well as the international community as a whole, guarantee

strict adherence to such agreement so that neither of the two

countries may breach it. Such agreement should make it

possible to reassure the State of Kuwait that the events of

2 August 1990 will not recur and also make it possible to

resolve all outstanding issues so as to prevent any future

dispute.

There is no doubt that our Kuwaiti brethren are well

aware of the fact that the sovereignty, independence and

security of Kuwait cannot be guaranteed indefinitely by

dependence on international protection alone but must have

its solid basis in sound and equitable relations between their

country and Iraq in the framework of a climate of security

and fraternal reconciliation in the region.

Given Iraq’s readiness to cooperate in the

implementation of Security Council resolutions, we believe

that the blockade against Iraq is no longer justified. Indeed,

the suffering of the Iraqi people has reached an intolerable

level, and we do not believe that the international

community is prepared to accept the death of innocent

women, children and old people because of lack of

medication. At the same time, my country reaffirms the

need to preserve the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq,

and we ask that there be no further destruction of Iraq’s

economic, scientific and social infrastructures.

Following the establishment of the Republic of Yemen,

my country declared that one of the goals of Yemeni unity

is to contribute to the security and stability of our region and

to promote cooperation and integration between all its

countries. In pursuance of that objective, relations between

Oman and Yemen have been strengthened and have become

a model to be followed. However, this sound beginning is

but a key, albeit an important key, to the doors which, when

fully opened, will allow movement on the economic, security

and trade tracks towards economic integration and security

cooperation between all the region’s countries especially now

that between Yemen and Oman there are the initial steps

towards easy access for passengers and goods. There is no

doubt that Yemeni-Omani relations are of special

significance to the future stability and prosperity of the

region. They represent a practical and important beginning

to the much needed process of putting the Arab house in

order both at the regional and the Arab levels. They are also

relations that pose no threat to the interests of others as they

are open, transparent and well-defined as regards their ends

and means.

Similarly, Yemen’s relations with other sister countries

are based on historic kinship and religious links and on the

fact that we all belong to one and the same Nation. That is

the reason why Yemen has always stood by its brethren in

neighbouring countries and in the Arab world in general and

has always endeavoured to raise such relations to the level

that would enable it to perform its role vis-à-vis Arab and

international issues.

As regards the border issues between Yemen and Saudi

Arabia, Yemen has been engaged since November 1972 in

talks with our brethren in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in

a climate of goodwill and with a genuine desire to turn a

new leaf. Following initial contacts last year in Geneva, a

joint committee of experts was set up to negotiate the border

problem that lies at the forefront of the two countries’

bilateral concerns. That committee has held five rounds of

negotiations, the most recent of which was held at T’az two

months ago. In the meantime, other contacts have been

taking place between President Ali Abdullah Saleh and

King Fahd, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, through an

exchange of letters, the last of which was the letter I

delivered to His Majesty King Fahd. Notwithstanding the

complexities of the border problem between the two sister

countries, we continue to be optimistic as to the outcome of

negotiations, since both countries are desirous of seeing the

talks crowned with success and since good intentions exist

on both sides. This makes it easier and possible to resolve

problems. Everyone is well aware that factors tending to

rapprochement between the two countries outweigh the

factors of discord. I can say that my last contact with

King Fahd, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, was

positive and that I found him to be aware of the need for

fraternity and cooperation between our two countries.

The deplorable situation in Somalia demands that, in

addition to what the international forces are doing to

establish peace and security there and in addition to

international support, further efforts should be deployed to

initiate national reconciliation between the various factions.

We urge the international community to redouble its efforts

at the humanitarian level and we invite the factions in

Forty-eighth session - 7 October l993 13

Somalia to rise to the level of their responsibilities and to

work on a basis conducive to reconciliation, to reject

factionalism and false sensitivities and to see that the

country’s interests triumph over narrow, factional ones so

that it may be possible to rebuild what has been destroyed

by that cruel war and pursue the path of development and

progress.

Although Yemen previously had the honour of taking

part in the efforts deployed to achieve national reconciliation

through the Conference held in Djibouti two years ago, and

although the national groups in Somalia have not committed

themselves to implementing the resolutions of that

Conference, we shall spare no effort in working for the

desired comprehensive national reconciliation in Somalia. It

is only fair to commend here the role performed by our

Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and the

interest he takes in the Somalia tragedy. Let us pray that

God the all-powerful will guide the leaders of the various

factions in Somalia towards reconciliation so that peace may

prevail over all parts of that sister country and enable it to

work towards reconstruction and development and to resume

its place as an active member of the international

community.

Any observer who is familiar with the history of the

Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East region will be

certainly aware of the fact that the identity and destiny of

Palestine have been at the core of the Arab-Israeli problem

from the very outset, and the fuse that detonated the terrible

explosion of conflict from as far back as the British

mandate. Since then, the Palestinian cause has continued to

be the focal point of the conflict, which has lasted for

decades and has led to three bloody wars; taken thousands

of lives and caused millions to leave their homes; broken

apart thousands of families; destroyed property; and caused

incalculable losses. Therefore, it is no wonder that the just

settlement of the question of Palestine is the key to resolving

the conflict and restoring peace.

Our country’s prompt support for the agreement

between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel in

Washington on 13 September stemmed from our

commitment to the Rabat Arab Summit Conference

resolution which recognized the Palestine Liberation

Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the

Palestinian people as well as our respect for the right of

every people to choose its own course and exercise its own

will in full freedom. Having said all this, we view the

agreement as an important first step towards a just, lasting

and comprehensive peace in the region, as was stated by the

Council of Ministers of the Arab Nations in Cairo last

month. None the less, this step by itself and in itself will

not bring about peace unless it is followed by more

significant steps at the levels of other Arab-Israeli

negotiating tracks. This will depend on Israel’s earnestness

with regard to withdrawal from all the Palestinian and Arab

territories it has continued to occupy since June 1967.

If we tell ourselves that Israel, at long last, has come to

the realization that it is unrealistic to hold on to the policy

of depending on naked force due to the military superiority

it enjoys, as a means of guaranteeing its continued existence,

imposing its hegemony over the Arab people in Palestine

and the neighbouring Arab States and imposing a peace that

would be tantamount to capitulation - I say that if we tell

ourselves anything of the sort, we shall be indulging in

wishful thinking until such time as Israel demonstrates the

truthfulness of its declared intentions and passes the test by

adopting sound positions in current and future negotiations

with the Syrians, Jordanians and Lebanese and by

withdrawing from all the territories it now occupies. It must

also accept the establishment of the independent State of

Palestine, which would include Gaza and the West Bank,

with Jerusalem as its capital, while the Republic of Yemen

appreciates the important role played by the two co-sponsors

of the Arab-Israeli negotiations and, in particular, the role of

the United States of America, it hopes that this role will be

such as to prompt Israel to abandon the policy of force and

arrogance which it has pursued out of its feelings of military

superiority, and because of the international support and

protection it has always enjoyed as well as the special

treatment extended to it by the Western Powers. It is time

the States of the world at large, and in particular the United

States, shouldered the responsibility of curbing Israeli

arrogance, especially after the crimes, killings, acts of

intimidation and terrorization, the bombings, destruction and

atrocities it has perpetrated for decades in Palestine and

other Arab countries. Those are acts that will shame

mankind for a long time to come and that will torture the

human conscience.

We do hope that the Gaza-Jericho agreement between

the PLO and Israel and the agenda between Jordan and

Israel will be accompanied by Israeli-Syrian agreements and

Israeli-Lebanese agreements in the near future. This should

lead to the return of the Golan to Syria and to Israel’s

withdrawal from southern Lebanon. We also hope that such

agreements will be followed by others that would lead to

Israel’s total withdrawal from all the Palestinian territories,

including Al-Quds and all the other Arab territories that are

still under occupation. It is also our hope that the Israeli

authorities will finally desist from the arbitrary measures and

acts of criminality against all our brethren in Palestine, in

14 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

Lebanon and in the other occupied territories. If the battle

for peace has been joined, it shall not be won unless Israel

shows a great deal of courage, abandons its arrogance and

realizes that this is the most difficult battle of all.

The end of the cold war and the emergence of the

beginnings of a new international order that is beginning to

take shape to rid the world of wars and conflicts require that

lasting, total peace should prevail in the Middle Eastern

region on a fair and stable basis so that its peoples may

tackle the task of development and improve their standards

of living. This requires that all the States and peoples of the

world should take a firm stand in opposing any attempt to

create obstacles in the path of peace, or to impose peace by

force. Our world will not enjoy peace until peace embraces

every part of the globe.

Like many other countries, Yemen has followed with

deep concern the attacks against southern Lebanon and the

Bekaa Valley by Israel in the month of July, in full sight of

the international community. Yemen, while stressing the

importance of respecting Lebanon’s independence, territorial

integrity and sovereignty and safeguarding its right to live

within recognized international borders, condemns Israel’s

continued occupation of southern Lebanon, and demands

unconditional Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in

implementation of Security Council resolution 425 (1978).

The international community should take a firm stand in

order to compel Israel to refrain from these acts of

aggression and to compensate the people of Lebanon for the

enormous losses they have sustained.

It is inadmissible, illegal and immoral for peoples, on

the eve of the twenty-first century, to suffer from injustice

and to be exposed to physical liquidation for ethnic or

religious reasons. The most horrendous example of this is

the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United Nations,

since it was created, has never faced a more serious

challenge than the one that confronts it now in that peaceful

European Muslim country. It is very difficult indeed to

understand the stance of the international community with

regard to that situation. In practice, all the slogans have

turned out to be no more than hot air. Developments in

Bosnia and Herzegovina squarely put a heavy burden of guilt

on the shoulders of the international community and

especially the major Powers, with regard to the collective

massacring of Muslims at the hands of the Serb and Croat

fascists. As long as we, as an international community,

continue to fail to face up to such a situation, and to

safeguard the right to life of the unarmed people of Bosnia

and Herzegovina, how could we pretend to champion human

rights on this planet? In the most restrained terms, we can

only say that the world’s stance vis-à-vis what is happening

in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be a stigma, a brand of Cain

on the brow of the age and of the human race, for all

eternity.

Consequently, this blatant defiance calls for practical

measures by the international community to deter aggression,

to intensify moral support and humanitarian assistance and

to strengthen the steadfastness of the people of Bosnia and

Herzegovina with a view to ending this tragedy. We in

Yemen join the other countries of the world in calling for an

end to this aggression that Belgrade supports, and for a halt

to the genocidal atrocities perpetrated by the Serb aggressors

in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We support the request by the Non-Aligned Movement

for the venue of the negotiations to be moved from Geneva

to United Nations Headquarters here in New York as those

negotiations are now at a critical juncture, and moving them

to New York would strengthen the parties’ confidence,

especially that of the Bosnia and Herzegovina side, which is

the party that has to make the biggest sacrifice.

The World Conference on Human Rights held in

Vienna in June 1993 has studied the question of human

rights, reviewed the fundamental precepts relating to those

rights and underscored the need to implement them and to

provide humanitarian assistance to the victims of war and

natural disasters. Unfortunately, many of the tragic

situations which afflict people arise from certain crises and

political conflicts that degenerate into armed confrontations.

The use of force and economic blockades that ensue result

in untold suffering for innocent civilians, especially the most

vulnerable, namely, women, children and the elderly, who

are always the principal victims of such wars and blockades.

The situation in South Africa continues to be cause for

concern for most Member States of this Organization. The

latest news does not justify too much optimism. Over the

past two months, there have been several massacres and

killings. That is why the most recent events should prompt

us - and the United Nations - to monitor this situation

closely so that the goals contained in the 14 December 1989

United Nations Declaration on Apartheid and its Destructive

Consequences in Southern Africa may be implemented.

The decision to deploy a peace-keeping force in South

Africa, a decision that has been welcomed by Inkatha, is a

major step in leaving behind the cycle of violence, murder

and massacre in the country, and may well make it possible

to establish a democratic and non-racial regime. Here we

should like to emphasize the importance of having all the

Forty-eighth session - 7 October l993 15

parties understand the need for peace, especially in view of

the forthcoming democratic, non-racial elections scheduled

for next year. We hope that the elections will be successful,

and that they will mark a positive turning-point.

Just a few days ago, we had the honour of hearing

Mr. Nelson Mandela address the Special Committee against

Apartheid, and we could feel his confidence in the future.

We hope that the dialogue that has now begun in South

Africa will make it possible to establish a democratic, non-

racial regime.

The Secretary-General, in his annual report on the

activities of the United Nations, declared that political

progress and economic development are inseparable. Yemen

believes that, to revitalize economic growth in the

developing countries and enable those countries to continue

their political and economic adjustment programmes, the

donor countries and the industrialized countries must provide

economic and technical support, and the United Nations

must continue to play its role in promoting cooperation

between the developing and the industrialized countries in

order to achieve the objective of economic integration on an

equitable basis. It is also important to lighten the poor

countries’ debt burdens, to increase financial flows towards

them and to provide them with technical assistance in order

to enable them to continue their programmes of adjustment

and to achieve economic and social development.

As underscored by the meeting of the Ministerial

committee for the economic development of the countries of

the Non-Aligned Movement held last May in Bali, Indonesia,

the economic situation in the developing countries has

worsened. World economic growth is suffering from a

grave imbalance and the gap between the developing and the

developed countries has widened. The economic recession

has led to the growth of protectionism and declining

development assistance. Furthermore, the increase in

indebtedness and the burdens of debt servicing have resulted

in capital outflows in the case of the developing countries.

This is a situation that threatens the very existence of those

countries and not only the prospects of economic and social

development. We must refer in this respect to failure by the

industrialized countries to honour their commitments in line

with the agreements, strategies and international resolutions

relating to the inflows of development assistance to the

developing countries, especially those included in the

international strategy for the eighties which called for the

allocation by the industrialized countries of 0.7 per cent of

their Gross National Product to development assistance.

Instead of implementing those resolutions, the industrialized

countries have resisted every attempt to formulate and adopt

a new strategy for the 1990s. They have also failed to

implement the programme for the 1990s that had been

agreed upon at the Paris Conference. This has been a real

setback for the economic and social development of the least

developed countries.

We do say that the principal responsibility for

development lies with the developing countries themselves,

but national efforts alone are not enough: there must also be

a degree of international support and assistance. National

efforts must be backed up by appropriate international

efforts.

We feel that the international economic system must be

fair and equitable towards the developing countries. This

cannot be the so without political will, wisdom and courage.

A great deal of work awaits the United Nations, and

this is why this session of the General Assembly is of

special importance. The international community must avail

itself of this opportunity to develop a concept of cooperation

between countries, within the framework of the United

Nations, with a view to strengthening international peace and

security and economic stability the world over. This should

also help to strengthen the Organization, because the

Organization is the ideal framework for building that world

of peace and stability on the basis of international legality.

In this connection, the United Nations must implement

the Charter without selectivity or double standards, for the

Charter is the ideal framework for coordinating international

efforts. As the international community must build a better

world within the framework of the United Nations to ensure

peace and development, we, the family of nations, must have

the foresight and resolve to face up to the problems that

arise with the universal character of the United Nations in

mind.