H.E. MR. ABDURRAHMAN M. SHALGHEM

Secretary of the General People's Committee for

Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation

before

The General Debate of the 55th

Session of General Assembly

Mr. President,

It gives me great pleasure to extend to you, in the name of my country's delegation, our congratulations for your election as president of this Session, wishing you full success in the management of its affairs. I would also like to express our satisfaction to your predecessor Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, the Foreign Minister of Namibia, who administered the work of the Fifty Fourth Session of the General Assembly most competently. I wish also to seize this opportunity to express the gratitude of my country's delegation to His Excellency Kofi Annan, The Secretary General of the United Nations, for his initiatives which have been instrumental in putting an end to instances of tension in many parts of the world, and his endeavors aimed at the reform of the United Nations, and the enhancement of its role, so that it may fulfill the duties assigned to it by the Charter in a better manner. A word of welcome is also due to the republic of Tuvalu which joined us a few days ago as a new member of the United Nations.

This Session is convened in the aftermath of several developments. In the last few days, the Secretary General submitted to us a comprehensive report on peacekeeping operations, which included a number of recommendations that would assist the United Nations in assuming its responsibilities in this field. Moreover, the General Assembly convened over the last few months two special sessions; the first of which conducted a review of the progress made in the implementation of the outcome of the Woman's World Conference, whereas the second reviewed progress in the implementation of the outcome of the Social Development Summit. Last week, this hall witnessed the convening of the Millennium Assembly, at whose conclusion the leaders of the world expressed their adherence to the United Nations and renewed their commitment to the goals and principles of its Charter, as well as their intent to lend it their support and to enhance its role in order to enable it to cope with the new century, with all the changes and the challenges that it brings. In our view, these developments will undoubtedly contribute to the support of the efforts which aim at the realization of the goals of this organization. However, it must also be indicated that we are still remote from achieving the ultimate goal that we strive for, namely the establishment of a world that enjoys peace, security, freedom, equality, and justice, and which is free from oppression, acts of aggression, and attempts to impose hegemony and domination.

Mr. President,

These are many regions in the world today that suffer from wars and conflicts. Famine and diseases such as cancer, malaria, and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) still threaten the lives of millions. Resources provided by nature for the sustenance of life are being seriously endangered. The developing countries have not benefited from the advantages of globalization in a manner that is proportional to their suffering from its negative impact. In fact, the international financial institutions have started to impose severe conditions on these countries to the extent that they find themselves at the mercy of a new form of colonialism. Attempts to intervene in the internal affairs of other states have threatened to eliminate sovereignty and not only to violate it. These are also unilateral boycott policies, and the imposition of unjust sanctions, even aggression, under the pretext of so-called international legitimacy. Old ideological barriers have been substituted by new barriers that obstruct the South States from accessibility to the technology they need for development, and which impose trade protection measures on their products by making other markets inaccessible to them. We witness also selectivity in the sphere of disarmament, and policies of double standards in the treatment of international issues. Furthermore, criminal activities have increased, including illicit drug trafficking, financing organized crime, and all kinds of trans-national crimes.

Mr. President,

Such is the current state of the world, and this is how the world of the post-collapse of the international equilibrium, with its various variables and challenges, looks like. Such a state of affairs necessitates the adoption of measures to combat and rectify the prevailing conditions. The United Nations, in its capacity as an instrument and reference authority for all, should perform a central role in dealing with these variables. However, we think that the Organization will not be capable of making an effective contribution in this respect, unless radical reforms are introduced in the composition of its organs, and the work mechanism of its entities. In order to guarantee success for this Process, we should make it a comprehensive one that takes into account the aspirations, ideas, and proposals of all state members, both big and small, strong and weak. The responsibility for success or failure in this respect must be ultimately a joint responsibility. Wishing to contribute to the ongoing efforts which aim at reforming the United Nations, my country believes that the required reform should achieve the following:

FIRST: Strengthening the role of the General Assembly so that it becomes the authority responsible for determining and deciding the conditions which must be deemed as truly threatening to international peace and security. A mechanism answerable to the General Assembly should be established which insures the implementation of its resolutions, and enables it to control and hold accountable other United Nations organs, including the Security Council, which itself should be an executive entity for the implementation of the General Assembly resolutions. The General Assembly should also approve the resolutions adopted by the Security Council.

SECOND: Restructuring of the Security Council in a manner that achieves fair geographical representation in its membership, and equity for African, Asian, and Latin American States which are not fairly represented in the membership of the Council.

THIRD: Amelioration of the ways and methods by means of which the Security Council conducts its work so that its activities are rendered more transparent. Its rules of procedures should also be reviewed. In fact, the General Assembly, which represents all the state members of the Organization, should issue such rules, otherwise it would be meaningless to say that the Council acts on behalf of the international community.

FOURTH: Abolition of the prerogatives which the victors in the Second World War granted to themselves, particularly the right of Veto, which should be abolished because it is non- democratic, and because it undermines the principle of the full equality among the member states, which the Charter stipulates.

FIFTH: In order to enable the Organization to follow-up the plans and programmes that it establishes, we propose the establishment of an international committee answerable to the United Nations, with subcommittees that cover most parts of the world, empowered with the necessary authorities and resources, to undertake the tasks of inspection and implementation of United Nations programmes.

Mr. President,

Despite the problems from which many African countries suffer, the current year has witnessed some encouraging developments. In Somalia, the Parliament was able to choose a new president for the country, and the disputing parties in Burundi signed a National Reconciliation Agreement. The fighting which broke out between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been contained, and both sides signed a cease-fire agreement. These solutions were the fruit of efforts made by the Organization of African Unity, and a number of African Leaders who sincerely care for the security, stability and the development of the Continent. For its part, my country has contributed to all these efforts, and we shall continue, in cooperation with OAU and His Excellency the Secretary General of the United Nations, with our initiatives which aim to secure a just settlement acceptable to all parties to the conflict in Sierra Leone. We shall also continue our good offices which aim to provide a solution to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes Region, on the basis of the implementation of the Sirte Agreement, which was completed in Lusaka, for the purpose of ending the dispute in that region.

Mr. President,

From the beginning, we, in Libya, have realized that Africa's problems are partly due to its disunity and the fragmentation of its own peoples' efforts. Therefore, in order for the Continent to be truly capable of facing the challenge of disputes, diseases, and backwardness, as well as the other challenges imposed by the new international situations, Brother Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, the Leader of the Revolution, persisted in his efforts to unify the Continent so that it may be ushered into the new century strong and unified. It was in this spirit that a meeting was held for African Foreign Ministers in Tripoli last April during which the founding law for the African Union was drafted, which was later approved in Lomi last June at the Conference of the Heads of State and Government. At an invitation from the Leader of the Revolution, the African Presidents will meet in Sirte at the beginning of next year to declare officially the establishment of the African Union. This stands in testimony to the fact that Africa has overcome the negatives aspects of the past, and has realized the dream of unity which has been the aspiration of African peoples for decades.

Mr. President,

All these initiatives and endeavors provide evidence once again that Africa fully realizes that the solution of its problems and the advancement of its capacities reside basically in the efforts made by its own sons and daughters. Nevertheless, it should be emphasized that international Peace is indivisible, and that international stability can not be partially achieved. This means that the international community has an obligation to assist Africa in its efforts to realize peace and stability on its soil. As we reiterate today our invitation to all states to help Africa in developing a programme for the elimination of epidemics and diseases, provide a solution to the problem of its external debts, and to deal with the Continent on the basis of new, just and equitable terms, rather than considering it merely a consuming market for the products of the industrialized world, we wish to recall, as we have always done, that Africa's problems lie in the abuse of its resources, the plundering of its wealth and riches, the intervention in its internal affairs, and the imposition of foreign concepts, alien to its traditions and culture. We demand that such practices be discontinued as they constitute one of the main reasons for political instability in some parts of the Continent, and political backwardness in most of them. We also call upon the states which colonized Africa, drew its borders, scattered its people and enslaved them, to offer their apologies to the Continent, and fully compensate it for all the damages inflicted by colonialism.

Mr. President,

No solution has been found yet for the Palestinian question because the essence of this problem has been ignored. My country emphasizes, once again, that there is no solution to the Palestinian problem other than the return of Palestinian people to their homeland, and the establishment of their state on the land of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. On this occasion, as we salute the people of Lebanon who, thanks to its steadfastness, were able to defeat the enemy and liberate its occupied land, we once again stress the necessity for terminating the occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights. We also
demand the immediate lifting of the sanctions imposed on Iraq, and we call upon the international community to put an end to the human tragedy endured by the Iraqi people, and to preserve the unity and integrity of its territories, respect its sovereignty, refrain from interfering in its internal affairs, and cease the military aggression waged daily against it.

Mr. President,

The international community has made continuous efforts in the domain of disarmament. My country, which is a party, to most international conventions, in this field, is still fully convinced that some international conventions which deal with certain aspects in this area should be reviewed. I would like to refer, as an example, to the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines which deals only with simple weapons of limited effect. We, as one of the Third World peoples who are incapable of defending our borders and our lands against the powerful who possess aircraft carriers and aircraft that refuel during flight, feel that humanity should be preoccupied with the destruction of nuclear, chemical, and germ weapons, as well as ballistic weapons, rather than being concerned with mines, which are a simple form of weaponry.

On the other hand we have noticed that a number of obstacles still faces the efforts for the establishment of a world free from arms of mass destruction. 'Those who possess nuclear arms have not yet undertaken actual measures to dispose of their nuclear arsenals. In fact, some of them have continued to develop these weapons vertically, instead of commencing to destroy them. The Israelis, who possess hundreds of nuclear heads with which they threaten the Arab people from the Atlantic Ocean to the Golf, still refuse to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty and to place their nuclear installations under the supervision of the safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy Agency. As we raise this most serious and grave subject, we are fully convinced that unless the international community adopts effective measures that oblige the Israelis to accept and implement the international conventions in the domain of nuclear disarmament, and unless the nuclear states take actual steps that prove the seriousness of their undertakings, the efforts directed towards the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear arms will be utterly worthless, and any claims concerning the destruction of nuclear arms will constitute a major act of deception which the peoples of the world will not be fooled by.

Mr. President,

Terrorism still constitutes a source for grave danger to humanity because no effective measures have been taken to trace the roots of this phenomenon in order to eradicate it. My country, which was a direct victim of state terrorism, has relentlessly reiterated its strong condemnation of terrorist acts, and its willingness to cooperate with all international efforts which aim at their elimination. My country's eagerness to put an end to terrorism was of such a degree that we called in 1992 for holding a special General Assembly Session to consider the methods by means of which all forms of terrorism and violence could be eradicated. Today, as we reiterate this request, it is most important to clarify that the correct approach to the elimination of terrorism must begin with providing a definition for terrorism which is universal, objective, democratic, and scientific. It is really most unacceptable that some still classify the struggle of peoples for their freedom, and the struggle of persecuted groups against their persecutors, as forms of terrorism, whereas they turn a blind eye to real terrorism embodied in the unjust sanctions, occupation, invasion, foreign military bases, arms of mass destruction, the use of force, and the threat to use it. Unless all such matters are dealt with, it is certain that any international efforts to eliminate terrorism would be of no avail.

We think that it has become necessary to take additional measures to reinforce the international systems concerned with the punishment of the perpetrators of the most serious crimes against international security as the statute of the International Criminal Court, in its present form, is designed to try only the weak. We ask for its modification in a manner that guarantees the trial of all perpetrators of acts of aggression, drug smugglers and their trade-partners, and those responsible for group massacres of innocent people, as well as those who commit aggression against United Nations troops.

Mr. President,

Allow me now to raise a subject which has preoccupied the attention of the international community over the last seven years, namely the dispute between my country, and a number of Western States concerning the "Lockerbie" incident. I do not wish to repeat what we have said in previous sessions concerning the magnitude of our people's suffering, and the gross human and material losses which it has incurred because of the sanctions unjustly imposed upon it. However, I would like to concentrate on the manner in which the Security Council has dealt with this issue since the suspension of the sanctions in April of last year. As you are aware of, more than a year and a half has now elapsed since the two suspects appeared before the Scottish Court convened in the Netherlands. Almost the same period has elapsed since the Secretary General submitted his report to the Security Council in pursuance of Resolutions 883(1993) and 1192(1998), in which he confirmed that my country has fulfilled the demands stated in the relevant Security Council Resolutions. Despite all these developments, however, the Council has been hindered from adopting the resolution which should be adopted, namely to lift the sanctions, because of the stubbornness of one country, The United States. This stubbornness has been such that a threat to use the right of Veto was voiced.

The United States gave a number of justifications to prevent the Security Council from lifting the unjust sanctions imposed upon the Libyan people. The first of these justifications is that Libya still supports terrorism. This is a groundless pretext. My country, which was itself a victim of terrorism in 1986 and before, has repeatedly declared its condemnation of international terrorism in all its aspects and forms, and stressed its support for all international efforts aiming at its eradication. Moreover, the Secretary General's report has given proof that leaves no room for any doubt concerning the vacuity and lack of truth of all American claims that Libya supports terrorism.

The second of these justifications is that Libya should cooperate with the Scottish Court convened in the Netherlands. This is a refutable justification, as my country has pledged, since the very beginning, that it will cooperate fully with the Court. This pledge was, in fact, proven since the Court has started reviewing the case. In fact, the United States is the one that has not fully cooperated with the Court by hiding basic information requested by. the Court which in itself violates Security Council resolutions which call upon all states, and in particular the concerned ones, to cooperate with the Scottish Court sitting in the Netherlands.

The third, and the strangest of these justifications, is demanding Libya to pay compensations to the families of the victims of the PANAM 103. The question to be raised here is: How could the USA ask for compensations while the Scottish Court has not yet reached a verdict? Does not this constitute a complete overlooking of the legal principle that stipulates a presumption of innocence until the accused is proven guilty?

Furthermore, why does the USA jump to conclusions to give a priori conviction, while acquittal or conviction is a matter for the court alone to decide?

Libya's fulfillment of its obligations was confirmed by the Secretary General's report a year and a half ago. It was also reaffirmed by the decisions of the Summit of the Organization of African Unity, The Non-Aligned Movement, The Islamic Conference Organization, The Arab League, and lastly The South Summit, which called for a complete lifting of the unjust sanctions imposed on the Libyan people.

In view of all of the above, my country demands the following:

Should the Council be further hindered from taking the required resolution, my country will have no option left, except to resort to this august Assembly so that it could take the necessary measures to vindicate us against one state that refuses to lift the sanctions, which she herself was behind their imposition upon us, under groundless pretexts, following a path that leads nowhere.

Thank you for your attention