Address by

His Excellency Sheikh Hamad

Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani

Foreign Minister of The State of Qatar

Delivered on his behalf by

His Excellency Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser

Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar

to the United Nations

I should like, first, to extend my congratulations to you for presiding over the work of this important fifty-fifth session. It is important indeed, since it is the first session in the new millennium. We are confident that your experience and capability in the diplomatic field will be, by God's permission, the best asset in our effort to achieve success.

I should also like to extend my sincere thanks to the president of the past session, His Excellency Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab and to his friendly country Namibia, noting that his outstanding effort had a tremendous impact in solving difficulties and achieving good results in numerous matters during the past session.

I should further like to express my thanks and appreciation to His Excellency, Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who tried his utmost and did not compromise in his effort to realize the goals aspired by all the peoples of the world. We, too, appreciate his endeavor in preparing the report before us.

A few days ago, the world witnessed a great event in time and place, hosted in this building, and this very same hall got crowded with a unique assemblage of world leaders, who came from every comer of the globe to attend the Millennium Summit. Attendance of leaders in this great number and their desire to participate mean many things, not the least of which their firm recognition of the role of the Untied Nations which represents the hope of the peoples of the world for the achievement of peaceful coexistence that guarantees security, peace and well-being for all. The Summit Declaration has deeply impressed us all. We trust that the role of the United Nations will grow stronger when states, particularly the great powers, look beyond their narrow, short-lived interests, work in the interest of this organization, and firmly abide by its charter for the settlement of disputes through peaceful means and by resorting to the international judicial system. This would be a civilized demonstration of the progress achieved by nations and an acknowledgement of the significance and fairness of the rule of law, which is an instrument of security and peace, whose decisions deserve respect and full obedience.

We, in the march of the State of Qatar under the leadership of Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa AI-Thani, the dearly beloved Emir of the country, give the United Nations and all its international organizations their due appreciation and respect as part of the philosophy of our system based on truth and justice, both internally and externally, and consider democracy and human rights accepted basic targets we strive to attain according to our special cultural, religious and social characteristics. We thank God that we have the right direction leading to this aim.

You are well aware that we live in a region that has, for two decades, been plagued by disasters and crises, no sooner one calms down than another erupts like an active volcano. But many good people from the Arab Gulf, and honorable people and lovers of peace from other parts of the world, try their best to establish security in a region of importance to the present civilization, having embedded in it a sizeable portion of the sources of energy needed by all. No sooner had the Iraqi- Iranian war, which devastated the region and left it with bleeding wounds, come to an end and people had had hopes of a period of rest wherein the wounds could have been healed, than another crisis occurred, greater in dimensions and more complex this time, namely, the second Gulf War, the invasion of Kuwait and its liberation, and the economic boycott of Iraq, going on for a decade so far, killing people, particularly children, the ill and the aging. All of us now know that the sanctions have failed to achieve the goal they were established for and their course has so much changed that they became like a sword of affliction imposed upon the people. We, here,, do not only call for the lifting of sanctions on Iraq and putting an end to the suffering of its people, but also call for a reconsideration of the issue of imposing sanctions, whether by individual states or through the United Nations, for recourse to sanctions has completely failed and what was left behind was merely rancor and hate. Referring to the humanitarian situation in Iraq, and realizing that humanitarian matters are indivisible, we welcome the Secretary-General's appointment of Yuli Vorontsov to be his representative in the affairs of Kuwaiti prisoners and mission persons to bring this phase of human suffering to an end. The State of Qatar sincerely hopes that, through concerted bilateral and regional efforts, a solution will be found of the problem of prisoners and missing persons, be they our Kuwaiti or Iraqi brothers.

In this context, I should like to note that last year my Government welcomed the positive development and the progress that had been achieved for the settlement of the "Lockerbie" question. We commend the cooperation and response by the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and its fulfillment of its obligations. On the other hand, we emphasize the necessity and inevitability of lifting the sanctions imposed on Libya, which had been temporarily suspended, especially because the hole issue had been referred to court with the extradition of the two Libyan suspect. Consequently, there are no more legal justification for the continuation of such sanctions.

The principle of dialogue or recourse to the international judicial system, referred to at the beginning of my address, fully applies to the dispute between the Emirates and Iran over the occupied islands. The State of Qatar strives, within the tripartite committee established by the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, which includes our sisters the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman, to reach a solution acceptable to both parties through bilateral dialogue or recourse to the international judicature.

Similarly the question of the Middle East, is foremost in our priority concerns. An endeavor to solve it was launched and it faced obstacles and impediments that prevented the attainment of the much sought-for peace based on the legitimate international resolutions, particularly resolutions 242 and 338, which were the foundation of the peace process. The Arabs consider peace their strategic option, yet a comprehensive peace is still beyond reach owing to Israeli intransigence, inflexibility and disregard of the basic rights of the Arab nation. This intransigence was an impediment on the way to peace on the Syrian-Lebanese course. Israel's refusal to withdraw to the fourth of June borders did not meet the minimum conditions placed by the Syrian Arab Republic consistently with the United Nations resolutions. By reason of a few meters, Israel wasted a rare chance of peace.

This leads to the question of Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab territories. These settlements are like time bombs standing in the way of any resolution of the conflict. It was the extremist Zionists who have implanted these settlements to stand in the way of any peaceful solution, in contradiction with the numerous General Assembly and Security Council resolutions which explicitly declare them illegitimate.

The State of Qatar, declaring its full support to the legitimate Arab demands on the Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian courses, hopes that the voice of reason, love and. peace will eventually overrule for the achievement of just and lasting peace in the Middle East and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State ruling over all Palestinian national territory with Holy Jerusalem as its capital. The United State of America, whose efforts in the peace process are appreciated, is called on more than any time in the past to exert pressures so that Israel responds to the challenges of peace, and is supposed not to let this historic opportunity be missed under the pressure of narrow, short-lived ambitions,, the alternative to the peace process being too dangerous for international peace and security, and would lead us all into a maze nobody but God knows where it ends.

Mr. President,

The State of Qatar supports the attempts made for national reconciliation in our sister the Sudan, endorses the efforts of the Sudanese government in this respect and hopes that good will and sincerity will lead to consensus, so that the endeavor of all people would be mainstrearned into development and reconstruction. At the same time, it warns the foreign parties which contribute to the protraction of the crisis so that the brotherly people of the Sudan pay the price with the illness, hunger and blood of its citizens.

We also support the tireless efforts of the President of Djibouti and his government to solve the elusive Somali problem, and thank God that those efforts have been fruitful. Here we extend our congratulation to His Excellency President Abdi Kassim Salad Hassan, the elected Somali president. We wish him and his government every success, God willing, and he will find in the State of Qatar the necessary help and support so that he could sail the boat of national reconciliation to the land of safety. We also hope that our Somali brothers will rise above their wounds, put an end to the chaos and destruction that befell their country for a decade, and respond to the hopes and aspirations of their brotherly people who dream of security, peace and participation with all the peoples of the world in a life of honor and freedom.

Mr. President,

This leads us to the region of the Horn of Africa as a whole, where war, drought and famine inflicted suffering on its people with whom we have relations of kinship and neighborhood. We wish them every good and stability, and hope that their efforts will move on to action and construction.

The State of Qatar looks closely and with concern at what is plotted against our sister Indonesia, the largest Islamic state, population wise, and the one which has a prominent place in the minds of all Muslims. Intrigues are being secretly contrived to chop up this peaceful Muslim state under pretexts of human rights and other means of deception that can fool nobody. We emphasize our strong and unreserved support for the sovereignty of Indonesia over all its territories, and for its territorial integrity and national unity. What is going on in Indonesia is merely a domestic affair, the like of which occurs in any state in the world. The Indonesian government is capable, God willing, of putting an end to such problems among its citizens, regardless of their race, religion or orientation. We realize too, that financial difficulties and poverty are among the main factors of these problems.
Mr. President,,

Mr. President,

It is hoped that this session, the first in the new millennium, will give us strong impetus to deeply think of our world today with all its disparities reflected in the daily life of hundreds of millions of people. If we stand aside for a moment of reflection, we will find a rich, developed North enjoying well-being and democracy, economic stability and ample opportunity for creativity and innovation,, and a poor South many of whose states try hard to catch up with the march of civilization and progress and utilize all their capabilities for the development of their infrastructures and the advancement of their people, while other states of the South suffer from war and conflict both among states and among the citizens of the same country, thus causing their suffering to increase and their resources to be wasted on acquiring weapons instead of being used in the areas of education, health and the building of infrastructures.

Since economic factors have a big contribution to the continuation of wars and disputes, it is incumbent upon us to solve the causes I of crises. This can only be achieved through cooperation among all, particularly the rich North states. Foremost among those crises are indebtedness and the accumulation of interest which exhaust the income of many South states. We hope that the states of the North and their creditor institutions would respond to the numerous appeals for writing off, wholly or partially, the debts or interests of the poorest countries which strive to upgrade their fragile economies. We must also make a comprehensive review of the international banking system through holding an international conference, in which all countries in the world participate, with the aim of establishing a wise pilot policy, that is fair and just, for the world economy in the new -millennium, taking into consideration true development in third world countries, and directing investment and capital towards establishing a genuine partnership that drives development ahead. Another thing to be taken account of is globalization, which has an effect in every sphere and transforms the world into what is like a small village no part of which could be separated from the other parts. Therefore, the transfer of technology, especially information and communication technology, is an urgent necessity fundamentally required for transparent globalization rather than for a selective globalization wherein third World countries are no more than markets for the products of developed countries and huge corporations.

Mr. President,

The process of reforming the United Nations attracts the attention of all states, and I have referred to it on other occasions in the past sessions. Moreover, the Secretary-General's efforts are outstanding in this respect. For the realization of an active organization working in harmony with contemporary requirements, its work has to be activated, the increasing number of employees which drains its resources has to be made less, and the dynamics of its work,, both at headquarters and in its bodies, organs and offices elsewhere, have to he changed.

Moreover, the process of reforming the Security Council requires the Working Group to go ahead until it achieves the goal for which it was established. The Working Group has indeed gone a long way in that respect, particularly with regard to the second cluster relating to procedural matters in the work of the Council. As for expanding the Council and increasing its membership, the State of Qatar is committed to the position of the Arab Group and the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries which stand for a minimum increase of up to 26 members, taking into consideration the equitable geographical distribution and the increase in the membership of the United Nations since the last increase which took place in 1963. We also endorse the continuation of the Working Group which, God willing, will reach a solution that acquires consensus, and at the same time, we emphasize the right of the Arab Group in a permanent seat in any impending increase.

Mr. President,

There have recently been in current use a number of terms and ideas, good in appearance but imply a great threat to states and nations. Danger is not inherent in these terms; it is rather a consequence of how they are interpreted or applied. Intervention in humanitarian cases is one of them, and it could be exploited by great powers to justify interference in the internal affairs of states and violation of their national sovereignty.

Promotion of democracies in the world, the code of conduct and good governance are all relative, and if they were to be used in their present interpretation, the world would run according to a single style of democracy and one culture would prevail. This is so serious that it would eliminate pluralism which is an enriching factor in the work of the United Nations, since the name indicates diversity and difference among nations. This very same diversity positively contributes to world interests, promotes humanitarian and cultural exchange and enables each of us to accept other cultures and coexist with them. True democracy is one that is freely chosen by any people for its regime.

The year 2001, the International Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, may offer us a good chance to demonstrate more tolerance and communication among nations for the benefit of all humanity. I should like here to refer to the address by His Highness, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the beloved Emir of Qatar, on the fifth day of this month, September 2000, when the dialogue among civilizations was launched, and to His Highness's emphasis on the significance of dialogue and communication as an alternative to dispute and conflict.

Peacekeeping forces play a very important role, establishing security and stability in many different regions suffering from conflict and war. As time passes, the cost of operation for these forces is constantly on the rise, and the Fifth Committee will in this session discuss the issue of contributions to these forces. We feel that the Fifth Committee is the best forum for this. But since this process is linked to the members' assessed contributions in the regular budget, we believe that to finalize the scale of assessments first is a reasonable priority. Our delegation will actively take part in the work of that committee with the aim of reaching a consensus,, without which we cannot find a solution to the problem of committing any state to something it cannot meet in the future. We stress that all aspects of the economic situation of each state should be considered, particularly as regards the emerging economies which rely on one source of income and become subject to market volatility. My country is one of these states.

Finally, the state of Qatar firmly believes in the importance of the United Nations' role in establishing security, stability and peace all over the world,, and also believes in the significance of respecting the United Nations' Charter and its lofty goals, and the need to adhere to it in international relations. We trust and hope that the future will, God willing, be bright, when all the peoples of the globe realize their goals and aspirations and positively contribute in the process of building, development and innovation.