PERMANENT MISSION OF

THE REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

TO THE UNITED NATIONS

STATEMENT

By

HIS EXCELLENCY MR. ABDALLA S. AL-ASHTAL

PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE

OF THE

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN TO THE UNITED NATIONS

BEFORE

THE FIFTY-FIFTH SESSION OF THE

UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

NEW YORK, 21 SEPTEMBER 2000

This session acquires special importance not only because it is the first at the dawn of the new millenium but also because of its coincidence with the convening of the Millenium Summit, which gathered together, for the first time, the majority of the world's leaders, and the historic instruments which emerged from the Summit were a culmination of that momentous occasion.

The Republic of Yemen, as President Ali Abdullah Saleh emphasized in his statement at the Millenium Summit, is committed to strive for these ideals and objectives, supporting the leadership role of the United Nations and believing in the purposes of its Charter, with a view to upholding the principles of freedom, equality and justice, so that every society can assume its national responsibilities for comprehensive and sustainable development including the elimination of poverty, the provision of food, shelter, health care and education, the ensuring of fundamental freedoms, human rights and democracy and enabling women to play their role in society.

Accordingly, the Republic of Yemen supports the efforts being made by the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations to develop the role, mechanisms and organs of the international organization to confront the challenges imposed on us by the twenty-first century. It also supports the moves towards the renewal and development of inter-State relations and towards bringing them into line with new global phenomena that call for democracy, respect for human rights and the transformation of globalization into a positive force that will benefit all the inhabitants of the world. In this connection, the Republic of Yemen reaffirms its invitation to host the Fifth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies, to be held in 2003.

Our world today has become like a single village, in which events interact globally and there is no room for isolationism. The merging of the economies of states is the most prominent feature of mutual dependency and, consequently, shared responsibility with the aim of creating an environment - - at the national and global levels alike - which is conducive to development and to the elimination of poverty. Good governance - as stated in the United Nations Millenium Declaration - must not just exist within each country individually, for there must also be good governance at the international level, based on law and on transparency in the financial, monetary and trading systems.

In our view, this requires the advanced industrialized countries to fulfil their commitments to provide official development assistance to the developing countries to address the special needs of the least developed countries, to provide debt relief for the poor countries and to agree to cancel all official bilateral debts. The removal of all barriers to the access to world markets of the exports of developing countries also falls within this context.

This year our people celebrated the tenth anniversary of the restoration of blessed Yemeni unity. The Republic of Yemen has been able to achieve successes in the democratic process freedom, justice, respect for human rights and enabling women to play their role in society. While our people proceeds to incorporate new concepts with the aim of adapting to new developments in the world, it suffers from the financial burdens entailed by this and by the assumption of the tasks of comprehensive economic and social reform. In addition, the processes relating to the freeing of the economy, the lifting of the various kinds of food and fuel subsidies and the reduction of public services, as prescribed by international financing institutions, cause us to suffer from social tensions, and we therefore call upon the advanced industrialized countries to understand this underlying reality of shared responsibility for comprehensive and sustainable development in the developing countries, as a guarantee of international development and of security and stability.

The Republic of Yemen has persevered in advocating the attainment of the surest ways to peace and stability at the regional and the international levels, the necessity of resolving all disputes by peaceful means and the use of mechanisms for the resolution of disputes, which embodies faith in the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

We in the Republic of Yemen are proud that we have placed practical reliance on these principles in the resolution of border issues with three neighbour States, namely the Sultanate of Oman, Eritrea and, lastly, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The twelfth of June this year saw the inauguration of a new era of brotherhood, cooperation and reciprocity of shared interests between the Republic of Yemen and the fraternal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, following the signature of a treaty between the two countries of a treaty concerning the international territorial and maritime boundaries and annexes thereto. We deem this to be a historic achievement by all criteria, inasmuch as, after many long years, it closes an episode of tension and instability and the frontiers have become bridges of love, brotherhood and cooperation. It will, unquestionably, contribute to stability in the region generally.

From this one may understand Yemen 's strong desire and long-term efforts to contribute to a resolution of the problems that have accumulated in Somalia and destroyed it. Today, after the Arta conference, the establishment of the National Assembly and the election of a president for the country, we support the implementation of the resolutions that emerged from the conference and hope that the consensus between the representatives of the various strata of the Somali people present at the conference will lead to stability and prepare the way for the commencement of a process of comprehensive and sustainable development in an atmosphere of national concord. Here we must commend the major efforts made by His Excellency President Omar Julieh, President of the Republic of Djibouti, to ensure the success of the Arta conference.

The return of the situation in Somalia to normality will, unquestionably, promote security and stability in the Horn of Africa, which h as suffered the scourge of wars and their effects, as exemplified by the cross-border flows of refugees. In the case of Yemen, hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia and other States of the region have infiltrated via our coasts. We appeal to the international community for extensive assistance in order to resolve the problem of the refugees and ensure their return to their homelands amid stability and reconstruction in the region.

The Republic of Yemen believes that the peace sought by the peoples is a peace based on justice, equality and respect for human rights. Accordingly, peace in the Middle East should be based primarily on the restoration of all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent State on Palestinian national soil, with Jerusalem as its capital, and also on Israel's withdrawal from all the occupied Arab territories in the Syrian Golan. Hence, we transmit to fraternal Lebanon and its people our esteem and respect for its liberation of the South.

The world is still acquiring large quantities of weapons of mass destruction that endanger international security and stability and hinder movements towards the devising of solutions to developmental problems. We in the Republic of Yemen stress the importance of making the Middle East region an area free from nuclear weapons and from all weapons of mass destruction, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly. We also affirm the international community's call for pressure on Israel to adhere to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and to submit all its nuclear installations to international supervision.

Iraq is experiencing a human tragedy as a result of the embargo imposed on it for 10 years. Having due regard for the implementation of United Nations resolutions concerning Iraq, we urge the necessity of ending this tragic situation by lifting the embargo, which has lasted so long and caused such extensive damage to the entire Iraqi population, including women, children and the elderly. In this same context, we call for the complete lifting of the embargoes imposed on the Sudan and Libya.

With regard to the dispute concerning the three Arabian Gulf islands belonging to the United Arab Emirates, Yemen hopes that an amicable and peaceful solution of this issue will be decided on, along the lines followed by the Republic of Yemen in the resolution of its border disputes with its neighbours.

Lastly, we welcome all the resolutions calling for the reform of the United Nations and its structure so as to make it more transparent and democratic, including the resolutions concerning the expansion of the membership of the Security Council and the enhancing an strengthening of the role of the General Assembly of the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security.

It is our hope that at this important session resolutions will be adopted that will contribute to the reform and restructuring of the United Nations and its organs, so that they may meet the requirements of this century, with its increasing problems and ever more complex inter-State relations.

Mr. President,

It is our responsibility at this session to make it an occasion for reviewing our work and examining the resolutions adopted by our leaders at the Millenium Summit, so that we may transform them into a tangible reality that will further our advance towards the achievement of security and stability for our countries and prosperity, well being and progress for our peoples. I am confident that our united stand and sincere endeavour will guarantee the success of this session and our arrival at the desire results.

Thank you, Mr. President.