Opening of the sixty-fifth session of the GA (afternoon session) – Statements – Verbatim record (excerpts)

Official Records

General Assembly 

Sixty-fifth session 

12th plenary meeting 

Thursday, 23 September 2010, 3 p.m. 

New York 

In the absence of the President, Mr. Kleib (Indonesia), Vice-President, took the Chair.

The meeting was called to order at 3.05 p.m.

Address by Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia

The Acting President: The Assembly will now hear an address by the President of Georgia.

The Acting President: On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia, and to invite him to address the Assembly.

President Saakashvili: It is always a great honour for me to address the annual gathering of the General Assembly.

/…

This month, thanks to the coordinated efforts of the international community and the leadership of President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton, direct peace talks have resumed between Israelis and Palestinians. This is a very important moment, because they resume precisely when many people had given up hope for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

The road to peace, security, and justice is still a long one. The remaining obstacles are enormous. But the goal is so noble and necessary that no effort should be spared. That is why today I would like to pay tribute to all those who are taking risks for peace. Yes, risks. Because peace is never obvious, never easy. That is certainly true in the Middle East, and it is true in my region as well.

One of our common goals, then, must be to enable those risk-takers who have the courage to defy conventional wisdom and forge new paths to peace. Peace is not an easy way. But peace is the only way.

/…

Address by Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The Acting President: The Assembly will hear an address by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was escorted into the General Assembly Hall.

The Acting President: On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and to invite him to address the Assembly.

President Ahmadinejad (spoke in Farsi; English interpretation provided by the delegation): I am grateful to the Almighty God who has granted me the opportunity to appear before this world Assembly once again.

/…

The second cause of the demise of the existing world order is the occupation of the Palestinian territories. The oppressed people of Palestine have lived under the rule of an occupying regime for 60 years, and have been deprived of freedom, security and the right to self-determination, while the occupiers are given recognition. On a daily basis, houses are being destroyed over the heads of innocent women and children. People are deprived of water, food and medicine in their own homeland.

The Zionists have imposed five all-out wars on the neighbouring countries and on the Palestinian people. The Zionists committed the most horrible crimes against defenceless people in the wars against Lebanon and Gaza. The Zionist regime attacked a humanitarian flotilla in a blatant defiance of all international norms and killed civilians. This regime, which enjoys the absolute support of some Western countries, regularly threatens the countries in the region and continues publicly to announce the assassination of Palestinian figures, while Palestinian defenders and those opposing the regime are pressured, labelled as terrorists and called anti-Semites. All values, even the freedom of expression, which seem to matter so much in Europe and in the United States, and to be so important, have been sacrificed at the altar of Zionism.

Solutions are doomed to fail because the right of the Palestinian people is not taken into account. Would we have witnessed such horrendous crimes if instead of the occupation being recognized, the sovereign right of the Palestinian people had been recognized?

Our unambiguous proposition favours the return of the Palestinian refugees to their home land and a vote by the people of Palestine, all Palestinians, to exercise their sovereignty and decide on their type of governance.

/…

Address by His Excellency Mr. Ivan Gašparovič, President of the Slovak Republic

The Acting President: The Assembly will now hear an address by the President of the Slovak Republic.

The Acting President: On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Ivan Gašparovič, President of the Slovak Republic, and to invite him to address the Assembly.

President Gašparovič (spoke in Slovak; English interpretation provided by the delegation): …

/…

The long-term effort to reach lasting peace in the Middle East has failed to yield the expected results. At this stage, we appreciate the contributions of all facilitators involved in reconciling the demands of both sides by way of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks that were launched recently. We are hopeful that the Palestinian and Israeli leaders will find a way of coming to an agreement that will lay down the final arrangement of their mutual relations. This is necessary for world peace.

/…

Address by His Majesty King Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein, Head of State of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

The Acting President: The Assembly will hear an address by the Head of State of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

His Majesty King Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein, Head of State of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, was escorted into the General Assembly Hall.

The Acting President: On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Majesty King Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein, Head of State of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and to invite him to address the Assembly.

King Abdullah: …

/…

Another critical area for United Nations leadership is peace — and one peace hangs in the balance today. With direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis, a door opens to a final, two-State settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. And the establishment of an independent, viable and sovereign Palestinian State, living side by side with Israel, will pave the way for a comprehensive regional peace. An end to this conflict is long overdue.

No regional crisis has had a longer or broader impact on global security and stability. No such crisis has been longer on the United Nations agenda, or has frustrated peacemakers more. Every resource spent in this conflict is a resource lost for investing in progress and prosperity. Every day spent is a day lost to forces of violence and extremism that threaten all of us in the region and beyond.

People are wary of disappointment, and spoilers are doing everything they can to make us fail. We cannot underestimate the importance of success, or the painful cost of failure. All of us need to support swift action, hard choices and real results. The alternative is more suffering and deeper frustrations, with spreading, more-vicious warfare. Such a catastrophic scenario will continue to drag in the whole world, threatening security and stability far beyond the borders of the Middle East. To prevent that, the talks must be approached with commitment, sincerity and courage.

There should be no provocative or unilateral actions that can derail the negotiations. Instead, the parties must work hard to produce results, and quickly. That means addressing all final-status issues, with a view to ending the occupation and reaching the two-State solution, the only solution that can work, as soon as possible. The status quo is simply unacceptable — enough injustice, enough bloodshed.

Jordan and the rest of the Arab and Muslim world are committed. In the Arab Peace Initiative, we reach out to Israel with an unprecedented opportunity for a comprehensive settlement, a settlement that will enable Israel to have normal relations with 57 Arab and Muslim States, one third of the United Nations. Now we reach out to our fellow members of this United Nations. All stand to lose if the talks fail; all gain when peace is achieved. Our global and collective influence is key. Together we must tip the balance towards peace.

/…

Address by Mr. Bamir Topi, President of the Republic of Albania

The Acting President: The Assembly will now hear an address by the President of the Republic of Albania.

Mr. Bamir Topi, President of the Republic of Albania, was escorted into the General Assembly Hall.

The Acting President: On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Bamir Topi, President of the Republic of Albania, and to invite him to address the Assembly.

President Topi (spoke in Albanian; English interpretation provided by the delegation): …

/…

Albania appreciates the Secretary-General’s contributions to addressing the issue of the Middle East, particularly in the discussions aimed at achieving a sustainable solution acceptable to all parties. All peoples share the desire to live in peace, and Governments have an obligation to guarantee it. We support the relaunched dialogue process and hope that, with the commitment of the international community, the Palestinians and Israelis will take the steps necessary to achieving stable peace in that important region.

/…

Address by Mr. Jalal Talabani, President of the Republic of Iraq

The Acting President (spoke in French): The Assembly will now hear an address by the President of the Republic of Iraq.

Mr. Jalal Talabani, President of the Republic of Iraq, was escorted into the General Assembly Hall.

The Acting President (spoke in French): On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Jalal Talabani, President of the Republic of Iraq, and to invite him to address the Assembly.

President Talabani (spoke in Arabic): …

/…

In this spirit we support the Palestinian people’s just struggle to secure their inalienable rights, including the establishment of a Palestinian State on the land of Palestine, as we work to implement the internationally legitimate resolutions aimed at returning the occupied Arab territories. We consider the Arab Peace Initiative to be a practical step towards resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict and achieving security, peace and stability in the Middle East.

/…

The meeting rose at 3.10 p.m.

This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of speeches delivered in the other languages. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room U-506. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum.