Year of dialogue among civilizations – GA debate – Verbatim record (excerpts)

Official Records

General Assembly 

Fifty-sixth session 

43rd plenary meeting

Friday, 9 November 2001, 3 p.m. 

New York

The meeting was called to order at 3.10 p.m.

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Agenda item 25 (continued)

United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations

Report of the Secretary-General (A/56/523)

    Draft resolution (A/56/L.3)

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 Mr. Jerandi (Tunisia) ( spoke in French ):

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 Our President also declared:

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  Our duty is to do everything we can to make the world a better place, and to this end the international community must shoulder its responsibilities, put right the wrongs and find just, equitable and lasting solutions to the conflicts that have been going on for so long. We hope that the year 2001, the international Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, will offer a specific and viable solution for the Palestinian question, because the Palestinian people continue to suffer humiliation and flagrant violations of their fundamental rights, and day after day the denial of their inalienable right to a State on their own territory with Al-Quds as the capital.

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  Mr. Al-Shamsi (United Arab Emirates) (spoke in Arabic ):

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  The year 2001 is the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, and the heads of State and Government at last year’s Millennium Assembly agreed to a number of obligations to develop a culture of peace and dialogue among civilizations, and to make all possible efforts to settle disagreements and overcome conflicts and obstacles that divide nations and peoples. In view of this, we were surprised to find the enemies of this dialogue rushing to abort the idea of this constructive human gathering by escalating organized terrorism against innocent people. Such terrorism was embodied in the attacks of 11 September. It is also embodied in State terrorism based on occupation, racial discrimination and religious and ethnic extremism, which will only lead to ruin and destruction, such as that witnessed daily by the Palestinian people in territories occupied by Israel.

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  The meeting rose at 6.40 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 C-178. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum.