{"id":183159,"date":"2003-09-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T21:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?p=183159"},"modified":"2021-10-20T17:55:02","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T21:55:02","slug":"auto-insert-183159","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/auto-insert-183159\/","title":{"rendered":"Mideast situation – GA general debate – Verbatim record (excerpts)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Official Records<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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General Assembly<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Fifty-eighth session <\/p><\/div>\n

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18<\/strong><\/span>th plenary meeting<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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Tuesday, 30 September 2003, 3 p.m. <\/p><\/div>\n

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New York<\/p><\/div>\n

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President<\/i>:  The Hon. Julian R. Hunte……………………………………….(Saint Lucia)<\/p><\/div>\n

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  In the absence of the President, Mr. Alsaidi (Yemen), Vice-President, took the Chair.<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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   The meeting was called to order at 3 p.m.<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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 Agenda item 9 (<\/strong>continued <\/strong><\/i>)<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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General debate <\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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  The Acting President<\/strong> (spoke in Arabic<\/i>): I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Nagoum Yamassoum, Minister for Foreign Affairs and African Integration of the Republic of Chad. <\/p><\/div>\n

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  Mr. Yamassoum<\/strong> (Chad) (spoke in French<\/i>): …<\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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  Outside of Africa, other hotbeds of tension remain, especially in the Near and Middle East, that require the involvement of the international community in the quest for adequate solutions. In the Middle East, the Israeli-Arab conflict has long been one of the concerns of the United Nations. Today conditions seem to have been met for a constructive dialogue between the two neighbouring peoples, since the <\/span>road map<\/a> containing the peace plan was agreed to by the parties to the conflict. This peace plan will, it is hoped, allow Palestine to achieve, by the year 2005, national independence and international sovereignty. <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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  The Acting President <\/strong>(spoke in Arabic<\/i>): I now call on His Excellency Mr. Kokou Tozoun, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Togolese Republic.<\/p><\/div>\n

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 Mr. Tozoun<\/strong> (Togo) (spoke in French<\/i>): …<\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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  Outside of Africa, we are constantly watching Iraq and the Middle East, always in the grip of violence. Regarding the Middle East in particular, my country considers that the definitive settlement of the Palestinian question, which is at the heart of the conflict in the region, necessarily requires the cessation of violence and counter-violence and consideration of the legitimate rights of both people — the right of Israel to live in full security within internationally recognized borders and that of the Palestinian people to fully enjoy their national rights, including the establishment of a State.<\/span> <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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  In that context, we encourage Israelis and Palestinians to pursue dialogue, with a view to achieving a negotiated and comprehensive settlement of the Middle East question.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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 The Acting President <\/strong>(spoke in Arabic<\/i>): I now give the floor to Mr. Hidipo Hamutenya, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Namibia.<\/p><\/div>\n

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 Mr. Hamutenya <\/strong>(Namibia): <\/strong>…<\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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 The President took the Chair<\/i>.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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  One of the issues that underlines the need for the urgent reform of the Security Council is the pathetic inability of that organ to bring the authority of the United Nations to bear on the situation in the Middle East. The unrelenting carnage that is taking place in that region has not compelled the Powers that be to accept the fact that that situation constitutes a threat to international peace and security. Because of a lack of political will in the Security Council, there has been no ability to act collectively to put a stop to the carnage. <\/p><\/div>\n

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  The continued occupation of the Palestinian territory exacerbates frustration and despair among the Palestinians. It follows, therefore, that the end of the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian State, existing side by side with Israel, is key to peace and stability in that region. <\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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 The President<\/strong> : I now call on His Excellency Mr. Hor Namhong, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia. <\/p><\/div>\n

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 Mr. Hor Namhong<\/strong> (Cambodia): …<\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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  Secondly, regarding the Middle East quagmire, it is important that all parties to the conflict, particularly Palestine and Israel, as well as the international community, continue to pursue a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict on the basis of the agreed road map of the Quartet. At the same time, I believe that it is vital for the leaders of both sides of this conflict to renounce the cycle of violence and overcome feelings of animosity and myopic interest. Instead, they should consider the broader collective interests of peaceful coexistence, a peaceful life for their peoples and stability in the region. There is a need for all sides to have a sense of political realism and shared determination to make peace possible. <\/p><\/div>\n

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  I believe that today peace in the Middle East will come only when both Palestine and Israel reasonably recognize in every way that they must coexist side by side, living in peace and harmony with each other and looking after the interests of one another. Peace, tolerance and harmony are the only way forward for the people of Palestine and Israel. In that regard, the international community must remain fully committed to continuing to support the Middle East process to its end. <\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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 The President<\/strong> : I give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Francisco Guerrero Prats, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic.<\/p><\/div>\n

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 Mr. Guerrero Prats<\/strong> (Dominican Republic) (spoke in Spanish<\/i>): …<\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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 The position of the Dominican Government with regard to the Middle East conflict is based primarily on unconditional adherence to the norms and principles of international law, particularly those related to the peaceful solution of disputes; condemning the use of force and terrorism in all its forms; complying in good faith with international treaties; and on strict observance of resolutions of the United Nations and its deliberative bodies. <\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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 The President<\/strong> : I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Mateus Meira Rita, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe.<\/p><\/div>\n

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 Mr. Meira Rita <\/strong>(Sao Tome and Principe) ( spoke in Portuguese, English text provided by the delegation<\/i> ): …<\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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  We observe with great concern the spread of terrorist acts across the globe, ranging from tragic examples such as what happened at Bali in Asia, to Palestine and Israel in the Middle East, to Spain and the United Kingdom in Europe, to Kenya and Tanzania in Africa, to Colombia in Latin America, and right here to New York and other sites in North America. But fighting violence with violence is not enough. We must go to the root of the problem, and that is the task of the United Nations. <\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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  The President<\/strong> : I call on His Excellency The Honourable Henry Chimunthu Banda, M.P., Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Malawi.<\/p><\/div>\n

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 Mr. Chimunthu Banda<\/strong> (Malawi): …<\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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  We were heartened by the launch, early this year, of the road map for a Middle East peace with the expectation that it had established conditions for an irreversible transition to the establishment of an independent Palestinian State co-existing with the State of Israel. It is, therefore, regrettable that the road map is being frustrated by elements that do not wish to see peace take root in the Middle East. We call upon the Middle East Quartet and the Israeli and the Palestinian sides, in particular, to remain committed to the road map and to do everything in their power to make it succeed.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

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  The meeting rose at 5.30 p.m.<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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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-154A. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Official Records General Assembly Fifty-eighth session 18th plenary meeting Tuesday, 30 September 2003, 3 p.m. New York President:  The Hon. Julian R. Hunte……………………………………….(Saint Lucia)   In the absence of the President, Mr. Alsaidi (Yemen), Vice-President, took the Chair.    The meeting was called to order at 3 p.m.  Agenda item 9 (continued ) General debate \/…   The Acting […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2625],"document-source":[1365],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1749,1905],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-183159","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-meeting-record","document-source-general-assembly","document-subject-palestine-question","document-subject-peace-proposals-and-efforts","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/183159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/183159\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=183159"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=183159"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=183159"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=183159"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=183159"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=183159"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=183159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}