YouSaid · the spoken record

AL-SABAH

lines on the record: 463
first: 1963-09-24
most recent: 1989-09-24
sittings or episodes: 16
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“big Powers to discharge their international obligations is the impotence of the Security Council, its constant inability to act in times of crisis and to provide peace and security to the small countries, The big Powers, especially the permanent members of the Security Council, are primarily responsible for undermining the Council, damaging the prestige and impugning its capacity to apply the principles of the Charter. The members of the Security Council should act in a conscientious manner as representatives of the international community. They must also realize that the prominent position they enjoy and the additional privileges assigned to them must have as their counterpart a sense of responsibility , honoring international obligations and adherence to the letter and spirit of the Charter. 276.”
1974-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 29 (1974)
“Two years ago I welcomed the symptoms of detente, which marked the relations between the big Powers, and I should still like to welcome this development, which minimizes the chances of the outbreak of a global war and saves the world from a great deal of fear and suffering. I should, however, pause to state that co-operation among the big Powers was limited in scope and did not include strengthening international peace and security, improving the efficacy of the United Nations and enhancing its prestige. 275. The best proof one can give of the failure of the.”
1974-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 29 (1974)
“Kuwait was among the countries which first recognized Guinea-Bissau, because it had faith in the ability of its people to triumph in their struggle against the forces of colonialism and in the lofty principles which require the liquidation of the remnants of colonialism, wherever they may be. 273. The world has made great strides in various fields of activity since the establishment of the United Nations. However, the only sphere in which little progress has been made is that of international peace and security. The world is still threatened by war and the small countries are a prey to anxiety because they do not find in the Organization or in the pattern of international relations anything to reassure the i about their existence, their destiny, and their right to maintain their independence and territorial integrity. 274.”
1974-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 29 (1974)
“I had the honor of taking part in the efforts which led to the conclusion of the agreement between Bangladesh and Pakistan, as I led the mission which was sent to Dacca by the Islamic Conference in Lahore. I am very pleased to see Bangladesh among the Members of the United Nations. 271. I also welcome the admission of Grenada to membership in the United Nations. May I express the hope that the membership of those two countries will enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations and its capacity to implement the principles enshrined in the Charter and to achieve universality. 272. 1 should also like to welcome the admission of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau to membership in the United Nations after the struggle of its people culminated in full independence.”
1974-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 29 (1974)
“I should also like to pay a tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Leopoldo Benites, for the manner in which- he conducted the work of both the twenty-eighth session of the General Assembly and the sixth special session, which were marked by great efficiency and impartiality. 269. I should also like to commend the efforts of the Secretary-General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, who has worked hard to strengthen the role of the United Nations in maintaining international peace and security, and to express appreciation for concern with the problems of the developing countries. 270. Kuwait welcomes the admission of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to membership in the United Nations.”
1974-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 29 (1974)
“Mr. President, it gives me great pleasure to express to you, on behalf of the Government and people of the State of Kuwait, heartfelt congratulations on your election as President of the twenty-ninth session of the General Assembly. Your unanimous election is a tribute to the high status you enjoy in international circles as a statesman with wide experience. I had the privilege of working with you during Arab meetings and sessions of the non-aligned group of States and other conferences. May I say that my impression of you is one of a man of experience, acumen and ability appreciated by all. I have also had the opportunity to work with you as a colleague and a good friend during the past 10 years, and this has confirmed my earlier impression. I offer my congratulations, and wish you great success during the present session. 268.”
1974-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 29 (1974)
“They do so after having endured occupation patiently for six long years — during which they have seen Israel refuse to' acknowledge its duty to withdraw but endeavour instead to transform military occupation into permanent annexation, and they have seen the United Nations nevertheless refrain from taking any action aimed at restoring their rights without bloodshed. 228. Kuwait supports without reservation the right of Egypt and Syria to liberate their occupied lands. 229. And — prompted by its faith in the principles of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force as well as by the bonds of brotherhood and common destiny which bind it to other Arab countries — Kuwait now renews its declaration that it places its capabilities and resources at the service of international rights and Arab brotherhood.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“225. The right of a State to self-defence is absolute and sacred. The Charter of the United Nations has recognized it as a natural and inalienable right of every State. It is incontestable that the right to liberate its national territory from military occupation is a facet of the exercise by a State of its right to self-defence. 226. Only last month, the Fourth Conference of Non-Aligned Countries solemnly declared its support for the legitimate struggle, by various means, of the Arab States concerned for regaining their occupied territories in their entirety. 227. The Arab States that are now fighting to liberate their usurped lands are engaged in exercising, on the battlefield, their absolute right to self-defence.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“Israel's intransigence in clinging to the occupied Arab territories and refusing to withdraw has been inspired or fostered by three factors: first, by a greed for territorial expansion, which is an inherent and inseparable part of the objectives of zionism and which is accompanied by an arrogant belief in Israel's superiority in ail fields, including the military field, and by the further belief that such superiority absolves Israel from any obligation to submit to the supremacy of the law or to respect the rights of other peoples and States; second, by the continuous and virtually limitless aid which Israel has been receiving, and which it believes it will continue under all circumstances to receive, from the United States, in economic, military, political and other fields; and third, by the failure of the United Nations to take any effective action towards the application of its principles or the implementation of its resolutions.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“Thus, the Assembly of Heads of State and Governments of the Organization of African Unity [OAU], at its tenth ordinary session held in May 1973, strongly condemned the negative attitude of Israel, and its obstruction of all efforts aimed at a just and equitable solution; called for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from all occupied African and Arab territories; declared that all changes effected by Israel in the occupied territories were null and void; and pledged not to recognize any changes leading to a fait accompli or likely to jeopardize the territorial integrity of the countries concerned. 223. Similar pronouncements were made, a month ago today, by the Fourth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries. 224.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“220. On 26 July 1973,13 members of the Security Council voted in favour of the eight-Power draft resolution which, inter alia, strongly deplored Israel's continuing occupation of the Arab territories and declared that no changes that might adversely affect the political and other fundamental rights of the inhabitants of the occupied territories should be introduced or recognized.7 The fact that one permanent member of the Security Council chose to cast the lone vote against that draft resolution has served not to diminish the moral force of that expression of the Council's will, but to emphasize the extent of Israel's isolation in the international community. 221. Similarly, outside the framework of the United Nations, the international community has given unambiguous expression to its verdict. 222.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“I shall not burden this Assembly with a citation of the dozens of resolutions expressing this solemn international verdict. I shall merely refer to the most significant of recent decisions. 219. On 8 December 1972, this Assembly, by a vote of 86 in favour and 7 against [2105th meeting], declared once more that the acquisition of territories thus occupied must be restored; invited Israel to declare publicly its adherence to the principle of non-annexation of territories through the use of force; declared that changes carried out by Israel in the occupied Arab territories in contravention of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 were null and void; called upon Israel to rescind forthwith all such measures and to desist from all policies and practices affecting the physical character or demographic composition of the occupied Arab territories; called upon all States not to recognize any such changes and measures; and invited them to avoid actions — including actions in the field of aid — that could constitute recognition of that occupation [resolution 2949 (XXVII)].”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“Israel has, in fact, formally proclaimed that its permanent retention of some of the occupied Arab territories is a natural right which it will under no circumstances give up, and that its withdrawal from the remaining Arab territories is subject — in its scope, circumstances and timing — to its own assessment of its-national interest. 217. Moreover, Israel has proceeded relentlessly from proclamation to action. Inspired by its expansionist policies, Israel's practices in the occupied territories have sought to transform them demographically, economically, and politically into Israeli territories. 218. The international community, which has reviewed Israel's practices year after year, has condemned them and declared them null and void.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“The Arab States whose territories fell under Israeli military occupation in 1967 have patiently spent six long years waiting for the international Organization to adopt effective measures for putting into effect the principles of the Charter, the rules of the law of nations, and the provisions of successive international decisions. In the meantime, they have responded positively to every international attempt to ensure Israel's withdrawal within the framework of a peaceful and just settlement of the whole problem. 216. But those international attempts have been aborted, one by one, by Israel — which has shown nothing but disdain for international principles and the will of the international community.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“I should like also to take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to Guinea-Bissau on the proclamation of its independence, which constitutes a victory for the principles in which we believe. 213. In view of the grave events of recent days I shall confine my remarks to the situation in the Middle East. Clearly, those events are the inevitable result of the developments of the past six years. 214. Israel's occupation of territories of three Arab States through a war of aggression violated not only the natural right of those States to territorial integrity but also the principles of the United Nations Charter. And the continued occupation of those territories is tantamount to a continuation of the original aggression through which that occupation was accomplished. 215.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“211. Mr. President, it gives me great pleasure to express to you, on behalf of the State of Kuwait, heartfelt congratulations on your election to your high office. I should like to commend the high status you enjoy in international circles as a statesman with wide experience and outstanding reputation. I should also like to pay a tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Stanislaw Trepczynski, for the manner in which he presided over the past session of the General Assembly. 212. Kuwait welcomes the admission of the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas to the United Nations. This constitutes a major step towards achieving universality which will enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations as an instrument of peace and security.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“Only after a pause such as this and through such reflection can the General Assembly, and through it the international community as a whole, be true to the premise on which the Charter rests that there can be no peace without justice and find the path to true and durable peace.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Bold reflection provides us all with the opportunity to exercise some badly-needed, harsh self-criticism, which alone can enable us to take congnizance of, and to correct, the mistakes, whether of omission or of commission, made by the international community. Wise reflection enables us to view the events of the moment within the context of, and not in isolation from, their causes. Judicious reflection would not permit the treatment of effects to divert attention from the treatment of their causes. And impartial reflection refuses to equate the aberrations of a handful of deprived and desperate individuals with the sins committed formally by the government of a Member of the United Nations in accordance with carefully laid-out plans. 196.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Or is the explanation for the anomaly to which I have just alluded to be found, alternatively, in the fact that there are some who are aware of the events of the moment, but who forget or ignore the background of those events, even though it is of continuing reality and relevance? Or are there among us some who fancy that results can be effectively dealt with even when no effort is made to deal correctively with the causes which produced them? 195. What the General Assembly is called upon to do, before proceeding to consider the question of contemporary terrorism, is to pause for some quiet reflection-bold, wise, judicious and impartial reflection.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“It is astonishing that the tragedy of the Palestinian people, to the creation and aggravation of which the United Nations has contributed, continues to be absent from the agenda of the General Assembly while some of the consequences of the desperation generated by that tragedy appear before it as an independent item. 194. Is this because some believe that terrorism when perpetrated by individuals is worthy of arousing the concern of the United Nations, whereas systematic terrorism perpetrated by the government of the United Nations is not worthy of arousing the concern of the Organization? Or is it perhaps because the fate of two and three-quarter million Palestinians, victims of Zionist-Israeli terrorism, is less important in the view of some than the fate of a few dozen Israelis?”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Does the United Nations have a right to expect from those with respect to whom it has betrayed the principles of its own Charter and whom it has relegated to a limbo outside the framework of the new world order which the United Nations was created in order to promote-does the United Nations have a right to expect from these people loyalty to that order? 193. It is anomalous that the tragedy suffered by the Palestinian people for a quarter of a century and directly affecting the life of every single Palestinian without exception should have no place on the agenda of the General Assembly while an item said to be inspired by certain actions performed by a few members of that people appears on the agenda.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“However, even if we were to assume for the sake of argument and I emphasize that it would be a completely false assumption that the whole Palestinian people had come to embrace terrorism as a program, we would nevertheless feel constrained to ask, is the international community entitled to expect those whom it has deprived of the protection of the law to abide by that law, or to expect those whom it has deprived of the blessings of public order to be concerned for the security of that order? Does the international community have the right to expect those to whom it has denied the opportunity to enjoy their inalienable, elementary rights to acknowledge obligations towards it?”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“The scene is one of a peaceful people, which finds itself exposed to an invasion air tied at nothing less than its displacement from its ancestral homeland, rising heroically to repel that invasion, waging for decades a battle of self-defense, with honor and dignity, and resisting every temptation to engage in indiscriminate violence. 191. If frustration and desperation, caused by its abandonment by the international community, have prompted some of its members to counter official Israeli terrorism with individual acts of terror, it would be unfair to hold the patient and struggling Palestinian people as a whole accountable for those acts. 192.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Kuwait does not condone practices of terrorism, regardless of who is their perpetrator and who their victim. Kuwait regrets the shedding of innocent blood, whoever the victims may be, and grieves over the indiscriminate subjection of man, any man, to murder or agony or torture. 190. Having stated this, I must at the same time recall the fact that violence is alien to the character of the Palestinian people, whose history, both remote and recent, has manifested their humane virtues of tolerance, brotherhood," hospitality and generosity. Even if we put aside the remote past in an effort to avoid marshaling masses of details, it is sufficient to recall the recent past.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Thus it has stooped to kidnapping civilian and military personnel from the territories of neighboring Arab States, refusing to release some of them despite urgent demands from the Security Council. It has taken into custody Arab passengers on international aircraft making unscheduled landings in Israel, holding them for long periods. And it has dispatched its saboteurs to civilian airports to destroy planes on the ground. 188. And now, after this long record of terrorism- organized, planned and purposeful terrorism—Israel raises its voice in righteous indignation against terrorism in an attempt to incite the world against the Palestinian people in its entirety, even though Palestinians are in truth the collective victims of Israel's own governmental terrorism. 189.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“This Assembly has received official reports containing ample evidence of this category of Israeli terrorism: including torture under interrogation and torture in detention; detention of thousands without trial; arbitrary demolition of homes; expulsion of people from their homes, their villages and their country; imposition of collective punishment; detention of the families and kin of freedom-fighters as hostages in desert concentration camps; and similar arbitrary and inhuman practices. 187. Nor was Israel content with these varieties of terrorism. It has been committing actions which are normally the hallmark of gangs operating outside the pale of law and order.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Beginning with the attack on Gaza in 1955 and the massacres of Kafr Qasin and Khan Yunis in 1956, Israel unleashed a series of attacks which reached their climax on the eve of the aggression of 1967 in the Sammu'i raid. 185. The aggression of 1967 ushered in a new era, in which Israel's participation in official terrorism escalated. It involved its air force in terrorist actions, unleashing without restraint its airmen against civilian populations and civilian establishments to rain death upon laborers in Egyptian factories and children in Egyptian schools, and upon women and old men and children in the villages and towns of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and the refugee camps in those countries. 186. Moreover, a new field for Israeli terrorism was opened up in that era. I refer now to the occupied territories.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“It is true that in the first few years following the signing of the general armistice agreements the Israeli Government tried to continue the pretense of the pre-Israeli period, attributing the raids conducted by its regular armed forces across the armistice demarcation lines and the accompanying massacres to imaginary groups of irregulars as it did, for example, in the cases of Qibya and Nahhalin. But United Nations observers confirmed in every instance that it was the regular armed forces of Israel that made the raids and perpetrated the massacres. 184. Before long, Israel abandoned the pretense and took to open, unmasked terrorism.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Thus those who planned or executed the assassination of Lord Moyne, Count Bernadotte or Colonel Serot, the blowing-up of the King David Hotel over the heads of its residents or the massacre of Deir Yasin came to occupy high civilian and military positions in Israel. Overnight, professional terrorists were transformed into statesmen occupying key positions in a Government which readily embraced the practice of terrorism as though it were a legitimate instrument of national policy. 182. The bond which, before the establishment of Israel, had linked Zionism with terrorism was not severed after the rise of Israel and its admission to membership of the United Nations. All that happened in the new era was that Zionist terrorism underwent a metamorphosis, a change of form but not of substance. 183.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“But documents released at that time by the Mandatory Government and the memories published later by the leaders of those organizations themselves authoritatively give the lie to those pretenses, and reveal irrefutably the full dimensions of the collusion and co-ordination which obtained between the so-called extremist organizations and the official agencies of Zionism in every terrorist act perpetrated by the former. 181. Indeed, no sooner was Israel established than the mask was lifted: the organizations formerly described as "extremist" were merged into the regular Israeli army and their leaders brought into the ruling establishment, some becoming members of parliament, others ministers, and others deputy prime ministers.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“In the one case a people struggles for the liberation of its land and the restoration of its rights; and deprivation and desperation drive a handful of its members to acts of terrorism against the usurpers of its land and rights. In the other case the Government of a Member of the United Nations has systematically practiced terrorism, not only since the birth of that State, but also long after its establishment and up to this very day. 180. In the period preceding the establishment of Israel the Zionist terrorist acts were attributed to, and admitted by, some organized groups, notably the Irgun and the Stern organizations, which pretended to constitute the opposition within the Zionist movement and posed as dissenters from the Zionist program of action.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“And it was by means of terrorism that Israel transformed an innocent people living peacefully in its own ancestral homeland into a people half of which is displaced and dispersed outside its homeland while the other half suffers deprivation and humiliation under Israeli rule or military occupation. 178. Nor was the terrorism through which Israel was founded transitory, or the product of passing circumstances or momentary impulses. Nor indeed was it the aberration of a small group of dissident extremists outside the Zionist mainstream. It was, on the contrary, a purposeful, planned and organized terrorism. It was an official terrorism, methodically practiced and carefully calculated in its timing, its methods, and its targets. 179. There is a vast difference between the two situations.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Nor is it far-fetched to assume that one of the purposes of the current Israeli campaign is to provide in advance justification for some new expansionist venture in Arab territories long coveted but not yet conquered by Israel. 177. Whatever the aims of the Israeli campaign of vilification may be, the incontestable fact remains that Israel is not so much the victim as the author of terrorism in the Middle East. For it was by means of terrorism that Israel was established. It was by means of terrorism that Israel came to acquire the lands it now occupies and it now exploits.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“The United Nations is indeed called upon to engage in earnest soul-searching and bold self-criticism, and to admit its share of responsibility both for the fate suffered by the Palestinian people and for such consequences as it has already begun to generate. 176. Israeli outcries have recently been heard about what Israeli propaganda chooses to call Palestinian terrorism. Clearly the objective is to divert attention from the terrorism perpetrated by Israel itself in and across the occupied territories. At the same time, Israel hopes that by misrepresenting the true nature of the Palestinian national liberation movement it may succeed in neutralizing some of the sympathy which that movement has elicited from all those who believe in the liberty of peoples and uphold their right to struggle for the restoration of their rights.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“20 years has abandoned the Palestinian people and left it at the mercy of those who have usurped its homeland, displaced it and deprived it of the opportunity to enjoy a life of dignity in its own country and which, contenting itself with reiterating its recognition of the right of return, has done absolutely nothing to make it possible for Palestinians to enjoy in fact the fulfillment of that cherished hope-cannot now absolve itself of its responsibility for the frustration experienced by the Palestinian people or for the desperation that it generates or the extremism to which it may lead. 175.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“After some 20 years of patient and hopeful expectation, after waiting all that time for some action by the international community to live up to its pledges and to ensure the implementation of its resolutions, and after the frustration of all those hopes and expectations, a new generation of Palestinians has at last arisen to shoulder the burdens of its destiny and to wage its own battle for return, for liberation and for the restoration of its rights. 174. The world-which for.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“The costly and strenuous battle waged in recent years by the Palestinian people for the restoration of its rights constitutes its response, not only to the Zionist usurpation of its homeland and to the displacement and oppression it has suffered at the hands of Israel, but also to the complacency of the international community about Israel's persistent violation of Palestinian rights through usurpation, displacement and oppression.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“This aspect of the problem is in fact a derivative; it is the result of the underlying, original problem, namely, the fate of the Palestinian people and its homeland. The General Assembly has in fact shown belated awareness of this obvious fact when it declared in resolutions adopted in 1970 and 1971 that there can be no durable and lasting peace in the Middle East unless the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the rights of return and self-determination, are fully respected and observed. 173.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“It will be recalled that the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories, established by the General Assembly, has found that an organic relationship obtains between Israel's designs to annex the occupied territories, on the one hand, and its violations of the Geneva Conventions, on the other; that the General Assembly has repeatedly condemned Israeli policies and practices; and that the Commission on Human Rights has declared at its latest session that "grave breaches of the fourth Geneva Convention committed by Israel in the occupied Arab territories constitute war crimes and an affront to humanity". 172. The crisis in the Middle East is not confined to the situation created by the Israeli aggression of 1967 and the resultant occupation.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“The Israeli practices of oppression in the occupied territories and the clear-cut violations of the norms of humane, civilized conduct, as well as the rules of international law, particularly those enshrined in the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, are thus but Israel's means of overcoming the obstacles which stand in the way of its achieving its expansionist aims. 171.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“This program, in turn, is calculated to serve the Israeli policy of transforming the status of the occupied territories: from that of territories under military occupation, through a transitional period in which they are annexed by Israel in fact but not in name, to the final status of Israeli territories in the full sense of the term. This is the policy of annexation through conquest, the policy of expansion through war, the policy of the acquisition of territories by force, which is outlawed in the Charter and declared by the Security Council and the General Assembly in a number of resolutions to be inadmissible and incompatible with the principles of the international community and the rules of international law. 170.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Israel's responsibility for frustrating all attempts at achieving a peaceful settlement of the problem also reveals the spuriousness of its claimed longing for peace. 169. Questions or doubts in the mind of observers of the Middle East situation about the reason why Israel deliberately aborts every international effort to attain a peaceful settlement in the region while its leaders ceaselessly voice an alleged aspiration for peace find their answer in Israel's policies and practices in the territories occupied since 1967. Those territories have been the scene of tireless Israeli efforts to eliminate their Arab character and to replace it by an Israeli character-demographically, culturally, socially, economically and juridically.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“It is imperative that this clear Israeli responsibility for the frustration and resultant suspension of international initiatives aimed at achieving a just and peaceful settlement of the crisis of the Middle East be borne in mind when the renewal of such initiatives is considered. For it was Israel's rejection of the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war or conquest and its rejection of the practical corollary thereof, namely, the mandatory withdrawal from the occupied territories, that was the rock on which all international initiatives have founded whether those taken by the United Nations or within its framework, or those taken by individual States or groups of States. 168.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Responsibility for the suspension of international efforts to achieve a political settlement has been formally established by the General Assembly in its resolution 2799 (XXVI), in which "the positive reply given by Egypt to the Special Representative's initiative for establishing a just and lasting peace in the Middle East " was noted with appreciation; while Israel was asked "to respond favorably" to that initiative. But Israel's position has not changed since the adoption of that resolution, and the international initiatives have therefore been suspended. 167.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“If we focus our attention on the situation in the Middle East we will observe that it has recently been characterized as far as the Israeli occupation of territories of neighboring Arab States is concerned-by two principal features: first, the suspension of international efforts to achieve a political settlement; and, second, the escalation of Israeli endeavors to transform the temporary military occupation into permanent de facto control and eventually into de jure expansionist annexation. 166.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“In each of those two regions we see regimes of alien colonists established through the usurpation of the homelands and property of indigenous peoples, and the subjugation or dispersion of those peoples in accordance with the precepts of the racist policy which is the raison d'etre of the regimes in question meet every struggle for national liberation with ruthless suppression and official governmental terrorism. 165.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“In the Middle East and in southern Africa, on the other hand, it has witnessed continuing attempts to entrench the faits accomplis which have been achieved by aggression, usurpation and racist domination, and by continued disregard for the international will. 164. The essential similarity between the regimes which are responsible for the rise and exacerbation of the deep-rooted problems in southern Africa and the Middle East has become quite evident.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“In each of these regions the rules of civilized conduct and of international law continue to be violated daily; contempt for the value of human life continues to be manifested in its ugliest forms; and the fruits of modern civilization-organization and technology continue to be employed for destruction and defilement of those very values and principles without which civilization cannot flourish. 163. The year which has elapsed since the last session of the General Assembly has witnessed in Viet-Nam an escalation of violence-in its instruments and methods, as well as in the pretexts for its use.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Rejoicing over the relaxation of international tension in some areas should not divert our attention from deep-rooted problems in other areas of the world in which no progress towards solution has been experienced, but should rather stimulate redoubled efforts by the international community to deal effectively with those problems, the continuation of which constitutes a permanent threat to international peace and security and a perpetual challenge to the ideals and purposes of the Charter. 162. The international order continues to be confronted with its gravest challenges in South-East Asia, in West Asia and in southern Africa.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“I hope that events will disprove these predictions and that there., will be a change of heart among the rich countries, which will realize that much more is at stake than the question of trade and development. Poverty is a deadly enemy of mankind that dwells at the root of most world problems. It is not yet too late to wage a war against poverty and to collaborate in providing for all people the blessings of social welfare and prosperity. 161.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)