YouSaid · the spoken record

Boutros

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS BOUTROS

lines on the record: 123
first: 1968-09-24
most recent: 1980-09-24
sittings or episodes: 4
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

“When, as a young State, we participated in the founding of the United Nations, we were convinced, like scores of States that later on joined this great community, that the Organization would provide an adequate framework guaranteeing peace, justice and security in the world, and that its lofty tenets and the provisions of its Charter would put an end to the law of the jungle and the arbitrariness of force in international relations. 272. In spite of the wrongs, the tragedies, the failures, the weaknesses and the indifference we have witnessed, we remain convinced that there is still time for the Organization to dispel the prevailing frustration and fulfil mankind's hopes in the United Nations.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Our people have been deeply rooted in this land for hundreds of years, and succeeding generations have preserved and will continue to preserve every inch of Lebanese soil. 270. A homeland cannot be built on the ruins of another homeland. Whoever indulges in this line of thought is not only an enemy of Lebanon and of its cause, but also an enemy of the Palestinian cause itself, and of peace and justice in the world. The Middle East crisis which has arisen as a result of the plundering of Palestinian land is a living proof of the absurdity of such thinking. 271.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“By what right and according to what justice do some intend to redress one inequity by a greater injustice, to solve the rightful problem of a people at the expense of another people, to disturb the equilibrium of a homeland, and to risk the entity of a State that is one of the founding Members of the United Nations? 268. We confirm what the President of Lebanon has announced on more than one occasion. We unequivocally reject any plan for settlement and any move to bring it about, directly or indirectly. We shall resist settlement under any guise and at any stage and we shall resist it with all our power, which springs from our belief in our sacred right to our homeland, a right that no one shares with us. 269. Lebanon's territory is not an abandoned land, and it is not a commodity to be bartered in international transactions.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Lebanon has proclaimed and reiterated its keen concern to avoid the emergence of a contradiction between the Palestine cause, to which we are committed, and the Lebanese cause, on which the life of the citizens, the future of the homeland and the security of its territory, are dependent. Lebanon expects to receive understanding and a favourable response, especially from those directly concerned, in order to be able to persevere in this course and fulfil its well-known mission, which it freely chose without any kind of constraint. 266. Before concluding, I cannot but refer to a most serious matter concerning suspect plans being hatched to settle Palestinians in Lebanon, when in fact the Palestinians demand their right to their own land. 267.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The Palestinian resistance is invited today, more than ever before, to provide proof of its desire to respect its commitments and demonstrate awareness and a spirit of responsibility with regard to its temporary presence in Lebanon, to exert every effort to reach a sincere understanding with Lebanon, to avoid anything that may harm its relations with the Lebanese authorities and citizens, and finally to guard against taking the slippery path it has not always succeeded in avoiding. It well knows how much Lebanon can endure without being destroyed. 265. Lebanon, its Government and people, have consistently supported the rightful cause of the Palestinians since the Palestine question first arose. Lebanon has offered to that cause sacrifices which exceed many times those offered by others who are in a much better position to do so.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Consequently we earnestly call upon the Security Council to safeguard its authority and credibility by taking whatever measures are needed to enable UNIFIL to carry out its mandate in southern Lebanon and put an end to the cruel Israeli aggression against the region. 263. We rely in this respect on the assistance of the major Powers and on the true co-operation of sister Arab States, in conformity with the dictates of real fraternal links and common interests, and we appeal to all States which believe in the Charter. 264.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“We wish also to-express our deep appreciation to the Security Council, to the countries contributing to UNIFIL, and to its troops, officers and soldiers. 261. The peace-keeping mission which the Security Council has set up and still supervises has been a positive step in spite of the obstacles to its fulfilment. The Secretary- General refers in his report on the work of the Organization to the important role of this Force, despite the difficulties it faces, which are well known to the Assembly. The Lebanese Government has more than once expressed the extreme importance it attaches to the presence of UNIFIL, its earnest desire fully to co-operate with this Force, and the necessity of ensuring the full implementation of the Security Council resolutions. 262.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“During the past year we urgently sought full implementation of the resolutions of the Security Council, and asked that UNIFIL be enabled to carry out its mandate to ensure Israel's complete withdrawal from Lebanese territory and help the Lebanese authorities to restore their sovereignty over all of southern Lebanon, and over all parties operating in it, up to the internationally recognized borders. We also wanted the Mixed Armistice Commission to resume its functions as provided for in Security Council resolutions. 260. We should, in this connection, praise the efforts of the Secretary-General and of his staff to ensure the success of UNIFIL's task, and we express to him and his staff our profound gratitude.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“In spite of the circumstances which limit its scope of action, the Lebanese Government can proclaim a position that is dictated by national duty and agreed on by all the Lebanese people, namely, that no one can derive from occupation or from resort to violence any right vis-a-vis Lebanon or its territory or any right to exercise tutelage over any part of Lebanon or its people. 258. While it is southern Lebanon which reveals these truths to us, they apply equally to Lebanon as a whole. 259.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“If Lebanon and the people of its southern region are at present helpless and unable to check this tragedy, they hold, more than at any time in the past, to their powers and their right to tell the world that they do not and will not agree to any measure or policy emanating from whatever source that has as its aim interference with their land and their sacred right to it. Their true patriotism and sincere commitment to the Palestinian cause carry with them the categorical rejection of any occupation or threat or blackmail that touches on their land or their rights. 257.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The United States of America must reconcile its principles with its practices and take the necessary measures to impose respect for the agreements under which the weapons are provided, thus putting into practical terms its concern for Lebanon's independence and safety of its territory. 255. Southern Lebanon, this unfortunate district so dear to the Lebanese, which continues to suffer from repeated aggression and contradictions that result on its soil from the disruptions that often accompany Palestinian resistance action, appreciates the effort undertaken by the United Nations through the Security Council to deal with its problems, even though that effort has not been so fruitful as we and the Assembly would have wished it to be. 256.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Purposely, or as a result of weakness, they put aside some aspects of the crisis, although their authors are fully aware of the various aspects of the problem, through their representatives and emissaries. They became similar to abstract resolutions, making us wonder about the real attitude of some States, despite their statements of full support for Lebanon. 254. During the past few months Israel has not stopped launching devastating raids on southern Lebanon. In these acts of aggression Israel has been using sophisticated American weapons, thus violating with impunity agreements that prohibit the use of those weapons for such purposes.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“These external factors of the Lebanese crisis have aroused the concern of some sister and friendly States and made us resort on more than one occasion and for one reason or another to the Arab community as well as to the Security Council with the aim of finding effective solutions. 253. Several resolutions have been adopted proclaiming the necessity of safeguarding Lebanon's unity, its independence and the security of its land, and of extending its sovereignty over its entire territory. It pains us to say, however, that most of those resolutions were not provided with the means for their implementation because, in general, they avoided confronting the root of the problem.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“What our citizens possess in awareness and potential, together with the continued endeavour of the Government in circumstances difficult to visualize, has made it possible to preserve the principles of legality and unity, the identity of Lebanon and its democratic and liberal system, and its openness towards the world. This is no small matter. 251. Since the beginning external factors have permeated the Lebanese crisis, giving it grave dimensions and putting appropriate solutions out of the reach of the Lebanese alone. In order for the Lebanese to solve their problems and rescue their homeland, external interference should cease, regional and international currents of struggle for influence on the Lebanese scene should recede and aggression on Lebanon's territory and against its national sovereignty should cease. 252.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“It is reasonable that the Lebanese should feel that responsibility for rescuing their country and for restoring peace and stability to it lies primarily with them—the people and leaders. In spite of the dreadful events that have befallen it during its long affliction, this people has often proved its unswerving attachment to its fundamental values, its homeland and its devotion to the constituents of its unity, freedom and independence. 250. Without exaggeration and without boasting, I say that I know of no country in the world that could suffer what Lebanon has suffered in the course of the past five years and yet maintain the fundamentals of homeland and statehood.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“In this connection, I cannot but quote what the President of Lebanon said at the beginning of this year: "Is it conceivable to say to this people, 'Your hour has not yet arrived. Wait until visibility is clear in the region, and probably outside the region too? What wrong has Lebanon done to the region or to the world, to man and to his rights? If Lebanon has so far endured much more than it can stand, does that mean that it should be asked to allow itself to collapse completely under the load? Is this country condemned—is it permissible to condemn it—to have all the problems of its bretheren and friends, not to mention its enemies, solved at its expense?" 249.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“246. We do not hesitate for a moment to assert that peace and security in Lebanon are vital to the peace and stability of our region and that a reinvigorated Lebanon, with its distinctive equilibrium and characteristics and its pioneering role in its region and in the world, is a fundamental element in the equilibrium and stability of the region. 247. While we are not unaware of the links between the Middle East crisis and the Lebanese crisis, we cannot neglect the crisis in Lebanon until the means for solving the Middle East crisis are available. Consequently, we have always maintained that the Lebanese crisis must be dealt with as an independent question per se, even through attempts to find a transitional solution, and that efforts towards this end must be given the priority they deserve. 248.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“This has led to the violation of our frontiers and the security of our country as a result of Israeli aggression and to irregular practices within Lebanese territory. The sanctity of our territory has been breached and the ability of the State to exercise its authority has been thwarted, especially as it applies to safeguarding sovereignty and security. That state of affairs has contributed to widening the gap between the various internal factions in Lebanon and even to further aggravating their differences. 245. It grieves us to say that some States are watching with indifference what is befalling Lebanon—which may become the scapegoat of a crisis that has reached alarming proportions owing to the violation of legal and ethical principles in international relations—in the expectation that this crisis can be solved at Lebanon's expense.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Moreover, the Lebanese question took on international dimensions when Lebanon became the only setting in which the conflicting Powers in the region—Israeli, Arab and international—were fighting, and became the military arena of both Israel and the Palestinian resistance. While Israel aims its blows against Lebanon on some pretext or other, the Palestine resistance carries out its revolutionary activity in such a way that Lebanon alone endures the consequences of action and reaction, even though the conflict essentially concerns the entire Arab community and the world community cannot remain aloof. 244. What complicates the situation further is the struggle for influence conducted by the two super-Powers by proxy and the outbreak of Arab disputes in Lebanon through the Lebanese and residents of Lebanon.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The Middle East crisis is at the origin of Lebanon's crisis, because the roots of the Lebanese crisis lie in the inequity which accompanied the creation of the State of Israel at the expense of the people of Palestine, in Israel's policy of expansion, and also in the imbalance the Palestine question and the displacement of Palestinians and their armed resistance have caused in the region as a whole and especially in our country, thus affecting the sensitive internal equilibrium which characterizes its life. This occurred in particular as a result of Israeli aggression and of clashes and excesses taking place on Lebanon's territory, not to mention the various forms of interference in our internal affairs. 243.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The restoration of peace and stability in Lebanon is, in our view, the necessary prelude for peace in the entire Middle East region. Nevertheless, it is useless to seek final, stable peace in our region if Lebanon is left in the grip of conflicts and violence whose dangers and complications will inevitably reach beyond its borders to the entire region and so destroy any peace that might be to the detriment of that country or ignore its situation. 241. The fact is that in the Middle East besides the Palestinian question, and to a large extent because of it, there is today a Lebanese question which is becoming more complex and which requires responsible attitudes and effective treatment. 242.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“This unfortunate situation leads to violence and complications whose consequences no one can foresee. We noticed recently that the majority of the countries of the international community, especially some European countries, are becoming increasingly aware of the gravity of the situation. We believe that if these countries move as a group in the right direction, and adopt bold attitudes, they will definitely generate a current that will greatly affect world opinion. 240. The heads of State and Government and the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the European Community at their meeting in June 1980 at Venice, and at their meeting in September at Brussels, favoured Lebanon with a praise-worthy gesture which we hope will be followed by other steps.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“A peaceful solution of the Middle East crisis must be brought about in conformity with sound bases and principles, foremost among which is the principle of the inadmissibility of acquisition of land by force and the consequent necessity of Israel's withdrawal from all occupied territories, including Jerusalem. 238. Instead, we see today, as in the past, Israel's continued policy of flouting and violating the resolutions of the United Nations, while totally disregarding the will of the international community and the principles of international law. This policy was lately capped by Israel's measures to annex Arab Jerusalem and to declare it to be its capital, thereby provoking the entire international community and causing serious repercussions. 239.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The Palestine question has always been the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict and of the Middle East crisis. Any final solution to this crisis must include a just solution of the Palestine question on the basis of the participation of the Palestinian people in the peace process through its legitimate representatives. This is a fact which will inevitably impose itself sooner or later, and any delay in accepting it tends to increase the number of victims and senselessly spread destruction and also endanger peace in the region and the world. 237.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The problem is further aggravated when separate attempts are accompanied by ideas of fragmentary solutions that ignore questions intrinsic to the Arab-Israeli conflict and disregard legitimate rights which are recognized by principles of international law and justice and endorsed by various international resolutions, or seek to provide compensation for the possessors of these rights at the expense of the future and interests of others. 235. A long-range view and a true understanding of facts imply that the desired peace in the Middle East will have to be a comprehensive peace which recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment of a State on their land, otherwise there will be no peace under any circumstances. 236.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“This climate presupposes a minimum level of international detente so as to reduce the intensity of the repercussions of the struggle for influence in the region, with its consequent polarization, which increases tension and the danger of confrontation and explosion. In short, any attempt to deal unilaterally with the Middle East crisis by excluding principal parties to the conflict or disregarding their rights or their interests will not ensure sound bases for real peace in the region. 234.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“This persistent depletion of human potential in our region and of its resources, which is caused by the chronic Arab-Israeli conflict and the increasing violence and disturbances to which this conflict has led, has an adverse effect on the peoples of the world at a time when political and economic dependence is increasing among the world's different regions and peoples. 232. Despite successive disappointments we remain convinced that peace in the Middle East is inevitable. It will be achieved if good intentions prevail and efforts are made to bring it about on sound and just bases. In this regard, we feel obliged to assert our convictions. 233. A proper climate for a peaceful solution to the Middle East crisis should first be ensured.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The prolongation of the Middle East crisis over so many years and its aggravation from day to day threatens not only the peace and security of the region and the welfare of its people, but the peace and security of the world. 230. Everybody is aware of the importance which the Middle East region represents, with its distinctive strategic location, its abundant human potential and its vital natural resources and heritage, for stability, prosperity and well- being in its immediate environment in particular and in the world in general. 231.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“One whole year has passed, replete with weighty events in various parts of the world—events that have stirred up international conflict and increased the vehemence of competition, exposing the course of international detente to dangerous pitfalls and almost wrecking the hopes of attaining stability, tranquillity and prosperity. 228. Lebanon has paid and continues to pay, in innocent blood and heavy destruction of its assets and institutions, a heavy toll that is far beyond its capacity for problems towards whose creation it has not contributed and for injustices of which it has always been innocent. This allows Lebanon to address itself to the world community, to speak out frankly to its bretheren and friends and to voice its opinions and demands at this precise time. 229.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“One year ago, from this rostrum, I presented to the conscience of the world, in the name of Lebanon, the tragedy of a people and homeland and the painful dimensions of long-enduring adversities. I set forth the many causes and the regional and international practices which made of Lebanon a main victim in the game of nations. With outcries of suffering and rancour, enduring our wounds, we voiced the aspirations and hopes of a people and its yearning for a real and just peace so long awaited. I need not reiterate what I explained at length last year, and yet it remains equally valid today. 227.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“I am happy to present to you, Sir, the warm greetings of the Lebanese delegation on your election as President of the current session of the General Assembly. Your high personal qualities, your wisdom and your vast experience in international affairs will guarantee the efficient administration of our work with knowledge and competence. 224. I also wish to praise the work so ably undertaken by your predecessor, the Ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania, Mr. Salim Ahmed Salim, during his term as President of the thirty-fourth session of the Assembly. 225. I further wish to welcome and to congratulate the Republic of Zimbabwe and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on their joining the Organization. 226.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Our mountains and our rivers have looked on throughout the centuries as whole processions of conquerors and usurpers have descended upon the country, but have also seen them invariably beaten back, as the inscriptions on the rocky walls not far from our capital proclaim. Thus Lebanon endures. 67. The people of Lebanon, resolved to preserve their land, to defend their rights and to repel all dangers from whatever quarter, as well as the greeds which surround them and which seek to break their unity, is strong with its own force and with a consciousness of its own powers and its sacred right to live in freedom and dignity. Let our Organization, through the ways and means given to it by the Charter, not begrudge us its aid and support.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Similarly, the recovery by the State of its authority over any particular area would have favourable repercussions over other areas of Lebanon. 65. Both because of its system and the way of life of its people, Lebanon has been and could again become an example of the noble principles that lie at the basis of the United Nations, of which Lebanon has the honour to be one of the founders. Thus preserving this achievement, which embodies all of mankind's aspirations to live in tolerance, brotherhood and love, by helping it to overcome this crisis is a necessity not only for it and for its region but also for all mankind and for the international community's mission. 66. Our history, which goes back thousands of years, includes many pages of black tragedy as well as just as many pages of dazzling splendours.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“If I have deliberately left aside the question of the assistance unfailingly provided by the United Nations and the specialized agencies, as well as by various States, it is not because we underestimate the importance and usefulness of such assistance nor the gratitude which we owe to its donors. But in view of the urgency of executing the demands which we have put forward and the wholesome impact this would have on the situation in Lebanon as a whole we decided we had to give priority to them. 64. The satisfaction of these demands would contribute to the establishment of a political and psychological climate in Lebanon that would help to strengthen the common goals of all the Lebanese, namely national understanding, which, in turn, would have a positive effect on the situation we have described.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Since we are convinced of the need for a frank dialogue with our friends and brothers and since we are firmly convinced that our country should not be the prey of anyone's greed, we have pursued such diplomatic action within the framework of the Arab community and we have requested its highest bodies to work out with us a plan of action that would take due account of the obligations of that community and of our own possibilities now that Lebanon has become what is unacceptable to us: the only battlefield in the Middle East. 62. Last year the General Assembly adopted a resolution to which we attach great importance and which deals with economic and humanitarian assistance to Lebanon, as well as with the coordination of international and local activities with a view to its reconstruction and development. 63.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Thus the United States must bear a heavy burden of political and moral responsibility. 60. In conclusion, we are convinced that the United Nations commitment to us does not exonerate us from undertaking our own diplomatic initiatives in another framework with a view to helping to achieve the goals we have set. And I must point out that this type of action is fully consistent with our thinking and is being taken up. 61.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“No one can be unaware that these Powers have a multiplicity of means of constraint and persuasion available to them in achieving their goals. This is particularly the case since the arms used for aggressive purposes in southern Lebanon were obtained under agreements concluded with the United States of America which prohibit their use for the purposes for which the Israelis are using them. 59. I am in duty bound to point out that this business has aroused dismay in international political circles, particularly within the United States, where many responsible officials have expressed their interest and concern at the fact that the use of American- manufactured weapons in southern Lebanon is a violation of American law and the undertakings entered into by Israel on the subject.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“It would thus prove its capacity for self-control in all circumstances and would demonstrate its absolute respect for the resolutions of the Security Council and its concern to safeguard both its higher interests and its relations with the Lebanese people, who have suffered more for the Palestinian cause than any other Arab people. Such an attitude is dictated by a spirit of true brotherhood, a sense of responsibility and a clear-sighted long-range political vision. 58. It goes without saying, obviously, that one of the prerequisites for carrying out our demands is the extent of the support which the great Powers give to United Nations initiatives and the laying of the groundwork for a political climate that would facilitate the acceptance of what logic and the recognition of the rule of law demand.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“The Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO] the sole representative of the Palestinian people, which has through its spirit of combativeness and its just cause been able to breach the diplomatic isolation in which it was sought to be kept, is urgently called upon in the present circumstances to prepare to shoulder the heavy responsibility that has been conferred upon it, to live up to the hopes that it embodies and to channel its vitality and its activities in southern Lebanon into political and diplomatic action. In this regard it should undertake positive initiatives which would be likely to reassure the Lebanese people and which would be in keeping with the exigencies of the rights of Lebanon and the security of its territory.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“It would then become necessary to provide the Force with the means of action and the directives it needs to give effect to that goal, and the Lebanese authorities are ready and willing to work with UNIFIL for that purpose. 56. We ask that with your support and in the interests of international peace an area of stability and calm should be established in southern Lebanon where the provisions of the Lebanese-Israeli General Armistice Agreement, which is still fully in force and which has been ratified by the Security Council and reconfirmed again in its last resolution 450 (1979), should be scrupulously observed in the interval before a radical and just solution is found for the Palestinian cause in the framework of a global peace. 57.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Apart from the diplomatic activity that must be exercised by our Organization and the Member States concerned, the best means of achieving that goal is first of all to strengthen the role of the United Nations Force in the south of the country so as to enable it to carry out its task in a comprehensive way. UNIFIL can then prevent any military activities of whatever origin in the south, control the situation and, in conjunction with the Lebanese forces, ensure the progressive pacification of the territory and the exercise of the jurisdiction of the State over the area in accordance with the letter and spirit of Security Council resolutions, without fear or favour.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“We ask that a speedy, definitive and firm stop should be put to all Israeli aggression against Lebanon whatever the form it may take, particularly the form of a preventive attack against Lebanese territory. We also demand the full reintegration of southern Lebanon into the Lebanese State, which should be given the means of recovering its full sovereignty and authority throughout that area with respect to all individuals and groups without exception, of restoring security and of preventing, any subversive activities on its territory. 55.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Until such a radical solution is found, agreed upon and implemented, we believe we are within our rights in asking the United Nations and all its Member States to consider that they must deal also with the Lebanese crisis in its own terms and not as part of the Middle East crisis. Because of what our country represents geographically and politically as well as in human terms, it deserves to be a focus of the attention of the international community with a view to preserving its unity, independence and sovereignty as a model for the Middle East and even, perhaps, the world. It also deserves the support and help expressed not by mere words but by positive and concrete acts. 54.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Furthermore, it is equally self-evident that the idea must be finally and definitively rejected that the Palestinians can be settled anywhere outside their own land, and in particular Lebanon's categorical refusal to agree to their settlement in our country, in the interest of both Lebanon and the Palestinians themselves, must be regarded as the final word. 52. Lebanon has often stated, through its President, on behalf of the Lebanese people as a whole that it absolutely refuses to agree to the settlement of the Palestinians on its territory and rejects any attempt which would in one way or another effect such a settlement or impair its sovereignty or the independence and unity of its territory and people. Lebanon rejects any solution to the Middle East crisis that may be made at its expense. 53.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Because of its geographical location, its Arab obligations and commitments and its faith in the principles of right and justice in international relations, Lebanon believes that the United Nations must in its search for a radical solution to the Middle East crisis deal with the substance of the Palestinian question, so that the Palestinian people may be able to exercise their legitimate and inalienable rights, the first of which is their right to self-determination and to the establishment of a Palestinian State on Palestinian soil. This naturally implies the total and unconditional evacuation of all occupied Arab territory in accordance with United Nations resolutions. 51.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Before concluding my statement, I should like to reply to a question which, I imagine, all present are asking themselves, namely, what is Lebanon asking of the United Nations at this stage and what can the United Nations do? 49. Lebanon's requests are addressed not solely to the United Nations but also to each of its Members and especially to the most powerful among them. These requests are the following. 50.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“It is high time that southern Lebanon, and consequently Lebanon as a whole, should with the help of the international family be removed from the toils of the infernal game of war and peace and that its own case should be given absolute priority, so that it will no longer be a hostage in the Middle East turmoil or a football tossed about by the parties according to their desires and interests. Its sons have spilled too much blood and shed too many tears and lost too much of their property and have paid too great a price for faults and injustices committed elsewhere for which they bear no responsibility. Lebanon has reached a threshold beyond which it is no longer able to carry on without risking the loss of its own identity. 48.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“It is neither just nor logical that our country should be prey to factors of disintegration because the Palestinian people wish to recover their legitimate rights and their right to self-determination, which Israel refuses to grant them. Similarly it is neither just nor logical that Lebanon should be the principal victim to undergo the martyrdom imposed upon it by the oppressor without, however, being spared by the oppressed, whose cause, though just, pushes him to excesses that are sometimes ascribed to his state of despair. Is Lebanon condemned to suffer injustice from the hands of the oppressor and also sometimes the oppressed? 47.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“The continuance of military operations in southern Lebanon is likely to create a climate of instability which might have negative repercussions on any attempt to control the situation in the region and bring about a peaceful settlement of the Middle East crisis. 45. In this connexion suffice it for me to quote what was said by the President of our Assembly, Mr. Salim Ahmed Salim, in his address: "The tragic situation in Lebanon continues to cause serious concern to the international community. The senseless bombing of civilian targets, causing considerable loss of life and destruction, further threaten the peace and security of the region. The world community must redouble its efforts to bring an end to this tragedy, so that the freedom, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon are respected." 46.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Israel's claims that infiltrations sometimes take place across UNIFIL lines is devoid of foundation but, even assuming it were true for the sake of argument, what has that got to do with Lebanon? 43. UNIFIL comes under the orders of the Security Council, not Lebanon. Lebanon proclaims from this rostrum that it is determined to regain its sovereignty and authority in the south up to its international frontiers not only in relation to Israel but also to all other forces present in the theatre of operations. Lebanon has frequently made this claim and has expressed this view in its correspondence with the Secretary- General and in its notes to the Security Council. 44.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)