YouSaid · the spoken record

Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalghem

lines on the record: 52
first: 2001-09-24
most recent: 2005-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
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

“In Iraq, where international law has been violated and the country subjected to occupation on unfounded bases and flimsy pretexts, the tragedy is escalating daily, getting more and more difficult to solve. The Iraqi people are paying a high price with the lives of their sons and daughters as a result of the occupation. We have to exert every possible effort to guarantee a speedy end to the occupation in order to enable Iraq to regain its independence and sovereignty and preserve its territorial integrity and Arab identity. The Iraqis must be allowed to determine their own affairs, future and manage their resources, and to achieve self- determination with freedom involving all citizens without the marginalization of any group so that peace, prosperity and security can prevail all over Iraq.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“It will happen through a radical solution that allows and guarantees the return of all Palestinian refugees to their lands and the establishment of a democratic State on the land of historical Palestine in which Jews and Arabs live side by side, enjoying full equality, similar to the South African model, where blacks and whites reconciled after decades of conflict and bloodshed. If such a solution is not realized, with the support of the international community, the suffering of the 4 Palestinian people will continue, and the region will continue to witness tension and conflict without peace and security. The Israeli occupation forces must withdraw from all occupied Arab territories; the Golan Heights must be returned to Syrian sovereignty and the Shabaa farms to Lebanon.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“This has encouraged the occupying Power to continue its aggression and crimes, heedless of the decisions of the international community. The suffering of the Palestinian people requires that urgent and firm action be taken by the international community to put an end to the Israeli aggression and provide a radical solution for the Palestinian question. We believe that the solution cannot be achieved by accepting a de facto situation or by merely adopting resolutions or unrealizable plans.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“The international community so far has failed to solve the Palestinian problem, although it is as old as the United Nations itself. In fact, the problem is getting worse. The Palestinian people have lived for over half a century either as refugees all over the world or subjected to an occupying Power, which has usurped its land and practiced against them the most horrible crimes, including the killing of children, women and the elderly. Their lands have been confiscated, their farms burned, their trees uprooted, their houses destroyed over their occupants, while houses are built for settlers coming from all over the world. Even though highly sophisticated weapons are being used against civilians, the Security Council stands unable to take concrete steps to stop such practices.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“In this respect, we wish to express our satisfaction with the stabilization of the situation in Sierra Leone and Angola and the improvement of the situation in Somalia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the signing of the peace agreement in Sudan. We call on all Member States to assist the African Union in its endeavours to face its various challenges and create a unified African continent capable of achieving progress and participating effectively in the march towards progress, upholding freedom and human rights and eradicating wars, poverty and disease while removing the remnants of colonialism. We hope that support will be extended to the African Union’s plans to achieve prosperity for all African people by providing assistance to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Libya has opened its doors to investors and a law for the encouragement of foreign investment has been promulgated. This law gives foreign investors many privileges and exemptions and allows them 100 per cent ownership of their enterprises or partnership with domestic investors. Our application to join the World Trade Organization was approved unanimously by the organization on 27 July 2004. We seek further cooperation from all countries in that respect. The consolidation and realization of peace and security for all is a fundamental goal of the United Nations. It is an objective that could not be realized by the Organization without the assistance and cooperation of all Member States, which could be effective tools to solve the most difficult problems and conflicts among countries, particularly in Africa.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Competent Libyan authorities are now drawing up plans for restructuring the Libyan economy and are reviewing the public sector, encouraging the private sector and providing opportunity for all to engage in economic activities. New economic policies were adopted in order to advance the national economy, eliminate deficiencies and improve performance. Certain measures have been taken in the monetary field, including the adoption of a single exchange rate for the Libyan dinar against foreign currencies, the abolition of monetary control and a reduction of income taxes. Import and export licences as well as customs guarantees on exports have been abolished as have customs fees on approximately 3,500 imported items. Important steps have been taken for the privatization of many public sector companies.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“It is not fair that the legitimate struggle of peoples to achieve self-determination and independence should be classified as terrorism. We should all exert and 3 coordinate all our possible efforts under the umbrella of the United Nations to combat terrorism and complete, as early as possible, a comprehensive counter-terrorism treaty. My country was subjected to unjust sanctions that caused great material losses totalling about $40 billion. Now, while this matter has ended and the reason behind the sanctions settled, I extend my gratitude to all the friendly and sisterly countries that stood by our side and supported our position in tackling that situation.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Libya has condemned terrorism in all its forms, including State terrorism, ratified all international and regional conventions concerning terrorism and is cooperating actively with the committee established by the Security Council on that subject. We believe that the eradication of terrorism requires practical measures to eliminate its causes. Among such actions, we should actively strengthen human rights protections for all people, confront all acts of aggression and occupation of the lands of others, fight poverty and encourage democracy. Terrorism cannot be uprooted unilaterally through actions taken by one State or group of States. The solution for such a problem cannot be achieved by linking it to a certain religion or nationality.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We have donated 2 million dinars to support the activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and we are now reviewing some of our national legislation that is not in conformity with international instruments in the field of human rights. We also have eliminated the People’s Court, established in the early years of the revolution, and its jurisdiction has been assigned to regular courts. Libya was among the first States that called for the coordination of international efforts to combat international terrorism and that proposed an extraordinary session of the General Assembly to study that phenomenon and to develop measures to combat it and eradicate its causes.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We confirm our readiness to continue our full cooperation with all international organizations in this field and emphasize Libya’s right to expand its programme of peaceful uses of nuclear energy for development, particularly in the fields of medicine, agriculture, desalination, mining and oil exploration. We hope that all countries in the region would place all their nuclear facilities under the IAEA inspection regime. Our country is concerned with human rights issues at the international and national levels. We deal with all organizations working in the field of human rights in a transparent manner.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We hope that members of the international community will cooperate in a more appropriate manner to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, acquired by all States, without discrimination, in order to create a world in which peace and security prevail. The Libyan declaration was a culmination of previous Libyan efforts undertaken in this field, starting with effective participation in the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Africa — through its accession to the Pelindaba Treaty — and the call to make the Middle East a zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Hence, Libya declared on l9 December 2003 its voluntary renunciation of the programmes and materials that could lead to the production of internationally prohibited weapons and their means of delivery. Since that date, it has been cooperating in a transparent manner with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). All relevant materials and equipment have been disposed of with the knowledge of experts from the IAEA and the OPCW. Libya is now party to all international conventions on weapons of mass destruction, as well as the code of ethics concerning ballistic missiles.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We also propose that the African Union be granted permanent membership even before the comprehensive reform has been decided, given the fact that Africa is the only continent without a country holding permanent membership in the Security Council. As a member of the African Union, we affirm our adherence to the common African position, adopted by the Fifth African Union Summit, held in Sirte, Libya, on 4 and 5 July 2005. This position was confirmed in the African Union’s Extraordinary Summit on United Nations Reform held in Addis Ababa on 4 August 2005. Libya believes that the elimination of weapons of mass destruction is a fundamental factor in confidence- building and the consolidation of international peace and security.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“The United Nations, therefore, has been unable to administer justice among nations; in fact, some of its decisions have inflicted harm on many peoples. As we discuss United Nations reform, we should take into consideration that its membership has now reached 191 States. New global problems have emerged, in addition to the old ones. Thus, it is 2 necessary to place the power of decision-making in the hands of all Members of the United Nations, that is, in the hands of the General Assembly, in which all States have equal votes. However, if such an agreement is not possible, we should seek a new formula for permanent membership in the Security Council. In this respect, we propose that permanent membership be accorded to geographical groups, not to specific States.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We felt hopeful over the last few years while we were conducting consultations at all levels in order to realize a radical reform for the United Nations system, in the service of international peace and security. However, as the date of our summit-level meeting this year approached, it became evident that the reform we sought remained elusive. This is because some of the privileged Powers of the Security Council do not wish to give up their privileges — in fact not even to share these privileges with others. The victorious countries in the Second World War arrogated rights and privileges for themselves at the time the Charter was drawn up. This led to the marginalization of the General Assembly and rendered the Security Council a domineering body — inequitable, unbalanced and undemocratic, with the veto privilege greatly abused.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Since the 1970s, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya has been fully aware of the need to reform the United Nations and was the first State to put forward official proposals to the General Assembly in that regard, presenting draft resolutions from the thirty-fourth to the fortieth sessions aimed at reforming the Security Council and abolishing the veto privilege. Though the Libyan proposals were not successful because of the objection of the super-Powers, they did, however, create a wide understanding of that issue within the General Assembly, resulting in the adoption of a resolution at its forty-seventh session establishing an open-ended group to review the issue of fair representation in the Security Council and expanding its membership. We participated actively in the group’s work, but its activities reached an impasse.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“It gives me great pleasure at the outset to affirm my delegation’s confidence that the Swedish leadership of the work of the current General Assembly session will help us achieve the best results. I also seize this opportunity to commend the efforts made by Gabon, represented by its Foreign Minister, during its leadership of the previous session. I would also like to reiterate our gratitude for the efforts made by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to advance the march of United Nations reform and achieve the goals enshrined in its Charter.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“His continued detention amounts to hostage-taking under all relevant laws and customs. The second element of those demands is categorical rejection of the stubborn blockage of the lifting of the sanctions imposed on Libya, which ignores the provisions of paragraph 16 of Security Council 883 (1993) and the findings of the report of the Secretary-General in that regard. The Security Council 14 should immediately, totally and permanently lift the sanctions imposed on Libya, in view of the fact that Libya has met all the requirements of the relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1192 (1998). The third element is support for the legitimate right of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to receive fair compensation for the material and human losses it has incurred as a result of the sanctions.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Al Megrahi was kidnapped for political reasons, as confirmed in resolutions and statements adopted by a number of regional organizations, including at the Lusaka summit of the Organization of African Unity, the twenty-eighth ministerial session of the Organization of the Islamic Conference held at Bamako, and the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the League of Arab States held at Cairo earlier this year. Our gratitude goes to the members of those organizations and to others that have shown solidarity with us from the outset for standing on the side of right. We call on all Members of the United Nations that support right and justice to take the necessary action to meet the demands of those organizations. The first is the immediate release of Mr. Al Megrahi, who was convicted for political reasons that have nothing to do with the law.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“In such a context, the guilty verdict in regard to the first accused appears to be arbitrary, even irrational. ... This leads ... to the suspicion that political considerations may have been overriding a strictly judicial evaluation of the case. In placing these facts before the United Nations membership, we want to stress that the conviction handed down by the court on 31 January 2001 was a political decision that had nothing to do with the law. The Libyan citizen Mr.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The first to indicate this was Robert Black, an architect of the Lockerbie court, who said that the elements of the case against Al Megrahi were very weak. And Hans Kˆchler, a university professor appointed by the Secretary-General as an international observer of the trial, issued a report dated 3 February 2001, which included many comments, including the following. [The Opinion] is totally incomprehensible for any rational observer when one considers that the indictment in its very essence was based on the joint action of the two accused in Malta. The Opinion of the Court is exclusively based on circumstantial evidence and on a series of highly problematic inferences. As to the undersigned's knowledge, there is not one single piece of material evidence linking the two accused to the crime.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“But the decision of 31 January 2001 ran counter to those expectations. The court convicted one of the suspects, Mr. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, and acquitted the second, Mr. Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah. That judgement came as a surprise to all political analysts and jurists, for whom it raised many questions, including why one of the suspects was convicted when the two principal prosecution witnesses were proven to have lied and when the court found the third unreliable. How could the court's decision to convict one man and acquit the other be explained, since they were both suspected on the basis of the same assumptions? The only answer to those questions is that, at the last moment, the court departed from applying the law and instead took a political decision.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“During the trial it became very clear that the judges were not convinced of the truth of testimony from the three witnesses offered by the other party as witnesses for the prosecution. The court concluded that the principal witness in the case, Mr. Abdul Majid Giaka, was lying, as were Tony Gauci and Edwin Bollier. In paragraph 45 of its opinion, the court stated: We have assessed carefully the evidence of these three witnesses ... relating to the MST-13 timers .... All three, and notably Mr. Bollier, were shown to be unreliable witnesses. [Their various statements were] at times in conflict with each other ... On some occasions, particularly in the case of Mr. Bollier, their evidence was self- contradictory. It was thus fully expected that the Scottish court would acquit both suspects for lack of evidence.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“On each occasion, we have reiterated our request that the Security Council lift the sanctions it imposed on the Libyan people, 13 because Libya has fully responded to the requirements of Council resolutions 731 (1992), 748 (1992) and 1192 (1998). That was confirmed by the report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council, submitted in conformity with paragraph 16 of Security Council resolution 883 (1993). We are obliged once again to broach this question, and for a valid reason: the developments of earlier this year. As members know, on 3 May 2000 the Scottish court began its trial of the two Libyans suspected of being linked to the Pan Am aircraft incident.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“That should apply to all those that possess such weapons without exception; they should cease insisting on the development of new defensive systems that could threaten the world's strategic stability and trigger a new arms race. Unless the matter is addressed in that way, disarmament efforts will be meaningless; they will remain a great fraud perpetrated on all the peoples of the world. During the past nine sessions of the General Assembly, we have reviewed developments in the dispute between my country and a number of Western countries over the United States aeroplane that crashed over Lockerbie. During the past two sessions, we have focused on the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya's cooperation with the Scottish court that has been meeting in the Netherlands since the two Libyan suspects decided voluntarily to appear before it.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Why are certain countries falsely accused of acquiring weapons of mass destruction while there is silence about the Israelis, who, as everybody knows, possess hundreds of nuclear warheads and other weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons? Moreover, Israel continues to defy the will of the international community, which has called on it to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to place its nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to help ensure that the region is free of nuclear weapons. We want the important question of disarmament to be dealt with in a comprehensive and non-selective manner. Efforts should be concentrated first and foremost on the adoption of practical measures to destroy nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“That is why we wonder about the sharp focus on the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, even though it addresses only simple, limited weapons that small and weak countries need to defend their borders against powerful countries that possess aircraft carriers and aeroplanes that can be refueled in the air. Why should we not focus our efforts on the destruction of chemical and biological weapons and of ballistic missiles? Why are nuclear-weapon States not serious about practical measures to destroy their nuclear stockpiles?”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“My country is a party to most international disarmament agreements and is in the process of acceding to the remaining ones, including the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. But we firmly believe that general and complete disarmament cannot come about without a change in current norms and in the approach to disarmament issues. What we see today is a growing trend towards the control of small arms and light weapons rather than of the weapons of mass destruction that pose a greater threat to international peace and security and to human life.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Speaking of the situation in the eastern Arab region, my country reaffirms its unlimited support for sisterly Syria and Lebanon in their steadfastness in the face of Israeli aggression. We condemn all attempts to provoke those countries, and we uphold their right to recover all their territories under occupation. Turning to the current situation in Iraq, we condemn the daily violations of Iraqi sovereignty and the continuous aggression to which Iraq is subjected. We call on all peace-loving countries to work towards the lifting of the sanctions imposed on the Iraqi people and towards putting an end to all schemes aimed at destroying their capacities and at dividing their land. Tireless efforts have been made in the field of disarmament.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“It has also been cogently proven that the problem will not be resolved by the resolutions that the United Nations has been reiterating for more than five decades. In the light of those irrefutable facts, the solution that should be sought, and on which all efforts must focus, lies in what my country has said before and reaffirms now: the Palestinian people must return to their homeland, from which they were expelled, and a democratic, non-racist State must be established in which all citizens are equal irrespective of religion or ethnicity, a State similar to the one that has been established in the Republic of South Africa. Any other solution would be a fantasy that would serve only to perpetuate the Palestinian tragedy.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Thus, Palestine remained occupied. Most of its people became refugees in various parts of the world, and those who stayed were made into prisoners in their own homes, deprived of the most basic human rights. The Palestinian people are being subjected to the most heinous crimes committed against any people in contemporary history. Palestinian children and young and elderly people are assassinated, their land is confiscated, their farms are burnt and their 12 houses are demolished to be replaced by houses of settlers who came from various parts of the world in pursuit of unbelievable and illogical myths. Old and new developments of the Palestinian question are sufficient proof that ending the suffering of the Palestinians under occupation cannot be achieved through plans that are never implemented.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Moreover, a solution must be found to the problem of external debt, which devours most of Africa's earnings. Moreover, an end must be put to consequences of colonialism, the cause of Africa's underdevelopment and the obstacle to its progress. The only way to do justice to the peoples of Africa is for those States that conquered their land, looted the continent's resources and built their progress at its expense to apologize to the peoples of Africa for these practices and to pay them full compensation for the losses and damages caused by colonialism. The international community has thus far failed to resolve the Palestinian problem, which is almost as old as the United Nations itself. This is essentially due to disregard of the core of the problem, which is that a land was usurped and its people were expelled from their homeland.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The fact that Africa has taken all these initiatives and steps sends a clear message to other countries of the world that Africa fully realizes that resolving its problems and developing its abilities is primarily the responsibility of the Africans. Yet we must emphasize that there will be no peace, security or stability in the world as long as Africa suffers from problems and disturbances. For that, the United Nations and all countries must assist in the efforts of African countries to establish peace throughout the continent and to enhance security in all its corners. This requires primarily support for Africa's dispute-settlement mechanisms, assistance in eradicating the poverty of millions of its people and the elimination of diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, which threatens the lives of more than 30 million Africans.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“This was followed by the thirty-seventh summit of the Organization of African Unity, held last July, which took progressive practical measures to strengthen the fundamentals of this Union, which is an important transformation in the history of Africa, realizing as it did, the dream of the forefathers of a unified Africa. It was the culmination of the efforts of the great African leaders whose objective has always been the unity of the continent so that it could enhance its security and progress and build its future. It is a new phase in an African renaissance that will eliminate rifts that divide the continent and will establish one bloc for all Africans, capable of confronting various challenges in a world of large groupings.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Currently, intensive efforts are being made to implement the Libyan-Egyptian initiative, in coordination with the initiative of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, to achieve broad-based national reconciliation in the Sudan so that its people can live in harmony and stability, based on the unity and territorial integrity of that sisterly country and equality among its people. We take great pride in our contributions and achievements. But above all, Libyans from all walks of life men and women greatly cherish the historic event that took place in March of this year, when African leaders announced the establishment of the African Union at the second Sirte summit.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Talks held last June, under the auspices of the Qadhafi Charitable Organization, between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Front, led to the signature of the Tripoli Peace Agreement, ending a bitter conflict and meeting the aspirations of both parties for the restoration of security and stability in southern Philippines. We have participated effectively in various negotiations that have resulted in the settlement of the Ethiopia-Eritrea dispute and the conclusion of the Arusha Agreement, ending the conflict in Burundi. Together with other African countries, we are intensifying our efforts to support reconciliation in Somalia and the restoration of peace to the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the basis of the Lusaka Agreement, emanating from the agreement signed in the city of Sirte in September 1999.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“It is also being used to prevent the adoption of measures to protect those subjected to aggression, killing, displacement and other acts of genocide. Seeking to establish peace and enhance stability is among the major purposes of the United Nations. This Organization certainly cannot perform all these functions alone. Member States can establish effective mechanisms to resolve the most intractable problems. In this context, we in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya have made consistent efforts to assist countries suffering from conflicts and disputes.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Fourthly, it must accelerate the introduction of radical reform to the Security Council membership in order to apply the principle of equitable geographic distribution and thus do justice to the disadvantaged regions in Africa, Asia and Latin America that are under-represented in the Council. Reform should also apply to improving the Council's working methods to ensure transparency in its work and democracy in its decision-making. Fifthly, the privileges emanating from victories of the Second World War must be withdrawn, the most important being the right of veto, which has become obsolete. Therefore, there is no longer any justification for maintaining it, not only because it contravenes the principle of the sovereign equality of States, but also because it has been used to protect aggressors from 11 condemnation.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Secondly, it must enhance the role of the General Assembly, making it more effective, so that it can carry out the functions entrusted to it by the Charter, including contributing to the adoption of measures to maintain international peace and security. The Assembly should have the authority to control and to hold accountable other United Nations organs, including the Security Council, which should be accountable to the Assembly. Thirdly, it must establish a mechanism affiliated with the General Assembly to follow up the implementation of Assembly resolutions. We cannot wait indefinitely for the implementation of resolutions, most of which were adopted more than 50 years ago.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Many proposals have been submitted over the past few years in this regard, but, unfortunately, they did not resonate with certain Powers that care only for their narrow selfish interests. This makes it incumbent upon the other Members of this Organization that have a real stake in reform to unify their efforts and capacities to effect inevitable change, if we want our Organization to succeed, consistent with the spirit of the times, and to meet the needs of the people. For our part, we wish once again to reaffirm that such change should be aimed at achieving the following. First, it must enhance and develop cooperation among the principal organs of the United Nations, and between these organs and other bodies and agencies of the United Nations system, with a view to resolving international problems in all their aspects.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“There are still those who challenge the collective will and cling to unilaterally enacted laws, applying them to all. Old ideological barriers have been replaced with new barriers, including impeding access of many developing countries to the technology necessary for their development and advancement. Moreover, our world is still not free of criminal activity, including the illicit trade in small weapons and narcotics and transnational organized crime. The United Nations is the tool of our common work in our efforts to face these challenges. Undoubtedly it has made many efforts, but it could certainly be more effective in carrying out its duties if drastic structural reforms were made to its organs and if new working methods were developed for its various mechanisms.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya participated in all these forums, and we are happy to have contributed to their successful results. Like other Members of this Organization, we have an interest in the establishment of peace, the realization of justice and the support of sustainable development. Notwithstanding all these achievements, it is abundantly clear that there is a need for further efforts so that we may be able to address the additional challenges facing all Members of the United Nations. One such challenge is the environmental degradation that threatens life on Earth, our common home. Violence and armed conflicts also rage in several regions. Millions suffer from abject poverty in many places in developing countries. Diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, threaten the lives of entire communities.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Two 10 high-level conferences were held within the framework of the United Nations, one of which was devoted to the situation of the least developed countries and the other, to our common struggle against racism and xenophobia. In the declarations and programmes of action resulting from these conferences, there was a rededication and commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations, aimed at maintaining international peace and security and developing friendly relations among States. It was also affirmed that more efforts would be made to implement priorities such as the promotion of development, the provision of shelter for all, the eradication of want and diseases, the ending of injustice and unfairness and the uprooting of discrimination in all its forms.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Today, we renew this call out of a conviction that this is the best way to study the question of terrorism with a view to arriving at an accurate definition of terrorism far removed from selfish and subjective classifications. We are also convinced that this is the best way to deal with this phenomenon in all its political, economic and social aspects and, consequently, to take the necessary measures to fully uproot it. Every year, we gather here to review and assess our achievements. Despite the tragic events of 11 September, we notice that the previous year witnessed a number of important developments. The General Assembly held more than one special session.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Preventing the Council from adopting measures to protect those who are subjected to killing and displacement constitutes support for and encouragement of terrorism. Due to these considerations, we believe it has become important and necessary to take international action to combat terrorism at all levels. We think that such action could be effective if undertaken under the umbrella of the United Nations, in accordance with the purposes and principles of its Charter. My country was among the first to act in this context when, in 1992, we called on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to request the convening of a special session of the General Assembly devoted to the consideration of the means of combating terrorism.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The downing of civilian aircraft, like the Libyan aircraft that was hijacked and destroyed over Sinai in 1973, is terrorism. Mass massacres are terrorism. The training of extreme elements in certain countries and facilitating their arrival in other countries to carry out criminal acts, including assassinations, as happened in my country in 1984 and 1993, is terrorism. The acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and the threat of their use is terrorism. The imposition by one State of unilateral, coercive measures against other countries and the enactment by the same State of laws to punish others who maintain relations with these countries is also terrorism. Exploiting the Security Council to impose sanctions against peoples without any justification or evidence is terrorism.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“We cannot condemn terrorism and fight it when it hits one country and turn a blind eye when it hits other countries and peoples. It is also very dangerous to link terrorism to a certain religion or nationality, as terrorism has no nationality and no religion. Further, it is unacceptable to label as terrorism the struggle of peoples to protect themselves or to attain independence while ignoring real terrorism, which has several faces and is practised in different ways. Occupation, provocation and aggression against peoples, like that against Libya in 1986, is all terrorism. The establishment of military bases on the territories of others is terrorism. Fleets that roam the seas are stationed off the coasts of other States and violate their territorial waters are forms of terrorism.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“We, in Libya appreciate the measures taken by the international community to uproot terrorism, including the number of agreements made the most important of which we are already party to, and the rest of which we are in the process of acceding to. Nevertheless, it is very evident that there is an urgent need to take other measures to confront the challenges posed by this phenomenon. This will necessitate seeking and eradicating the roots of terrorism. It is also imperative to take effective action to put an end to terrorist practices and to eliminate all the reasons and motives that stand behind terrorism. Before achieving this, we must agree on a uniform definition of terrorism to determine ways of combating it.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Once again I express to the people of the United States and the families of the victims, who lost their loved ones, my deepest sympathies. We in Libya, having been subjected to various forms of terrorism, including State terrorism, realize better than others the cruelty and the depth of feelings that the American people suffered and the psychological impact, particularly on the families of the victims. My country has therefore condemned those painful events, emphasizing our firm position, which denounces terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and calls for the eradication of this phenomenon, which endangers the independence of States and the lives of peoples.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)