YouSaid · the spoken record

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani

lines on the record: 87
first: 2001-09-24
most recent: 2012-09-24
sittings or episodes: 7
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

“Before concluding, I would like to welcome the election of our brother Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as President of the Somali Republic, and to wish him every success in achieving security and stability in that country, whose people have suffered so much. I call on the international community to exert greater effort to help Somalia to reach a solution to its crisis that is acceptable to all the Somali parties, one that will pave the way for the return of peace to the country and will help rebuild the State after the long years of war and destruction.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“One of the great challenges that we must face is the question of climate change and its terrible and destructive consequences for all countries. This requires us to cooperate and work together to reach the best solutions to that challenge and overcome our differences. I would like to note that the State of Qatar will host the eighteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The importance of this conference is that it could produce a road map that could help us deal with the negative effects of this phenomenon. I would like take the opportunity of speaking in this international forum to invite all countries of the world to participate in the conference so that we may reach an international consensus on the matter.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“I have on previous occasions reiterated the importance of that question and the need to strike a balance between respect for sacred faiths and religions and freedom of expression in order for tolerance to replace intolerance and acceptance of the other to replace rejection and stereotyping, which is neither fair nor right. Today, I would like to take this opportunity to call on the United Nations, those who exercise wisdom and reason and those who have decision-making power at the international level to drsft internationally agreed laws, procedures and controls aimed at preventing religions and faiths from being insulted under any pretext and, at the same time, upholding the right of mankind to know and express its opinions. Ms. Flores (Honduras), Vice-President, took the Chair.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“This is a phenomenon that we have seen lately and which has regrettably led to the killing of innocent people. We have called and we continue to call for dialogue in order to exchange information and experience. We have called and continue to call for dialogue among civilizations and religions. We have established the Doha International Centre for Interfaith Dialogue. We have called and still call for dialogue aimed at acquainting ourselves with ideas and experiences from all over the globe and to learn about different faiths in order to ensure that human culture is interconnected and everyone has a say in its creation. Everyone should reap its dividends, based on understanding, appreciation, knowledge and the full exercise of rights.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Why does the Security Council not adopt a resolution under Chapter VII that would force Israel to lift the blockade of Gaza and stop its settlement activity, a resolution that would return the peace process to the comprehensive track instead of the piecemeal approach, which does not lead to results? I find no answer to my questions. We firmly believe in the importance of the freedom of expression and the right of people to express their opinion based on our belief in the sanctity of humanity and the dignity of man, who was created by God as free and dignified. At the same time, we believe that freedom should not exceed reasonable limits and become a tool to hurt and insult the dignity of others or ther dignity of religions, faiths and sacred beliefs.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Despite all the suffering in the Middle East, the core problem remains the Palestinian question: the continued Israeli occupation of the Arab territories in the West Bank, the Golan and Shaba’a farms in southern Lebanon, the stif ling blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and the continued arrest and imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. The peace process has stalled because of the current Israeli position that insists on continuing the policy of settlements in the Palestinian territories and Jerusalem and refusing to cede them. Sometimes I would like to ask why the international community does nothing to implement the relevant resolutions on the Middle East.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“In view of that, I believe that the Arab countries themselves should intervene, in order to fulfil their national humanitarian, political and military duties, and do what is necessary to stop the bloodshed in Syria, the killing of innocent people and their displacement and guarantee a peaceful transition of power. We do have a precedent in that respect. Arab forces intervened in Lebanon in the mid-1970s to stop the internal fighting there, and their efforts proved effective and useful. We urge all countries that believe in the cause of the Syrian people to provide every type of support to that people until they are able to secure their legitimate rights.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“That would reassure the people who are working hard and with determination to carve out a place for themselves in history and who struggle to achieve freedom and dignity, hoping for a better tomorrow for future generations. The situation in Syria has reached an unacceptable phase. Hundreds of innocent Syrians are killed every day, under the fire of a regime that does not hesitate to use all sorts of weapons against its own people. We have used all available means to help Syria extricate itself from the cycle of killing, but in vain. The Security Council has failed to reach an effective position.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Together with others, we realized the risks inherent in the current phase of the evolution of our nation and of the Arab world. If we could ask for one thing during this session, it would be an encouraging reconfirmation of the right of our Arab world to continue its advancement and achieve its aspirations in a new world, a world shaped by science and technology, a world that the pioneers who wrote the well-known conventions on rights and freedom could not have imagined. On the other hand, I hope that this world gathering will take a stand that reflects sympathy with the historic transformations under way in the Arab world.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“In the Arab world, however, that birth has had to take place under spotlights, before the eyes of the entire world, under the watchful eye of satellites crisscrossing space and shaped by electronic media, without any shield or barrier of any sort. In order to achieve their objectives, those who undertake internal and external interventions to peoples from attaining their legitimate rights do not hesitate to use all means at their disposal, from exploitation of the past and its complex legacy to other means of provocation. They can even use arms, shedding seas of blood, if other means fail or take too long. All of that has made our transition from past to future and from backwardness to development a risky process, under fire from all corners.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“In the same way, dictatorships do not change at the first signs of revolution but require real resistance to depose them. The desire for advancement will not eliminate backwardness except through hard work. Occupied territories will never be restored by a mere rejection of the occupation, but by persistence in demanding rights and by resistance using all legitimate means. What adds to the difficulties of the transition in our Arab world is that it takes place in a time of great aspirations and a climate subject to all sorts of changes and complications. Our peoples have had to fight to change their lives under circumstances that differ greatly from those faced by others in similar situations. In America, Europe, Asia and other places, historical transitions have taken place within certain limits.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“We remember that the American political and social experience was born of a civil war that the country had to undergo to affirm its unity. Today’s Europe experienced terrible world wars until it achieved a degree of unity that could not be achieved by arms or hegemony. And Asia has seen highly successful cases of nations advancing and achieving their aspirations, after long periods of painful new birth. I say this to assure whoever cares about our part of the world and its future that what is going on in our region is natural and historic. It is not reasonable to expect that people can attain their freedom as soon as they ask for it. Human history shows that peoples have sacrificed their lives and wealth to gain freedom.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Conditions in the Arab world, seen from afar, may show disturbances and problems in many places with images of smoke and flames. However, I would like, from this rostrum, to reassure all those who are following the events in the region and may sometimes feel uncomfortable about what they see and hear. Those events represent the movement of a nation struggling to cope with the times and continue its forward march, as it has many times before. Yet now that march has been interrupted by obstacles, both external and internal and regional and international. Those obstacles have frustrated its will and derailed its march. But it has recently taken matters into its own hands after having suffered dictatorship, dependence and corruption.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“As a matter of fact, it is an impressive attempt to correct prevailing conditions in a region with a special history, at a time when the world order is rapidly changing. The current period represents a special, new and unprecedented experience that forms part of human history. Today’s experiences differ from the previous experiences of nations and peoples who participated in changing times. They accepted the necessary consequences and bore the costs with the knowledge that the costs were consistent with moving forward at the appropriate time in response to ambitions towards freedom, enlightenment, respect for the dignity of man and development. But the Arab experience of transition is unique in its pace and process.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“At the outset I would like to congratulate Mr. Vuk Jeremić on his election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session and to wish him all success. I would also like to express my thanks to Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the General Assembly at its previous session and one of the most capable Qatari diplomats, for his efforts to ensure the successful work of the General Assembly. I would also like to seize this opportunity to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his continued work in support of the role of the United Nations. These days, the Arab world is experiencing a difficult and risky period that is, at the same time, full of hope.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“We have endeavoured to make the best use of this wealth, employ its revenues in the service of Qatari citizens and improve our various human development indicators because we, like other inhabitants of planet Earth, are anxious to address the impact of climate change. Our interest in clean energy, particularly natural gas, is on our list of priorities. And to contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions, we have developed policies that aim to benefit from clean and renewable energy sources. Through this approach, we hope to contribute nationally, regionally and internationally to the establishment of peace, stability and security, as well as to the development that comes with them. Thus, we hope to assume our part of the collective responsibility for the common good.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“At the national level in the State of Qatar, we pursue human-centred development policies based on a holistic approach in dealing with human development. We have set ourselves the goals of modernization, reform and development in order to build a modern constitutional State of law-based institutions that guarantee citizens their freedoms, rights and responsibilities. We have taken concrete steps towards enhancing our development capabilities, including our health, educational and cultural institutions, which we hope will reach international standards, as well as enhancing national industrial enterprises to utilize natural resources in our country. God has granted our country an abundance of hydrocarbon fuel reserves.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“That is a very dangerous prospect. In this first decade, we have faced major challenges. We should resolve that war is not the way to deal with such challenges. Rather, we should come to terms with ourselves, with this era and with its concomitant progress, and determine to turn the new decade and the decades that follow into an era in which 29 10-54827 major challenges are addressed with more in-depth understanding and knowledge. Proceeding from our belief that dialogue is the most effective way to resolve conflicts, we have set out to seek a resolution to several political crises in our region by promoting dialogue between the concerned parties, whether in Lebanon, Yemen, the Horn of Africa or the Sudan.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“That approach has not achieved security, peace or prosperity. On the contrary, it has spread destruction everywhere, deprived millions of people of their livelihoods, spread fear, caused the displacing and killing of millions of people as well as economic and financial crises that have shaken the stability of the world, and undermined efforts aimed at dialogue among cultures. I do not want to take up too much of the Assembly’s time, but we believe that the situation in which we find ourselves after the first decade of this intriguing century should not be allowed to continue, and its corrosive ramifications should not go unchecked. What we fear is that the war on terrorism may turn into a series of financial transactions concluded with armies of mercenaries who are given free rein to kill outside of any international or human legitimacy.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Rather, those acts of violence are attributed to their underlying political, economic, social and even ideological causes, without reference to any religion, country or idea. By contrast, what we have seen and suffered in the first decade of this century — what is called the war on terror — is a phenomenon unprecedented in international politics. It has plunged us into a kind of war with no limits, end, logic or legal or moral conditions. Some of this is still happening and, although we note that the current United States Administration has discontinued the use of the term “war on terror”, we are still looking forward to clearer and bolder initiatives. The other premise that we disagree with is that we believe that even though the phenomenon of terrorism does exist it should not be addressed by waging wars.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Thus the fresh start of a new century has been hamstrung by a quagmire of distortions and damage, some, if not all, of which could have been avoided. We recognize the existence of certain practices that clearly fall within the scope of terrorism, but in this regard we emphasize two premises. First, we disagree with the attribution of this so- called terrorism to the Islamic religion, because — in addition to being incorrect — that ascription is historically unjust and is refuted by evidence from recent history. In the twentieth century, including the second half thereof, unjustifiably violent actions occurred in the United States of America, Europe and Asia, but no one has characterized those acts of terrorism as American, European or Asian.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“This prompts us again to call upon the international community to stand as one in demanding that Israel lift the blockade immediately and fully. We are now at a historic juncture in the process of the settlement of the question of Palestine. For everyone should realize that the Arab countries will not accept the peace that Israel wants to impose as it pleases and outside international legitimacy. A lasting, acceptable and secure peace must guarantee the rights of the Palestinian people, especially the establishment of a Palestinian State, with Jerusalem as its capital. For reasons some of which we can understand and some of which we fail to understand, this first decade of the twenty-first century has been blighted by the blind attack that has come to be known as the war on terrorism.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Let this be yet another consideration that prompts the international community to recognize the importance of achieving political stability and security in the Middle East. This is a difficult goal that can only be achieved by renouncing the use of force, freeing the region of weapons of mass destruction, without exception, and settling bilateral disputes and regional conflicts on the basis of international law, the United Nations Charter, the resolutions of international legitimacy and the principles of justice and equity. Israel’s persistence in violating international law and humanitarian values was reflected in the acts of piracy committed against peace activists who tried to break the unjust and inhuman siege imposed on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The question of Palestine has been awaiting a just solution for decades, the situation remains precarious in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Iranian nuclear crisis requires a solution. We have repeatedly 10-54827 28 stressed the importance of reaching a solution through peaceful and diplomatic means, and, in our view, a fruitful, direct dialogue between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran would contribute to the resolution of this crisis. The strategic importance of the Arabian Gulf region stems from its geostrategic position and the fact that it is sitting on half of the world’s oil and natural gas reserves and is the source of one quarter of the world’s production of these two primary driving forces of the global economy.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The time has come to reformulate the global economic system in order for it to achieve justice and equal opportunities for all. Among the important international conferences and forums that Doha hosted this year was the World Economic Forum Global Redesign Summit, which resulted in many proposals for improving the existing international structures and cooperative arrangements, in order to create an international system conducive to meeting the challenges of the twenty-first century. I call on decision makers to discuss the proposals and adopt those that are appropriate. You may all know that our region is still experiencing the highest degree of tension in the world.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“When I stood on this platform in September last year, I addressed the issue of the threats that beset our world. Unfortunately, these threats are still present and have even increased and diversified, and we are not any closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, which we set for ourselves ten years ago during the Millennium Summit. We believe that the malfunction that our world suffers from is due, not to a lack of resources, but to mismanagement and lack of justice and equity. The global economic, financial and food crisis and the persistence of hunger, poverty and other challenges facing humanity today prompt us to rebuild our institutions and formulate our strategies to better respond to the challenges and crises facing the international community.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The State of Qatar is aware of the enormous potential of clean and renewable energy sources — in particular solar energy, which is abundantly available in our climate. The Government has encouraged our industries, educational institutions and scientific research centres to develop renewable energy technologies that will help to improve efficiency and performance and are suited to local conditions. The State of Qatar looks forward to a more intensive international effort to share information and expertise in the development of solar and other renewable energies. We urge developed countries to share modern technologies in that area and to contribute to the implementation and financing of renewable energy projects throughout the world.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Since the Field was discovered, the Government has sought to develop concepts and plans for projects to supply the local market with gas and to export liquefied natural gas to world markets, as well as for the gas-to-liquid process, petrochemical industries and other projects using natural gas, whose consumption is less harmful to the environment than that of other fossil substances. While the State of Qatar has sufficient reserves to meet its needs for decades to come, we are fully aware of the future challenges facing the international community in terms of the implications of greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and their negative effects on sustainable development projects.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“At this session, we face a historic situation — an opportunity that does not present itself very often. It is the duty of the international community, and in particular of its powerful members, to shoulder their responsibilities by responding to that opportunity. Almighty God has blessed the State of Qatar with vast hydrocarbon resources, including the giant North Gas Field, whose resources make Qatar the third- largest country in the world in terms of natural gas reserves.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“There can be neither peace nor prosperity when global civilization is threatened by an energy crisis that is far greater than a war of any kind, even a nuclear war. With regard to the issue of climate change, I should like to take this opportunity to thank His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, for having organized the Summit on Climate Change yesterday within the framework of the United Nations to discuss this most serious challenge, which threatens not only the security of the planet but also all life on it. We believe that, while the United Nations system comprises a comprehensive range of institutions, those institutions require urgent renewal and strengthening so that United Nations work will be commensurate with the new realities in the community of nations on all continents.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Resorting to the authority of the United Nations is essential not only to resolve intractable crises such as the ones in the Middle East, but also to realize aspirations that can be fulfilled only through a legitimate international consensus and within an agreed framework. One such pressing crisis is the quest for alternative energy sources. Another equally urgent issue is that of climate change and its definite impact on the environment and life on this planet. As for the issue of energy, while it would seem that oil-producing countries are benefiting from continued world dependence on their oil production, I wish to stress to the Assembly that we consider global security to be our security and global prosperity to be our prosperity.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“We are aware and appreciative of the great importance of an overarching international authority as expressed by a legitimate international order and 31 09-52179 governed by a Charter, by the law, and by an experience of a harsh and bloody political history. That appreciation stems from our intimate familiarity with the crises and complex situations of the Middle East, which became intertwined and increasingly ominous when addressed outside the United Nations framework, on the assumption that the new setting could yield swifter and more effective solutions. In fact, that approach was merely an aimless diversion that only caused greater confusion and complexity.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“But in the emerging circumstances and realities, those who advocate the monopolizing of international decision-making need to realize that we live in one world. And in a world like this one, concern is equal, even though the distribution of power may not be. This attitude represents for us a confirmation of our view, by which we stand firm. Namely, that it is time to go back to the United Nations system as a framework that accommodates everyone, provides a venue recognized by all, and has a Charter accepted by all nations mindful that equal rights do not run counter to a division of responsibilities which takes into account the different levels of capability of the parties.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“It is clear to us that the serious crises of the world were exacerbated when nations with major influence in the international order decided to transfer tackling the most important issues of war, peace and progress from the United Nations framework to other extraneous frameworks. Such was the case with regard to conventional and nuclear arms, security agreements and arrangements covering the broad spectrum from outer space to policy and economics. The reasons given for going outside the United Nations framework were, as some believed, that such issues were beyond the capability of the smaller States that represent the majority of United Nations Members. Thus, according to this approach, the absence of the smaller States would make dealing with the issues at hand easier.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“In such a situation, the significance of the opportunity looms large, after long years of firestorms, snow blizzards and dust storms, signalling to us that the world requires something new. In fact, that obvious fact stands out against the background of our harsh prior experience. However, we have been failing to pay attention to it, despite the numerous appeals pointing to it and the sincere attempts calling for renewal so that the Organization can fulfil its mission in changing times and remain a standard and reference of international legitimacy. This requirement for change covers the whole of the United Nations system with all its branches and agencies.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“It has also generated a renewal-seeking movement in the United States of America that we are following with interest and we sincerely hope will succeed. We note that during the stages of the global confrontation and polarization, and the significant turmoil that followed both of them, the international community lived in, and suffered from, severe confusion, when it became clear that achieving world peace and prosperity required more than the weapons of the mighty Powers, more than a bipolarity of States, more than the hegemony of one country — no matter how advanced that country might be — and a broader and more comprehensive global management of urgent crises.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“In our view, the present situation is similar to those that prevailed on the eve of the conferences of Vienna (1814), Versailles (1919) and Potsdam (1945). This situation, and the opportunity it presents in today’s world, is fertile ground for embarking on a search for a different future. It comes in the wake of a period of violent turmoil in which the world was burned by the fires of World War II, was bitten by the frost of the cold war, and went adrift — especially after the 11 September 2001 tragedy — in the fallout from the war on terrorism. This was followed by the financial market crisis just last year. The succession of major developments has altered the world map, changed the balance of power and influence, and brought in capable parties from Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Allow me at the outset, Sir, to congratulate you on your election to 09-52179 30 the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty- fourth session. I wish you every success in your task. I would also like to thank your predecessor, my friend Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, for his tireless work during the previous session. I would also like to thank His Excellency Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his effort to strengthen the role of the United Nations. This new session of the General Assembly coincides with a unique international situation — one of those situations that take shape at a critical juncture of major historical developments. Such situations present an opportunity to lay foundations, stress principles and regulate systems of international interaction and relations.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“We hope that participation the conference will be at the highest possible level. The goal is ambitious and the purpose is vital for the safety and peace of the one human global village.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“However, the realities of today’s world require a different approach, for peace cannot be achieved through conflict between powers, agreement between empires, or coexistence among blocs, and not even through positive neutrality. The alternative to those three options is our new choice, namely positive peace, an era of international law that ensures political rights and an era of development offering parallel and equal opportunities in one world, which cannot go into the future burdened by the injustices of politics or blinded by the darkness of underdevelopment. Qatar is getting ready to host the follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development. My country looks forward to an international cooperation that offers the broadest base possible for political as well as social peace.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“It has been a peace beset by conflicts on all continents and in all territories. We have also come to the conclusion that in a world where barriers of distance and time have come to evaporate, achieving peace means establishing and promoting economic and social justice among peoples. That is what constitutes positive peace. If the purposes and principles of the Charter have established the political rights of nations on the basis of international law, the right of peoples to social 17 08-51570 justice must be based on the idea of development. In the past, the first generation of advocates and supporters of national liberation movements demanded what they called “positive neutrality”, believing that they could thus distance themselves from the wars of the major powers.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“We have sought to achieve peace through war in which the powerful tried to impose their will, as in the two notorious world wars of the twentieth century. We have sought to find peace through entente between empires, as between Britain and France in 1904. We sought peace through coexistence between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1971. In all those attempts, either by war or by entente between Powers, by agreement between empires or by coexistence between blocs and doctrines, peace has remained elusive. We have all come to realize through those long and exhausting experiences that achieving peace is a positive act that means more than just eliminating the threat of weapons. While it is true that humanity has not suffered a global war in the past 60 years, it is also true that peace in those last six decades has remained elusive.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“I should like at the outset to congratulate you, Su, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-third session. I wish you every success in your mission. I should like also to thank your predecessor, Mr. Srgjan Kerim, for all of his efforts in the previous session. I should further like to thank the Secretary- General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his efforts to promote and revitalize the role of the United Nations. I need not remind anyone in this Hall, which holds such a high-level assembly, that the primary goal of this Organization and the fundamental purpose of its Charter is to achieve and maintain world peace. The human experience replete with hopes and horrors reminds us all that world peace can only be achieved by a conscious, positive act and not through mere wishful thinking.”
2008-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 63 (2008)
“Just causes are always protected by the principles of the law, and the law provides their true guarantee, as well as powerful support.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“I have not come to this session to present issues or crises related to my country or the Arab world, although some of them have reached proportions constituting human tragedies. I have come here to raise broader issues, as I am convinced that all Arab and Muslim issues are related to the problems of the world as a whole. In the light of a global understanding of the new phase in international progress an understanding that emphasizes the belief in the need to resort to the collective international will, as embodied by the United Nations, its leadership and system, and in the set of principles on which the Organization’s Charter is based Arab and Muslim causes would not be the only ones to benefit from it; it would also benefit the entire world.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Donors should make additional efforts to double the assistance provided to sub-Saharan African countries and to promote the development agenda of the United Nations. Moreover, given the important, major role played by global trade in financing development, a successful conclusion to the Doha Round would provide new opportunities to promote multilateral trade transactions. While we are concerned about the deadlock in the ongoing consultations on the implementation of the Doha Development Agenda, we hope that we will be able to put that phase behind us. We also hope that all parties concerned, especially developed countries, will show the sufficient flexibility to reach mutually beneficial, practical results.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Such a situation requires both our cooperation and concerted efforts by industrialized and developing countries alike to find new approaches and visions leading to effective short-, mid- and long-term solutions. In that connection, I would like to underscore my country’s support for any measures aimed at protecting the environment and achieving sustainable development. International aid is one of the areas for promoting international partnership. The volume of aid should therefore be increased and its efficiency improved by easing the conditions on which it is granted so as to promote the national development strategies of recipient countries. In that regard, we are concerned about the decline in 2006 of the real value of official development assistance.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“The work of the United Nations in the areas of development should be accorded high priority, given the close links that exist between development, security and peace. We were indeed pleased that the General Assembly approved the initiative of the State of Qatar to host the first follow-up conference to the International Conference on Financing for Development, which is to be held at Doha during the second half of 2008. One of the major challenges that we all have to address pertains to the protection of the environment. In addition to the destructive effects of climate change, the environment is subject to degradation and pollution, which threaten human life as well as that of all living creatures.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“While the current situation in Iraq requires that the international community assume its responsibilities, the main responsibility remains with the leaders of the whole Iraqi people, who are primarily responsible for hammering out a formula of national reconciliation that ensures justice, peace and security and preserves the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq. The international order has witnessed both “cold” and actual wars. Although real wars are humanly unacceptable, cold wars are psychologically unbearable because they inevitably lead to proxy conflicts, which are incompatible with a world in which the forces of enlightenment and the elements of understanding among nations and cultures have strived in an unprecedented manner.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Responsibility for addressing them should therefore be placed with the United Nations, as it constitutes the political embodiment of the international community’s principles, laws and broad aspirations to peacebuilding and to achieving progress on the basis of the rule of law and the will of those upholding its authority. If the role of the United Nations is to be more effective, its structure must be reformed to adapt to the changes that have taken place in the world since the adoption of the Charter of the United Nations, in 1945.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)