YouSaid · the spoken record

Abdulaziz

lines on the record: 38
first: 2014-07-17
most recent: 2023-04-25
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-security-council

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 conclusion, the League of Arab States believes that the Arab summit to be convened in Saudi Arabia next month will adopt more decisions promoting regional Arab relations, with a view to addressing all the issues pertinent to the Arab region with the support of the Security Council and other international actors. The aim is to achieve peace, security and stability in our region.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“We hope to have support from the Council for all the efforts being made regionally and internationally to reach a political settlement. At the same time, the League of Arab States will continue to support the Secretary-General’s proposed Our Common Agenda (A/75/982). We look forward to establishing it in order to restore credibility to the international multilateral system and especially the Security Council. We are convinced that all the great Powers, along with all the States Members of the United Nations, will rise above the acute polarization that has divided them, and that has had a negative effect on the Security Council’s performance in the maintenance of international peace and security, so that we can fulfil our joint interests. We hope that everybody will cooperate to achieve that goal.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“The bloody clashes in our brother nation of the Sudan are having an impact on the Sudanese people and on its neighbours on both the political and humanitarian fronts. However, the League of Arab States is upholding its regional responsibilities in the Sudan in cooperation with the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the United Nations, the European Union and other international Powers inside and outside the Security Council, with the aim of reaching an immediate settlement to the internal Sudanese conflict with the support of the Sudanese Government and the country’s leaders. The Secretary-General of the League of Arab States has been at the forefront of those seeking to achieve an immediate ceasefire and has appealed twice to the two parties with a view to initiating a Sudanese dialogue to resolve the conflict.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“In addition to the Palestinian question, which has been and will remain the Arabs’ central issue, there have been positive recent developments in the Middle East that we believe the Security Council will support and welcome, including the Arab world’s increased engagement in resolving the Syrian issue in coordination with the United Nations and Syria. Intense efforts are also being made, with Arab support, to ensure the formation of a new Lebanese Government. The first phase of prisoner exchanges in Yemen and the start of political discussions are under way to achieve the political consensus needed for the desired settlement to be reached. There is also increased Arab support for the holding of free, fair and comprehensive elections in Libya by the end of the year. Many other developments are taking place.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“The Palestinian and Israeli sides need to start direct negotiations on implementing a two-State solution and the land for peace initiative. We stress that more than 20 years later, the Arab Peace Initiative, introduced by Saudi Arabia and adopted at the Arab Summit is still a realistic and practical proposal, one that cannot be replaced by the Abraham Accords or any others, for establishing just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, resolving the Palestinian question and ensuring the creation of an independent Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the borders of 4 June 1967. The League of Arab States emphasizes the need to make every effort in collaboration with international actors to implement the Arab Peace Initiative as soon as possible.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“The League believes that the Security Council should ensure effective international protection for the Palestinian people by adopting a clear resolution and subjecting those responsible for the blatant violations to international justice. At the same time, the international community has a greater responsibility to convince the international Powers that have lost interest in the Middle East and are preoccupied with issues in other eastern areas to refrain from obstructing the possibility of a peaceful settlement in our region. They should work seriously on a clear political process for achieving a settlement through the Quartet and at the ministerial level, with a view to convening the international conference that the Palestinian President has been asking for since 2018.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Given the deteriorating situation since the beginning of the year, the Ministerial Council of the League of Arab States, whose role it is to oppose illegitimate policies and measures taken in the occupied city of Jerusalem, on 5 January adopted a strong statement that addressed the impact of escalating violations perpetrated by the extremist Israeli Government since its formation. The League of Arab States and its Secretary-General continue to warn against the consequences of those violations, which are being carried out with impunity and no accountability. We stress that we consider it insufficient that the Security Council has met seven times since the beginning of January to discuss those violations and has expressed its regret in press or presidential statements that include no effective measures.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Such an effort by the Council and the Secretary-General on that issue is particularly important because the extremist Israeli Government is now seeking to set up special militias that would fall exclusively under the purview of the Minister of the Interior, who stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque and has supported and participated in all the violations against the Palestinian people since the establishment of that Government. That could exacerbate the situation at any time and undermine the credibility of the Security Council.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“The League of Arab States therefore associates itself with the Secretary-General in his call to expand current mechanisms to protect the Palestinian people from the oppression of the Israeli occupation. We see that it is important for the Secretary-General to issue a new urgent report similar to the report he issued in 2018 (A/73/84). We urge him to issue specific proposals on the best ways to protect the Palestinian people living under occupation from the violations of their inalienable rights by the Government and settlers.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“That situation would demand a more decisive action from the Council Accordingly, the League of Arab States calls for the creation of an implementation mechanism to protect the Palestinian people from the occupation forces and settlers. The Security Council must not stand idle until the recurrence of Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi massacre of 1994, which led the Security Council to adopt resolution 904 (1994), which sought to set up a protection mechanism for the Palestinian people in the Al-Khalil area. It is clear that the Council is responsible for protecting the Palestinian people, regardless of Israeli Governments or different international stances.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“That is particularly true because Israel is exploiting the world’s preoccupation with addressing the crisis in Ukraine and the resulting sharp polarization in the Security Council. Certain major Powers are also preoccupied with that crisis and were considered by the Middle East countries fair negotiators in the peace process and peace seekers within the Middle East Quartet. That warns of a new phase of increasing violence and the risk of triggering a third Palestinian intifada, with significant political, security and humanitarian implications not only for the peoples of Palestine and Israel, but also for the peoples of the entire Middle East.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“That was a dangerous provocation to the feelings of Muslims, Christians and other religions, Arabs and non-Arabs throughout the world. That demonstrates extremist directives of that Government based on challenging the entire international community and disrespect to any holy places, be it Muslim, Christian or even to Jewish values. That has led to massive demonstrations in Israel recently to protest laws that the Government wants to impose to ensure impunity for some leaders in the State that claims, as we heard in the statement made by its representative today, to respect democracy and human rights, which is a barefaced lie. Undoubtedly, the Security Council does not oppose those escalating dangerous violations seriously undermining the credibility of the multilateral international system.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“The most repugnant aspect of them were storming the Mosque and attacking worshippers, which prevented other worshipers from gaining access to the Mosque. Israel supported the settlers who desecrated the Mosque and its courtyards, and also Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories, in flagrant violation of the international responsibility mandated to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Custodian of the Holy Sites, to protect them in Al-Quds Al-Sharif. The most dangerous aspect of those violations is that they were led by prominent members of the Israeli Government during the holy month of Ramadan and concurrent with Christian celebrations, including Easter Sunday, Great and Holy Saturday, Good Friday and others.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“The Middle East has seen successive and dangerous developments recently, in particular ongoing violations by the new Israeli extremist Government of all the inalienable rights of the occupied Palestinian people in the State of Palestine. The Government also supports the dangerous violations by Israeli settlers in the context of its abhorrent policies that run counter to all its commitments under international law, international humanitarian law and international human rights law, foremost of which is resolution 2334 (2016). The most serious acts committed by Israel, the occupying Power, during the period under review were the repeated ferocious attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds Al-Sharif, capital of the Palestinian State.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“It is a pleasure for me to begin my statement by congratulating the Russian Federation on its exceptional presidency of the Security Council. I would like to welcome Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, who is presiding over this meeting; Mr. Riad Al-Malki, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine; and Mr. Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, Minister of State at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates. I also would like to thank Mr. Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, for his briefing today. We align ourselves with the statement made by the Chargée d’affaires of the Lebanese Republic on behalf of the Group of Arab States.”
2023-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9309Resumption1 (2023) · source
“Rather, we are calling for stabilization and institution-building initiatives on the part of the Security Council. That is the only way to empower the State to respond to the challenges ahead. I thank the President and the Council for giving me this opportunity to convey to them the exact situation in Libya and what the Libyan people expect from the international community.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“Approaching the task with determination and sustained support for the political process in Libya will certainly pay off in the end. We are dealing with a country of 6.5 million people living on 1.8 million square kilometres, which is the seventeenth largest in the world in terms of surface area and the fourth largest in Africa, with oil reserves in the amount of 41.5 billion barrels. It has tremendous potential, not only for the Libya people, but also for our neighbours and our partners. It goes without saying that the Libyans are responsible for shaping their own destiny, believing in a prosperous future, but we cannot achieve it alone. We need a partnership in solidarity that goes beyond national interests. Finally, I wish to reiterate the fact that we are not calling for a military intervention.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“The speedy deployment of such a mission, if it is possible, in close cooperation and coordination with regional organizations, would certainly enable the country to move forward in pursuit of a more meaningful democratic transformation, the fair distribution of wealth, the adoption of a consensus constitution, the demilitarization of armed groups and the establishment of the rule of law and viable governance. At the same time, should this mission materialize, I think it would create a model and success story for post-conflict engagement of the United Nations and regional organizations. In conclusion, I wish to make a sincere appeal to the Security Council to take the case of Libya seriously before it is too late.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“Most recently, Tunisia was kind enough to invite the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the neighbouring countries to meet, and a solid declaration was issued. Structurally, they decided to have two committees - a security committee and apolitical committee-to follow up on Libya's affairs and see how they can add value in helping the Libyans in their democratic process. Sixthly, given the fact that the League of Arab States intends to take the lead in engaging the national dialogue and reconciliation in close cooperation with the African Union and the Ministerial Committee of the neighbouring countries, the mission could also provide viable support to that process.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“In that regard, I would like to inform the Council that the neighbouring countries - starting with Algeria, Tunisia, Chad, the Niger, the Sudan and Egypt - met on the occasion of the Ministerial Conference ofNon-Aligned Countries in Algeria. That was the first time that the representatives of the neighbouring countries sat together at the ministerial level and decided to think about the situation in Libya and how they could add value to assist Libyans. Given the fact that the neighbouring countries understand the specificity of the problems and realize the negative consequences to themselves of what is going on in Libya, I salute them for taking that initiative, which was followed up on the occasion of the African Union Summit.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“As the Council knows, Libya has signed and ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption, but signing and ratifying it is one thing and implementing it is another. We need legislative and structural reform and an independent body that could really work hard to start controlling the corrupt practices experienced during the regime and during the stage of the last three years. Fourthly, it should contribute to reform of the criminal justice system, which, as I mentioned, is also a key to democratic institutions and the protection of the rights of individuals and groups. Fifthly, it should provide support to neighbouring countries with respect to border security.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“One example of that is the fact that, 12 months ago, when the oil ports were controlled, we were pumping 1.5 million barrels per day. When the oil production stopped, that amount went down to 250 to 300 barrels per day. The lack of protection of oil fields and the ports through which we export our oil remains a serious problem. We are not asking for military intervention to protect the oil, but we need teams, experts and trained people to work with Libyans in so-called on-site training for Libyans to be able to learn, for a certain period of time, how to protect those strategic sites. Thirdly, it should contribute to institution-building and enhance the performance of public administration, together with instituting anti-corruption mechanisms.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“Equally important is the effective engagement in the demilitarization process of the armed groups and individuals. It is extremely important to follow the so- called incremental approach in this process because demilitarizing the military groups has two dimensions. There is a political dimension, which we must work on as a Government, and there is a technical dimension, which the international community should help us with either regionally or globally. Secondly, it should contribute to the protection of oil fields, oil export ports and civil airports. That will ensure the normal flow of oil and its related revenues, as well as the protection of other strategic sites. We believe in so-called joint protection. Libyans have not received enough training to be able to protect those sites themselves.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“I say with certainty that there is a serious imbalance between the current and emerging problems and the challenge in Libya, on the one hand, and what the international community is offering, on the other. That particular imbalance has to be rectified in order to do justice to the Libyan case. A United Nations stabilization and institution-building mission for Libya, with the central focus of providing concrete structural and legislative support in respect of some ofthe priority areas that we think are the basis for building the rule of law and viable governance, should be established. First, it is necessary to build the national security forces with a special focus on the establishment of quality military forces, a police force and intelligence structure.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“If so, what prevents the Security Council from living up to the expectations of the Libyan people to live in peace and pursue their national democratic process in a more peaceful environment? The current Government is making tremendous efforts to think strategically at the operational level and bring all stakeholders together for a promising national dialogue, but the means at the disposal of the Government are extremely limited, not to mention the prevailing negative trend among certain groups and individuals who are against the democratic process. Given the fact that Libya is still under Chapter VII, the Security Council could provide the legal framework for an upgraded and more effective international engagement in Libyan affairs to bring more coherence to the political process and reconstruction efforts.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“That is not to mention the fact that there is a rumour that, given the fact that there is a serious need to control those elements, the radicals are now encouraging others who are fighting in Syria to come back to Libya because there is a security gap and therefore Libya could be a very favourable environment, which could be a source of increasing trouble, not only to Libya, but also to the neighbouring countries. Do Council members not think that such factors, which are indicative of Libya heading in the direction of becoming a failed State, would justify a stronger, more effective and strategic engagement of the Security Council in the internal Libyan affairs?”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“Should Libya become a failed State, kidnapped by radical groups and warlords, the consequences will be far-reaching and could perhaps be beyond our control. First, I think it could feed the conflicts and separation attempts in neighbouring countries. It could also be a negative element in relation to the intensification of the illegal smuggling of arms, feeding internal conflicts in neighbouring countries. I think Libya would be a hub for extremists and religiously labelled radicals, particularly in the eastern part of Libya. And we cannot deny the fact that the radicals are not only Libyans; some are also from Morocco, Algeria and Syria.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“Thirdly, there is an absence of a strong and effective and humane criminal justice system. No one can talk about protecting democratic institutions in the absence of a humane and functional criminal justice system that is capable of protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals. We have not reached that stage yet. Fourthly, some detention centres continue to be outside the control of the Government. Fifthly, the illegal trafficking in arms and drugs and the illegal migration of the smuggling of subsidized goods, as referred to by my dear friend, Mr. Tarek Mitri, continue to pose a very serious problem, not only to Libya, but to neighbouring countries, in particular those countries north of the Mediterranean.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“If the Government does not have the necessary tools, how can we blame it for being unable to face the growing threat posed by armed groups whose only interest is to stand against the democratic process? There are also security challenges. First, there is a deteriorating security situation due to the existence of millions of heavy and small arms. Secondly, there is a growing number of radical individuals and groups who threaten and intimidate civilians and members of the military alike and who commit serious crimes of kidnapping for ransom, killing and assassinating political activists, lawyers, journalists, police and military personnel, judges and prosecutors. Yesterday a lady member of Congress was assassinated in the city of Derna, which is completely controlled by a religiously labelled radical group.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“They want to have a small emirate headed by ideologically oriented warlords; they do not want to see a State built the way it should be. What they say is completely wrong; the impression is thatjust military groups are fighting each other for the sake of authority. That is why we are trying to see how we can mediate between those groups to ensure that there is a cessation of hostilities, and then bring them to the table to negotiate a proper reconciliation of their positions. Thirdly, there are attacks on civil infrastructure aimed at discrediting the Government and instigate the people against it. Fourthly, there is the existence of radical groups, religiously labelled, which have more capabilities than the Government does.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“In addition, there have been attempts during the past few months by certain lawyers to submit proposals to either eliminate or amend the law. Uncontrolled military elements threatened the judges, saying that if they took that decision lives would be threatened. That is the situation. With respect to military challenges, for the past three years neither the defence sector nor the police establishment have materialized. Secondly, there are armed conflicts among armed groups, which could lead to the outbreak of civil war, as we have witnessed in the past five days. This is a conflict between those whose objective is to build a State based on the rule of law and with viable governance, and those who are against that particular process.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“Turning to political challenges, first, there are political conflicts between political parties. Some rally behind the the flag of building the State and the rule of law. Others rally behind the flag of their own ideology, not the flag of building Libya. Other political challenges include, secondly, the lack of a meaningful national dialogue and viable national reconciliation programmes and initiatives; and thirdly, the negative consequences of the political isolation law. I believe that that law is catastrophic, because its main purpose is to ensure isolation, not integration. Most of the Libyan technocrats, who have been trained for three to four decades, have no ideological association with the previous regime, but under the law they are marginalized and have no way to contribute to the political process in the country.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“In relation to the economic challenges, I would cite, first, the deteriorating economic situation, which is due mainly to a decrease in oil production and oil exports. The Council may recall that the export oil ports were controlled by a militant group for almost 11 months. We lost more than $30 billion as a result of that control. The Government could not resort to a military reaction, given the fact that it does not have enough tools to do so. It Government decided to pursue negotiations peacefully in order to solve this particular problem. Other such challenges include, secondly, the inability of the Government to secure basic services for the local population, and, thirdly, a rising unemployment rate among youth, to the extent that they have started to join armed groups in order to secure some income.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“I should like to go through these impeding factors so that the members of the Council can realize how difficult the transformation of Libya is at the moment. Let me start with the social challenges. These include, first, the prevailing problems relating to displaced persons within the country and Libyan refugees outside the country; secondly, tribal conflicts fed by close associations with armed groups; thirdly, the flight of human resources abroad due to fear of prosecution, also as a result of the unfair political isolation law; fourthly, a quite passive public opinion and inadequate public engagement, in spite of the presence of thousands of registered civil-society organizations; fifthly, crises of trust between the people and the Government, the Government and the National Congress, and the National Congress and the population, which impede the political process; and, sixthly, the absence of a communications strategy to mobilize the support of the local population.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“Mitri mentioned, elections were held for the new Parliament, regardless of the turnout. We are very hopeful that the process we are very hopeful that it will be completed soon and that the results will be announced before the end of the month. A preliminary road map for the political process has started to emerge. Municipal elections have started in major cities, instituting a culture of decentralization oflocal administration. However, with respect to the negative aspects, there are a number of challenges and negative elements that represent serious threats to the democratic transformation of Libya and, indeed, are indicative of the possibility of heading towards a failed State, with far-reaching consequences not only nationally but also at the subregional and regional levels.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“A historic decision was taken by the High Constitutional Court to consider the decision of the General National Congress on the establishment of a new Government null and void, thus confirming the legitimacy of the current Government and at the same time the independence of the judiciary. During the past 60 years that has happened only twice, once during the time of the Kingdom, when the High Court took a decision, against the wish of the King, to dismantle the Parliament, and now with this second decision taken by the judiciary, which has really put the normal functioning of the Government back on track. The election of the members of the committee responsible for drafting the Constitution went quite well, and they have now started to draft the Constitution. Most recently, as Mr.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“Our special thanks go to the European Union for its political and technical support, to the League of Arab States, the African Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab Maghreb Union for adopting a number of resolutions expressing firm support for the democratic process in Libya. The objective of my participation today is to provide the Council with an actual and honest picture of the situation in Libya, without any retouching whatsoever. Starting with the positive aspects of that picture, I should like to say that in 2012 the world applauded the free and fair election of the members of the General National Congress following 42 years of repression. A transitional Government was established, followed by the current temporary Government.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source
“It is a pleasure to see you, Sir, preside over this important meeting. Let me first express our deepest thanks to you and to the members of the Council for giving me the opportunity to address the Council at this critical stage, when developments in Libya are moving quite fast. Permit me also to thank all the international partners, countries and regional organizations for the support they have provided and are providing to Libya and for designating special envoys. Under the leadership oer. Tarek Mitri, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), the Mission has done a great job in a very challenging environment. We highly appreciate the very encouraging message conveyed by the Secretary-General and his personal engagement.”
2014-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7218 (2014) · source