YouSaid · the spoken record

Jaafari

lines on the record: 2,603
first: 2006-07-21
most recent: 2019-11-22
sittings or episodes: 185
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

“The report confirms that Syria has fulfilled its obligations under the protocol. Here, and for the fourth time at least, let me stress that if the killing had ceased, if those who pay lip service to democracy had ceased to implement their designs against Syria, if those States that provide generous funds - billions of dollars - and the most modern weapons and means of communication to the armed groups, hosting them in their capitals in order to facilitate their criminal acts against the Syrian people and their property, if they had ceased to do so, Syria would have fulfilled the League of Arab States plan of action and the relevant protocol under that plan.”
2012-02-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6711 (2012) · source
“The most convincing proof of the criminal nature of those armed groups lies in the acts committed this very morning, which killed innocent people and destroyed homes as well as the buildings housing Syrian embassies in many capitals, all of that without any condemnation by the Secretary-General or the Council. The goal is to send a misleading message aimed at influencing the Council by swaying its decision-makers with respect to the draft resolution. The best proof of our good intentions in our dealings with the League of Arab States is reflected in the contents of the report of the observers of the League ofArab States (see S/2012/7l, annex, enclosure 4). What is very strange is that Council members did not examine that report in due time, for reasons known to all of them.”
2012-02-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6711 (2012) · source
“Today, Syria is being sacrificed in a crisis manufactured by parties that do not want the best for Syria and its people. That is evident from their support - in funding, arms and favourable media coverage - for armed terrorist groups that kill, abduct and intimidate Syrian citizens and destroy and sabotage infrastructure, including power generation equipment, oil and gas pipelines, Ministry of Justice buildings and railroads. Is there a sensible person who would believe that any government would commit massacres in any city on a day when the Security Council is scheduled to hold a meeting to examine the situation in that country? Would any entity put itself in such a position?”
2012-02-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6711 (2012) · source
“To those States that safeguard international peace and security, we express our deep gratitude and appreciation, and the annals of history will record the noble positions they take. Is it not strange that over a period of 45 years - from its creation in 1945 to 1988 - the Security Council adopted only 690 resolutions, whereas in the following 20 years it adopted three times that number? That indicates that the current world is less secure, less just and less fair and that the provisions of the United Nations Charter are seriously threatened. In this context, I would like to stress that the Syrian Arab Republic, a founding member of this world Organization, has been targeted by some Powers for punishment because of its commitment to international legal norms, especially on the issue of defending the human rights of peoples.”
2012-02-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6711 (2012) · source
“At this point, I would like to quote in English a sentence spoken some 22 years ago by former United States Attorney General Ramsey Clark: (spoke in English) "The United Nations, which was created to prevent the scourge of war, has become an instrument of war." (spoke in Arabic) My delegation has followed with great appreciation the efforts by the advocates in the Council for human rights and the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, especially the inadmissibility of intervention in the internal affairs of countries, of waging wars against countries to gain exclusive control of their geographic location and their lucrative natural resources, and of resolving the economic problems of the Western Powers at the expense of the peoples of developing nations.”
2012-02-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6711 (2012) · source
“However, the rush by some parties to invite international intervention - and we know in advance what their objectives are in dealing with Arab issues, which are first and foremost the question of Palestine and the Israeli occupation of Arab territories - is a cause for concern. It is indeed a cause for sadness, deep sadness for the regrettable state of affairs in which we now find ourselves.”
2012-02-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6711 (2012) · source
“That symbolic story summarizes the idea with which I would like to begin my statement, which is that a human being should not sell his or her soul to Satan in exchange for illusory gains that could destroy that person's hopes for freedom further down the road. My delegation has examined the text of the draft resolution put before the Council. Given our firm belief in the pan-Arab principle, we had hoped that the examination of the question of Syria would have remained, first, exclusively within the Syrian household, and then in the larger supporting Arab household structure.”
2012-02-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6711 (2012) · source
“Mr. Ja'afari (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): I congratulate your friendly country, Togo, and you yourself, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month. We wish you all success in that sensitive stewardship. I would also like to congratulate my colleague Ambassador Sangqu of South Africa on presiding over the Council for the past month. I think that drawing inspiration from history in this Chamber is an extremely important exercise. Invoking examples from the cultures and literatures of peoples and nations is a critical experience. As I say this, I recall the literary masterpiece by the German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe entitled Faust. It is a work that speaks in symbolic terms of the risks inherent in a person's - even a very wise one - selling his soul to Satan.”
2012-02-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6711 (2012) · source
“When the Secretariat of the Arab League sent this document (S/2012/71, annex) to the Council, they said on the last page that there were other annexes, such as the Al-Dabi report, which would be sent by courier. Why will the Al-Dabi report be sent by courier later and why was it not included in the documents currently before the Council? Why was the Al-Dabi report not submitted with the extra annexes? For our part, we have done all that is necessary. We sent a letter to the President of the Security Council outlining the main points of the Al-Dabi report. As Council members are aware, however, the Secretariat of the Arab League rejected the request made by some Council members to invite Mr. Al-Dabi to speak before the Council. I think that I have spoken quite enough.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“After that, economic cooperation with Turkey - our neighbour, which we hold in high regard - led to disastrous economic consequences for small-scale artisans in the countryside around Aleppo and Damascus. We had an economic partnership agreement with Turkey that cost us billions of dollars, and as a result, thousands of Syrian villagers lost their livelihoods. The representative of India was right when he spoke of the economic reasons behind what is happening in Syria, but that is not our fault. Mistakes have been made, that is true. It is true that mistakes have been made; President Al-Assad has admitted as much. He drew up a road map designed to help us move beyond the crisis. He cannot do everything alone, however. He needs help from the Arab League, Turkey, brotherly nations and the Security Council.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“He wrote a letter in French - with which I am familiar but have not spoken for some time - the French title of which is "J 'accuse". Today, before the Council, I am quoting Emile Zola, in the sense that I say the same thing: "J'accuse". I accuse a few people, whom I will not name so as not to embarrass them. I accuse them of working to undermine Syria's stability and sovereignty and the unity of the Syrian people by incitement and fanning the flames. In 2003, we opened our doors to 2 million Iraqi refugees who had fled the British and American invasion of Iraq. At the time, no one helped us shoulder the resulting economic burden. Subsequently, two or three years later, fully one third of the Lebanese population came to Syria after the Israeli aggression against them in 2006. No one helped us at that time.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“To all of that we would add that 45,000 Algerians were killed in a single hour in the capital, Algiers, in 1945, because they unfortunately believed that the end of the Second World War, the defeat of Nazism and Fascism and the victory of the values associated with freedom could bring the Algerians independence. A wise man once said to his son, "When you know where you came from, then you will know Where you will end up." As the proverb says, a book can be judged by its cover. Intentionally or otherwise, that applies to the Arab League, which is trying to harm Syria and the whole Arab nation. One day at the end of the nineteenth century, Emile Zola, the famous French writer whose work I like very much, defended a case in which a French army officer had suffered an injustice.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“The targeting of humanitarian workers is clearly a criminal act, as mentioned by the representative of Portugal, but perhaps he could tell us how he deduced that it was the Government authorities who had killed the doctor who was working for the Red Cross. There is a neighbourhood in Damascus known as Al-Hariqa, which means "the fire". Do Council members know why it was given that name? Surely not. It was thus named because in the 19405 French forces bombed it using air and artillery strikes, killing thousands of innocent civilians living there. That is how the neighbourhood gained its name, Al-Hariqa, which means "the fire". The Syrian parliament building was also bombed, killing everyone inside except for one person, whom Syrians have come to call al-shahid al-hai - "the living martyr".”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“They are now sheltering armed opposition groups in their territories. The opposition is engaging in military operations along our borders, bombing our oil refineries and oil and gas pipelines. Trains transporting fuel oil were bombed during what is a very cold winter. The Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya networks should stop fanning the flames and thereby truly help to end the bloodshed. In his briefing, the Prime Minister of Qatar mentioned that he would announce the decisions reached by the organization representing all Arabs. However, that organization is not currently speaking on behalf of all Arabs. Without Syria, there is no Arab League. We will never allow anyone to adopt a decision that undermines our fate and future on our behalf or without our participation.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“I and the people whom I represent have the responsibility to ensure that the Violence comes to an end, to protect Syria for all its inhabitants, and to save lives endangered by media incitement. We must also do nothing to exacerbate the situation or promote the smuggling of weapons across our borders or the hosting of an armed opposition and conferences in neighbouring countries. My country has sent dozens of letters containing detailed information on that subject. Only two days ago, a British newspaper that I shall not name published an article written by their correspondent in Syria, stating that Qatar and Saudi Arabia had financed shipments of weapons to Syria. All Council members are aware that, unfortunately, there are other countries with which we had a close relationship before the current crisis.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“That is all well and good, but can anyone assure us that what was done to Libya, Somalia, Iraq, the former Yugoslavia and Kosovo will not be repeated in the case of Syria? At any rate, we are very sorry about the innocent victims. They were sons and daughters of our homeland. I am an Ambassador of the Syrian President, and proud to be here in that capacity. I am also the Ambassador of my people, and proud of that, too. I cannot speak here in any way that would constitute an attack on my own people or hurt them. The grief of others over the deaths of innocent victims can never equal that of ours in Syria. They are all innocent victims. We know that the blood that has been spilled cannot be recovered. We know that the sadness of the victims' families can never be assuaged.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“Mr. Ja'afari (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): It is true that Syria participated in the liberation of Kuwait when the former Iraqi regime had made a bad decision. We never participated in the invasion of Iraq, however, or in the invasion of Libya. We have never been involved in a conspiracy against any Arab country. I welcome the statement and clarifications made by the Prime Minister of Qatar. Some of his comments were accurate, but others were not. I would ask him, in the presence of Council members, whether Qatar is a member of NATO or of the League of Arab States? How is it that Qatar went to NATO's assistance in destroying Libya? Some speakers have said that they would not move towards military intervention in Syria and that a decision of the Council would not necessarily lead to military intervention.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“By way of example, in February we will hold a referendum on a new, finalized constitution for the country that guarantees party and political pluralism as well as alternation of power. Parliamentary elections will also be held in the first half of the year, leaving the final say to the democratic ballot box. In conclusion, we expect the Security Council to be a platform for encouraging dialogue as a way to settle crises. We do not expect it to create or aggravate crises. We believe that an exacerbation of the crisis will undermine, not preserve, international peace and security. In that regard, we welcome the recent initiative of the Russian Federation to sponsor an all-Syrian dialogue in Moscow to find a solution to the crisis.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“That is what they did with respect to the destruction of Afghanistan, under the pretext of fighting terrorism, or when they established clandestine prisons and detention centres in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, under the pretext of promoting freedom. We stress that Syria draws its strength from the strength of its people and that it will stand firm in confronting the enemies of its people. We call upon all those Arabs and non-Arabs who are fomenting the crisis and who are bent on exacerbating it to reconsider those policies and to stop massacring Syrian civilians. One cannot be an arsonist and a fire-fighter at the same time. We call on them to support national dialogue and the Syrian political reform process, as implemented by the Syrian leadership in response to the legitimate demands of the people.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“Regrettably, instead of respecting those established principles of international law, and in the context of feverish attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of Syria by co-sponsors of the French resolution against Syria, certain officials have suddenly fallen in love with the Syrian people after centuries of emotional hibernation towards them. Such people foolishly dream of the return of colonialism and hegemony through these resolutions. They concoct new terms to justify interference in Syria's internal affairs by misleading global public opinion. They are doing exactly what they did when they misled the world when 130,000 Libyan civilians were killed, and when 1 million Iraqis were killed under the pretext of looking for weapons of mass destruction that were never there to begin with, and under the pretext of promoting democracy.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“Those two principles are enshrined in Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations, not Article 52, to which Mr. Elaraby referred, as well as in article 8 of the Charter of the League of Arab States. In that context, we stress the exclusive responsibility of the Syrian Government in the preservation of civic peace and security and in protecting its citizens from acts of destruction and sabotage undertaken by armed groups, not by peaceful demonstrators, in accordance with Syrian law as well as with the international agreements to which Syria is a party, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“However, the League of Arab States soon contradicted itself, ignoring the findings of the mission's report, attempting to transfer the crisis of an Arab country to the Security Council, and halting the continuing work of the observer mission. The unbridled tendency of certain Western States to interfere in our internal and external affairs by various means is neither sudden nor novel. It has frequently and systematically occurred since the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 and the Balfour Declaration of 1917, not to mention the limitless support provided to Israel's aggressive and hostile policies and its occupation of Arab lands. We all know that the international legal framework within whose parameters States operate is based on respect for national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“Syria rejects any decision outside the agreed Arab plan of action and the protocol that it signed with the League of Arab States. It considers the resolution adopted by the meeting of the Council of the League of Arab States a violation of its national sovereignty, a flagrant interference in its internal affairs and a blatant violation of the purposes for which the League of Arab States was established. It is also a violation of article 8 of the Charter of the League of Arab States. Strangely enough, the League of Arab States requested the Syrian Government to extend the observer mission for another month. Damascus agreed immediately.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“Certain Arab officials and some Europeans have questioned the usefulness of the mission, including the Prime Minister of Qatar, who visited New York, Washington and other capitals only two weeks after the mission began its work, making statements to the effect that the continuation of the observer mission was useless and asking that the Syrian issue be transferred to the Security Council. That occurred while Syria was fully committed to the provisions of the protocol, despite a twofold increase in the number of Government forces killed and a threefold increase in the number of acts of aggression against public and private property. That was all due to instructions to armed groups from outside the country to use the mission's presence as a time for escalation.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“The Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, who is a dear colleague, objected to requests by members of the Council to invite General Al-Dabi to participate in today's meeting. The report of the Arab observers was not sent to the Council as part of the documents that were dispatched from the headquarters of the League of Arab States. The decision by the League of Arab States to go to the Council is but an attempt to bypass the success of the mission of the Arab observers and to ignore its report. The report, unfortunately, went against the schemes of some Arab and non-Arab parties who falsely claimed a commitment to the Arab role in settling the Syrian crisis while they simultaneously worked, using different means, to abort the observer mission while waging a fierce political and media war against it.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“Syria finds it strange that this tragic event did not move the French diplomacy to indignation, particularly given that Syria established a committee of inquiry to investigate the details of the event, chaired by a judge and with the participation of a representative of the French television channel at which the journalist used to work. The Secretary-General of the League of Arab States read out some paragraphs in his statement. I regret that he selected some items from the report (see S/2012/71, enclosure 4) and left out others. I would like to read from paragraph 26: "In certain situations, Government forces responded to attacks against their personnel with force. The observers noted that some of the armed groups were using flares and armour- piercing projectiles".”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“I would refer in particular to paragraphs 29, 68 and 69 of the report. The report also notes in paragraphs 26, 27, 71 and 75 the presence of terrorist groups that have exploited the legitimate demands of the Syrian people for reform to destabilize Syria, undermine its security, and undertake terrorist attacks against the institutions of the State and against civilians and military personnel alike. Furthermore, paragraph 44 of the report clearly indicates that Gilles Jacquier, the French journalist, was killed as a result of mortar attacks fired by the opposition.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“Syria had a parliamentary Government in 1919, one year after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, while Lawrence of Arabia was wreaking havoc with the destinies and resources of our region and trying to turn the clock back on obscurantism. Syria signed the protocol admitting the Arab observers because we were eager to keep this issue under the Arab roof. Syria proved its full and unerring commitment to the Arab plan of action and the protocol signed between it and the Secretariat of the League of Arab States. The report of the observer mission (S/2012/71, enclosure 4) confirms that fact in paragraphs 37, 38, 39 and 73. It confirms clearly what we have been saying. It confirms that there is a misleading, deliberate, systematic and politically motivated media campaign to distort and fabricate facts on the ground.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“Those who are trying to preserve their country and save it from creative chaos and terror have become violators of human rights and killers of their own people. Those who win the support of the majority of their people have lost legitimacy and have to step down. It is really strange these days to find certain oligarchic States that sponsor draft resolutions promoting the alternation of power, the freedom to demonstrate, democracy and the protection and promotion of human rights, do not even have a constitution, let alone a genuine electoral system, and only exercise democracy through satellite stations and fancy conference halls. Those same countries unfortunately resort to the Security Council to ask Syria for reform and for democracy.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“After some powerful circles imposed on this international organization a policy of double standards, which it incorporated into every aspect of its work, howsoever tacit or unwritten, we are now witnessing the onset of a new phase based on creating illusory terms of reference and on a policy of distortion and imposing false facts. Some try to convince world public opinion that those who seek to defend the independence of their countries - following in the footsteps of such great leaders, such as Simon Bolivar, Gandhi, Dmitry Donskov, Mandela, George Washington, Mossadeq, De Gaulle, Nasser, Emir Abdul Qadir al-Jazairi, Sultan Basha al-Atrash, Ho Chi Minh and Sun Yat-sen - are classified as terrorists and pariahs, working outside international legitimacy.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“What is new is that the Arab League has transferred these unjust decisions to Syria behind Syria's back, as it were, and without consulting with its leadership, in a way that runs counter to the Charter of the League of Arab States and paves the way for an ongoing scenario of aggressive interference in the internal affairs of Syria. These plans have cross-fertilized with other schemes and interests of non-Arab States that seek to destroy and destabilize Syria. This has happened for no other reason than that Syria does not want to depend on anyone and will not allow its sovereignty to be compromised, and because it insists on the independence of its decisions and on the preservation of its sovereignty and the interests and security of its people.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“Those who believe that the States that I am referring to; who have always stood for just Arab causes in the Council and beyond; who demonstrate their enthusiasm for the Arab League out of respect for its decisions; and who believe that these States are with us are truly deluding themselves. The fact is that this enthusiasm has emerged in a context diametrically opposed to the rightful interests of Arab causes. What is new today, however, is that the Arab League has decided to take its decisions to the Security Council, which has imposed hundreds of vetoes against Arab causes.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“That is the only way out of the crisis - a solution that responds to the legitimate aspirations and demands of the Syrian people without undermining the homeland. Future generations will hold accountable everyone who squandered this opportunity. The Arab people would have very much hoped that the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and current Chairman of its Council of Ministers had come to the Security Council to request the Council to shoulder its responsibilities to end the Israeli occupation of Arab territories and escalating settler activities and killing. How strange it is for us to see some members of the League of Arab States resort to seeking the Security Council's support against Syria - Syria, which has never thought twice about making the ultimate sacrifice in defence of Arab causes.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“There are only Syrians in Syria. I say the homeland is owned by all, and it is the property of all. It is a trust, even if some are misled and defy what is right. Syrian patriotism rejects external intervention and stresses that Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity are a red line. Syrian patriotism stresses that Syrians will stand as one against dissent and disorder, rejecting violence and resort to arms, while calling for reform. Homelands are built by all their citizens. We Syrians have an opportunity to launch a sincere national dialogue and expedite the pace of reform in order to establish a genuine national partnership that preserves the security of the homeland and the citizen.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“The Syrian people, who gave the world its first alphabet, are more familiar with the scent of jasmine than with the smell of blood in Damascus. The Syrian people have throughout the ages always been able to resolve their crises and domestic problems alone. It has never accepted any form of foreign intervention in the internal affairs of its homeland, Syria. It stood proud, refusing to undermine its cultural and national assets. The Syrian people will do so once again through the participation of all Syrians to lead them away from the crisis and to contribute to the march of national reconstruction, with the primary objective of meeting the supreme interests of the homeland and nothing else, in an atmosphere of reconciliation among all. The homeland is the property of all. In Syria we do not have a majority and a minority.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“We take this opportunity to underscore once again the pride that we feel in the victory of your people and the peoples of Africa over the discriminatory policy of apartheid and in questioning the positions of some States that pay lip service to democracy and human rights. We ask them whom they supported during South Africa's struggle, which was crowned with success. Syria is facing decisive and historic challenges. We wish for such a period to meet the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian population as a result of the will of our people, not of anyone else. While such events have broken the hearts of every Syrian, it compels Syrians of all affiliations and attitudes to choose the path of wisdom and to be guided by their resolute patriotic feelings so that the entire homeland, not part of it, can be victorious.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“We also used to give - or donate, as we say in the Syrian dialect - our few pennies of pocket money to Arab liberation movements in the Gulf that were fighting for their freedom from British colonialism. As children, we were happy to donate our pocket money, little as it was, to help liberate our brothers in the Gulf from colonial control. That was long before the oil boom. At that time, Arabism was different from how some people perceive Arabism today. Allow me to begin by expressing our appreciation to South Africa and to you personally, Mr. President, for your wise guidance of the work of the Security Council for this month.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“Mr. Ja'afari (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): I, too, will speak in Arabic and am honoured to do so. I recall that the Syrian Arab poet Nizar Qabbani, who is known and read by all Arabs, imagined, if not predicted, such a scenario and meeting years before his death in a very famous poem that begins: "Damascus, the treasure of my dreams, shall I bemoan to you Arabism or bemoan my fellow Arabs to you?" I and my generation clearly remember that when we were at secondary school in the late 1950s and early 1960s, we used to sing the national anthem of the Algerian revolution in the morning instead of reciting the Syrian national anthem.”
2012-01-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6710 (2012) · source
“That disregard can no longer be glossed over, given that the officials of the Secretariat have had their attention drawn to the situation on dozens of occasions and since they are compelled to include a paragraph on Israeli practices in the Syrian Golan in their briefings. Despite our acceptance of the very few references in previous briefings, what happened today is egregious and makes it clear that the Secretariat must reconsider its position. In conclusion, I would like to welcome the new members of the Council - Morocco, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Guatemala and Togo - and to wish them every success as they uphold the issues and principles of justice and equity and reject hegemony.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Rather, the representatives of the Secretary-General have not referred to those grave Israeli violations in their monthly briefings to the Security Council under the agenda item entitled "The situation in the Middle East". Israel has thus been emboldened to persist in its pursuit of aggressive policies and gross violations, which raises questions about the credibility of the Secretariat's ability to deal objectively with our legitimate issues. I would like to express here our dissatisfaction with the disregard shown by Mr. Fernandez-Taranco this morning when he failed to mention the terrible situation in the occupied Syrian Golan.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“It also continues inhuman, coercive detention practices that are contrary to United Nations standards for the treatment of prisoners. Further, the Israeli occupation authorities' attempts to dismember the occupied Syrian Golan by building a separation apartheid wall east of Majd al-Shams have not been enough for Israel. It continues its aggressive policy in the Golan, tightening the grip on Syrian citizens and the environment, burning land, destroying crops and engaging in the unfair distribution of water by drawing water from Mas'adah Lake in the occupied Golan for the exclusive use of the settlers, which has caused grave and considerable harm to the environment. We tried to convey to the Secretary-General and the members of the Security Council our official complaints on that point. Regrettably, those complaints were not heeded.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Therefore, the credibility of the Arab observers is being targeted and their reports torpedoed, in order to justify future aggression against Syria in all forms - military, diplomatic, political, economic and in the media - regardless of the cost. Israel, defying international legitimacy, continues to refuse to return the occupied Syrian Golan to Syria and abide by the resolutions of international legitimacy, particularly resolution 497 (1981), which considered the annexation of the Syrian Golan null and void and with no legal effect. Israel continues its settlement activities in the occupied Syrian Golan, as well as acts of terrorism and a policy of apartheid and oppression against Syrian citizens chafing under the yoke of its occupation.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Yet those States themselves hastened to receive anything issuing from the League of Arab States with regard to Syria while Syria is absent from the deliberations taking place within the Arab League, even if the position arrived at is not consensual. The purpose of that approach is to use the matter negatively, as a weapon or Trojan horse against Syria, in order to widen the crisis and internationalize the situation in the country in implementation of their agendas of flagrant interference. This was mentioned in some of the statements delivered of my colleagues this morning - and that despite the fact that a number of members of the League of Arab States reject making the League a device for calling for aggressive external interference after the failure of its mission.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Similarly, we remind the Security Council here that the United States has prevented the issuance of a press statement condemning the settlements, giving Israel illegitimate immunity for all the crimes it has perpetrated in the occupied Palestinian territory. In that connection, we would like to note that the League of Arab States has warned of the continued flow of funds from Europe and the United States to radical Israeli organizations that support settlement activity in Palestine and the occupied Syrian Golan. There are so many questions, since none of the States I just mentioned has paid heed to that warning, just as all resolutions, statements and appeals made by the Arab League over long decades - all calling for measures to halt the Israeli massacres and violations in the occupied Arab territories - have been ignored.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Historical, in-depth research has recently shown that the confidential 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement between the two colonial Powers, France and the United Kingdom, was designed to prepare for the Balfour Declaration, which came a year later. Today, those States falsely arrogate to themselves the right to defend human rights - rights that they have nothing to do with - and civilians and claim that they oppose settlement activities and support the establishment of two States. Those States have never taken any action to stem or stop the settlement activities that would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian State and bring peace. Those States have never tried to criticize Israel or apply any serious pressure on that country. Rather, they prevent the Security Council from taking any action on that score.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“In addition, Israel, the occupying Power, is criminally obsessed with cutting down olive trees. All of those attacks take place either pursuant to decisions of the Israeli Government or under the direct protection of the Israeli authorities. Recently, Israeli authorities evacuated 90,000 people in the Negev desert from their homes and villages. We state time and again that this adversarial situation presages disastrous consequences for the region and will bring about war at the expense of peace. It is disconcerting that the Israeli escalation enjoys unqualified financial, military and political backing by some States that are basically responsible for all of the tensions and conflicts in our region since the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 and the Balfour Declaration of 1917.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Despite all international demands and resolutions regarding the termination of Israel's occupation of Arab territories and the establishment of the Palestinian State, unfortunately the Security Council has not risen to its responsibilities under the Charter. No visible progress whatsoever has been made; on the contrary, the situation is deteriorating under Israel's aggressive escalation of its unbridled settlement activities, which in 2011 reached their highest level in 10 years. The construction of settlements increased by 20 per cent in 2011. These disturbing statistics, compiled by the Israeli organization Peace Now, also reflect an increase of some 50 per cent this year in settler aggression against Palestinian civilians and Christian and Islamic holy sites over the previous year.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Others still may have come to the conclusion that the item on the Middle East no longer belongs on the Council's agenda because they are under the impression that Israel actually implemented the resolutions of international legitimacy by squelching the question of Palestine and the principles of international law, even though it has not yet withdrawn from the occupied territories in the Golan, southern Lebanon and Palestine; shut down its machinery of repression, settlement activities, assassination and persecution in the occupied Arab territories; or implemented General Assembly resolution 194 (III), which stipulates the return of Palestinian refugees to the cities, villages and homes from which they were evicted in 1948 and 1967. This was the grand discovery made by some speakers this morning.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“We have listened closely to many statements this morning, and were surprised to see some speakers eagerly discover that the topic under discussion was no longer the situation in the Middle East, which, as all know, is directly related to ending Israel's occupation of Arab territories; preventing Israel, the occupying Power, from undermining the peace process; and drawing international attention to Israel's warmongering in the region, in blatant coordination with some Council members and States of our region. Some speakers have found that the agenda item on the situation in the Middle East has nothing to do with Israel and its occupation of Arab territories, but is in fact related to Syria, while others have come to the illusory conclusion that the matter is related to Iran.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source
“We call on the Council to help the Palestinian people to regain all its legitimate rights, including its right to establish its independent Palestinian State within the borders of 4 June 1967, with its capital in Jerusalem, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 194 (III) of 1948. That is the heart of this agenda item; any other issue injected by other delegations serves merely to distract the Council with manoeuvres and tricks that do not serve but undermine the interests of international peace and security.”
2012-01-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6706Resumption1 (2012) · source