Amir participates in opening session of 80th UN General Assembly

New York: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani participated today, September 23, in the opening session of the 80th United Nations General Asse...

New York: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani participated today, September 23, in the opening session of the 80th United Nations General Assembly held at the organization’s headquarters in New York. The session was attended by a number of Their Majesties, Highnesses, and Excellencies heads of state, leaders of governments and delegations, and representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations. 

His Highness delivered a speech during the session. The following is an unofficial translation of the address:In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Your Excellency, Madam President of the General Assembly, Your Excellency, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Honorable Audience,   May the peace, mercy and blessings of God be upon you, The United Nations was established eight decades ago on a set of rules and principles reached by humanity after two world wars. These rules are based on maintaining international peace and security, respecting human dignity, states' sovereignty, and their internal affairs, and fostering international cooperation for the welfare of our peoples and humanity at large. The fallback of this international order in favor of the logic of power means paving the way for the law of the jungle to prevail-where the concepts of law and justice become an irrelevant digression, and where those who transgress against others enjoy privileges merely by virtue of their ability to do so. This is the so-called new political realism, whose definition has been telescoped into nothing more than going along with the ability to impose a fait accompli. Such conduct embodies catastrophic myopia. Those who commit transgressions in international relations interpret tolerance towards them as weakness, and perceive those who tolerate their transgressions as crippled. The issue that should top discussions in international institutions today is how the collective security system could restore its strength in accordance with the UN Charter, and thus reinstate the effectiveness of the international legitimacy.    Honorable Audience, As you know, on September 9, Doha came under a treacherous attack targeting a meeting of the Hamas negotiating delegation at the residence of one of its members in a residential neighborhood hosting schools and diplomatic missions. Six people were martyred, including a Qatari national serving in the Internal Security Force- Lekhwiya, while 18 others sustained injuries as a result of this aggression. This attack was a grave violation of a state’s sovereignty, and a blatant, unjustified breach of international norms and conventions. However, the entire world was also shocked by the circumstances of this heinous act, which we branded as state terrorism. Contrary to the Israeli Prime Minister’s claim, this attack does not fall within a supposed right to track down terrorists wherever they may be, but rather constitutes an assault on a mediating, peace-making state whose diplomacy has been devoted to resolving conflicts through peaceful means, and has been making strenuous efforts for two years to achieve a settlement to halt the genocidal war waged against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. It was also an attempt to assassinate politicians-members of a delegation engaged in negotiations with Israel-while they were examining an American proposal to give their feedback. As you know, Qatar, as mediating state, hosts delegations from both Hamas and Israel during the negotiations. The mediation, in fact, has succeeded-in cooperation with sisterly Arabic Republic of Egypt and the United States of America-in securing the release of 148 hostages. Motivated by hope to reach a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages, withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza Strip, the entry of humanitarian aid, and the release of Palestinian prisoners, we have continued the mediation even though Israel unilaterally cancelled the latest truce without providing any justification. They visit our country while planning to bomb it; they negotiate with delegations while plotting to assassinate their members. It is extremely difficult to deal with this mindset, which does not respect the most basic principles of human interaction. To expect predictable behavior from such actors is almost impossible. Isn’t this the definition of a rogue government No party resorts to assassinate the very delegation it is negotiating with unless its goal is to derail the negotiations. For them, negotiations are nothing but a continuation of war by other means, and a way to mislead Israeli public opinion. If the cost of freeing the Israeli hostages is ending the war, then the Israeli government is abandoning their release. Its real objective is to destroy Gaza - to render housing, livelihoods, education and medical care impossible, stripping away the very foundations of human life, and thus paving the way for the displacement of its population. This is why its Prime Minister insists on prolonging the war. He believes in the so-called Greater Land of Israel. He views the war as an opportunity to expand settlements and alter the status quo at the Al-Haram al-Sharif, and he also has annexation plans in the West Bank. There is no longer any doubt that ethnic cleansing, changing the reality of the occupied territories, and even imposing new realities on the region are the goals of this war. This treacherous assault on the sovereignty of a Gulf state thousands of miles away has exposed that the Israeli prime minister, who boasts of having changed the face of the Middle East in the past two years, truly intends to allow Israel to intervene wherever and whenever it wishes. He has a pipe dream of rendering the Arab region as an Israeli sphere of influence. The Arab and Islamic nations, which convened a summit in Doha, have already warned of the grave consequences of such a dangerous delusion. Israel is not a democracy in a hostile environment, as its leaders claim. It is, in reality, a state hostile to its environment, complicit in building an apartheid system, and waging a genocidal war. Its Prime Minister proudly declares before his people that he has blocked the establishment of a Palestinian state, and he promises that such a state will never come into being. He boasts of having prevented peace with the Palestinians, and vows to block it in the future. Israel is surrounded by nations that have either signed peace agreements or committed to the Arab Peace Initiative. Yet Israel is not content even with settlements and truces, even those which are based on biased balance of power; rather it seeks to impose its will on its Arab neighbors. And anyone who objects to this is branded, in its propaganda, as either a terrorist or antisemitic. This is what public opinion - even in countries allied with Israel - has come to recognize and reject. Today, we are witnessing the inception of a global solidarity movement, reminiscent of the international campaign against apartheid in the last century. On this occasion, I want to avail myself of this opportunity to express my deep appreciation for the global solidarity with Qatar, including the statement by the Security Council unanimously condemning the aggression.

Honorable Audience, The state of Qatar has made a choice, as ever, to remain faithful to its approach of siding with the values and principles supposedly cherished by the international community, believing of the possibility of reconciling between these values and interests when policy is rational and realistic, while being unafraid to speak out for the voice of truth when silence prevails, and adhering to diplomacy when adversaries find it easy to use weapons. We have been engaged in arduous mediation to stop the war, grantee humanitarian aid flow, and secure the release of hostages and detainees. We have faced disinformation campaigns against our exerted efforts. However, these campaigns will not deter us from carrying on our efforts in partnership with the sisterly Arabic Republic of Egypt and the United States of America. We are firmly convinced that peace cannot be achieved in our region if the international community, mainly the Security Council, does not take a firm stance to shifting from following the occupation’s attempts of imposing a fait accompli in its successive  wars, to resolving the Palestinian cause on the bases of ending the occupation of Palestinian territories and allowing the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination and establish their independent state with East Jerusalem as its Capital on the 1967 borders, in accordance with the resolutions of the international legitimacy and the two-state solution agreed upon by the international community.

We treasure the role of the states that recognized the State of Palestine. These recognitions undoubtedly carry moral significance since they convey a message saying that violence and excessive use of violence will not succeed in eliminating a just cause such as the Palestinian cause. We call upon all the other states to recognize the state of Palestine. We believe that instability has no boundaries, and that   humanity’s destiny is interconnected, the State of Qatar has continued its diplomatic efforts to contribute to solving other crises, such as the war in Ukraine and the wars in Africa. Together with our co-partners in the African continent, our relentless efforts paid off valuable steps towards achieving peace, most notably the signing of the Declaration of Principles in Doha between the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Alliance Fleuve Congo/ 23 March Movement, in support of a path leaded by the United States to a comprehensive peace agreement in the east of the country.  The State of Qatar will remain an active partner within the international community in resolving disputes through peaceful means and seizing opportunities to achieve global peace.

Honorable Audience, Some states in our region still suffer from a lack of security and stability, but what gives hope is the occurrence of some positive developments. Sisterly Syria has, since late last year, entered a new phase that we hope will be the beginning of a path toward realizing the aspirations of the Syrian people for stability, development, and the rule of law, after a dark chapter in their country’s history. Qatar has consistently stood by the Syrian people throughout the past years, and I continued to raise their cause from this very podium even when it seemed to have fallen off the agenda of international politics. The international community should seize the current opportunity to stand by Syria so that it can successfully navigate this transitional phase and enable Syrians to regain a normal life after decades of hardship. We have learned from our experience in other Arab countries that building state institutions, fostering relationships between the state and general public on the basis of equal citizenship, while respecting religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity, are of paramount importance at this stage. The state of Qatar will spare no effort in providing the necessary support to sisterly Syria. I am confident of the Syrian people’s ability to overcome the hardships of this transitional period, renounce sectarianism in all its forms, violence, and other divisive elements, and reject foreign intervention, particularly Israeli attempts to partition Syria and act as if the areas south of Damascus were areas of Israeli influence. Our sisterly Lebanon has also witnessed positive developments with the election of General Joseph Aoun as President of the Republic and the appointment of HE Dr. Nawaf Salam as Prime Minister - this represents a significant step toward stability in the country. The State of Qatar will continue to stand in support of Lebanon, its people, and its institutions, and to support the Lebanese army. We stress the importance of enforcing the UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from areas they occupied during the recent war, and cessation of their interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs. As for brotherly Sudan, its people continue to suffer an unprecedented humanitarian crisis as a result of the ongoing violence. We reiterate our call for all parties to prioritize the supreme national interests and engage in an inclusive dialogue that leads to sustainable peace, preserves Sudan’s unity, independence, and sovereignty, and fulfills its people’s aspirations for security, stability, and development. We express our support for regional and international efforts aimed at achieving this goal.