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Statement of the Sultanate of Oman
Before
The Fifty-Third Regular Session of the United Nations General
Assembly
Delivered
by
H.E. Yousef bin Alawi Abdullah
Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs
May I begin by congratulating the President on his election to
the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session.
His election to this distinguished post is a testament to the
international community's appreciation of the effective contribution
to international affairs made by his country, Uruguay, with which
the Sultanate of Oman enjoys good relations of friendship and
cooperation. We are confident that under his leadership and considerable
diplomatic experience our deliberations here will be crowned with
success. My delegation stands ready to cooperate with him fully
in order to achieve all the aims envisaged by this session.
May I also take this opportunity to express sincere thanks to
Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko of friendly Ukraine for the exemplary and
constructive manner with which he steered the work of the previous
session. I would also like to confirm my country's unwavering
support for the sustained and dedicated work done by the Secretary-General,
Mr. Kofi Annan, to enhance and reinvigorate the role of the United
Nations and to restructure its principal bodies.
It has now been over half a century since the establishment of
the United Nations, during which time it has handled a significant
number of international issues. However, the United Nations often
remains unable to resolve many regional crises, which have erupted
since the end of the cold war. In spite of the attention paid
to these issues by the international community, the majority of
those included in our agenda have remained without effective solutions.
It is our view that this is due to the failure and lack of resolve
on the part of Member States to utilize the mechanisms of the
United Nations, which were established on the basis of the Charter.
If this is the case today, how will the future be, when we shall
be expected to face more conflicts which may be different in nature
and size as compared to old conflicts? We cannot address them
in the conventional way. We shall have to examine their root causes
and address their manifestations and give full support to the
Organization in order to find the means to develop adequate bases
for addressing them so as to protect the international community
against their recurrence.
The high-level working group of the General Assembly made progress
in the area of restructuring and streamlining some of the main
organs of the United Nations, in particular with regard to the
question of reform and increase in the membership of the Security
Council. The setback, which the Open-ended Working Group on this
question faced during the previous General Assembly session, should
not stand in the way of achieving further progress. We should
not accept retreat from what has already been accomplished. We
have to encourage the Working Group to redouble its efforts to
complete the scope of the needed reforms of the United Nations
in a manner that will meet the aspirations of the international
community on the basis of comprehensiveness and equality among
all States, which in turn will contribute balance and transparency
to the methods of work of the Security Council. This will be a
contribution to the decision-making process and to the clarity
of vision with regard to the emerging developments in our contemporary
world in which justice, security and peace should prevail.
In this way, all Member States, large and small, would be enabled
to participate in the resolution of international problems, especially
those which have a direct impact on their own interests, in an
appropriate and just manner.
The greatest danger facing the Members of the United Nations in
the post-cold-war era is represented by some of the unhealthy
situations, which lead to nearly worldwide economic stagnation,
and the spread of terrorism and ethnic wars, as I have just indicated.
This would jeopardize all the achievements made by humankind in
the scientific and technological fields, as well as with regard
to the standards of social and economic development, and would
lead to an historic era with negative consequences for the future.
The disturbing economic situation in East Asia since the beginning
of the financial crisis in the middle of 1997 has generated instability
and created political and social upheavals in the region. In spite
of the reform measures for economic stability by the concerned
States in Asia, with the help of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the World Bank, the success in restoring stability to
the world economy was limited. In fact, we have begun to witness
the repercussions of those measures on other economies which were
previously immune from them. This is due to the fact that the
efforts made were not coherent and did not address the urgent
need to take a comprehensive view of the whole crisis, within
an equitable international context.
The events that I have outlined emphasize the need for collaborative
efforts with a view to the establishment of a fair and equitable
global economic system that would cover all goods, technologies
and services. We believe that this should be linked to a new system
of international financial markets, which would be more transparent
and efficient and thus responsive and adaptable to the changing
financial conditions in the world markets. While I am not in a
position to give concrete proposals here, we do feel that this
session provides an appropriate opportunity for scrutinizing the
global economic situation and for examining all problems and complications
worldwide, thereby avoiding more problematic impacts from which
the international community should be saved. This imposes on us
the need to work harder, and work together, to face the challenges
before us in order to restore confidence and return stability
and normal growth to the global economy.
We strongly condemn the terrorist bombing attacks on the United
States embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam, as well as the
bombing incident in Cape Town, South Africa. We also deplore the
assassination of the Iranian diplomats in Afghanistan. This wave
of international terrorism and its rapid growth in an ugly and
destructive form puts us all in a position of responsibility where
we must work together to secure peace, tranquillity and stability,
and employ all the measures that are necessary to the success
of our endeavours in combating terrorism. We believe that the
measures, which are now necessary to ensure that the perpetrators
of those crimes and those who advocate their commission are, brought
to justice under the auspices of the United Nations. In this regard,
we support the proposal made by the Arab Republic of Egypt and
endorsed by the twelfth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement held
at Durban, South Africa, at the beginning of this month, to convene
an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations
in order to work out common arrangements that would express the
reaction of the international community to the phenomenon of terrorism
in all its forms and manifestations.
We feel deep regret at the growing situation of famine among nations,
which points out the inability of those countries to grow their
natural resources owing to the failure of the developed countries
to understand the real need for helping these people evolve the
frameworks needed to operate and activate their national instrumentalities
and to benefit from every assistance given to them. Since a number
of United Nations agencies, such as United Nations Development
Programme, have become unable to continue offering their expertise
due to the shortage of financial resources, several developing
countries were affected to the point that the implementation of
important economic programmes in those countries has been seriously
impeded.
In other regions, ethnic conflicts have threatened to return the
human family to the rule of the jungle and the legitimation of
minority rule as based on injustice, oppression and a one-man
rule, instead of the resort to international law, which is based
on justice and equality of rights and common interests. If we
look at the root causes, we find that most of the wealth is controlled
by a few Governments. This factor is behind the ethnic, political
and social conflicts, which give, rise to all forms of violence
and terrorism.
Only 14 months separate us from the next millennium. We had hoped
that humankind would celebrate this historic occasion in an atmosphere
of political and economic stability, free from violence, terrorism,
poverty and "ethnic cleansing". Thus, we should intensify
our efforts to fight terrorism and violence in a framework of
coordinated international efforts aimed at eradicating these unsettling
phenomena, and to ensure that the perpetrators and advocates of
such crimes are brought before the courts of justice.
In this context, the Middle East continues to face a very serious
political crisis as a result of the stalemate in the peaceful
negotiations between the Arab countries and the Israelis under
the sponsorship of the United States of America.
The political stagnation caused by the Israeli Government and
its non-compliance with the agreements that followed the 1991
Madrid Peace Conference under world sponsorship which led to the
historic Oslo accord, and other agreements between the Government
of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority have, in our
view, thwarted world and regional efforts aimed at the restructuring
of the Middle East region on the basis of a just and comprehensive
peace leading to confidence-building and to hope for peaceful
coexistence between the Arabs and the people of Israel.
We cannot but wonder where we stand in relation to this goal.
The Israeli Government's plans aim at controlling the Arab lands
occupied since 1967. These Israeli policies have hindered the
concerted and intensified efforts exerted by the United States
as a co-sponsor of the peace process. In addition, this has caused
an atmosphere of suspicion to prevail among the Arab States as
regards the genuine desire of the Israeli Government for peaceful
coexistence and cooperation with the Arabs.
The United Nations has been continuously discussing this issue
since 1948 and has adopted many General Assembly and Security
Council resolutions. Israel has not respected or implemented any
of these resolutions, even once. These resolutions include Security
Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), which were adopted
following the wars of 1967 and 1973. Israel has refused to implement
these resolutions through the United Nations, insisting on unilateral
negotiations outside the United Nations. The Arab countries responded
positively and seriously to the calls for peace from various States
by participating in the Madrid Peace Conference. The Arab countries
have responded fully and positively to building a society based
on peace in the Middle East. Despite all of this, the Israeli
Government now refuses this proposal and continues to occupy and
confiscate land in the West Bank.
Is it justice that the world daily witnesses the expulsion of
Palestinian citizens from their homes, the demolishing of their
homes and the confiscation of their land? Is it justifiable for
us to sit and witness the repeated violation by the Israeli authorities
of the rights and integrity of the Palestinians through the occupation
and the siege of their towns and villages? Where is the just peace
that we are talking about when the Israeli Government continues
to build new and illegal settlements on Palestinian lands, while
the Palestinians themselves are being prevented from building
or even repairing their own homes?
These measures are nothing but grave injustice. Can the United
Nations condone such practices? Can the peace sponsors accept
that? Where is the respect for human rights in the face of this
denial of Palestinian rights when we are celebrating this year
the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights?
It is incumbent on all peace-loving nations, which call for the
implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to
stand by the Palestinian cause and to reject the policies of the
Israeli Government, which persists in trampling over the dignity
of the Palestinian people.
The establishment of peace in the Middle East requires the use
of every convincing measure in order to make Israel accept and
implement its legal and international obligations towards the
Palestinian Authority, including withdrawal from the West Bank
in accordance with the Oslo, Washington and Cairo accords. Israel
also must resume negotiations with the Syrian Government from
the point where they ended, with the ultimate goal of signing
a peace treaty that will secure the withdrawal of Israeli forces
from the occupied Syrian territories to the line of 4 June 1967,
as well as the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon
and the western Bekaa, in accordance with resolutions 425 (1978)
and 427 (1978).
We believe that these are the necessary conditions for peace to
prevail in the Middle East. They will also provide the legitimate
necessary guarantees for Israel and foster an atmosphere of confidence
between the Arab and the Israeli peoples.
The Arab countries cannot accept the continued Israeli policy
aimed at the Judaization of Arab Jerusalem, and they consider
any change in the demographic composition of the Arab city of
Jerusalem and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied
Arab territories null and void.
In spite of Israel's intransigence and continued refusal to cooperate
with the co-sponsors of the peace process in the Middle East to
finalize this process and bring it to a conclusion, my country,
believing in the significance and inevitability of peace in this
region, declares in this forum its full support of the endeavours
made by the co-sponsors, in particular those of the United States.
In this regard, I would like to highlight the commendable role
of the European Union and its continued economic support for the
Palestinian National Authority. I call on the international community
to extend every possible assistance to the Palestinian National
Authority and its various educational, health and social institutions
that will safeguard what is achieved in the context of this peace
process.
The decision by the Arab countries to follow the course of peace
is a strategic option, and they have genuinely worked towards
achieving this purpose based on their belief that for all the
peoples of the region, including Israel, peace is required for
prosperity and stability. Based on this, the Sultanate of Oman
once again affirms its solidarity with the Palestinian people
and supports the position of the Palestinian National Authority
regarding the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the lands occupied
since 1967, thus allowing the Palestinian National Authority to
extend its control to all its lands, including the Holy City of
Jerusalem.
We stress the necessity for Iraq to fully implement all relevant
Security Council resolutions to eliminate its arsenal of all weapons
of mass destruction. Fully cognizant of the fact that the United
Nations Special Commission has not been able to finalize its inspection,
we call for persistent efforts to end the hardship borne by the
fraternal Iraqi people. By the same token, we call upon the Secretary-General
to intensify his efforts to find common ground for cooperation
and to build confidence between the Special Commission and the
Iraqi Government. We also call upon Iraq to cooperate fully with
the ad hoc Tripartite Commission mandated to follow up on the
issue of the prisoners of war and missing persons, either Kuwaitis
or other nationalities, and to facilitate their release in order
to end this tragedy for their families.
In the Gulf region we are witnessing a new era of positive cooperation
between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Islamic Republic
of Iran. We welcome this significant development, which will encourage
us to work in a genuine manner to create a propitious climate
for enabling the United Arab Emirates to exercise its sovereign
rights on the islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa.
Moreover, we should be able to take the relations between the
Islamic Republic of Iran and the GCC to a new level of cooperation
on the basis of the principle of mutual benefit international
law.
The efforts exerted in the field of disarmament aim to ensure
international security and stability. My country has always expressed
its unqualified support for these efforts. We also emphasize the
need for taking practical measures to make the Middle East and
the Gulf area zones free of weapons of mass destruction, including
nuclear weapons. The Sultanate of Oman signed the Chemical Weapons
Convention in 1992 and acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 1997. I announce here that my country
has decided to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
(CTBT). We look forward to seeing Israel take part in the efforts
to make the Middle East a region free of nuclear weapons and to
seeing it place all its nuclear facilities under the strict control
and full safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
With regard to the situation in Somalia, my country would like
to commend the efforts by Egypt, as well as by Ethiopia and the
neighbouring countries, to reconcile the Somalis and to convene
a national reconciliation conference. We believe such a conference
will help the Somalis rebuild their State in the national interest
of the brotherly Somali people. We call upon the United Nations
to extend tangible support to these efforts.
As the world celebrates in 1998 the fiftieth anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly in 1948, the Sultanate of Oman actively participated
in the Diplomatic Conference to establish the International Criminal
Court, which was held in Rome during June and July. We emphasize
the need for this newly established Court to work in harmony and
complementarity with national jurisdictions of Member States.
We express our deep concern regarding the ongoing civil war in
Afghanistan, which has resulted in the total destruction of that
country and has intensified the suffering of its people. It has
also had a serious negative impact on the unity, sovereignty and
territorial integrity of this Muslim nation. We call upon all
warring factions in Afghanistan to reconcile in a manner that
will bring peace and stability to the people. In this regard,
we would like to express our support of and appreciation for the
initiatives of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and
the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan, headed by the
Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi.
The successive crises in the African continent have demonstrated
the complexity of the political, economic and social situation
therein. Rescuing Africa requires concerted international efforts
to overcome its difficulties. In particular, African countries
need international assistance to continue the process of reform
and economic development. We believe that unified international
action is necessary more than ever to support the United Nations
coordination of efforts of the international donor organizations
and the efforts on the regional level by the Organization of African
Unity and the neighbouring countries in the areas of conflict
with a view to promoting development and progress in the African
continent.
The current situation in Kosovo and the persecution and killings
of the Albanian Muslims and others in this region have been deplored
and denounced by the international community. We condemn the use
of terrorism and violence in international relations as a mean
to resolve political differences. We call for the containment
and just settlement of this crisis.
While realizing the national reasons why India and Pakistan each
carried out its latest nuclear tests, we continue to call upon
the two neighbouring countries to promptly sign the NPT and CTBT
in order to prevent the escalation of the arms race in other regions
of the world. We hope that the circumstances will allow them to
do so.
As the United Nations plays its role to eliminate all lethal weapons
from this globe, my country would like to commend the international
efforts that have led to the adoption in December 1997 of the
Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production
and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction.
This achievement should alleviate the sufferings and spare the
lives of thousands of innocent civilians who might fall victim
to this kind of weapon.
In the context of preserving the environment, the Sultanate of
Oman has submitted a proposal to the regional organization for
the protection of marine life in the Gulf to establish bunkering
ports for oil tankers in order to protect the territorial waters
and preserve the marine life in the region from pollution.
In the absence of the President, Mr. Filippi Balestra (San Marino),
Vice-President, took the Chair.
On the economic front, the current situation has had a negative
impact on economic growth in Oman, just as it has elsewhere in
the world. But Oman is determined to proceed with its plans for
economic diversification and harmonization with the regional and
international economic environment.
On the national level, Oman has carried out the policies, legislation
and other measures conducive to foreign investment, based on the
principles of a market economy. At the regional level, my country
participates actively in regional economic gatherings. Within
the GCC, and thanks to the spirit of partnership among member
States and the economic integration legislation, the rates of
growth in the non-oil sectors have substantially increased. In
the Indian Ocean Rim Association for regional cooperation, my
country is an active participant in efforts to promote and invigorate
economic trade cooperation. In this context, I would like to draw
your attention to the investment by the Sultanate of Oman in infrastructure
projects such as the port of Raysut in the southern region of
Oman, Dhofar. This port will offer services to container ships
and will enhance international maritime trade and transport in
our region.
At the international level, my country is working towards membership
in the World Trade Organization (WTO), and we are fully committed
to taking the necessary steps to assure our full participation
and responsibilities within that organization.
The Sultanate of Oman thus works in a diligent and cooperative
manner to promote the development of economic relations with other
nations and with regional and international groupings for mutual
benefit and the promotion of international trade and investment.
The Sultanate of Oman stands ready to extend the hand of friendship
to all peace-loving nations.
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