HH the Amir Participates in the Opening Session of the 75th UN General Assembly

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful,
the Most Compassionate

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Your Excellency, President of the General Assembly,
Your Excellency, Secretary-General of the United Nations,


Ladies and Gentlemen,
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
At the outset, I congratulate His Excellency Mr. Volkan Bozkir on assuming
the presidency of the Seventy-Fifth Session of the General Assembly, wishing him
every success and favorable outcome. I also thank His Excellency Mr. Tijjani
Muhammad-Bande, President of the previous session, for the appreciated
efforts he exerted during his tenure, and I avail myself of this opportunity to
commend the role of His Excellency the Secretary-General. Mr. António Guterres
in promoting the role of the United Nations and achieving its goals.

Mr. President,
The convening of this session comes as we celebrate the seventy-fifth
anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, and it is opportune on this
occasion to remember that it is an institutional expression of our awareness that
we belong to one humanity. There are many historical experiences that
substantiate this fact and prove the risk of underestimating it.
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has reminded us that we live on
the same planet, and that multilateral cooperation is the only way to address the
challenges of epidemics, climate and the environment in general, and it’s also
preferable to remember this when dealing with the issues of poverty, war and
peace, and realizing our common goals for security and stability.
Based on this understanding, and after the State of Qatar hastened to take
all preventative actions and measures to protect the citizens and the residents
on its territory, it has not seen any contradiction between its duty in this respect
and providing aid to more than 60 countries and five international organizations, 
and participating actively in the international efforts to mobilize resources and
potentials to address this epidemic and its repercussions, as well as supporting
research centers in several countries to limit the serious negative ramifications
of this pandemic and to expedite the development of a vaccine for this virus.

Mr. President,
After more than three years since the start of the unjust and illegal
blockade on the State of Qatar, we have continued the march of progress and
development in various fields.
Despite the blockade, Qatar has strengthened its effective participation in
the multilateral international action to find solutions to other crises.
And during the unjust and unlawful blockade it is going through it also has
securely established its policy founded on respecting the rules and principles of
international law and the United Nations Charter, especially, the principle of
respecting the sovereignty of states and rejecting intervention in their internal
affairs.
And based on our moral and legal responsibilities towards our peoples, we
have affirmed, and we will continue to reaffirm, that unconditional dialogue
based on common interests and respect for the sovereignty of states is the way
to solve this crisis which had started with an illegal blockade, and whose solution
starts with lifting this blockade.
On this occasion, I reiterate my deep appreciation for the sincere efforts
of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the sisterly
State of Kuwait, and to commend highly the endeavors of brotherly and friendly
countries to bring this crisis to an end.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
There is an international consensus on the fairness of the Palestinian
cause, but despite this consensus, the international community stands helpless
without taking any effective steps vis-à-vis the Israeli intransigence and
persistence in occupying the Palestinian and Arab lands, besides imposing a
stifling siege on the Gaza Strip, continuing a policy of expanding settlements,
imposing a fait accompli policy in a flagrant violation of international legitimacy
resolutions and the two-state solution agreed upon by the international
community.
A just and desired peace can only be achieved through Israel’s full
commitment to the terms of reference and decisions of the international
legitimacy accepted by the Arabs and upon which the Arab Peace Initiative is
based, while Israel tries to circumvent it and acts as if the Palestinian cause does
not exist. Any arrangements that are not based on these terms of reference will
not achieve peace, even if they are called peace. It may have intents other than
the just solution to the Palestinian cause, and other than achieving a
comprehensive, just and lasting peace.
The lingering of the Palestinian cause without a just solution, and Israel's
continued settlements and creation of pretexts on the ground without being
deterred pose the biggest question mark on the credibility of the international
community and its institutions.
We call on the international community –especially the Security Council –
to assume its legal responsibilities to obligate Israel to lift the siege on Gaza Strip,
put the peace process back on track through credible negotiations based on the
international resolutions and not on force, to address all final status issues,
ending occupation within specified timeframe and establishing an independent
Palestinian state within 1967- borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and to
end the Israeli occupation of all Arab territories.
And in the context of our endeavor to prepare the appropriate conditions
to reach peace and to respond to the economic and humanitarian difficulties
facing our brothers in Palestine, we, in coordination with our international
partners, have continued providing humanitarian and developmental aid to 
cater for urgent and long-term needs in the besieged Gaza Strip, in addition to
increasing our contributions to UNRWA.

Mr. President
Based on our firm belief in resolving disputes by peaceful means, and with
the grace of God and thanks to Him, the State of Qatar's mediation efforts have
culminated in signing a peace agreement between the United States and the
Taliban movement, in Doha, on February 29, 2020, and was able to make an
exchange of prisoners between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban
movement a success during the discussions held in Doha last month.
Our efforts, along with our international partners, to convene the IntraAfghan peace negotiations which began on the 12th of this month, in Doha, have
culminated in success, and its ensuing success now depends on the Afghan
brothers themselves. We will exert our efforts in cooperation with the
international community to facilitate the dialogue, in the hope that peace and
stability will soon prevail across Afghanistan, if everyone decides to completely
renounce violence, and accept diversity, difference and equal citizenship in this
country.

Mr. President,
After more than nine years since the Syrian crisis which witnessed
unprecedented humanitarian tragedies, whose serious negative impacts are
year after year, it is still impossible to reach an end to this crisis due to the
intransigence of the Syrian regime and the inaction of the international
community, especially, the Security Council, in assuming its duty to maintain
international peace and security and protect civilians.
The Syrian regime still obstructs even the process of drafting a new
constitution, proposed by Russia, which, unfortunately, is all that was left of the
international efforts to realize some sort of a peaceful solution. The regime deals
with this effort with the same strategy of keeping up pace with the international
community that it followed by ostensibly participating in negotiations to gain
time without intending to make any change.
On this occasion, I reiterate the firm stance of the State of Qatar that the
only way to end the Syrian crisis is a political solution based on the Geneva
Communique (1), and the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2254.
The State of Qatar also affirms that it will continue, with the international
community, to support efforts to realize justice and holding accountable the
perpetrators of atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed
in Syria.
In the humanitarian field, we will continue to provide all forms of support
and assistance to the brotherly Syrian people in areas of displacement and
refuge till the end of this crisis.
As for the raging war in sisterly Yemen which is still demolishing the urban
buildings in Yemen, wiping out the necessities of life, and threatening security in
the region, we affirm that the only way to resolve this crisis is through
negotiation between the Yemenis in accordance with the outcomes of the
National Dialogue, the Gulf initiative, and the relevant Security Council
resolutions, particularly, resolution 2216. We affirm our firm position on the
unity of Yemen and its territorial integrity.
As for the brotherly Sudan, we value the signing of a peace agreement in
Juba, between the Transitional Government in Sudan and a host of armed
movements, and we express our appreciation to the state of South Sudan for
sponsoring the signing of this agreement, and we look forward to the rest of the
factions to join the peace process. We stressthe firm stance of the State of Qatar
beside the brotherly Sudanese people to successfully pass through this
transitional period and achieve their aspirations for stability and development.
We reiterate the call on the relevant countries to facilitate the efforts of
the brothers in Sudan to remove the name of Sudan from the list of states
sponsoring terrorism, asthe difficulties and hardships they are facing have taken
their toll on them. In this context, Qatar stood with the brothers by providing
them with support to counter the flooding that severely inflicted serious damage
to facilities and the people as well, and we call upon the international community 
to provide them with all kinds of necessary support to counter the natural
disasters.
Regarding the Libyan issue, we reiterate welcoming the ceasefire
agreement and activating the political process in accordance with the Skhirat
Agreement and all its outcomes, to achieve a comprehensive political settlement
that will maintain Libyan sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, and
stem the bloodshed of its people and preserve its wealth. It is beneficial for all
to understand the impossibility of imposing a military regime by force in Libya.
We were pained by what Lebanon went through in the aftermath of the
explosion at the port of Beirut. We stood beside our Lebanese brothers without
conditions. It is not our habit to impose political conditions to show solidarity
during disasters. But in the end, it will be incumbent on the Lebanese
themselves, and not by a dictation, to find agreed upon ways for reform to fulfill
the aspirations of an entire generation for a state based on citizenship rather
than any other affiliations. This, incidentally, is an aspiration shared by the
younger generation across the entire region.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Terrorism remains one of the most prominent challenges facing the world
as it poses a real threat to international peace and security, and impedes
achieving sustainable development for peoples. We in the State of Qatar spare
no effort to actively participate in international and regional efforts to address
this phenomenon and tackle its roots, especially by supporting education for
millions of children, youth and women and creating job opportunities for young
men.
In this context, Qatar is strengthening the strategic partnership with the
relevant United Nations agencies. I am referring here to the opening of a
program office of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office in Doha next May
to implement behavioral insights on combating terrorism and violent extremism.

Mr. President,
In the field of development assistance to developing countries and the
least developed countries, and to support countries affected by the negative
impacts of climate change, Qatar has fulfilled its pledge by providing a
contribution of $ 100 million to support the Least developed countries and Small
Island Developing States to deal with climate change.
We are pleased to host in Doha from 23 to 27 January 2022 the Fifth United
Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries. We are confident that
this conference will support their march towards achieving their development
for the next decade in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In conclusion, we affirm the State of Qatar’s commitment to the
declaration adopted by the General Assembly on September 21st with the
participation of Heads of State and Government, and in which the State of Qatar
assumed - in partnership with the Kingdom of Sweden - a role in facilitating the
international negotiations for its adoption. We will continue to work with the
United Nations to achieve its goals and address the common challenges to
maintain the interest of our peoples and the good for humanity.

Thank you, and may God’s peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.