Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

      During the September 2005 Summit, the international community reaffirmed its commitment to the global partnership for development in order to achieve internationally agreed development objectives. The United Nations remains one of the important pillars of international support for this partnership.

      I would like to recall here that the State of Qatar has always sought to be a supportive partner in favour of development efforts, particularly in combating poverty, which reflects favourably on stability and international peace and security. Qatar hosted the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in 2001, which culminated in the Doha Ministerial Declaration. It also hosted the South Summit in 2005, in which His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, launched his initiative to establish the South Fund for Development and Humanitarian Assistance. Moreover, His Highness reaffirmed Qatar’s commitment to meet the internationally agreed official development assistance target of its GNP. His Highness also offered to host the first review conference of the International Conference on Financing for Development.

      It is my pleasure to note that the State of Qatar will be hosting the Sixth International Conference on New or Restored Democracies, which is scheduled to be held from 31 October to 1 November of this year, and also that Qatar has extended assistance for emergency and disaster relief efforts, and made many contributions to the various United Nations funds and programs.

Madame President,

      We must work to strengthen the role of the United Nations and revitalize and support its institutions so that they can carry out in full the tasks entrusted to them in different parts of the world. However, if the United Nations were to discharge its role in full, its Charter should be adhered to and respected. Furthermore, an agreement must be reached on a new formula to reform the Security Council and update its working methods, and the General Assembly must be allowed to play its role in the maintenance of the international peace and security side by side with the Security.

Madame President,

      We were shocked and astonished by the disproportionate Israeli response against fraternal Lebanon, which killed hundreds of innocent civilians, totally decimated its infrastructure and left scores of its towns and villages in ruins. It displaced one quarter of Lebanon’s population, which is a full-scale war crime.

Madame President,

      The Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian Question must be accorded a top priority. We must seek a comprehensive, permanent and just solution to it. The Palestinian Question is an example of the suffering visited on a people whose legitimate rights were denied. It has been inscribed on the agendas of the Security Council and the General Assembly for over 50 years.

      Therefore, the international community must revisit its positions towards a fundamental issue that it left unresolved for over half a century, which compounded the tragedy of the Palestinian people. Obliging Israel to implement United Nations resolutions is a collective duty that we must all fulfill so that international legitimacy will not be selective. The Palestinian people must be enabled to exercise their right to self-determination and establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.

      A comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict should be also achieved based on Israel’s withdrawal from all the territories it occupied in 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights and the Lebanese Sheb’a farms. We would like to stress that the guarantee to permanent peace, security and stability in then region lies in making the Middle East a region free from all weapons of mass destruction without any exceptions.

Madame President,

      The difficult situation in fraternal Iraq obliges us to cooperate in order to assist it in overcoming this untenable situation and its repercussions. We have continuously reaffirmed our commitment to the unity and sovereignty of Iraq. We are equally committed to the right of Iraqis to live in their homeland in dignity and freedom, which will enable them to rebuild their country. Iraq will the regain its well-deserved place in the region among the family of nations.

Madame President,

      We want to pay tribute to the government of Sudan that has succeeded after tireless efforts in realizing peace in the South. It continues to make sincere efforts to achieve security and stability in different parts of the country. We fully support these efforts, and look forward to more support by the international community to fraternal Sudan in order to preserve its unity and territorial integrity. We also support he efforts that are currently underway by the League of Arab States to achieve national reconciliation in fraternal Somalia, and restore the rule of law in the country. We exhort the international community to support these efforts so that stability and security can be restored to the country.

Madame President,

      We reaffirm the important role of the United Nations, and the need to enhance it so that it can put international relations on solid grounds of understanding and common interest. We also stress the importance of resolving conflicts and disputes by peaceful means, and cooperation among all nations to end violence and combat terrorism. We must avoid squandering our resources and wasting our energies on wars and conflicts. Instead, we should channel them towards development and progress. We look forward to a new world governed by the principles of justice, equality, freedom, democracy and peaceful coexistence among its peoples, nations and civilizations.

Thank you, may the peace, the mercy and the blessings of God be upon you.