His Highness Speech at the Opening Session of the 24th Arab Summit

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Your Majesties and Highnesses,
Your Excellencies,
Your Excellency the Secretary-General of the Arab League, 
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to welcome you all, on behalf of the Government and the people of the State of Qatar, and I wish you a pleasant in Doha. I would also like to express my gratitude to my brother His Excellency Jalal Talabani, the President of the brotherly Republic of Iraq, for his tireless and strenuous efforts during his presidency of the former Arab summit and I pray Allah to grant him a quick recovery.

I would also like to thank the Arab League Secretary-General Dr. Nabil Al-Arabi and the staff of the general secretariat for the strenuous and tireless efforts they have and are still exerting for boosting the role of the Arab League.

Your Majesties, Highnesses, and Excellencies,

The Palestinian cause is the core Arab issue and the key for peace, security and stability in the Middle East. There is no peace without a just, permanent and comprehensive settlement that addresses the full legitimate rights of the Palestinian people; foremost among these is the establishment of its independent State with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Israel has to realize that force does not bring security, that peace alone would ensure security for all, and that its illegal practices or violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Judaizing of East Jerusalem, continued settlement policy and detaining Palestinian captives in Israeli prisons, all these practices and policies would only lead to creating tension in the region, increase despair and frustration among the Palestinian people and hindering the already faltering peace process.

Realizing the gravity of the persistence of this situation and its repercussions, we propose – for the sake of putting the Palestinian home in order – convening a smaller Arab summit in Cairo at the earliest possible under the chairmanship of the brotherly Arab Republic of Egypt, and the participation of any Arab countries that wish to attend, along with Fatah and Hamas leaderships. The task of this summit, which should not be wound up before delivering on this task, is to agree on reaching Palestinian national reconciliation according to practical executive steps and a specific timetable in line with Cairo Agreement 2011 and the Doha agreement 2012, and shall include the following:

1- Setting up a transitional government from independent figures to oversee the legislative and presidential elections.

2- To agree on a date to hold these elections within a specific timeframe. Those who would remain lagging behind or obstructing this process would bear the responsibility before Allah, the homeland and history.

Dear brothers,

The place of ascension of the Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him – that Allah has blessed its environs, is the first Qiblah and the third holiest Islamic site is in a very grave danger, which requires serious action to forestall.

The Palestinian, there is no room for compromising Arab and Islamic rights in Jerusalem and Israel should be aware of this fact; also Arab countries should move quickly and seriously in this connection.

In this context, while the Sirte Summit resolutions on Jerusalem have unfortunately not been implemented, I call upon your esteemed Summit, if we are serious in defending the Arab character of Jerusalem and in order to save what could be saved for the establishment of a fund in support of Jerusalem with a capital of one billion dollars, provided that it is to be implemented immediately after the conclusion of this summit.

I declare on behalf of the State of Qatar our contribution of a quarter of a billion dollars to this fund. The remaining sum is to be contributed by capable Arab countries, and I suggest that the Islamic Bank for Development manages this fund.

I also wish to refer in this respect to the blockade, which Gaza Strip suffers from and to stress the need for cooperation and action to enable our brothers there to overcome it and to activate all decisions on the reconstruction of the Strip.

We welcome the participation of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces and the provisional Syrian government in this summit. No doubt they deserve this representation thanks to the popular legitimacy they gained domestically and the massive support abroad, and also because of their historical role in leading the revolution and preparing for building the new Syria.

The development of the serious and tragic situation in brotherly Syria took a catastrophic turn over the past two years and led to shameful tragedies and crimes. For some time, remaining tight lipped on these crimes and the suffering of the Syrian people inside Syria and in refugee camps has become a crime per se.

We have built our stance since the outbreak of the crisis on foundations that the State of Qatar has remained adhered to, namely:

First: The immediate cessation of the killing and violence against civilians and to preserve the unity of Syrian land and people.
Second: To achieve the will of the Syrian people regarding the transition of power.
Third: To support Arab and international efforts and political solutions that materialize the will of the Syrian people and their legitimate aspirations.

The Syrian people, the descendants of great civilization, genuine culture and honest Arabism deserve a free, decent and secure life, where they adopt alternation of fair governance, united by the sense of belonging to the homeland without suppression, exclusion or marginalization.

It is important to always stress our concern about the unity of Syrian territories and people, which constitutes a moral and historical responsibility borne by all of us and no body may evade it.

Also, we emphasize national unity which accommodates all and excludes none, set up a system without seclusion, restraint or discrimination among its citizens and where the homeland is for all and by all.

It is unfortunate that the Syrian regime is involved in a military confrontation with its people and rejects all calls for serious reform and Arab political initiatives until the catastrophe reached an extent where the dear Syrian people accepts no less than the peaceful transfer of power as stipulated in the Arab League Resolution of 22 July 2012.

History will testify in favor of those who stood by the Syrian people in their ordeal, and will testify against those who let them down.

We reiterate our call to the Security Council to stand up for truth and justice, and respond to the voice of human conscience against injustice and oppression of peoples, and to issue a resolution for an immediate cessation of bloodshed in Syria and to bring those who are responsible for the crimes committed against its people to international justice.
We renew our commitment to the continued provision of humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people, and urge all countries of the world to follow suit. We emphasize the importance of holding an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations for the reconstruction of Syria immediately after the transfer of power according to the will of the Syrian people.

I would like to reiterate that we support a political solution that prevents bloodshed and saves lives, provided that this solution does lead back to square one. I feel that soon great Syria will rise up from the ruins to build its glory once again.

As stated in the Holy Qur’an: “Slacken not, nor grieve, for you will overcome them if ye are [indeed] believers. If you received a blow, the [disbelieving] people have received a blow the like thereof. These are only vicissitudes which we cause to follow one another for mankind, to the end of that Allah may know those who believe and may choose witnesses from you; and Allah loveth not wrong-doers”.

Your Majesties, Highnesses and Excellencies,

The historical transformation currently experienced by our Arab nation requires dealing with it with new thought, novel styles and genuine will for change, which is inspired by the aspirations of peoples and meets their legitimate ambitions. The regimes must realize that there is no alternative to reform and no room for oppression, repression, tyranny and corruption.

When I say reform I mean thoughtful reform based on a vision, thought and will, rather than reform slogans and fake promises.

With reform, the systems of governance would enjoy stability, and the people would be reassured about their present and future. With reform, production and development rates would increase and we would be able to cater for a decent and secure life to our States and peoples; and with reform we will gain world respect and become an active and effective force therein.

Out of the human and nationalistic responsibility, we must stand beside our brothers in Arab Spring countries to overcome the difficult transition phase, which follows any popular revolution. Nobody should be betting on chaos and instability in these countries to alienate people from the trend of change. We turn to the political and social forces in these countries to realize that the success of such experience is the responsibility of all of them, and that there is an urgent need for competition to be responsible and subject to the need to secure the success of this experience. This is both a national and Arab responsibility.

The path of reform and political transition is a long and arduous one, and the fear of obstacles and setbacks facing the regimes engaged in the process of change, is unjustified and premature.

While Arab economic support is required for some of these countries it is more urgent for the revolution countries that today undergo a transitional stage requiring support, particularly the brotherly Arab Republic of Egypt, due to its population density and economic conditions. One could not forget the sacrifice made by Egypt and its significant role towards Arab causes and its Arab brothers; therefore, it is the duty of all of us to provide support to the Arab Republic of Egypt in these circumstances.

We are monitoring the positive developments taking place in Somalia with much hope, and we affirm our support and backing for this brotherly country to be able to surmount the ordeal it is facing.

The Republic of the Comoros is one of the promising Arab countries that need more attention and economic support to become a model of what can be achieved by Arab cooperation in supporting an Arab country that needs support from its Arab brothers. There is no doubt that the work of the Arab Commission for Development and Investment in Comoros deserves appreciation and requires further encouragement.

Concerning Darfur, we note with great satisfaction the clear improvement in the region since the signing of the Doha Document on Peace and the establishment of the Regional Authority, despite some acts of lawlessness in some areas of the region and tribal disputes that breakout from time to time.

We believe that the Doha International Conference on the reconstruction and development in Darfur, which convenes in Doha on 7-8 April, would usher Darfur into a new stage of development, stability and peace.

Your Majesties, Highnesses and Excellencies,

The rapid economic developments we are witnessing today drive us to consolidate and activate cooperation among us to support the efforts of economic and social development in Arab countries, because of the strategic dimensions embodied in such cooperation in the light of the global trends of establishing major economic blocs.

There is no doubt that the achievement of economic, social and political development for our Arab peoples is the optimal way and essential foundation to achieve the renaissance of our Arab nation at present and in the future. Therefore, Arab cooperation and integration should be the object of our consensus, and should not be vulnerable to ephemeral political differences.

Your Majesties, Highnesses and Excellencies,

We all look forward to a better present and future for our peoples, and we believe that the way to achieve this is to reform, develop and modernize our societies. By the same token, we support the development of the Arab League in line with the current conditions of our regional and international context, so as to enhance their capabilities in dealing with the requirements of this phase and at the same time preserving the principles and objectives on which the League was founded.

The reform and development process of the League should be inspired in the first place by the aspirations of the Arab peoples and meeting the legitimate demands of freedom, social justice and genuine Arab solidarity.

The reform process requires setting clear priorities in the action plan of the League and to reach specific operational programs to achieve these priorities with the participation of all member states, and stay away from bureaucracy and old-fashioned working methods and to introduce mechanisms that promote the action of the Arab League and uphold standards of efficiency and transparency in the selection of cadres qualified to work at the League. The most important of all is to install the principle of majority instead of unanimity in decision-making so that League resolutions could overcome this restriction that hinders its effectiveness.

In appreciation of the great efforts made by the staff of the Arab League Secretariat while performing their tasks, and out of the desire to provide them with decent life after the long years they spent serving the Arab League we feel it is time to set up a pension fund for them and we declare the State of Qatar’s willingness to contribute 10 million dollars to this fund.

The challenges facing us and the responsibility borne by us are serious and enormous. They require us to live up to the standard of this responsibility, and address the challenges to achieve the advancement of the Arab nation by promoting the spirit of brotherhood and solidarity which are the most powerful weapons of this nation. It also requires cooperation, integration, support and development of joint Arab action, and abstaining from any action at odds with our national interests. We should always perceive existing differences in their actual magnitude, relegate them to a secondary position, and give higher Arab interests priority over anything else, through candid dialogue as the optimum means to settle our differences. The persistence of these differences and magnifying them would only benefit those lurking around the interests of this great nation.

Finally, I welcome you once again in Doha, wishing that our efforts will be crowned with success and that our decisions and efforts would achieve the wellbeing of the Arab nation.

May peace and blessing of Allah be upon you.