Permanent Mission Of The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia To The United Nations NEW YORK Statement of His Royal Highness Prince Saud Al-Faisal Minister of Foreign Affairs Head of the Delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Before The United Nations General Assembly 69" Regular Session Saturday, 27 September 2014 — New York Unofficial Translation Please check against Delivery elas tt sn lly al - titIn the name of God the Most Gracious, the Merciful Mr, President, At the outset, it gives me great pleasure to extend to Your Excellency my sincere congratulations on your election as the President of the UNGA's 692 Session, wishing you every success in the performance of your duties and responsibilities, especially during these critical circumstances which the world is experiencing. Similarly, I avail myself of this opportunity to express my deep gratitude and appreciation to your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. John W. Aske, the President of the UNGA at its 68 Session who managed all its works with wisdom and professionalism. Moreover, it gives me pleasure to once more commend the great efforts of His Excellency the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban. Ki-moon, serving the United Nations and promoting its message aiming to achieve intemational peace and security, Mr. President, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia leaves no effort to participate in achieving the goals of collective action work under the umbrella of the United Nations, emanating from the Kingdom's firm believe in the principles and objectives of collective action, especially that the Kingdom is one of the founders and signatories to the Charter of the United Nations in 1945. The Delegation of my Country stresses once again the importance of keeping up with the developments and changes happening in the international arena through the development of UN mechanisms of action, reforming the Security Council, supporting the work of the General Assembly, and strengthening the role of the Economic and Social Council.Mr. President, The current year, 2014, is an important milestone for the Palestinian issue being the year of solidarity with the Palestinian people. It is painful that it coincides with what we have witnessed this year from Israeli brutal aggression in. the Gaza Strip which tantamount to war crimes and considered a flagrant disregard to the international will and the provisions of international law. We should wonder here when the international community will act to bring justice to the Palestinian people, and to deter Israel from its arbitrary policies contrary to that will. We should wonder when the international community wil] act towards Isracl, which is stil] practicing its arbitrary unilateral policies manifested in its attempts to Judaize Holy Jerusalem, to change its demographic composition, and committing daily violations against the Palestinians such as expulsion, displacement, and arbitrary arrests, In addition, Israel still continues its settlement policies which include detention of thousands of prisoners, violation of the sanctity of the holy places, displacement of Palestinians citizens, especially in Holy Jerusalem, and the continuation of apartheid and ethnic cleansing policies; let alone the continuation of the unjust blockade applied to the Gaza Strip. All this is happening before the eyes of the international community, without any action to put an end to these unjust practices. Accordingly, we call from this podium on the international community to shoulder jts responsibilities and provide urgent and immediate protection to the Palestinian people. In this regard, we hold Israel fully responsible for the failure of the latest round of Patestinian-Israeli negotiations under the auspices of the United States of America, in spite of the commitment of the Palestinian National Authority to all its obligations related to the peace process,While we commend the efforts of the Arab Republic of Egypt which led to the cease-fire agreement in Gaza and the stopping of Palestinian bloodshed, it must be borne in mind that the cease-fire alone should not be a goal in itself in isolation from the goal of achieving a just and comprehensive lasting peace. This should take place in accordance with the Arab peace initiative and the international legitimacy resolutions, ultimately leading to the establishment of the independent viable Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital. Mr. President, The situation in Syria presents the most major humanitarian tragedy taking place in this century. History has taught us that the longer the internal armed conflict remains, the greater will be the persistence of the Syrian regime in its brutality and its crimes against its own people; in addition to the deployment of extremist and terrorist groups, who have found a home in Syria. Since the beginning, the strategy of the Syrian regime has been pushing towards the situation which Syria experiences today, While the international community stood hesitant and divided among itself in addressing the Syrian crisis, the Syrian regime deliberately has worked on militarizing the revolution, brutally suppressing peacefiul demonstrations, and has practiced policies of siege, starvation, and murder. All these actions are committed with an aim of pushing, the Syrian revolution into the arms of terrorist groups, and justifying the regime’s barbaric behavior under the pretext of war on terrorismThe Kingdom was, and remains, supportive of the Syrian moderate opposition as well as the fight against terrorist groups on Syrian tersitories. However, our battle against terrorism in Syria must include elimination of the circumstances which lead to such terrorist acts. All evidence indicate that the Syrian regime is the first sponsor of terrorism in Syria. We are of the view that any possibility for a political settlement should not include Bashar Al-Assad who lost his legitimacy. Accordingly, he should not have any political role, in any form, in that settlement. We believe that the Declaration of Geneva (1) provides the horizon of a solution leading to a peaceful transition of power so as to maintain the State's institutions, and preserving Syria's independence, sovereignty, and national and territorial unity. It is axiomatic to say that such possibility could not be achieved with the presence of foreign troops on Syrian territories represented in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah forces, creating a lack of balance of forces on the ground. Mr. President, The Republic of Yemen is experiencing rapid and extremely critical situation that requires our collective support and the proposition of necessary solutions to tackle these unprecedented challenges. If these challenges are not swiftly confronted, the fear is that - God forbid - they will lead to further escalation of violence and conflict to which the Yemeni people would be the first victim, This will also cause the undermining of the Yemenis constructive agreements achieved to complete the peaceful political process in accordance with the decisions of the Gulf initiative and its implementation mechanisms; and the outcomes of the national dialogue. In addition, the cycle of violence and conflict will undoubtedly escalate and threaten the security and stability at the regional and international levels. It could even reach a stage of no return regardless of the efforts and resources used to avoid such a situation. We have already welcomed 4the peace and national partnership agreement of Sunday, September 2st, between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group. Our hope was that it would realize the aspirations of the Yemeni people towards stopping the violence and fighting, the completion of the political process, and the resumption of development and construction, As we commend the intensive efforts of His Excellency President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi to reach an agreement which could spare the Yemen and its people from violence, chaos and bloodshed; we reiterate that the lack of implementation of the Security Annex of the Agreement, and the lack of correct enforcement af the Agreement by the Houthi group has scattered those hopes. We call upon all concerned parties to fully and urgently implement all terms of the Agreement, as well as urging the international community to provide assistance at all levels to Yemen in this regard. Mr. President, Today, we are facing a very dangerous situation, Where terrorism has developed from cells into armies; after targeting hotbeds, terrorism has turned to target countries tampering with their destiny as they please. Terrorism has been extended to reach Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. These geave facts urge us to develop swift and fateful measures and decisions to vigorously confront this vicious attack with full force; and to expedite our actions taking into account both time and consequences of inaction. From this standpoint, we sce that the war on terrorism should be comprehensive, and according to a clear strategy supported by an action plan aimed to achieve the objectives of this confrontation whether military, security, economic or intellectual. We should also bear in mind that the war on terrorism requires hard and constant work that may extend over a course of many years. We should not stop at achieving partial victories over specific group. We must proceed until we achieve the elimination of all terrorist organizations wherever they exist and whatever their motives may be, in order to save humanity from this despicable evil, and maintain the legitimate human rights to Jive in dignity, peace, and security.In this sense, | reiterate the commitment of my Country to the fight against terrorism, which the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques repeatedly warned about its risks and consequences for more than a decade; most recent of which was in August when he called on the leaders and scholars of Arab and Islamic nations to stand in truthful coalition to confront this evil scourge that threatens international peace and security. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques also expressed his astonishment about the silence of the international community despite the relentless pursuit of this scourge to expand unabated over the entire world, ‘The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has translated this policy into severe measures manifested in enacting incriminating laws, developing lists containing names of terrorists and terrorist organizations that stand behind them, combating this evi! with all security and intellectual means, and drying their financial resources, This matter was not confined only to be confronted at the national level. At the international level, Saudi Arabia sought the advancement of all international efforts, which included the establishment of The United Nations Counter Terrorism Center (UNICTC). In addition, the Kingdom has recentiy donated 100 million dollars to support the work of the Center. However, despite the world consensus on the seriousness of that phenomenon and the need to combat it, the Center is still in desperate need of effective intemational contribution in order to enable it to fulfill its required mandate in the context of existing international efforts. The results of the strict policy pursued by my Country would not bear its fruit at the national level without the help of God Almighty first, then with the collective support of the community's leaders, scholars, and citizens hand to hand to confront terrorism and the deviant thoughts leading to it. The clear and explicit statement issued by the Council of Senior Scholars in the Kingdom of Saudi 6Arabia on the 17" of this month clearly reflects the extent to which the Kingdom went to combat terrorism, and to reveal the reality of this ideology and the bloody and destructive practices of jis followers. This statement, derived from the teachings of the Islamic Shariaa (tegistation}, wamed those followers about the coruption and the danger of this scourge; and assured that the confrontation and elimination of terrorist groups has become a collective obligation. Mr. President, The danger of nuclear proliferation in the Middie East remains (0 be a matter of concern haunting the nations and peoples of the region. Considering the ongoing chaos and previous practices in the region, it is evident that no new weapon has ever existed in this region without being used. In this sense, my Country persistently highlighted the importance of making the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf region free of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, within the framework of efforts seeking to establish zones free of nuclear weapons worldwide. Accordingly, the Kingdom emphasizes the need to hold the postponed conference on the establishment of a Middle East region free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction as soon as possible during 2014. The issue of not timely convening this conference represents a breach of the review process and the commitments agreed upon at the 2010 Review Conference on the NPT, as wel! as casting doubts on the process of consensus and compromised solutions taken within the framework of multilateral relations in the field of disarmament. This postponement is the responsibility of Israel who did not announce its acceptance to attend the conference yet. As a result, the progress towards ridding the Middle East of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction is hindered. Furthermore, the postponement is also the responsibility of the sponsoring countries because they abandoned their commitment to hojd the conference as scheduled,With regard to the crisis of the {ranian nuclear file, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia still attaches importance to address this crisis by peaceful means through negotiations between group 5+1 and Iran, in a manner to ensure Iran's right to peaceful use of nuclear energy in accordance with the standards and procedures of the Intemational Atomic Energy Agency, and under its supervision; and in accordance with the international agreements agreed upon in this regard. Moreover, we stress the necessity of enforcing these procedures and controls on all countries in the region. Mr. President, ‘Among the issues and tribulations we face is the issue of continued attack on religious symbols, in particular on Islam and the Prophet, peace be upon him, in many humiliating ways from entities, individuals, and media who are ignorant of his truth and eminence. In this regard, I would also like to recall the call of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the United Nations to pass a resolution on the criminalization and prevention of humiliating religious symbols and sanctities by any actors; in addition to imposing severe penalties on the persons involved in these abusive acts. Moreover, we would be remiss if we do not merition the cases of discrimination, intolerance, violence, and other practices endured by Muslim communities and minorities in non-member countries of the LIN; which in fact are related to the Islamophobic phenomenon. The recent example is the suffering of the Muslims in Rohingya and Central African countries such as Mali, manifested in various forms of persecution and attempted genocide. From this standpoint, we point out the importance of speeding up the process of developing an international legally binding instrument to stop intolerance, discrimination, and hatred based on religion; as well as stopping the humiliation of religions and to promote and ensure respect for all religions."Emanating from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's keenness to realize a concept of understanding and respect for religions and beliefs, it established in Novernber 2012 an independent center in Vienna named “King Abduliah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Inerreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID).” This center aims to promote mutual understanding, respect, and cooperation between the foffowers of cultures and belief, with a focus on the common human attributes which call for goodness, love, tolerance and harmony This noble endeavor was faunched with the active participation of the Republic of Austria and the Kingdom of Spain Mr. President, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has made many achievements in the field of human rights derived from the principles of its Islamic Shariaa (legislation), and to meet its international commitments. In line with international developments in this field, the Kingdom has ratified during the past two decades many of the intemational and regional conventions that will contribute to improving the situation of human rights at the national level. In this regard, the Kingdom has established national governmental structures such as the “Human Rights Council”, and non-governmental entities such as the “National Human Rights Association” mandated to addressing issues of human rights and the pursuit of internal accountability about any disrespect or violation of its laws. The nomination of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to run for membership of the Human Rights Council for the period of 2014-2016 is an important step that carries a duty and responsibility, which obligates the Kingdom to execute its mandates as a member of the Council in protecting human rights at the international jevel in ine with the principles of its Islamic Sharia (legislation) and international obligations.Mr. President, The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes that young people are the nucleus of the community. It did not overlook their rights to be provided with all needs and means of support to ensure raising a qualified youth generation. The Government of the Kingdom also focused its attention on the educational aspect among the priorities of its national strategic plans related to youth issues and programs, In addition, the Kingdom was keen on building strong, cooperation with many UN organizations and bodies to select best programs that contribute to the recruitment and training of young people of both sexes, in order 1o improve their education and intellectual level; and strengthen their relationships with the cultures of other societies. When developing its national strategies, the Kingdom has guaranteed the rights and needs of the young people with special needs and the ones who live in rural areas as well. It even did not overlook patronizing the children of families residing or working in the Kingdom by supporting their basic rights in accordance with the national faws of the Kingdom. The Government of the Kingdom still strives to protect the rights of all individuals in the Kingdom, whether citizens or residents, without discrimination; and works diligently to eliminate any violence exercised against women, children, and the elderly, The national laws of the Kingdom conclusively suppress ail means of women's vilification such as being exploited or trafficked The leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes that women and men are partners; and each of them complement the other. Saudi women have proven successful in many political, educational, intellectual, legal, economic, and health fields, whether in the public or private sectors. It is worth noting the recent membership of Saudi women in the Al-Shura (Consultative) Council; and their right to run and vote in the elections of municipal councilsMr. President, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stresses the importance of proper planning for development issues, particularly the development agenda beyond 2015, including the objectives of sustainable development with its economic, social, and environmental dimensions. The Kingdom reaffirms its commitment to the just and purposeful sustainable development objectives which further and enhance the capabilities and international efforts to meet the challenges arising from the global financial crisis; and supports the efforts to reform the international financial, monetary, and trade systems by building a global economy based on a new partnership between developed and developing countries, and on the basis of cooperation, justice, equality, transparency, and mutual benefits. In this regard, the Kingdom stresses the importance of collective work in order to reduce the gap between developed and developing countries in the areas of multilateral development. The Kingdom Saudi Arabia is keen to contribute to these goals through its membership in the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); in addition to being a member of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Financing Sustainable Development. Since we are on the outskirts of the adoption of a Post-2015 action plan and development program, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia calls to make this plan feasible, executable, and accommodating the different needs of countries in a manner that does not contradict the principles and legislation of other countries: and that this plan could address the concerns of all countries to define a development programme capable of addressing its challenges. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hopes that these objectives focus on key priorities of the developing countries, especially the eradication of poverty, hunger, ignorance and disease, according to the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities. Moreover, these objectives should focus on ending all forms of colonialism and occupation to enable the peoples under occupation to get their share of development policies. In addition, the Kingdom hopes that the efforts would not be dispersed in developing sustainable development goals in a distracted manner from the pressing developmental basics of mankind in the entire world. ulMr. President, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the context of shouldering its international responsibilities and in accordance with the principles of huraanitarian solidarity, has provided on several occasions many contributions in cash and in-kind, including volunteer contributions from Saudi citizens. The Kingdom teamed with specialized international organizations, or through its own bodies, to provide needed assistance to states and individuals who have been affected by natural disasters in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and elsewhere. The Kingdom also provided development aid to nearly ninety countries around the world dedicated to the establishment of infrastructure projects, and economic investments that provide employment opportunities. Moreover, the Kingdom initiated debts’ forgiveness programs for least developed countries, and the "Energy for All" program which aims to facilitate access of these countries to energy. Therefore, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is considered one of the top donor countries in the world from the means of GNI's percentage. In fact, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia surpassed the designated UN Official Development Aid (ODA) objective of 0.07% as its aids during the past thirty years reached more than $100 billion US dollars. In this context, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia urges industrialized countries to fulfill their obligations in the field of development a stance, and to achieve the ODA objective set by the UN or surpass it if possible. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always been keen that its humanitarian aid is dedicated to projects that mostly focus on the eradication of poverty, diseases, unemployment, and drugs emanating from its religious, ethical, and humanitarian duty; and within its restless efforts to alleviate humanitarian suffering of the peoples, and to consolidate peace and prosperity for all human beings worldwide.Mr. President, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will spare no effort in working with international organizations and countries committed to collective action aiming to achieve the welfare of all mankind, which is the principle upon which the United Nations has been established in the first place. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will continue to perform its humanitarian, political, and economic role with a sense of responsibility, moderation, and concer for justice. These are the concepts which were, and still are, the focus of our Country's international engagements. Thank you, Mr. President.