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Wed, Sept 21, 2011 | UN TV

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar (UN Photo/Marco Castro)

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Addresses the General Debate of the 66th Session of the General Assembly

Address by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar at the General debate of the 66th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (New York, 21-24 and 26-30 September 2011).

Qatar, General Debate, 66th Session

Speech of the State of Qatar

By

His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa AI-Thani

Emir of the State of Qatar

BEFORE

The General Debate of the Sixty-Sixth Session of the United Nations General Assembly

New York — 21 September 2011

In the name of God the Merciful the Compassionate

Excellencies Heads of State and Government,
Your Excellency the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations,
Your Excellency the Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to address the General Assembly of the United Nations this year at a time when it is headed by one of the sons of the State of Qatar, His Excellency Mr. Nasser Bin Abdulaziz Al-Nasr. I take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election and I wish him success in his mission.

I would also like to express my thanks to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Joseph Deiss for his hard work during his presidency of the previous session. Let me also congratulate His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon for the trust that all Member States expressed in him by reappointing him Secretary-General of the United Nations for a second term.

Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I come to you from a region abound with great expectations and navigating through strong currents, a region whose peoples are calling for reform so that they would achieve their goals and assume their responsibilities and take their place in the partnership of the future of mankind with all its challenges and prospects for humanity.

We have been aware of our role from the very beginning and we have acted within its boundaries.

We are for the promotion of dialogue among cultures and civilizations. We are for strengthening and consolidating relations among peoples. We are for the consolidation of rapprochement among powers, on the basis of the principles of right and justice, within the framework of rightful cooperation governed by principles, laws and international charters and covenants that have been developed by humanity over the centuries to serve a better future of the world.

You are all aware that the blossoming of the Arab spring — with all what it represents in the Arab and human history – has faced everybody with heavy responsibilities to assume and with positions that they have to take.

We were among those who have made their choice. On the one hand we have always had a clear policy with regard to the rules governing our Arab, regional and international relations; rules that are based on understanding, reconciliation and harmony among peoples and nations. On the other, we, as well as others, have been unable to tum a deaf ear or a blind eye to the calls of the wounded seeking help from near and far, against an entrenched oppression.

For our part, we have exhausted each and every means until the only option left for us was to hear and sympathize, to see and help. We knew that was not a solution, but rather an emergency in the context of one of the most critical causes of the Arab world today, and by that I mean the cause of “change”.

Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

We know that our choices of principle are stable and strong. We also know that our subsequent response to the prevailing situations stems from urgency, and that it is a situation that needs to be settled on the basis of the rules and charters that govern international relations in modem times; a situation that should shift from the responsibility of individually-acting States to the responsibility of an international community acting in accordance with its charters.

We have already expressed our views here before you in previous sessions, that the United Nations system needs to evolve in line with situations that reflect the realities of a new world, a world not linked with interests alone, a world where it is imperative to have an agreement that confirms the principles that govern civilized behavior, while preserving the unity of interests.

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