In one of the most forceful and passionate speeches made before the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani gave a vivid picture of the aspirations of Qatar for a peaceful and prosperous Middle East, and ways to achieve that glorious goal.
Beginning with a scholarly analysis of the Gulf crisis, His Highness the Amir exposited before the august audience how a group of nations conspired to "punish" Qatar by "inventing" a reason by deceitful means and executed it through dubious measures like a blockade.
Since the siege imposed more than a year ago, many facts have been revealed about a pre-arranged campaign of incitement against Qatar besides the insinuation and fabrications used to create the Gulf crisis, the Amir said, exposing the falsity of the accusations levelled against his country.
Qatar has emerged a stronger nation in spite of the unjust siege imposed on it and the country has maintained its leading rankings in global indicators, especially in the areas of human security and development, His Highness the Amir, a leader dearly loved by his people, just like his father His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, told the world leaders who listened in rapt attention to his address.
The period that followed the unjust siege has witnessed the strengthening of the status of Qatar and consolidation of its role as an active and trustworthy partner among the comity of world nations, he said.
While elucidating how the unjust blockade of Qatar has paralysed such a vital regional organisation as the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), the Amir, a propitious ruler ever, said: "We hope that we will all transform the Council's current plight into an opportunity for reforming it and putting forward binding mechanisms to resolve the differences among its states through intra-dialogue, to avoid any similar recurrence in the future. It is not sensible for our Arab region to remain a hostage to some marginal differences, which are fabricated in our case, and which consume efforts and energies and waste funds exceeding what we need to allocate to the just causes that are supposed to be agreed upon by us."
That he was not a leader who cared about only his own country but a well-wisher of the entire region and the larger Arab and Islamic world echoed throughout the Amir's address, which also dealt with the most pressing issues of the region.
Highlighting the plight of the Palestinians and asserting their claim to their homeland, His Highness the Amir unequivocally stressed the urgent need to resume the stalled peace talks. He said: "We reaffirm the importance of negotiations and the resumption of their tracks, but that will require commitment to the resolutions of international legitimacy, foremost of which is the two-state solution, and the Arab peace initiative, on the basis of East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State, on 1967-borders. Moreover, there can be no solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict without a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian cause."
As a regular and generous donor, who always strived to alleviate the sufferings of the Palestinians, the Amir reiterated Qatar's material and political support to the brotherly Palestinian people.
Referring to the war in Yemen, which is dubbed as "the world's worst humanitarian crisis" by the United Nations, His Highness the Amir said Qatar is keen on the unity, independence and territorial integrity of that country and called upon all the Yemeni parties to national reconciliation. The Amir appealed the international community to help the brotherly Yemeni people who are facing a grave humanitarian situation, and to facilitate free access for humanitarian assistance to all areas in the country.
Not limiting his concern to words, the Amir showed his true compassion by announcing Qatar's agreement with the United Nations to fight cholera in Yemen by supporting projects related to combating the causes of the disease and to halt its spread.
His Highness the Amir also raised the exacerbating Syrian crisis at the United Nations General Assembly, urging the international community to find an immediate solution to the strife, which if left unresolved, he warned would lead to the crimes of genocide, mass displacement and wholesale death in prisons, go unnoticed.
Qatar's solidarity with the peoples of Iraq and Libya was also reiterated by the Amir, who hoped stability and prosperity would return to these important countries in the Middle East, which cannot afford more crises.
Underlining the importance of mutual co-existence and global peace, His Highness the Amir reminded the world how much Qatar valued the role of the United Nations in ensuring these precious values. Qatar’s participation in the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly sessions stems out of its firm belief in the right of world countries to live and evolve in a sustainable and prosperous way.
The belief also comes out of Doha’s solid perception that it is a collective, natural and given right for all nations to lead a respectful, peaceful, and harmonious life. This Qatari belief has been expounded for 47 years now at UN venues, beginning with the formation of the Permanent Mission of Qatar in 1971.
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Beginning with a scholarly analysis of the Gulf crisis, His Highness the Amir exposited before the august audience how a group of nations conspired to "punish" Qatar by "inventing" a reason by deceitful means and executed it through dubious measures like a blockade.
Since the siege imposed more than a year ago, many facts have been revealed about a pre-arranged campaign of incitement against Qatar besides the insinuation and fabrications used to create the Gulf crisis, the Amir said, exposing the falsity of the accusations levelled against his country.
Qatar has emerged a stronger nation in spite of the unjust siege imposed on it and the country has maintained its leading rankings in global indicators, especially in the areas of human security and development, His Highness the Amir, a leader dearly loved by his people, just like his father His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, told the world leaders who listened in rapt attention to his address.
The period that followed the unjust siege has witnessed the strengthening of the status of Qatar and consolidation of its role as an active and trustworthy partner among the comity of world nations, he said.
While elucidating how the unjust blockade of Qatar has paralysed such a vital regional organisation as the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), the Amir, a propitious ruler ever, said: "We hope that we will all transform the Council's current plight into an opportunity for reforming it and putting forward binding mechanisms to resolve the differences among its states through intra-dialogue, to avoid any similar recurrence in the future. It is not sensible for our Arab region to remain a hostage to some marginal differences, which are fabricated in our case, and which consume efforts and energies and waste funds exceeding what we need to allocate to the just causes that are supposed to be agreed upon by us."
That he was not a leader who cared about only his own country but a well-wisher of the entire region and the larger Arab and Islamic world echoed throughout the Amir's address, which also dealt with the most pressing issues of the region.
Highlighting the plight of the Palestinians and asserting their claim to their homeland, His Highness the Amir unequivocally stressed the urgent need to resume the stalled peace talks. He said: "We reaffirm the importance of negotiations and the resumption of their tracks, but that will require commitment to the resolutions of international legitimacy, foremost of which is the two-state solution, and the Arab peace initiative, on the basis of East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State, on 1967-borders. Moreover, there can be no solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict without a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian cause."
As a regular and generous donor, who always strived to alleviate the sufferings of the Palestinians, the Amir reiterated Qatar's material and political support to the brotherly Palestinian people.
Referring to the war in Yemen, which is dubbed as "the world's worst humanitarian crisis" by the United Nations, His Highness the Amir said Qatar is keen on the unity, independence and territorial integrity of that country and called upon all the Yemeni parties to national reconciliation. The Amir appealed the international community to help the brotherly Yemeni people who are facing a grave humanitarian situation, and to facilitate free access for humanitarian assistance to all areas in the country.
Not limiting his concern to words, the Amir showed his true compassion by announcing Qatar's agreement with the United Nations to fight cholera in Yemen by supporting projects related to combating the causes of the disease and to halt its spread.
His Highness the Amir also raised the exacerbating Syrian crisis at the United Nations General Assembly, urging the international community to find an immediate solution to the strife, which if left unresolved, he warned would lead to the crimes of genocide, mass displacement and wholesale death in prisons, go unnoticed.
Qatar's solidarity with the peoples of Iraq and Libya was also reiterated by the Amir, who hoped stability and prosperity would return to these important countries in the Middle East, which cannot afford more crises.
Underlining the importance of mutual co-existence and global peace, His Highness the Amir reminded the world how much Qatar valued the role of the United Nations in ensuring these precious values. Qatar’s participation in the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly sessions stems out of its firm belief in the right of world countries to live and evolve in a sustainable and prosperous way.
The belief also comes out of Doha’s solid perception that it is a collective, natural and given right for all nations to lead a respectful, peaceful, and harmonious life. This Qatari belief has been expounded for 47 years now at UN venues, beginning with the formation of the Permanent Mission of Qatar in 1971.
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