Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa AI-Thani
©UN Photo/Marco Castro

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.

Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani