Mr. President,
On behalf of the United Arab Emirates, I congratulate France on its presidency of the Security Council and appreciate France’s presiding over this important quarterly debate. The UAE also extends its gratitude to Mr. Miroslav Jenca, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, for his briefing this morning.
Mr. President,
The United Arab Emirates supports regional and international efforts to push the Middle East Peace Process forward that resulted in the adoption of Security Council resolution 2334 (2016), and the signing of the intra-Palestinian agreement last week in Cairo. In this regard, we strongly commend the efforts of the fraternal Arab Republic of Egypt to reunify the Palestinian People and support stability in the region.
Despite serious international efforts to achieve peace in the region, Israel continues to violate international laws and resolutions, and expand its illegal settlement activities, hindering a two-state solution. The illegal Israeli practices against the Palestinian people have resulted in the deterioration of the humanitarian, economic and social conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This situation has been exploited by terrorist groups and their supporters to spread extremism and violence in the Middle East.
The UAE reaffirms the necessity to end the Israeli Occupation, and to grant the Palestinian people their inalienable rights, including their right to establish an independent Palestinian State based on the June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with all relevant international resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative, and the Madrid Principles.
In addition, we stress the importance of providing support to meet the needs of the Palestinian people, as well as empowering them to build their state and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals like all other countries. This year, the UAE provided additional contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to enable the agency to deliver basic services for the Palestinian people, including nutrition, education and health.
Mr. President,
It is important to continue to work to reach a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian Cause. The UAE is also actively working to restore stability to our region, which suffers from multiple dangerous conflicts and crises. The absence of security and stability in the region has caused significant loss of life, displacement of people, and destruction of economic and social infrastructure.
There is no doubt that the continued provocative behavior and regional intervention of rogue states, as well as their support of extremism and terrorism, has led to the destabilization of the region and threatening of international security.
Therefore, these States should respect their obligations in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter, and must stop spreading conflicts and regional and international chaos. The Security Council and the international community should hold countries that support and finance terrorism accountable, and demonstrate zero tolerance for whomever offers assistance or safe-havens to terrorist groups that wreak havoc in the region.
In conclusion, we emphasize that political solutions for the crises in Libya, Syria, and Yemen are the only way to restore stability. In this regard, the UAE reaffirms its support for the United Nations’ peace efforts to encourage parties in these countries to negotiate and reach comprehensive and political solutions.
Thank you, Mr. President.