"We are witnessing a campaign of indiscriminate killing in the Middle East"
Speech by Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani, Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq, at the 79th session of the UNGA. teleSUR
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Organizing international relations in a way that enhances peace and stability and advances
00:06human relations away from violence and brutal treatment are being neutralized.
00:15Important principles such as sovereignty, territorial integrity, multilateral cooperation,
00:22the laws of war, humanitarian laws and the international humanitarian law
00:28and the responsibility to protect and the right to self-determination have all been ignored.
00:33The world is being pushed towards full-scale confrontations and conflicts while the UN
00:39Security Council is powerless and without a role. In the absence of this responsibility,
00:47alternative mechanisms may be resorted to and ignoring these institutions threatens
00:54to revert international relations to chaos. At the same time, we must not forget to commend
01:02some of the courageous positions of some of the figures heading these UN institutions,
01:09including the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. António Guterres. However,
01:16we clearly see, despite great efforts, that there is a lack of effective influence.
01:24Putting an end to the violations taking place in Palestine and the region is the
01:30responsibility of everyone, particularly the Security Council, which has failed to achieve
01:36its most important objective, which is maintaining international peace and security.
01:43In occupied Palestine today, we are witnessing people who are being attacked by an occupying
01:50military force, displacing millions without being deterred and killing thousands.
01:56There is public talk of mass starvation to exterminate these people and of the use of
02:03nuclear weapons to eliminate them by senior officials of the occupying entity without
02:10any measures to deter them. The International Committee, nor any of its members, has committed
02:17to the responsibility to protect them as mandated in international law. The Palestinian people have
02:24been denied the right to live in dignity in a state like all other peoples amid a shameful
02:31global paralysis. Rather, criminals are being empowered to persist in, exaggerate, and expand
02:38the conflict and attack others by supporting them and ensuring their repeated impunity.
02:47We have also witnessed more recklessness that has made international law and Security Council
02:53resolutions near ink on paper in a series of aggressions against the countries of the region
03:00and the occupation and annexation of territories and the changing of international borders by force
03:06against the resolutions of the Security Council. These are dangerous precedents that threaten the
03:13entire international system and undermine the foundations of international institutions,
03:18resulting in dire consequences for all of humanity. In furtherance of extremism, the occupation
03:28invokes Security Council Resolution 1701 as a pretext for aggression against Lebanon.
03:35It selectively chooses this resolution and some of its provisions while ignoring the numerous
03:43resolutions and the indisputable principles of international law adopted by the Security Council,
03:50including Resolutions 242, 246, 252, 265, and 297.
04:04We are witnessing a brutal campaign of indiscriminate killing and the use of technology
04:10to carry out bombings remotely without regard for unarmed civilians in a dangerous precedent
04:19that indicates the extent of the involvement of the occupation's government and its indulgence
04:26in committing crimes against humanity. Iraq today, through its government and its people,
04:34and under the directives of the Supreme Religious Authority, stands with Lebanon
04:39and its brotherly people as it faces a new page of brutal aggression that seeks to plunge
04:46the region into conflict, which is something we have already warned against. We will continue
04:52to provide all possible assistance to overcome the effects of these attacks.
04:57Our position is based on a history of cohesion and a well-known Iraqi steadfastness that rejects
05:05aggression and occupation and rejects depriving people's right to their land, heritage, and holy
05:10sites, and that repeatedly condemns any international support or justification for the aggressor's
05:17pretext. We also note the systematic targeting of international agencies and relief organizations
05:26in the occupied territories and the audacity to harm their personnel,
05:32including United Nations agencies and including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
05:39Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, in Gaza, which is supposed to be protected under international law.
05:47I would like to recall that these abuses not only disrupt humanitarian action but also violate
05:55international norms protecting civilians and those providing assistance in conflict zones.
06:04These recent moves by the occupation
06:08seek to threaten the stability of the countries of the region by igniting a large-scale regional war.
06:16Iraq, as a founding member of the United Nations,
06:21hopes that this institution will achieve the objectives for which it was founded
06:27in maintaining peace and security and sparing the world the dangers of wars and tragedies that it
06:32has experienced throughout history, allow us to express our disappointment at the failure
06:40of the Security Council and the international system to fulfill its obligations.
06:45Ladies and gentlemen, we note a significant increase in hate crimes and intolerance
06:53that affect our security and stability. We are in dire need of international cooperation
06:59in order to spread the spirit of tolerance and mutual respect and to combat hate speech,
07:05discrimination, and violence that are steadily increasing around the world.
07:10We believe that one of the main aspects of hate speech is the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia,
07:20which undermines global efforts to achieve peace, security, and coexistence and creates
07:27an atmosphere for attacks targeting our social and moral values, which are part of our human
07:33existence. Therefore, I call on the United Nations to make greater efforts to promote dialogue
07:40and understanding among different cultures and religions, and I stress the need to promote
07:46unity and harmony in the face of increasing polarization while stressing the need for
07:53heads of state and heads of international institutions to stand against religious
07:58intolerance and hatred. Excellencies, as for Iraq, and in contrast to what I have mentioned,
08:08there are good developments as the country where ISIS occupied a third of the territory
08:15and where many observers believed that it was the end of Iraq as we know it.
08:21Today, 10 years later, Iraq is witnessing the implementation of a comprehensive plan
08:26for reconstruction and development and the restoration of life to cities and the rise of
08:32tall buildings and infrastructure and safety and the spread of safety. We still have many
08:38fundamental challenges ahead of us in achieving economic, administrative, and environmental reforms
08:44and diversifying the economy. We have made great strides in achieving security. We have achieved
08:51a victory over terrorism, and soon we will crown this victory over this terrorist organization
08:58with a joint and important declaration with our allies and friends who stood by Iraq and
09:05supported it against a brutal enemy that posed a threat to the entire world. Our efforts are
09:13focused on strengthening the democratic process in Iraq and working to consolidate the social
09:19contract and national cohesion as chosen by our people in their permanent constitution of 2005.
09:28We have organized provincial council elections which had been suspended for 10 years
09:35and after their organization was obstructed in Kirkuk since 2005. Now we are in the process of
09:42organization elections for the parliament of the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Our efforts are
09:48continuing to strengthen the relationship of the federal government with the regional governments
09:54and local governments in the governorates in accordance with what the constitution and the law
10:00have determined and to protect the existence of minorities and sects and to secure their needs.
10:06One of our priorities is to spread justice and preserve diversity, which we consider as one of
10:14our most important assets. Ladies and gentlemen, this government has five priorities. Job creation,
10:22improving services, combating poverty, combating corruption, and implementing economic reforms.
10:30The Iraqi government seeks to rehabilitate the necessary human resources and has taken great
10:37strides towards building state institutions and enforcing the rule of law. It also seeks to
10:42activate the role of the private sector and to address administrative laxity and diversifying
10:48sources of income, reforming the banking and financial sector, and managing the energy transition
10:54and addressing the causes of social, economic, and therefore political unrest. This transformation
11:03is a complicated matter for Iraq due to the economic structural challenge represented by
11:09relying on the public sector to take in the workforce and to use oil revenues to pay the
11:16salaries of millions of employees. This dual challenge facing Iraq is the excessive dependence
11:23on oil revenues and limiting its ability to diversify economically. This has been as a result
11:30of decades of wars and economic blockade and the dictatorial regime's absurd economic policies
11:37and some aspects of miscalculation and mismanagement later on and the wasting in
11:43human and material resources that could have been developed. Governance, anti-corruption,
11:50digital transformation, and e-government are all among our top priorities as they are the most
11:57important strategies to reduce corruption and achieve good governance. But we expect the
12:03international community to support our efforts to recover the looted assets that are Iraq's right
12:11and to end the legal and legislative obstacles placed by some countries in order to provide
12:18a safe haven for corruption-related funds such as banking secrecy and preventing the
12:24disclosure of beneficial owners to help evade accountability. Ladies and gentlemen,
12:33Iraq seeks to achieve security, regional security and stability by finding ways
12:39for constructive partnerships to face common challenges through cooperation between the
12:44participating parties and increasing mutual interdependence in a way that is in the interest
12:50of all. And we plan to launch initiatives that reflect economic integration and regional stability
12:58in the region, particularly the Development Road Project, which aims to transform Iraq into a major
13:08regional hub for trade and transportation and to link the Middle East with Europe through Iraq
13:15using a network of railways, highways, and industrial cities and linking the large port
13:23of Faw in southern Iraq to Europe via the countries in the region. This project represents
13:30the most important steps to enhance regional cooperation and integration and is in line with
13:36Iraq's broader goals of rebuilding the economy and improving services. Ladies and gentlemen,
13:43Iraq faces serious environmental challenges as a result of climate change and desertification,
13:50challenges that cannot be addressed without enhanced international cooperation.
13:55As desertification and the lack of vegetation cover leads to the displacement of millions
14:00in search of stability, thus exacerbating social and political crises, we call for
14:06international solidarity to face environmental challenges and to work to raise awareness of
14:11the importance of the management of sustainable water resources, which is a central issue for Iraq.
14:19This challenge requires a commitment to the principle of shared and just responsibilities
14:26among states as we face existential challenges related to an acute shortage of water resources,
14:33which threatens agriculture and negatively affects the economy and threatens the lives
14:38of millions of Iraqis. Hence, the government attaches top priority to these files and
14:46issues and works in cooperation with neighboring countries to reach sustainable solutions and
14:51policies to deal with these influences. In conclusion, I would like to express
14:58my deep gratitude to the United Nations for the support it has provided to Iraq over the past two
15:04decades. We look forward to a new phase of cooperation with the United Nations in Iraq
15:09that will begin by the end of 2025, and we hope that this will mark the beginning of a new era
15:17full of stability and prosperity for our people and a new page of partnership with the United
15:25Nations. We are working hard to build a better future for our coming generations, and we look
15:33forward to continuing partnership with the international community to achieve this.
15:37The selecting Iraq to share the Group of 77 and China for 2025 is a victory for Iraqi diplomacy,
15:47which seeks to achieve development goals and bridge the technological gap between the countries
15:52of the north and the countries of the south and achieve integration and reform of the
15:57international economic system. While sharing the largest international group of 100 countries,
16:07134 nations, we look forward to working towards a more stable and just world in which all
16:14peoples of the world interact and have development opportunities. In conclusion,
16:19our policy puts Iraq, its people, security, sovereignty, and prosperity first. We proceed
16:27with confidence to erase the traces of the past, including wars, dictatorships, and terrorism,
16:34just as we continue to rebuild Iraq and give it the regional and international
16:41status it well deserves. May the peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.
16:50On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister of
16:54the United Nations General Assembly. We listened to Mohamed Shia al-Sadani,
16:57Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq, during his address to the United Nations General Assembly.
17:02In his remarks, the leader lamented that important principles such as sovereignty,
17:07international humanitarian law, and self-determination have been left aside.
17:11Alternative mechanisms are urgent to put an end to this unfair world order, he said.
17:16The high official also condemned the mass starvation used against the people of Palestine
17:21by the Zionist regime of Israel, which seeks a total extermination of the Palestinian population.
17:27Al-Sadani also reassured Palestine's right to live with equal conditions as the rest of the world
17:33and be recognized as a member state of the United Nations.
17:36He confirmed that Iraq will always support the Palestinian cause.
17:40May this 79th session mark the beginning of a new era to build a better future,
17:46the Prime Minister concluded.
17:47This is all for the moment. Stay tuned with From the South.