Ahmed Attaf, Algeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, addresses the endless conflicts between North and South, as well as the magnitude of the trivialities between bullying powers and progressive nations advocating democracy. He calls on the UN to promote multilateral solutions to international conflicts, emphasizing Israel's escalation of tensions against Lebanon and the territory of Palestine. teleSUR
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00:00We go live to the UN Headquarters now in New York as the General Assembly continues.
00:04Let's listen to the statements of the Foreign Minister of Algeria.
00:07We are once again meeting at the United Nations and our world is at a critical, sensitive
00:16and dangerous juncture.
00:19A juncture characterized by the accumulation of conflicts, crises, wars and a widening
00:29gap of development disparities between the North and the South, as well as worsening
00:36climate change and environmental risks of all kinds.
00:45A juncture that reveals the magnitude of the shortcomings that have afflicted the collective
00:52security system in light of the tendency to resolve differences by force and the excessive
00:59and selective use of unilateral punitive measures.
01:07The failure to fulfill the commitments undertaken and the disregard for international legitimacy,
01:15as well as the increasing polarization and accompanying absence of the role of the Security
01:22Council and the erosion of multilateral international action as a whole.
01:32Last but not least, it is a juncture that puts at stake the entire system of international
01:40relations with the rules, principles and controls that has been codified in the Charter
01:52of the United Nations and the mechanisms, structures and institutions that it is based
02:00on that have been put in place to serve the aspirations and purposes and ambitions that
02:08bind our countries.
02:11From this perspective, looking ahead to the eighth decade of the United Nations Organization
02:19must be an opportunity to renew our commitment to the system that brings us together, that
02:31is based on the rule of law, not the rule of force, that is based on the power of the
02:38law, not the law of power, that is based on the power of reason, not the logic of power.
02:46We are in a dire need today to restore our commitment to and respect for the United Nations
02:55Charter and the rules of international law, before which we are all equal.
03:06We all have a duty to respect and abide by those rules.
03:10The ongoing genocide in Gaza that has continued for almost one year, and the recent spillover
03:21of this war into the West Bank and Lebanon, and the sharp, multifaceted, multi-front Israeli
03:36escalation in the entire region, all of which could not have happened if the international
03:44community at the time had taken a firm stand that forces the Israeli settlement occupation,
03:54what has been imposed on others, namely punitive and deterrent measures, as set forth in the
04:03Charter of the United Nations under Chapter 7.
04:11The international community today should hasten to put an end to the inferno against the Palestinian
04:19and Lebanese peoples, and to rein in the Israeli occupier and its desire to engulf the Middle
04:34East region into a state of crisis, conflict, and endless war.
04:41The international community should also realize that it is facing a decisive phase in the
04:50history of the Palestinian question, a phase that does not accept a return to the status
04:58quo ante, a phase that does not accept hesitation or inaction in supporting the national Palestinian
05:08project, a phase that does not allow for procrastination in supporting the move towards the establishment
05:18of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state as a just, lasting, and final solution
05:24to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
05:34From this podium at its previous session, the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdul-Majid
05:41Tabun, appealed to our United Nations organization to expedite the admission of the full membership
05:49of the State of Palestine.
05:53This has been done in a less volatile, tense, and tragic circumstance in the occupied Palestinian
06:01territory and throughout the neighboring region of Palestine.
06:08Today, the question of Palestine is at its darkest historical chapter ever.
06:17This approach is inevitable and urgent and self-evident.
06:27The full membership of the State of Palestine in this organization remains a crucial step
06:36towards the preservation of the two-state solution, towards addressing what the Israeli
06:48occupation is gearing up to thwart, a step towards safeguarding the tenets of resolving
06:56the Arab-Israeli conflict and the pillars of security and stability in the region.
07:05With regard to developments in our regional neighborhood, Algeria's conviction remains
07:15firm that in order to address the diverse challenges facing the states and peoples of
07:26the region require an international support and global commitment to address the different
07:34challenges that weigh heavily on our Pan-African space.
07:45This is fully the case for the Sahel region.
07:51Apologies, the interpreter notes, in this same vein, we look forward to ending colonization
08:00by turning the last page of colonization, which we see on the territory of the Western Sahara.
08:10We provide all support for the Secretary General and his personal envoy in their efforts to
08:19enable the two parties, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front, to resume the path
08:27of direct negotiation to reach a political solution that will guarantee for the Sahrawi
08:36people the exercise of its inalienable right of self-determination that is not subject
08:43to the statute of limitation.
08:46And as for those that seek to entrench the status quo of colonization by falsifying the
08:56clear facts and through desperate maneuvers to distract attention from what is clear,
09:03we would like to reaffirm that colonization must end no matter how long the time passes
09:15and that legitimate rights of the Sahrawi people will be implemented sooner or later.
09:25Apologies for Libya, Algeria calls for the expeditious addressing of the scourge of
09:42foreign interference, which is sowing discord in that brotherly country and fueling clashes
09:48and conflicts among its people.
09:52Only then can our Libyan brothers come together on a consensus that begins to achieve the
10:05goals of national reconciliation and fosters a trend towards the organization of fair and
10:11free and transparent elections.
10:14All of this in the service of the high purpose that we desire from the bottom of our hearts,
10:25which is the unification of Libya, its people, its territory, its government, and its institutions.
10:36At the continental level, Algeria is continuing its efforts and endeavors to make a qualitative
10:45contribution to the African overarching action in light of the priorities firmly set by the
10:53continental agenda.
11:02Africa, first and foremost, looks forward to the activation of African-led solutions
11:12as well as development and implementation to put an end to conflicts and to address
11:18the different crises and conflicts afflicted that the different peoples and countries of
11:25the continent are afflicted by.
11:29Further, Africa looks forward to addressing economic development and join the revolutions
11:38in artificial intelligence, digitization, and renewable energy.
11:43Third, Africa is looking forward to advancing its strategic priorities, which are at the
11:50heart of the reform of international financial, monetary, and banking institutions to improve
11:56African representation at these institutions, as well as the structural reform of global
12:03indebtedness, as well as international financing that is appropriate to the requirements of
12:10development at the continental level.
12:17Four, and finally, Africa looks forward to correcting the historic injustice imposed
12:27on it at the Security Council and enabling it to occupy its rightful place at this central
12:34body of the United Nations as it has recently joined the G20 as a permanent member.
12:50With the same commitment at the continental level, Algeria continues its endeavors to
12:58establish a balanced, beneficial, and meaningful partnership in the Sahel region, which is
13:09currently undergoing a fragile situation as countries in that region are suffering from
13:19an escalation of political unrest and an increase in the threat of terrorism and the
13:30absence of sustainable development, as well as the spread of the phenomenon of climate
13:37change.
13:38Algeria, in the face of all this, reiterates its solidarity with the peoples and countries
13:45of the Sahel region.
13:50We stress our firm belief that our security and stability and prosperity is part of that
13:59of the security, prosperity, and stability of its neighboring African region.
14:06A representative of a country from this region and from this space have, in brazen language,
14:23attacked my country with base language that should not be dignified with a reply.
14:30A reply of this level should not be becoming of this noble podium.
14:42This base language, impolite language, will not be met by my country except by a polite
14:53one that truly reflects our loyalty and sincerity to the deep-rooted, unwavering bonds and deep-seated
15:10desires and links in the region, which cannot be shaken by transit circumstances and the
15:18triviality of those who are behind it.
15:25My country has a firm and longstanding will, and our hands are extended to our brothers
15:33as we seek to build with our brothers a Sahel edifice that enjoys security and prosperity.
15:48Algeria today is taking firm steps on the clear path set forth by our President Abdel
16:02Majid Taboun to enhance political stability and institutions and to build a strong and
16:10diverse economy that would end our dependence on the oil sector and to promote the social
16:19character of our state and as a solid legacy of our noble revolution of liberation.
16:34This approach has yielded its first results in the consolidation of the country's security
16:39and stability and consolidation of its democratic course, particularly during the recent presidential
16:45elections, as well as by laying the foundations for a comprehensive economic renaissance,
16:54which has restored our national economy's position at the African level among the powerful economies on the continent
17:10and has opened up opportunities for profitable cooperation and partnership for all parties.
17:16In light of these achievements, Algeria is endeavoring to strengthen its relations with
17:22all brotherly, friendly, and partner states in and outside these areas of affiliation.
17:37My country also seeks to continue to work closely with all member states of our United
17:45Nations, which share our same commitment and concern to uphold the principles and values
17:55enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
18:00Although the current situation in our world is difficult and dangerous, which breaks the
18:10strongest of wills and erodes the most solid of determination, we are very confident that
18:19hope will survive and that ambition will remain available.
18:25From the womb of crises, opportunities are born.
18:31And from the depths of suffering, wills are sharpened.
18:37And from the heart of hardship, hope is born.
18:43We hope from the bottom of our hearts that we will have a better world for present and future generations.
18:52I thank you, Mr. President.