General Assembly Session 50 meeting 114

Mr. Poernomo (Indonesia)

For nearly two weeks the international community has witnessed the combined land, sea and air attacks by the armed forces of Israel against Lebanon, a founding Member of the United Nations. We have seen loss of life and serious injuries sustained by innocent men, women and children. Fijian officers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have suffered serious injuries as a result of Israeli shelling. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced. Lebanon's infrastructure has been destroyed.

For nearly two weeks we have also witnessed Lebanon's independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty violated and Security Council resolutions flouted with impunity by Israel. With these latest military actions, the hopes engendered by the recent progress of the Madrid peace process risk being extinguished.

This situation must not be allowed to continue.

The Security Council has taken an important step in the right direction. As a member of the Council, Indonesia has been consistent in calling for a halt to hostilities in Lebanon and for full respect for the Council's resolution 425 (1978). Indonesia thus joined the consensus within the Council in adopting resolution 1052 (1996) on 18 April 1996. We should like to take this occasion to reaffirm our full support for the provisions contained therein, including the call for an immediate cessation of hostilities by all parties and the unequivocal reaffirmation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon within its internationally recognized boundaries.

At the same time, we are all reminded of Israel's wilful failure to comply with the resolutions of the Security Council. Resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978) remain unimplemented, despite repeated appeals by the international community. In Lebanon today we are again witnessing Israel's defiance of Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1052 (1996).

It is against such a backdrop that the Indonesian delegation fully supports convening this resumed fiftieth session of the General Assembly to consider the grave situation in Lebanon.

We listened attentively to the address by His Excellency Mr. Elias Hraoui, President of the Lebanese Republic, who gave a poignant account of the terrible suffering of his people. In this context, the Assembly's consideration of the situation in Lebanon is indeed fully consistent with its broader responsibilities under the Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security. It is also reflective of the recognition of the need for enhanced cooperation and interaction between the Assembly and the Security Council, as the two preeminent political organs of the United Nations in dealing with issues that impinge upon the interests of all Member States.

Through its current operation Israel has demonstrated once again its utter contempt for Security Council resolution 425 (1978), as well the Charter provisions and principles of international law governing relations between States.

My delegation regards this military action, which has brought about scores of casualties among the civilian population, particularly among women and children, as unconscionable. Moreover, the massive exodus of people which has taken place threatens not only the stability of Lebanon, but also peace and security in the region.

It is quite clear to my delegation where the responsibility rests for an immediate end to the hostilities. We therefore call upon Israel to cease forthwith its military action against Lebanon and to withdraw its forces. It is my delegation's hope that our deliberations today, as well as the current intensive rounds of diplomatic efforts, will help bring about such an outcome, for the vicious cycle of violence and bloodshed which has bedeviled the Middle East must be broken and a comprehensive and just peace based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978) must be realized.

Mr. Abdellah (Tunisia)

The convening of this emergency session of the General Assembly to consider the grave developments in Lebanon is in itself an expression of the grave concern of the whole world over the war which has been raging for almost two weeks.

The Lebanese people, represented by His Excellency Mr. Elias Hraoui, President of Lebanon, have come to us, beseeching the world's conscience for redress and for a cessation of the aggression that has been inflicted upon them.

The Israeli military operations -- by land, sea and air -- have continued unabated against most of Lebanon's territory, leaving behind hundreds of dead and wounded, mostly unarmed, innocent civilians, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of those who have been displaced from their villages and towns.

The whole world has witnessed this horror being inflicted upon the women, children and elderly in their shelters. We have witnessed death chasing them even in the safe haven of the United Nations.

The tragedy at the village of Qana last Thursday stands out: the blood of the Lebanese people and of the international peacekeepers has been mixed. This tragedy is evidence of the savagery of these attacks, which have aroused deep indignation in world opinion.

Among the objectives of these operations was the destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure, the foundation of its economic life, and the basis of the strenuous reconstruction efforts made by Lebanon after years of a destructive civil war. In this task, Lebanon counted on the sweat and sacrifices of its children in order to regain its previous prosperity, a prosperity achieved through the spirit of initiative inherent in the Lebanese people. Lebanon also embarked on this reconstruction in order to regain its position as a centre of banking and economic activity, as an arena for exchanges between the States of the region and as a beacon of science and knowledge.

The Security Council adopted resolution 1052 (1996) calling for a cessation of hostility. Yet every day continues to bring painful humanitarian tragedies to the Lebanese people without Israel responding to the call for a cease-fire and agreement on the implementation of resolution 425 (1978), which would ensure its withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

We denounce the Israeli aggression against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon. We denounce the collective punishment represented by the comprehensive blockade of the greater part of Lebanon, as is the case with the occupied Palestinian territories. This collective punishment also takes the form of the demolition of houses, public facilities, ports and power stations. We had thought that all these practices had ended now that the region has entered a new era following the Madrid conference, an era which was supposed to represent the dividing line between the logic of war and that of peace.

Experience has shown the inability of force to impose solutions. It has shown the danger of collective punishments, which feed the spiral of violence and terrorism in all its manifestations. A return to these erroneous policies, whatever its justification, would take us back to that vicious cycle that results only in sowing the seeds of hatred, bitterness and the desire for vengeance.

Tunisia and its President have repeatedly reaffirmed the urgent need for the peace process to succeed, as the only way to stop the bloodshed and the cycle of violence. This success would ensure the safety and security of each and every State within its borders. It would enable all the States of the region to concentrate on the development and construction struggle.

With these goals in mind, and being attached to the principles of peace, justice and international law, Tunisia has supported the peace process since its beginning at Madrid, on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 425 (1978) and the principle of land for peace.

From the same perspective, Tunisia has continued to draw attention to the need to protect the peace process and to safeguard it against any setbacks. Tunisia has also pointed out the need for cooperation between all those of goodwill within and outside the region in order to advance the peace process to its desired objectives on all its different tracks: the Palestinian, the Syrian and the Lebanese alike. This would ensure Israel's withdrawal from the Palestinian territories, including Al-Quds, southern Lebanon and the Syrian Golan, thus achieving just and comprehensive peace.

In the tragic circumstances in which sisterly Lebanon lives, we express our full solidarity to its President, its Government and its people. We call upon all those involved in international affairs to use their influence to put an end to the Israeli military actions forthwith and to pursue the implementation of Security Council resolution 425 (1978), thus putting an end to the occupation of southern Lebanon and ending all the causes of the violence.

The General Assembly has followed the question of the Middle East in all its aspects since the beginning of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It has contributed effectively to the expression of the legal and political basis of the peace process in the Middle East. Today it is called upon to support Lebanon and its people; to stand by its side in order to end the injustice inflicted upon it; to put an end to its tragedy; to stop the aggression against it; and to compensate it for its massive losses.

The international community must reaffirm strongly the need for respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Lebanon. It is called upon to provide economic, financial and humanitarian assistance in order to enable Lebanon to reconstruct what was destroyed by the war and to face the tragic situation in which its people currently live.

Lebanon gave humanity the alphabet; it has contributed to the development of human civilization throughout all the stages of its history. Until the recent past it was an oasis of peace, coexistence and creative thought. We are all indebted to Lebanon; we must repay our debt, recognizing its great contributions.

Tunisia, which has brotherly ties to Lebanon dating from the dawn of history, ties which strengthen daily, hopes that the appeal of Tyre and the surrounding areas, which contributed to the establishment of Carthage and the propagation of the principle of freedom and honest, peaceful competition in the Mediterranean, will reverberate in the Assembly; we hope that the Assembly will support Tyre and end the aggression against it, enabling it once again to assume its historical role.

In this regard, we renounce the indiscriminate bombardment of the historical monuments in Tyre, which are considered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to be part of the heritage of mankind. This aggression is a breech of international law and of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

The salvation of the Middle East and the end of its tragedies depend upon the renunciation of the logic of war and on the continuation of the peace process, on the basis of mutual trust, goodwill and compliance with commitments. This would achieve a just, lasting and durable peace ensuring security and stability for all.

Mr. Abulhasan (Kuwait)

We are here in this resumed fiftieth session of the General Assembly in order to combat the Israeli aggression against Lebanon. This is appropriate, given the grave threat this presents to the peace and security of the Middle East.

An address was given to the General Assembly yesterday afternoon by the President of Lebanon, who gave an exhaustive, objective statement on the consequences to Lebanon's people, its economy, its security and its stability. This is evidence of the seriousness of this aggression and of the scope of its consequences. It is therefore crucially important that the aggression be ended immediately and that the necessary legal and political arrangements be adopted in order to eliminate its causes and, primarily, end Israel's persistent occupation of southern Lebanon and its interference in its internal affairs.

This aggression, which has been going of for two weeks, has caused hundreds of deaths and injured and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. The Lebanese people emerged from a deadly civil war with the wisdom of its strength and its youth to use its energy for the development and reconstruction of the nation. It is our hope that prosperity will come to Lebanon.

The Government of Lebanon has joined in this effort, convinced of the value of the peace process, in order to bring about stability and security in its bloodied homeland. However, Israel has continued its methods, which have shown themselves to be a failure and to have disastrous consequences. These methods know only the logic of brute force, repression and massive reprisals as a means of imposing security in part of its land, while ignoring the rights and security of others in their own territory.

For almost 14 days Israel has continued to bombard civilian installations in Lebanon, causing the death of more than 200 people and the displacement of over 300,000 others. The Israeli army has been brutally bombarding Lebanese installations and has trampled upon all the rules and principles of the international community. International practice demands that it spare civilian installations from deadly attacks.

Israel has launched attacks from the air, land and sea against Lebanon. The brutality of these bombardments reached their height when Israel imposed a sea blockade against Lebanon. The Israeli navy is bombarding coastal villages in Lebanon, causing the complete destruction of civilian installations and, in particular, of historic sites on the southern Lebanese coast. Furthermore, the Israeli navy has been attacking ships bringing foodstuffs, commodities and other basic needs for the people of southern Lebanon and has cut off and isolated the coastal road between the south and the rest of the country.

We must now ask the following questions. What is the relationship between Israeli security and Lebanese power plants, which were destroyed by the Israeli army during its military operations? What is the value in terms of security of having the Israeli army demolish the homes of civilians in the south? What is the value in terms of security of Israel's attacking archaeological and historical sites on the Lebanese coast? The answer to all these questions confirms that Israel hates that people and wants to take vengeance for what the country has done during a limited period in its history. It also confirms that Israel defies the decisions and resolutions of the Security Council and of international public opinion.

Kuwait feels that the massacre at the United Nations forces' base on Thursday, 18 April, which caused the death of more than a hundred Lebanese citizens, including children, old people and women who had taken refuge in a building bombarded by Israel, testifies to the fact that Israel does not respect the simplest rules of morality, which others recognize, regarding the protection of unarmed, innocent civilians.

Last week, during the Security Council meeting held to consider the Israeli aggression against Lebanon, my delegation clearly condemned that aggression. The Council of Ministers of Kuwait has expressly condemned it and expressed its support for the people and Government of Lebanon. My delegation would like to reaffirm that these Israeli military operations, carried out against civilian targets in Lebanon, are contrary to all humanitarian principles and values, and are a flagrant violation of the rules of international law, the principles of the Charter, and the armistice agreement concluded between Israel and Lebanon in 1949. Kuwait asks Israel to apply the relevant resolutions of the Security Council -- in particular, resolution 425 (1978), which calls upon Israel to immediately cease all military operations against Lebanese territory and to withdraw all its military forces from the occupied territories in Lebanon. It also demands that the international community continue to put pressure on Israel to prompt it to respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Lebanon.

Alas, the clear condemnation by the international community of Israel's military operations against Lebanon, condemnation expressed in the Security Council on behalf of various regional groups, has had no effect on Israeli behaviour. The same is true of Security Council resolution 1052 (1996), adopted unanimously by the Council last week, which calls for the cessation of military operations, given the loss of human lives and property. The international community has witnessed a series of aggressive acts against Lebanese sovereignty, in spite of the adoption of that resolution and in spite of the repeated appeals by the international community that military operations cease as quickly as possible. All the victims, all the deaths, all the displaced among the Lebanese people, over and above the destruction of the country's infrastructure, result from a kind of State terrorism, the most serious form of terrorism.

Indeed, my delegation feels that there are several forms of terrorism; the recent Israeli aggression against Lebanon is a form of terrorism suffered by small, peaceful States. Kuwait vigorously condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It condemns and rejects Israeli practices and the unreasonable reaction of the Israelis, which included the excessive use of military force. Such practices strengthen feelings of hatred and vengeance among many people in the region.

Kuwait therefore feels that peace cannot be achieved in Lebanon and the region unless Israel takes the following measures.

First, Israel should immediately cease its military operations against Lebanon and should commit itself not to carry out any further aggression against Lebanese territory.

Secondly, Israel should immediately and unconditionally withdraw from Lebanese territory, in accordance with Security Council resolution 425 (1978).

Thirdly, Israel should support and pursue the peace process in the Middle East in order to reach a global, just and lasting peace in all areas, and in particular in Syria and in Lebanon. It should implement the relevant international resolutions adopted at the Madrid peace conference and totally withdraw from all occupied Arab territories, including the Arab Syrian Golan, and should respect the principle of land for peace. Kuwait feels that no lasting peace can be achieved without agreement on the Syrian and Lebanese problems.

Fourthly, Israel must commit itself to compensating Lebanon for the material and human losses Lebanon has suffered as a result of the aggression. This should be done within the framework of international arrangements to be adopted in this respect.

Kuwait, which remembers the courageous and honourable positions and attitudes adopted by Lebanon during our ordeal when Iraq occupied Kuwait, reaffirms that it stands alongside Lebanon during its ordeal. Kuwait is proud of the resistance of the Lebanese people and their sacrifices to defend their sovereignty and independence.

His Highness the Emir of Kuwait, because of Kuwait's faith in the Lebanese people and its sympathy with the suffering of the Lebanese people, has given instructions for the sending of emergency humanitarian assistance to Lebanon to enable the Lebanese to overcome the consequences of the Israeli aggression against their territory. An air bridge has been established to deliver this assistance, which includes foodstuffs as well as a medical team and fully equipped ambulances. We appeal to the international community to participate immediately in saving the Lebanese people in their time of hardship so that they can overcome the consequences and devote their efforts to developing their homeland in security and stability.

In conclusion, I would like to recall that we are meeting today within the framework of the fiftieth session of the General Assembly during which the members of the United Nations have celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of an Organization set up to preserve peace and stability for all the peoples of the world. Alas, in meeting today to consider the question of a people's sovereignty and security, we are dealing with security that has been violated and a people that have been deprived of their dreams for the future.

Mr. Lamamra (Algeria)

The President of the Lebanese Republic came here to present from this rostrum the message of his people to the international community. He did so by highlighting all of the acts of Israeli aggression against the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon, as well as the human losses and material destruction which this two-week-long aggression has caused.

Algeria deeply sympathizes with the Lebanese people and its leaders during this terrible trial. The date 22 April, which the Lebanese Government designated an official day of mourning, was one of intense feeling for the Algerian people, who observed it with reverence for the memory of the victims and with other forms of fraternal solidarity.

In its intervention in the Security Council on 15 April, the Algerian delegation deplored the fact that since the adoption of Security Council resolution 425 (1978), which remains unimplemented, an unfortunate phenomenon has arisen -- that of becoming inured to recurrent outbreaks of violence and the accompanying upheavals for the civilian population, before warning:

"recent events in Lebanon are of such magnitude and scope that a reaction by the international community is urgently needed to avoid a double catastrophe -- humanitarian and political." (S/PV.3653, p. 22)

Such a response, unfortunately, did not come from the Security Council, and a catastrophe occurred when several dozen civilians, who had sought refuge under the United Nations flag, were massacred. This unspeakable act, which stunned the world's conscience, had the disturbing characteristics of a reckless gamble, a headlong rush, and appeals for restraint and appeals to reason can have no effect on those concerned.

Furthermore, even after the Security Council, after laborious negotiations, had called for an immediate end to hostilities, the bombardments continued, and even intensified, adding to the human cost of raids which only undermine the prospects for a just and lasting peace in the region.

Leaving international problems unresolved for too long produces effects which add to the inherent seriousness of the problems and set back the prospects of peace. In this case, we see a full return to the illegal occupation by Israel of Lebanese territory from which the Council, in its resolution 425 (1978), had called upon it to withdraw unconditionally. This continued occupation creates instability and prevents Lebanon from extending its sovereign authority to all the country's territory. Therefore, it is high time for the solution contained in Security Council resolution 425 (1978) be implemented, binding everyone to make sincere efforts to promote undiminished regional security based on legality.

The United Nations Charter is a code of conduct which all Member States of the Organization are committed to respect. The cardinal principles of refraining from the threat or use of force and the pacific settlement of international disputes are binding on all, everywhere and under all circumstances. Mishandling situations in such a way as to imperil the institutions of the system of collective security could lead to a dangerous drift. Against this background, the Israeli aggression against Lebanon calls for vigorous condemnation by our Assembly, as well as for the adoption of the measures indicated by the President of the Lebanese Republic to eliminate the consequences of the outbreak of violence for which Israel is responsible.

By demanding renewed respect for the United Nations Charter and for international law, the General Assembly will increase the credibility of our Organization and promote the peace process in the Middle East by protecting it from the use of force and faits accomplis.

The President

I should like to propose that the list of speakers in the debate on this item be closed at 1 p.m. today.

The President

I therefore request those representatives wishing to participate in the debate that have not yet inscribed their names on the list to do so as soon as possible.