By : DATUK SERI ANIFAH AMAN
(DEBATE AT UNGA)
Mr. President, Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen;
AT THE OUTSET, allow me to
congratulate you Mr. President, on your election as the President of the 67th
session of the United Nations General Assembly. I am confident that you will be
able to successfully steer the proceedings of the 67th session in an efficient
and effective manner.
I assure you of Malaysia’s
full cooperation and support throughout your Presidency. I would also like to
take this opportunity to thank the previous President, HE Nassir Abdulaziz
Al-Nasser, for his leadership and guidance throughout the 66th session.
Mr. President,
The release of the
distasteful and insulting film 'Innocence of Muslims' had caused widespread
wave of protests across the Muslim world. The problem is compounded by the
publication of offensive caricatures, which further angered Muslims.
It is hard to understand why
those responsible could resort to such actions knowing that it would offend and
provoke 2 billion Muslims except for blatant malicious intent and purpose. It
is our obligation as peace loving people and responsible governments to prevent
a small minority of bigots to sow the seed of hatred between the Muslim world
and the West.
These people are what we
categorize as ‘extremists’. They insult Islam and advocate religious hatred.
These extremists have shown absolutely no regard on the implications of their
actions.
While we condemn the
irresponsible actions of those who intentionally incite hatred, we are equally
saddened by the violent reactions that ensued. Expressing anger by resorting to
violence, killings and destruction does not offer any solution to the problem
and only results in further divides and possibly more damage and loss of
innocent lives.
We condemn those responsible
for the death of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and his colleagues in
Benghazi. We are equally saddened by the
loss of innocent lives, including women and children during emotionally-charged
demonstrations. A life lost is one too
many.
Those who made the film and
drew the caricatures, as well as those who resorted to killing are equally
guilty of extremism and must be held accountable and brought to justice.
Mr. President,
I believe that it is time to
dwell deeper into the heart of the problem and the real debate - the
relationship between freedom of expression and social responsibilities, duties
and obligations. Such actions cannot be defended under the pretext of human
rights, freedoms and liberties.
A line should be drawn when
the prejudicial effect outweighs everything else. Malaysia has always
maintained that freedom including freedom of expression comes with
responsibility. The drafters of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I am sure, did not have denigration in
mind when they cited the need to promote and protect freedom of expression.
Human rights need to be guaranteed
by taking into account the cultural and historical sensitivities of a society.
Nevertheless, it should also be applied without selectivity or discrimination.
Why is that when we
discriminate against gender, it is called sexism; when African Americans are
criticized and vilified, it is called racism; when the same is done to the
Jews, people call it Anti-Semitism, and laws are legislated to prosecute the
perpetrators. But why is it when Muslims are stigmatized and defamed, it is
defended as ‘freedom of expression’?
Mr. President,
In his statement during the
International Day of Peace, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon rightly said and I
quote “We must not let the voices of extremists dominate the debate and inflame
tensions.
We need voices of moderation
and solidarity” unquote. The Prime Minister of Malaysia two years ago in this
august assembly advocated the Global Movement of Moderates and called for all
peoples of the world to join the chorus of moderates so as to drown the voices
of extremists.
Embracing ‘moderation’ is an
important value that should be ingrained in every society. Moderation comes
with a high degree of tolerance, trust and mutual understanding. It places dialogue as an important tool to resolve
disputes.
With relative political
peace comes economic stability and socio-economic development in the
country. It is therefore important that
we continue to practice moderation as we face the rising tide of extremism.
Moderation is the best response to overcome extremism.
Mr. President,
The first International
Conference of the Global Movement of Moderates held in Kuala Lumpur in January
this year was well attended by over 500 participants from all over the world.
It affirmed the importance in moderation in the context of its application to
global issues and situations, especially to matters that relates to social,
financial, religious and international politics.
Global Movement of Moderates
has gained the recognition and support of the Commonwealth, Non Aligned
Movement and ASEAN. We believe that GMM
provides an effective platform for global response to extremism.
Mr. President,
The theme of this year’s
General Assembly, “Bringing about Adjustment or Settlement of International
Disputes or Situations by Peaceful Means” is timely as it reiterates the core
principles and values of the UN in facing continuing conflicts and situations
around the world.
We continue to have serious
concerns regarding the situation in Syria.
We condemn the violence and senseless killing that have and continue to
take place. As we contemplate the next
step forward, we have to bear in mind that whatever measures we take must be in
the interest of the Syrian people. It is
not about who is wrong or right, it is about putting an end to the bloodshed
and suffering, bringing peaceful and inclusive resolution to the conflict.
The unabated violence and
killings must stop immediately. The parties involved have equal responsibility
of ensuring the end to these appalling atrocities. Military aggression and armed confrontation
will only served to exacerbate the problem and can never be a solution to the
crisis except diminishing any little hope there is for peaceful
settlement.
We earnestly hope that with
the appointment of Lakhdar Brahimi as the new Joint Special Envoy for Syria, a
peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis would be found. Toward this end the support of all parties
including the involvement of the United Nations is crucial.
Mr. President,
The situation in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory remains bleak.
For more than six decades, day after day, month after month, the people
of Palestine continue to see their lands confiscated to make way for illegal
settlements.
They continue to see their
families, including their children, displaced and forced from their homes. Elsewhere we are quick in calling for action
against those that deemed to live under oppression and that are forced to live
without freedom and dignity. But, we are
unashamed in not taking strong and decisive actions in ensuring the long
deprived Palestinians their rights to their homeland and regaining their
dignity within the community of nations.
Surely the international
community especially the more powerful and influential nations could do
more to bring Israel to the negotiating
table for a Two States Solution whereby the state of Israel and the state of Palestine
could exist side by side in peace and security. How can we continue to live in
the face of this glaring injustice without feeling an iota of guilt for not
doing enough to bring to end this long outstanding issue?
Mr. President,
As with others in this hall,
Malaysia welcomes the convening of the inaugural High Level Meeting on the Rule
of Law earlier this week. In that Meeting, we adopted a solemn declaration that
the rule of law shall apply to all States equally.
We rededicated ourselves to
resolve disputes by peaceful means and in conformity with the principles of
justice and international law. We also committed ourselves to uphold the right
to self-determination of peoples, which remain under foreign occupation and to
end impunity for violations of international humanitarian and human rights
law. With this declaration, it is time
for the international community to put pressure on Israel to fulfill its
international obligations.
At the same time, Israel
must stop all illegal settlement activities in the West Bank as well as East
Jerusalem. We are particularly concerned
by the threats to invade or divide the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque, which would be a
breach of Israel’s obligations as an Occupying Power.
It is a holy site for
Muslims and Christians as well. Furthermore,
Israel must lift the illegal blockade over Gaza that has caused too much
hardship for the people. It must also
protect the people under its occupation, fulfill its international obligations
and respect international law.
Most importantly, it ought
to have direct talks with the Palestinian Authority in conditions that clearly
demonstrate its goodwill and sincerity.
A peaceful two-State solution, accompanied by sustainable peace in the
region, should be the ultimate goal for all concerned.
Mr. President,
Recognizing Palestine and
welcoming it into the community of nations has become a contentious issue. Palestine is punished for wanting to become a
rightful member of the United Nations.
The feasibility of a
two-state solution is being questioned.
However, what choice does Palestine have? Furthermore, how would
becoming a member of the UN harm Palestine’s sincere efforts for independence?
The issue of Palestine’s
membership to the UN is tied to another bigger issue that is of particular
concern to Malaysia. Allow me to
elaborate. 132 countries recognise the
State of Palestine. That number reflects
more than two thirds of the membership of the UN.
Yet, the Security Council,
or more accurately, those who are conferred with veto power, are given the
authority to determine the fate of Palestine membership irrespective of the
opinions of the majority.
Mr. President,
This is just one of a host
of reasons on why the United Nations, especially the Security Council, needs to
be reformed. The Security Council will need to be able to cope with the many
challenges that the international community face.
There are so many instances
when it has failed to take action when action is needed the most. It has failed to do this due to the veto power
conferred to the five permanent members.
Thus, time and time again it has become a victim of its own
creation.
The composition of the
Security Council should also reflect current global realities. It should be democratic and accountable in order
for it to be able to fulfil its mandate in maintaining international peace and
security effectively.
It is ironic that the very
institution that was formed in 1945 which seeks to promote and defend democracy
among its Member States is in itself undemocratic.
Virtually every aspect of
reform has been argued in one way or another.
There have been so many proposals on the table. None have made any headway. Therefore, despite the many years the issue
of Security Council reform has been on the UN agenda, we are nowhere closer to
actual reform than when we first started.
We call on all Member States
to be realistic and find workable solutions to reforms. There is a need to
approach reform with renewed political will if we genuinely want to see
progress made to achieve a more efficient and effective UN.
How long can we go on like
this? How long can we avoid the need to
reform the Security Council as well as the United Nations as a whole?
Mr. President,
It would be remiss of me not
to mention on what many consider as the most important meeting to take place this
year, which is the Rio+20 Summit held in Brazil in June. While the Summit is over, much work
remains.
The mandated actions in the
Summit’s outcome document need our close follow up, monitoring and
participation in order to successfully set them in motion. The strengthening of sustainable development
and environmental institutions, as well as, the finance strategy and mechanisms
for facilitating the transfer of technology, are some of the important areas
that we would need to act upon in the year ahead.
Accordingly, we need to
launch a process to decide the sustainable development goals. The goals should be supported by concrete
action plans, with details on the various areas mentioned in order to implement
those plans. On this, Malaysia looks forward
to working constructively and contributing to this process.
Mr. President,
I believe that we share
similar concerns on all the issues I have raised today. Bringing about
adjustment and settlement of disputes and situations is not only a concern of
the parties involved in a dispute or situation, but it is a joint collective
responsibility of the international community.
In line with this year’s
theme, we assure you of our commitment to ensure lasting global peace and
security through peaceful means by embracing the principles of moderation.
I thank you.
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