Lebanon

Your Excellency Ambassador Dennis Francis, President of the General Assembly, Your Excellency Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I address you, Mr. President, with congratulations on your election as President of the seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly, wishing you success in undertaking this task, and expressing to you the support of the Lebanese delegation for the visionary programme of work that you have laid out for the coming year.

Mr. President,

This year marks the eightieth anniversary of Lebanon's independence. For eight decades, Lebanon has persistently sought to earn its place among the nations that cherish peace and prosperity, and has been among the earliest founders of this international organization within whose fold we meet today, leaving notable imprints on the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Yet it has not been an easy journey. Alongside bright chapters in its history characterized by stability, growth, prosperity and peacebuilding, Lebanon has also lived through long and exceedingly difficult periods, during which conflicts recurred on its soil and in its surroundings, and aggressive wars were waged against it, producing prolonged occupation of cherished parts of its territory, two protracted crises of refuge and displacement, culminating in an unprecedented economic, financial and humanitarian crisis.

Today, Lebanon endures in the face of numerous and interlocking crises, amid a weakened international order and a regional climate rife with tensions and challenges, all weighing heavily upon the Lebanese people, who suffer daily from the loss of the basic moral and material means that would enable them to persevere—compounded by the brain drain and emigration of youth, and the dimming flame of hope in the eyes of many Lebanese men and women.

Naturally, the first of these challenges lies in the vacancy of the Presidency of the Republic and the failure to elect a new President for the country, along with the consequent institutional and political instability, the aggravation of the economic and financial crisis, and the faltering launch of reform and economic and financial recovery plans upon which the Lebanese are counting to rescue the country from these difficult conditions. I sincerely look forward to the Lebanese Parliament exercising its sovereign role by electing a President of the Republic in the coming period—a President around whom the Lebanese will unite, and who will consecrate the return of the Republic through the Presidency and the constitutional institutions, and the return of Lebanon to fulfilling its mission and playing its pioneering role, in close cooperation with our Arab brethren and friends in the international community.

In this regard, I cannot but salute the role played by the Quintet Committee, as well as the French initiative aimed at helping to accomplish this constitutional imperative.

Mr. President,

Twelve years have passed since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, and Lebanon still bears the burden of successive waves of displacement, whose economic and social repercussions have extended to all aspects of life within it, and have come to threaten its very existence.

Despite our raising our voice in all international forums, and in this very Assembly, the response of the international community to the results of this humanitarian tragedy, and its repercussions upon us, remains deeply shameful and insufficient to address it in an effective and sustainable manner.

From this rostrum, I once again warn of the negative repercussions of displacement that deepen Lebanon's crises, and Lebanon will not remain alone in the eye of the storm. I also reiterate the call to draw up a roadmap in cooperation with all concerned parties in the international community, to find sustainable solutions to the crisis of Syrian displacement, before its repercussions worsen to a point beyond control.

In this connection, I would like to note a positive development represented by the agreement reached between Lebanon and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the exchange of information regarding the Syrian presence in Lebanon, thereby affirming Lebanon's keenness to deepen cooperation with international and United Nations organizations, considering this an essential pillar of the sought-after sustainable solution.

The third challenge, Mr. President, lies in Israel's continued occupation of parts of our territory in the south, its continued daily attacks and violations of Lebanese sovereignty, and its breach of the obligations of Security Council resolution 1701, while Lebanon affirms its commitment to all its provisions and its respect for all relevant Security Council resolutions.

I take this opportunity to thank all the countries participating in the UNIFIL forces, whose mandate the Security Council renewed at the end of this past August. The mission entrusted to these United Nations forces cannot be complete without close cooperation and permanent coordination with the Army, which would contribute to consolidating peace, security and stability in the region, and to extending the authority of the Lebanese State over all its territory, up to its internationally recognized borders.

Allow me to note Lebanon's satisfaction at the commencement of oil and gas exploration in its territorial waters, and its desire to play a constructive role in the future in areas such as energy and trade in the Mediterranean basin.

Mr. President,

Cherished parts of the Middle East region are witnessing troubling situations of political and security instability, casting their shadow over the countries and peoples of the region, while we are keen to note notable exceptions of stability, development, growth and future-building in the dear Arab Gulf states—these fraternal states and peoples to whom we, and our hearts, and Lebanon and its people, owe much gratitude and appreciation. Among these exceptions is the return of the Syrian Arab Republic to exercising its membership duties in the League of Arab States, and the Saudi-Iranian agreement.

In contrast, our brethren the Palestinian people continue to languish under occupation, struggling to attain their inalienable human rights. As the need to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people grows, we reaffirm anew our commitment to a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution and international references, foremost among them Security Council resolutions 242 and 338. I reiterate today the reminder of the Arab Peace Initiative issued by the Beirut Summit in 2002, which laid out the foundations of the desired peace.

In this context, as a country hosting hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees since 1948, Lebanon reiterates its reminder to the international community of its humanitarian and moral responsibility toward Palestine refugees, and demands the provision of full support to UNRWA to enable it to continue and carry on its tasks, pending a final solution.

Mr. President,

We have long said that the world is witnessing cross-border challenges that require greater coordination and cooperation among states. From climate change to viral pandemics, through matters of security, food security, cybersecurity, illegal migration, extremism and terrorism, and others—the challenges of a global nature multiply, and cannot be confronted except through concerted efforts among governments, international organizations, and civil society organizations. Here, we must express our solidarity with the Libyan and Moroccan peoples in facing the natural disasters that have struck these two brotherly countries.

International cooperation based on the principle of partnership and inclusiveness has become a vital necessity for the security, safety and well-being of peoples. The United Nations and its specialized agencies stand at the heart of this international effort, contributing to guiding and supporting it with standards and tools.

In light of the challenges Lebanon is experiencing at the national level, and despite the regional tensions that negatively reflect upon it at various levels, it remains keen to continue playing the role expected of it at the regional and international levels. Lebanon has sought, despite the situation it is going through, to continue implementing the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the Paris Climate Agreement, and participated actively in the COP27 climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, in the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt, and looks forward to the same degree of active participation in the COP28 climate conference to be held in the city of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, wishing the hosting sisterly country and the conference success and fulfillment.

Mr. President,

I would like to take this opportunity to stress before you the importance of the existence of a sovereign and independent Lebanese state—strong, capable and embracing, cooperating with the international community and friendly and fraternal states—a Lebanese state that protects the parliamentary democratic system and public and private freedoms, and engages in the process of structural reform and the strengthening of the frameworks of the rule of law, citizenship, accountability and justice; a Lebanese state that believes in tolerance, fraternity and convergence, and adopts a policy of "dissociation" and steers away from "the politics of axes"; a Lebanese state that is a pressing necessity for security, peace, stability and prosperity in the region, and the best way for all of us to keep pace with changes and mitigate repercussions and consequences, to build the future, and to confront the challenges represented by poverty, unemployment, brain drain, extremism and terrorism—thereby avoiding falling into the unknown.

Finally, allow me, Mr. President, to conclude my address by recalling the pillars that Your Excellency has laid down as the foundations of your vision for leading the General Assembly in its current session. "Peace," "prosperity," "progress," and "sustainability" are indeed broad, unifying titles for the aspirations of all our states and peoples. For there can be no safe and prosperous future for all of us without achieving these foundations and pillars, and they cannot be achieved except through solidarity, mutual support and joint action, in order to avert further wars, conflicts, challenges, human tragedies, and material and environmental losses.

Thank you, Mr. President.