Libya

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Your Excellency Mr. Dennis Francis, President of the General Assembly, Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset of this statement, I offer my condolences to myself and to the Libyan people, and I extend my sincere condolences and sympathy to the families and relatives of the victims of the floods and torrential rains that swept through the towns and villages of the Green Mountain in eastern Libya, foremost among them the cities of Derna, Al-Bayda, and Susa. I pray to God to return the missing safely and to grant healing to the injured; He is indeed capable of all things.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I address you with this statement from my country, Libya, as we are preoccupied with managing and following up on the painful catastrophe that has befallen my country. I speak to you on behalf of the Libyan people with a heart weighed down by pain and a soul filled with grief, for on the morning of Sunday, September 10th, Libyans and the entire world awoke to a horrific scene and a great catastrophe that struck the peaceful Libyan city of Derna, stunning us beyond the disasters that had befallen the surrounding towns and villages of the Green Mountain in the east of the country. On that day, thousands of the city's and region's residents perished or went missing all at once, after floodwaters swept away more than a quarter of the city.

Despite the efforts being made by the Libyan army, local authorities, and Libyan authorities in general to deal with the disaster—evacuating residents, extracting the stranded, burying the dead, and containing the health situation in the city—the scale of the calamity has exceeded all measures and local capacities. I issued an urgent appeal to brotherly and friendly nations calling for immediate intervention and assistance through specialized technical teams for search and rescue, as well as medical and logistical support. I thank, in this regard, all who answered our call among our brothers and friends, and I also thank all the leaders of nations who expressed their sympathy through inquiries and follow-up. From my position, I call upon the world to bear its responsibilities toward Libya by containing the aftermath of the disaster, foremost among them the necessary health measures to protect the remaining residents of the city and neighboring towns from a health catastrophe that experts have warned against.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Great values are born only from the womb of suffering, and behold, the catastrophe of the City of Jasmine has awakened in the sons of one people the spirit of unity, solidarity, and mutual aid. As soon as the tragedy was revealed, the Libyan people, from the farthest west to the farthest south, shed the accumulated burdens of political division and civil war to reveal their shining essence, rising above the wounds of the past and shaping the features of a future seen through their own eyes and the eyes of coming generations—not through the eyes of politicians and war profiteers. This, without doubt, is the lesson we will teach our children so that the mistakes of this generation are not repeated, and the souls of the children of the radiant city of Derna will be beacons lighting our nation's path toward reunification and state-building.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Our people have demonstrated, through their solidarity and unity, the most eloquent lessons of responsibility, love, and national cohesion, and they deserve to have their voice heard and their opinion respected. The time has come for the celebration of democracy in Libya to begin, driven by the people's determination, the sincerity of the faithful, and the support of nations friendly to the Libyan people, along with regional and international organizations—foremost among them the United Nations, the African Union, and the League of Arab States. All that this requires has become an obligation to fulfill: electoral legislation, a unified authority, electoral freedom, and international logistical and technical support.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The Libyan people no longer need weapons with which to fight one another, and all the pockets of incitement and seeds of tension that negative international interventions have persistently created, and that personal and narrow factional ambitions have sustained, have been swept by the floods of the Green Mountain and Derna into the sea. A time has passed, and another time has come—one in which no voice rises above the voice of the people, no interest surpasses the interest of the nation, and there is no place in authority for the corrupt and the merchants of war.

And to God belongs the matter, before and after.

Peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.