Speech of Iraq at the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement on the Sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York

Iraq Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Thu, Oct 4, 2018

03.10.2018

In the name of Allah the Merciful

Mr. president...

Your Excellencies ...

Peace, mercy and blessings of God...

After Iraq folded the page of the war against Daash terrorist gangs , Iraq stands today on the verge of a new stage of reconstruction and building its cities, to achieve development in various fields. In this regard, we point to the success of the recent parliamentary elections held in Iraq on 12/5/2018, And the Iraqis' affirmation of concrete practical evidence for adopting a pluralistic democratic approach to their lives, ensuring that all of them achieve progress, progress and social justice.

Today, we are on the verge of forming a new national government for all Iraqi sects aimed at serving the citizens, compensating them for their suffering in the war against terrorism, and restoring Iraq to normalcy. It will be one of its top priorities to rebuild the liberated cities and its infrastructure, to complete the return of displaced persons and refugees to their cities, to provide basic services, to spread a culture of tolerance in society and to lay the foundations for good governance.

As we stand with you today, we can only thank all the brothers and friends who have supported us in our war against terrorist gangs that pose a strategic threat to all the peoples of the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

Today we meet under the banner of a culture of peace. Allow me to say:

Our Movement, the Non-Aligned Movement, remains one of the most important platforms of multilateral diplomacy that has contributed effectively for decades to the promotion of peace and international security. Its historical role has been in supporting liberation movements against imperialist powers, especially in the 1960s, in the economic and social development of these States after their independence and their total emancipation from colonialism.

This clear human heritage of our movement, it's just historical positions and effective coordination among countries invites us today to re-activate its historic role to meet today's challenges and to advance the culture of peace that we aspire to prevail in the world.

The complex challenges facing our world today are the numerous armed conflicts that the international community is barely able to extinguish until another conflict breaks out in another part of our world, and what we are experiencing and see from external interference in the affairs of sovereign and independent States, on the one hand, International terrorism and the suffering of our countries on the other hand, which calls upon us to unify our various efforts and strengthen cooperation at the regional and international levels. We are confident that the activation of the work of multilateral diplomacy and the role of regional organizations must be a priority. In this way, we can strengthen effective cooperation; spread a culture of peace, the principles of freedom, equality and acceptance of the other.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

One of the most important principles of Iraq's long-standing foreign policy is its respect for the sovereignty of states, non-interference in its internal affairs under any pretext, and the peaceful resolution of all disputes in accordance with the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. From the crises in Syria and Yemen which is clear evidence of Iraq's adherence despite all the circumstances, and all the pressures.

These principles are in accordance with the principles of our Movement (the ten principles of the Bandung Declaration), which in turn conform to the Charter of the United Nations and the norms of international law. These principles should serve as the basis for the practical framework for activating the role of the Non-Aligned Movement in spreading the culture of peace, Renounce violence and resolve all disputes by peaceful means in accordance with Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Ladies and Gentlemen..

The issue of the Palestinian people must be the cornerstone of our future work, and as a starting point in our dealings with our regional and international environment. We cannot call for a conflict-free world, while the tragedy of the Palestinian people continues.

Our call for peace means renouncing the use of force in resolving any conflict. The Palestinian issue must be resolved with the cooperation of the international community, the respect of dozens of international resolutions on this matter, the rejection of the policy of imposing a fait accompli, and our movement must have a powerful voice in resolving this issue once and for all in International forums, and multilateral conferences.

We reaffirm the importance of restoring our pivotal role in the international arena, and the need to unify efforts and positions in various issues of interest to our countries on the international scene through coordination at various levels between the delegations of our countries, the unification of our speeches, the superiority of the language of reason, dialogue, We hope that this meeting will be successful, and we will come out with a political declaration that unites our efforts against the obscene ideas that want bad humanity, and to play an active role in spreading the culture of peace and its superiority over the language of violence, hate speech, and to resolve all regional and global conflicts that threaten peace and security for future generations.

In conclusion, I should like to assure you that our delegation will work closely with General Assembly and coordinate with the other delegations of the Movement's member States to formulate a balanced language in all resolutions to be issued by the General Assembly at its current session; Contribute to supporting emerging societies, protect the rights of minorities and focus on plans to achieve the goals of sustainable development 2030. I would also like to welcome the efforts of the rotating presidency of the Movement to unify the views of Member States and to contribute with other regional groups the foundations of international cooperation based on the equal sovereignty of all countries of the world, and the establishment of common ground to ensure international cooperation, and the fight against poverty, injustice and ignorance.

Peace and mercy and blessings of God be upon you.


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