General Assembly Official Records Tenth Emergency Special Session
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United Nations A/ES-10/PV.11 General Assembly Official Records Tenth Emergency Special Session 11th plenary meeting Monday, 8 February 1999, 3.30 p.m. New York President: Mr. Opertti ...................................... (Uruguay) The meeting was called to order at 3.40 p.m. The international community and we ourselves will greatly miss his intelligence and his tireless efforts as a Tribute to the Memory of His Majesty King Hussein statesman, diplomat, conciliator and mediator, ceaselessly Ibn Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan applying his roles and focusing his abilities to achieve the goal of establishing peace. His legacy and his example The President (interpretation from Spanish): will always be a touchstone for those who are struggling Yesterday the world was shaken by the wrenching news of to realize the ideals and purposes of the United Nations. the death of one of the great public figures of this century, His spiritual presence will certainly remain with us, in His Majesty King Hussein Ibn Talal of Jordan. The particular with those of us who have benefited from his President of the General Assembly shares the grief of his vitality. His memory will also inspire future generations family and his people, whom he served with the lucidity, and, above all, serve as an example to the peoples and far-sightedness, selflessness and distinction of great leaders. Governments of the Middle East so that they will persevere and not turn off of the difficult path leading to The Arab nation and the entire world have lost a the attainment of lasting peace for all. figure of exceptional virtues. His wisdom, courage and generosity of spirit enabled him to make an extraordinary The presidency of the General Assembly expresses contribution to his country and to the cause of peace in the its deepest solidarity to the people and the Government of turbulent region in which it was his lot to be born, to live Jordan in connection with such a grievous loss. and to reign. From the time of his accession to the throne, he dedicated himself with such fervour and devotion to this In accordance with the arrangements that have been cause that he himself came to be viewed as a symbol of the made prior to this session, I will give the floor to the unending search for peace. Chairman of each of the regional groups, to the representative of the host country and to the During his reign of more than 40 years, King Hussein representative of Jordan. However, I must observe that a was an inspiring and guiding spirit for the forces that were number of delegations, because of this special situation, striving for security and stability in his region, as well as in have expressed the wish to speak at this meeting. With the rest of the world. As a direct descendant of the Prophet the presidency's customary respect for every State's right Mohammed, of the forty-second generation, the King was to voice its views, and bearing in mind the special admired as an ardent defender of the faith and for the circumstances underlying their requests for the floor, the important role that he played in the unification and presidency, with the consent and understanding of this consolidation of the modern Jordanian State. body, will also be giving the floor to the following delegations: Israel, Egypt, the Russian Federation and Palestine. 99-85082 (E) This record contains the original text of speeches delivered in English and interpretations of speeches delivered in the other languages. Corrections should be submitted to original speeches only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and be sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned, within one month of the date of the meeting, to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, Room C-178. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum. General Assembly 11th plenary meeting Tenth Emergency Special Session 8 February 1999 Before giving the floor to the various speakers, I invite Finally, may today's communion on the occasion of all representatives to stand and observe a minute of silence his funeral help to advance the Middle East peace in tribute to the memory of His Majesty King Hussein of process. Jordan. The President (interpretation from Spanish): I give The members of the General Assembly observed a the floor to the representative of the Philippines, who will minute of silence. speak on behalf of the Group of Asian States. The President (interpretation from Spanish): I give Mr. Mabilangan (Philippines): Today we mourn the the floor to the representative of Togo, who will speak on loss of a great yet humble man, a man born of royalty behalf of the Group of African States. whose nobility sprang more from his love and respect of his fellow man and his total dedication to the cause of Mr. Kpotsra (Togo) (interpretation from French): peace, a great leader who refused to follow the seeming Although the long illness of King Hussein of Jordan and his dictates of history, and a man who was, first and sudden return to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota had foremost, for his people and for peace. prepared us for the worst, his passing caused shock and consternation throughout the world. On behalf of the Group of Asian States, I should like to convey to the family of King Hussein and to the Indeed, how could it be otherwise in view of the leadership and people of Jordan our deepest sympathies decisive and commendable role he played in the Middle and our profound and immeasurable sense of loss at the East in general and in building the Jordanian nation in death of one of the greatest advocates of peace we have particular, despite the successive upheavals that shook that ever known, His Majesty King Hussein of Jordan. region. We all have lost a great leader and an extraordinary A dedicated architect of peace, King Hussein man. His death has left a deep void in our hearts. As we distinguished himself throughout almost five decades by his mourn his loss, we would like to express our respect and pan-Arabism and his talent for promoting dialogue and admiration for King Hussein, whose political life, which cooperation despite an often less-than-conducive was almost as lengthy as that of our Organization, was environment. In this respect, we will long remember the filled with challenges and dangers that were overcome, important turnaround he effected in his country in 1994 as each and every one of which inspired us all. well as the positive contribution he made recently to the Wye River negotiations. He went past hatred and intolerance. He ignored the threat of death and, most recently, overcame his own History will remember him not only for his courage pain, all for the cause of peace. Even at the most trying and his persistence in the face of difficulties but also times and under the most difficult of circumstances, he because of his extraordinary spirit of tolerance, as gave all of us hope. At critical points in the Middle East symbolized by the image of a monarch kneeling before the peace process, he renewed our own faith in an abiding families of Jewish children who were victims of a 1997 peace. terrorist attack. We found strength and courage in his resolve. His On behalf of the Group of African States, I wish to sacrifices were great, his dedication absolute. He moved express to the Hashemite royal family and to the all of us as no other could; he sacrificed as few others Government and the valiant people of Jordan our deepest would. condolences and our full solidarity with them at this time of intense grief. He was a wise king who truly loved his people and who worked to bring not only peace but also progress to May the work done by King Hussein live on, and may his country. He was king, but he was always one with his the spirit of forgiveness and tolerance that he always people. The people of Jordan are rightly proud of their embodied inspire all those who are active in international king, and we share in their sorrow and loss. relations. We would like to join the rest of the world in wishing all the best to and in expressing our strong 2 General Assembly 11th plenary meeting Tenth Emergency Special Session 8 February 1999 support for King Abdullah as he assumes the mantle of development of his country, which has become one of the leadership of the people of Jordan. We would like also to successful developing countries. offer our full support for King Abdullah as he takes on the challenges of pursuing peace in the Middle East, a task His commitment to humanitarian causes proved his laden with challenges and difficulties. But his father built genuine feeling of responsibility for the universal causes a strong foundation for Jordan's leadership in this process, of all mankind. and we are confident that King Abdullah will build on and even strengthen this foundation. On behalf of the Eastern European Group of States, I wish to pay, at this solemn and sad occasion, tribute to On our own part, finding inspiration in the life and His Majesty King Hussein of Jordan and to express work of King Hussein, we in the Asian Group here in the solidarity with the people of Jordan. At this moment of United Nations pledge to continue to do our utmost to help grief, the people of Jordan are not alone.