Unofficial transcript October 8, 2012 SAUDI ARABIA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all, I'd like to convey to you and your friendly country that we would like to congratulate you upon your election to chair the Sixth Committee, and to you all of our appreciation and our confidence in your abilities for the successful work of the Committee. Mr. Chairman, one of the most significant challenges that the international community has before it right now is represented by the phenomenon of terrorism. It's no longer a local struggle and it's not confined to one specific state. We're talking now about an objective of the international community to combat it. My delegation supports what has been said by the OIC and the NAM in their statements that we heard today before the Committee. Saudi Arabia has reaffirmed and, based on its heritage in all international fora, we've affirmed our condemnation and our repudiation of terrorism whatever its source or objectives might be. We have said that we're ready to participate in all international efforts against terrorism and to participate effectively in international efforts collectively under UN auspices in order to achieve a definition of terrorism that has no double standards. We have to work on the underlying causes of it with determination. This is a position that reflects our ongoing policy of counterterrorism and against its perpetrators. Mr. Chairman, terrorism knows no religion, it's not related to one society or one ethnic group. Many terrorists belong to groups and ethnic groups and different religions. If some tries to make this kind of claim, this in no way represents the values of their religion or of their society. Saudi Arabia supports counterterrorism but we will not be able to accept the fact that it would be a fight against innocent Muslim or Islam which has nothing to do with terrorism. Islam is innocent of these criminal acts, which are considered as a violation -- blatant violation of religious values and of Muslim values. We are concerned with the attempts to establish a link between Islam and the negative aspects of extremism, intolerance, religious intolerance, denominational intolerance and terrorism and to forget that Islam is very cooperative and tolerant. We should not have a war among civilizations or religions. Our country has condemned terrorism and has reaffirmed the importance in distinguishing terrorism and the killing of innocent people and aggression against their property, on the one hand, and the right of peoples to self-determination and to fight for their sovereignty and to fight against foreign occupation, on the other hand. Terrorism in all its aspects -- we condemn it in all its aspects and this condemnation must bear in mind official state terrorism carried out by Israel against the Palestinians. Many UN resolutions have established this distinction between terrorism and criminal acts and illegal wars, on the one hand, and the armed struggle against colonialism, racism, and foreign occupation, on the other hand. This is a legitimate struggle against occupation for the rights of self-determination which the UN Charter calls for and international resolutions and international law have called for it. We reaffirm the importance of resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It's an essential cause of instability in the region. Mr. Chairman, Saudi Arabia has suffered from terrorism. We have taken and we will continue to take measures in order to put an end to this extremely dangerous phenomenon locally, regionally and internationally, and to apply the provisions of international law and international resolutions having to do with this subject. We have taken into consideration all of the resolutions of international committees to combat terrorism. We have given $100,000 to help fight terrorism and to the Security Council Antiterrorist Committees. All the efforts made by the international community through adopting resolutions and conventions on this subject must be taken on board. Joining a new convention must also have the right intention to put an end to the phenomenon of terrorism. We would call upon all members states to condemn terrorism in a firm way. It is a violation of the values of the United Nations and it is a threat to international peace and security. It threatens good relations among member states and their cooperation. Mr. Chairman, my country has organized the international conference to combat terrorism in Riad in 2005. The final statement as well as its recommendations are contained in the document S2005.430, 1st of July 2005 [?] [01:58:42]. International and local efforts are necessary to put an end to this phenomenon. We also have organized in Jeddah the second meeting of the Advisory Committee of the International Counterterrorism Center in May 2012 because we are interested in this advisory council, whose establishment was proposed by His Majesty Abdul Aziz. Also, there have been a number of international resolutions that we have assisted, we have a founding agreements from September 2011 and we made a donation of $10 million to provide support to the activities of that Center. The establishment of this Center shows that counterterrorism requires cooperation and coordination internationally and exchange of expertise. We would launch an appeal to member states and to the states of the international community to benefit from this Center. This is a model of collective work in order to preserve international peace and security and to deal with the phenomenon of terrorism and to implement the UN Global Counterterrorism Strategy. And in conclusion, Mr. Chairman, the phenomenon of terrorism is an international one. It cannot be linked to one society, race or religion. We need international efforts to contain it and to do it with serious sense of effective responsibility and fairness. Through this collective international work, we need to work here at the UN to put an end to this phenomenon to maintain the life of innocent of people, the sovereignty of states and peoples as well as their stability and maintain a world which is safe and secure. Thank you.