Expert on the United Nations Affairs Prof. Abdul Hamid Siam praised the efforts made by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to settle and resolve many outstanding global issues in Afghanistan, Chad and other countries, and his keenness to attend in person during the previous years to the sessions of the United Nations General Assembly to deliver a speech in which he addresses all the issues raised and Qatar's vision on them.
He said, in an interview with the Qatar News Agency about the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), that Qatar hosted the US dialogue with the Taliban in Doha for a long time until they reached an agreement in Doha on Feb. 20, 2020, to end a war that lasted for about 20 years, in addition to mediating to resolve other conflicts such as Darfur and reach agreements with the concerned parties. He added that it also mediated in Lebanon and invited all parties to Doha to reach an agreement, and in Yemen in a way that preserves its unity and sovereignty.
Siam pointed out that important and influential countries are keen to attend the work of the UN sessions every year, highlighting the importance of the Qatari presence because it attaches great importance to the UN, adding that HH the Amir's speech during this session will be comprehensive, as it is supposed to address a number of current issues such as the war in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Palestinian, and will focus on the Sudan issue.
He pointed out that personally attending the UNGA is an opportunity to communicate with other leaders because there are more than 120 Heads of State and Heads of Government who will be in this place, which provides an opportunity to talk to them directly about current issues.
Siam expected that the war in Ukraine would take an important part of HH the Amir's speech because it lasted a long time, indicating that in a speech last year, HH the Amir called for negotiations and said that in the end, Russia and Ukraine should sit at the negotiating table and the earlier they do, the sooner they will be able to save a large number of victims.
Regarding the initiative to revive grain exports between Russia and Ukraine, the UN affairs expert said that this initiative is an important step, and if an agreement is reached with Russia on the mechanism for reviving the initiative to re-export grains through the Black Sea, there will be contact with the Ukrainian side under the auspices of the UN. He expressed hope that the initiative will achieve results because the absence of grain supplies to poor countries has greatly affected them, as prices have risen and food supplies have decreased.
About the UN efforts to end the war in Ukraine, Siam explained in his interview with QNA that the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Russia and Ukraine and tried to offer mediation but it was not expected, so he contributed with Turkiye to the issue of the initiative to export grains to poor countries as a solution to the food issue.
The UN affairs expert explained that the weak role of the UN is because Russia considers the UN closer to the position of the West since the Secretary-General condemned the Russian intervention in Ukraine and considered it an aggression and a violation of the UN Charter, and therefore, Russia considers the Secretary-General not neutral. This is what weakened the UN role in this matter because it is unacceptable compared to the Turkish role, for example, he added.
He believed that when Russia is ready for mediation, the UN can play an important role, adding that Russia still believes that it can resolve the battle militarily and Ukraine, in turn, still believes that in the long run, it will resolve the battle militarily, because of Western support and because of the belief that Russia will not tolerate a long war like what happened in Afghanistan.
Regarding the developments in Sudan, he said that everyone is affected by this conflict, and if Sudan, an important Arab country, is harmed, the rest of the Arab countries will be affected, adding that the UN has cards to end the fighting in Sudan but if there is no regional and local cooperation, it cannot.
Siam considered that if there is cooperation with the conflicting parties and the presence of local mediators such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union (AU) in cooperation with the UN and regional countries, a solution can be found, adding that the problem is that there are countries that support one of the parties to the conflict and do not call for resolving the conflict and sitting down for negotiations.
He also pointed out that the Palestinian issue is always a top priority in HH the Amirs speeches, as he reminds the international community of its responsibilities towards this issue because the Palestinian people are still suffering, and there is a need to move to find a solution to this issue on the basis of the two-state solution, which is the vision Qatar always presents and defends strongly.
He continued that the Palestinian issue has been on the agenda of the UN since its inception because this issue began with the founding of the UN. However, the problem with the Palestinian issue is that there is a strong state in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that has veto power and protects the Israeli entity on all occasions, diplomatically and politically, and provides it with military aid and financial aid in a way that gives this entity the opportunity to escape sanctions and accountability and turn its back on all international resolutions. He explained that there are resolutions that when other countries violate them, they are subject to accountability and sanctions from the UNSC, while the only country that violates UN resolutions every day is the Israeli entity, whether they were United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCR), the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolutions, or the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolutions, and it is not subject to sanctions becau se there is a large country that protects it, in addition to the negligent position of the EU. This is what made the Palestinian cause continue all these years, Siam explained.
Highlighting Qatar's important initiatives in the field of education and the protection of women in conflict zones and others, the UN affairs expert affirmed at the end of his interview with QNA that Qatar is helping the international community with food issues, energy issues, global warming, climate issues, combating terrorism, and in the field of education and protection of women, indicating the important relations of Qatar, which made its initiatives receive positive reactions, pointing out that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 made the image of Qatar more beautiful, as many countries did not know much about Qatar until after watching these matches, which impressed them due to the wonderful organization in a calm atmosphere, without noise or any violence or riots, making everyone agree that it is the best football festival in the history of the sport.
Source: Qatar News Agency