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Crown Prince Abdullah: A leader with a global vision
“The U.N. Charter speaks of the hope `to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.’ If we examine (history) we will realize that we are indeed far from transforming this dream into reality,” said Crown Prince Abdullah.
Delivering his address to the General Assembly on the first afternoon of the Summit, Crown Prince Abdullah urged world leaders to strongly consider the merits of conflict prevention, arguing that preventing a war is far less costly than trying to bring a war to an end. To underscore his words, the Crown Prince pledged funds to create a new U.N. organization whose mission is to prevent world conflicts.
During his U.N. address, the Crown Princes congratulated secretary-general Kofi Anan on his decision to devote the Summit to a fundamental review of the role of the United Nations, including the challenges that it will face in the new century.
“The major question facing this distinguished gathering of world leaders and Heads of State is this,” said Crown Prince Abdullah. “`Where are we today with respect to the noble objectives behind the establishment of the United Nations?’”
Crown Prince Abdullah lamented “the five million innocent and unarmed civilians (that have died) in armed conflicts (during) the last ten years alone,” and said he “found it intolerable that at a time when the United Nations Charter calls on us `to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person,’ we find three billion people living on two dollars a day or less.”
“A starving human being who cannot find a morsel to eat, or potable water to drink, or a roof to provide shelter, much less medical treatment, will find in discussions of human rights nothing but an attempt to put slogans in place of painful reality,” the Crown Prince added. “And slogans can never feed the hungry.”
The issue of human rights was very much on Crown Prince Abdullah’s mind during much of his address: While praising the U.N.’s call for a cultural dialogue among nations to examine what each culture has to offer to the concept of human rights, the Crown Prince voiced regret that the issue of human rights “is often used as a means of pressure and a tool of extortion, with the aim of achieving certain political and economic interests.”
Continuing, Crown Prince Abdullah said: “We regard human rights as a gift to mankind from the Creator, and not one gratuitously granted by one human being to another. Such human rights exist in the roots of every human civilization and are not a monopoly of one culture. It is absurd to impose on an individual or a society rights that are alien to its beliefs or principles.”
The Crown Prince condemned “globalization that results in the hegemony of the strong over the weak, increases the causes of oppression and exploitation of nations, and fosters injustice and inequality in international relations. We particularly warn of the ramification of unbridled globalization and its use as an umbrella to violate the sovereignty of states and interfere with their internal affairs under a variety of pretexts,” he added, “especially from the angle of human rights.”
Remaining on the subject of globalization and trade, the Crown Prince voiced concern that requirements placed before Saudi Arabia to enable it to gain admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) “are unprecedented, and should not (be more of (a) burden than (are) the obligations undertaken by WTO’s earlier members.”
The Crown Prince reminded the assembled U.N. delegates of the core missionsof the United Nations: “(T)o attempt to obviate the horrors of war, and furnishing the means for international cooperation. (T)his makes us more insistent than ever to support this organization so that it maintains its benevolent progress according to its noble principles and objectives.”
In this same vein, Crown Prince drew attention to some of the U.N.’s most recent accomplishments and failures: the Middle East peace talks, the negotiated withdrawal of Israel from southern Lebanon, the protracted conduct of the Iran-Iraq war, the success of the oil for food program in Iraq, and unresolved conflicts in Afghanistan and the Russian republic of Chechnya.
Crown Prince Abdullah urged the U.N. to exercise caution in its consideration of a proposal to expand the structure of the Security Council, congratulated the world body on its effort to combat international terrorism, requested the U.N. to control the chasm between rich and poor nations, and – alarmed by a world dominated by an increasingly globalized financial sector – called upon the world body “to play an active role with respect to the activities of international and economic institutions that are proliferating with a diversity of objectives and purposes.”
While in New York, Crown Prince Abdullah also discussed some of Saudi Arabia’s trade and economic issues with a group of American and Saudi business professionals. At this meeting, the Crown Prince said he believed oil-consuming countries should “reconsider” their high taxes on petroleum products, and reiterated the Kingdom’s commitment to ensuring equilibrium in the global oil markets.
“I feel it is high time to pursue a constructive dialogue between (petroleum) producers and consumers to achieve an understanding that leads to stability of such a vital strategic commodity for the benefit of both parties,” the Crown Prince said.
“The government of Saudi Arabia has undertaken a number of initiatives to underscore (its) policy (to privatize), among them the establishment of the Supreme Economic Council, the Saudi American General Investment Authority, and the Tourism Higher Commission,” said Crown Prince Abdullah. “The government has also passed new laws such as a law which codifies the relationship between employer and employee. A new law was also recently issued to regulate litigation procedures and dispute settlement. A new tax law is also currently being considered. All these initiatives should stimulate economic activity and create a stable and transparent investment climate.”
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Table of Contents Crown Prince Abdullah: A leader with a global vision |
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While visiting New York earlier this month to attend the United Nations “Millennium Summit,” His Royal Highness Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, the likely successor to the Saudi throne, shared some rare insights on a number of issues: European gasoline taxes, human rights, the need to reassess the U.N. mission, Saudi Arabia’s possible admission into the World Trade Organization, human rights, globalization, and the reform of Saudi Arabia’s investment laws.