King Abdullah’s resounding UN speech

As expected, the speech of His Majesty King Abdullah at the 73rd annual UN General Assembly Session on September 25 was resounding.

Following on from his relentless campaigning to bring peace and stability to our troubled region, indeed worldwide, since the first day of his ascendance to the Jordanian throne just less than two decades ago, the Jordanian monarch put the international body before its essential responsibilities.

King Abdullah opened his speech by reminding gathered UN member states’ delegations of the challenges that continue to obstruct progress towards the realisation of hopes and goals the UN body had set out to achieve when, as His Majesty said, “born in the ashes of the World War II out of a deep desire to protect new generations from suffering, destruction and want”.

“Peace and stability have met threats in every region,” the King said adding that “too many people remain excluded from the promise of prosperity and global terror continues to target all nations. Here in this chamber I’ve called it a third world war”.

Calling for partnership among nations to face the said challenges in order to prevent the world from drifting into further turmoil, King Abdullah asked “…what is the alternative? A world without the peace and accord we need to work together, trade together, expand opportunity together? A world where crises are not resolved but magnified? Violence spreads, more refugees flee, because we can’t work together to help people stay safe and thrive?”

Clearly, King Abdullah’s description is a reflection of his deep concern about the crises in our region, and the “critical role of collective action in ending the serious crisis in my [the King’s] region, and especially the key crisis – the long denial of a Palestinian state”.

The quest for a comprehensive and a just peace in our region on the basis of many UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions recognising “the equal rights of the Palestinian people to a future of peace, dignity and hope”, has steadily been a constant priority for King Abdullah.

Rarely does he mount a pulpit without emphasising the need for addressing the continuing chaos in our region and without warning time and again that the permeation of the miserable status quo provides the perfect breeding ground for incubating lethal trends of extremism, despair, instability, violence, backwardness, insecurity, sectarian strife, social disharmony and readiness for terror indoctrination.

More often than not, the Jordanian monarch, who is globally recognised as an extraordinary and an effective voice of peace, moderation and wisdom, finds himself engaged in two-pronged diplomatic battles. While on the one side he continues with his arduous work to promote peace, particularly an Arab-Israeli peace on the basis of the many internationally endorsed formulas so far, such as the two-state solution, the very generous Arab Peace Initiative, relevant UN resolutions and dozens of other fair and reasonable peace initiatives, King Abdullah recurrently, on the other hand, needs to combat conspiracies and destructive schemes that aim at further aggravating the situation by introducing devious and dangerous ideas to abolish essential inalienable Palestinian rights. Hence plunging the region into endless chaos.

King Abdullah has had to almost single-handedly lead a massive diplomatic effort to combat illegal unilateral decisions regarding the status of the city of Jerusalem and the Hashemite custodianship of its holy places, the campaign to drain UNRWA of its financial resources in the hope that the abolition of the seven-decade old UN agency would lead to the disappearance of 5 million registered Palestinian refugees and the abolition of their recognised right to return to their original homes as well as the yet to be disclosed elements of the so-called “deal of the century”.

While resolute, firm and unwavering, irrespective of any negative consequences, the King’s diplomatic offensive was calm, discreet, confident, clear and as such very effective. There is no question that it has successfully managed so far to arrest the danger by preventing the worse.

Admittedly, regional peace may still be a long way to go, but thanks to the King’s continuous efforts, his unique leadership and wisdom, Jordan remains a prominent oasis of peace, stability and security despite mounting challenges and abundant burdens, all resulting from external surrounding crisis. The significance of this reality is that Jordanian stability has always been widely seen, and it still is, as key to regional stability.

King Abdullah has been solely devoted to a noble mission of peace and justice for all peoples alike. Not only has he succeeded, though uneasily, to keep Jordan out of all regional conflicts, but he has dedicated his own and his country’s potential to the promotion of political solutions for all the surrounding crises. His mission continues to run in full gear. May God Almighty bless him and his great cause.