In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Your Excellency, the President of the United Nations General Assembly,
Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Excellencies, Ministers, and Permanent Representatives,
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to extend my thanks to the President of the General Assembly on its interest and response to organizing this high-level discussion, and that is to find a solution for a problem that affects the entire world, just as I stress the plan of the Secretary-General towards combatting violent extremism, as it comes at crucial moments for the international community.
Mr. President,
Allow me to begin my discussion by "Ahmed," who is not over the age of 25, and was subjected in his youth to harassment from his companions because of his religion, which caused him to become harsh in his manners, unable to talk, to the extent that the principal of his school reported him to the police who told him his friends are afraid of his extreme attitude. Ahmed, who then felt the prejudice of the society he lived in, and his classmates who called him "terrorist," found himself surrounded by extreme youth, and they convinced him to go to one of the countries to join a violent terrorist group, to the extent that the police called him to investigate him again, and transferred him to one of the centers that carries out dialogue meetings whose goal is to discourage young people from joining these organizations. Ahmed went on to say that if it weren't for these meetings at the center, he would have ended up in Iraq or Syria looking for revenge.
Mr. President,
This story is not out of my imagination, but it is a real story, whose protagonist is a young man among many youth whose societies- if they were aware- almost led them to falling into the clutches of extremism as a result of ignoring the root causes of their problems, among them racism and marginalization, and these are still exceptional cases with Muslim youth in the West, because Western states have many mechanisms to prevent the aggravation of anger, and it takes away the freedom for youth to express how they feel, and legal and social tools to resolve their problems. If this was Ahmed's situation in a wealthy and developed country, then think of the youth whose perspectives are closed in their faces, who are unable to express themselves, subjected to humiliation, jailed in detention for expressing their positions, and are tortured in the jails of dictatorships.
Mr. President,
My country believes that the rise of extremism represents a grave threat to all societies, and young people are paying a high price. The eradication of this global phenomenon requires a long-term collective and strategic commitment to address the conditions that lead to it before being exploited by terrorist organizations, with the need to take into account the particular circumstances of each environment in which extremism is created. Extremism is not born from any one religion, but rather the result of social, economic, and political distortions that produces forces that interpret religion as such. It deals with terrorism as a religious issue aimed at achieving specific goals that do not serve the efforts of the international community in combating this phenomenon, but rather undermine it.
Mr. President,
My country rejects any attempt to accuse religion or ethnicity of violent extremism and terrorism. Attempting to exploit individual incidents of violence to link extremism to a certain religion fails efforts to address the real causes of extremism. Not to mention that the abuse of religious symbols is a pretext for extremists to recruit more supporters to their ideas, and emphasize here the importance of the role played by religious leaders who advocate for tolerance and human values, as well as the role of civil society organizations, philosophers, and academics in promoting the spirit of amnesty, tolerance, and the search for compromises instead of imposing opinions on others.
Mr. President,
The youth aspire to find meaning for their lives and to express themselves, and dictatorial regimes prevent them from doing so, and add to that the unemployment and the prospects any protests face against violence, the result is the shift of anger accumulated to counter-violence, and there are religious and non-religious political forces that are waiting to attract angry youth to their ranks. What is happening in our region in terms of chaos and destruction, killings and migration, and violation of rights feeds extremism, and provides an opportunity to affect the youth, and we find them losing hope and confidence in the international community's ability to resolve crises. Now is the time to put an end to political problems that target youth who demand human dignity and freedom.
Mr. President,
Among the crises that affects our people, Palestine remains our essential issue, which cannot be ignored, as the occupation and the continuation of repressive tactics against the Palestinian people, including children and young people, have accumulated anger throughout the region as a result of a sense of injustice. This is despite the fact the Palestinian people have led an organized and liberal struggle that upholds the values of equality, coexistence, and just peace. Therefore, the State of Qatar reaffirms that ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories, halting settlements and dismantling them, respecting the legal status of Jerusalem, and achieving a two-state solution will positively affect the people of the region, and will free the children and youth from fear and desperation, and will abolish one of the root causes of extremism in the region, and provide the children and youth with a hope for a secure future.
Mr. President,
My country recognizes that the youth are the human fuel used by extremist groups to achieve their goal. I have warned of the dangers of neglecting the roles of young people and not providing a healthy environment to develop their abilities and involve them in shaping their future, as they are the means to a positive change, as we must remember the suitable chances to benefit from their potential and discover their abilities, as youth throughout history had a significant role in shaping their countries. They are the source of its strength and glory, and the design of its life, and its future. The destiny of all nations lies with its youth. Therefore, protecting them from extremism must be a priority for the international community, and that will not happen unless they are given a chance to shape their future, which ensures decent livelihoods.
To realize the goal of combatting violent extremism, the State of Qatar relied on the strategy of utilizing the spirit of forgiveness and building dialogue, openness to others at the local and international levels, and my country was one of the founders of the Global Fund for Involving Communities and enhancing their adaptive capacity, and it is among the biggest contributors to this fund, which has an importance to protecting the youth from the thoughts and plans of violent terrorist groups. The State of Qatar also supported the Alliance of Civilizations and coexistence among different religions and cultures, and launched national institutions which aim to spread the spirit of dialogue, and combat terror and extremism. The Hamad bin Khalifa Islamic Center was opened in Copenhagen in 2014, which aims to spread understanding of the Islamic religion, and supports international efforts to combat extremism, promoting peaceful coexistence and love among religions, cultures, and people.
Mr. President,
The State of Qatar believes in the role of education in transforming wars in the region to peace, and their problems to harmony, especially societies that suffer from injustice, oppression, and armed conflict, as the educated children and youth are more aware and able to combat the extremist views and protect themselves and their societies from its dangers. This fact raises questions about the fate of children and young people inside and outside Syria, who have been denied access to school, to form a shattered generation that foreshadows a lost state controlled by terrorist groups. Therefore, Qatar has been keen to protect the Syrian children and youth, as it used financial resources in the past to provide an education for children and youth who do not attend school in areas of asylum and displacement, with the aim of safekeeping their access to a suitable education, and worked in a diligent way to implement important programs in this area with specific international organizations.
These efforts that Qatar is undertaking, along with other countries, are not enough to put an end to their suffering and protect them from extremism, and so a political solution must be reached for the Syrian crisis, which achieves aspirations of the brotherly Syrian people, and safeguards the unity and sovereignty of Syria, and we will keep providing all means of humanitarian aid to the brotherly Syrian people, in a direct way and through local and international organizations, in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law.
Mr. President,
Combatting violent extremism and uncovering its root causes also depends on building solid and effective partnerships involving governments, civil society, the private sector, the United Nations system, and communities. And in light of the importance of these partnerships, it pleases me to announce the State of Qatar's support of the partnership of the company SILATECH in the State of Qatar-which is now present with us-and the United Nations Counter-terrorism implementation task force, to achieve a unified project which makes protecting youth from extremism and increasing their abilities two key objectives, in keeping up with the role that the SILATECH foundation carries out in the Arab region.
In conclusion, I would like to once again renew the State of Qatar's complete rejection of violent extremism in all forms, and its support of the international community in combatting this phenomenon in its root causes. Let us think about the destinies of young people not only in terms of terrorism and the threat of terrorism, but also in terms of humans as human beings, caring about their problems, what they think about the country, society, and what they want, and not only what we think and what we want, in order to build a platform for a fruitful dialogue.
Thank you very much.