“It is unacceptable for the Palestinian people to continue to languish under the yoke and the intransigence of the Israeli occupation and the rejection by consecutive Israeli governments of any just political solution according to international legitimacy,” he said.
Sheikh Tamim also referenced the situation in Syria, where the population is awaiting “a comprehensive settlement through a political process leading to a political transition in accordance with the Geneva Declaration”, as well as ongoing violence in Sudan and the ongoing crisis in Lebanon.
He called for an end to the ongoing crises in Yemen and Libya.
Sheikh Tamim added that Qatar continues to “coordinate international efforts” on Afghanistan and facilitate “dialogue with the United Nations and the countries concerned”.
Those efforts aim to “avoid the recurrence of past mistakes and to prevent Afghanistan from spiralling into a difficult to manage” humanitarian crisis “or becoming a safe haven for terrorist individuals and groups”, the Qatari emir continued.
“We also have to work to ensure that the Afghan people receive the needed international support and assistance and enjoy human rights particularly minority rights and women’s rights to education and work.”
The Emir added that the world is “in an era of unprecedented accelerating progress”. However, those advancements have come at “a cost for the people and the planet”.
“We have a lot of potential that could achieve prosperity for the whole of humanity. However, the gap between the possibilities and reality is widening.”
Sheikh Tamim announced that the 2022 World Cup created an opportunity to learn about the people and culture of Qatar.
“It was an opportunity for the world to see our people as they are and to learn about our culture and values, and to learn about Qatar and Qatar’s status as a global destination and nexus between East and West,” he said.
He added that the world’s top football event also was an opportunity “to emphasise the role that sports could play in building bridges of communication and rapprochement between peoples and cultures”.
Ending his address, the Qatari emir has stressed it is “incumbent on all leaders to empower their peoples and to enable their peoples to live in peace and security and to look forward to a better future for their posterity”.
Issues that concern all of humanity include “climate change, environmental matters in general, poverty and the blatant injustice represented by occupation, racism and war crimes”, Sheikh Tamim concluded.
