In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate,Ladies and Gentlemen,Peace be upon you.At this very moment, while we have come together at the Munich Security Conference to discuss the future of peace and security in the world,

the regime of Bashar al-Assad is slaughtering hundreds and injuring thousands of the great Syrian people – those people who are demanding freedom and democracy.

Just yesterday in the city of Homs, he perpetrated a horrendous massacre, which is a mere continuation of the daily massacres in this brave city. A city which constitutes the brave core and the heart of the peaceful Syrian revolution. Bashar al-Assad is committing these crimes, and is shamefully backed by Russia and China, two of the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council that is supposed to promote peace and security in the world, and stand by the weak and those who are subjected to injustice.

Russia and China, with their refusals and obstructive conduct toward preventing international measures to protect the Syrian people and punish the atrocities of the Syrian regime, bear the moral and human responsibility for these massacres. I, under the name of Arab youth, from the Gulf to the Ocean, in the name of these brave Arab youths, unequivocally condemn the stance of these two countries that support the criminal regime of Bashar al-Assad. At the same time, I declare our appreciation of the position of the other 13 members of the Security Council, which endorsed the Arab-European draft resolution that was presented yesterday – first and foremost the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. I urge you, in the name of your governments, to condemn this war and to spare no efforts to take the necessary measures to protect the Syrian people.

Just to remind you, ladies and gentlemen, peace between countries is not more important than peace within countries. The war of dictators on their peoples is not less criminal, not less violating than the wars led between countries. The war that Bashar al-Assad is leading against his own people is a war against humanity and his atrocities are provocative to the human conscience. This requires a firm stance by the international community.

The human conscience cannot rest, you cannot rest, when you see the blood of peaceful, patient and young Syrians shed is on the streets. Today, we look forward to the victory by the great Syrian people, who aspire to achieve democracy, justice and freedom. We have to stand by them, protect them and prove to the tyrants that international legitimacy, its conventions and values are more powerful than the weapons of the despots and greater than the oppressions of the tyrants.

You, ladies and gentlemen, are invited here as decision makers to enact fast measures in order to protect the Syrian people, and punish the criminal regime of Bashar al-Assad. I urge you, in the name of the patient and peaceful rebels, to expel Syrian ambassadors from your countries and I urge you to call back your ambassadors from Damascus – and that is the minimum that you can do to punish the Syrian regime. I also urge you to do everything in your power to protect the Syrian people.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have to know that we cannot achieve stability in the Middle East unless we undergo a complete democratic transformation, and these societies are afforded the right to democracy and good governance. Otherwise, the Middle East is destined to face instability and a lack of security.

Security in the Middle East is dependent on the transition to democracy and good governance. The corrupt regimes and the nepotism that prevails in these countries sow the seeds for terrorism, for crises, for a lack of stability. And I stress again that stability in Arab countries is of interest to the whole international community. A dictator, who kills his own people and deprives them of their powers, is violating human values, human conventions and international agreements. As a result, what the Arab countries are exposed to now, the oppression they are experiencing, constitute a true threat to international peace.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The new Middle East, to which the Arab youth aspire today, is based on two pillars: The first pillar is democracy. And I cannot imagine a secure and stable Middle East under dictatorships or corrupt regimes. I draw your attention to the fact that tyrants and the supporters of their regimes are still slaughtering innocent people and standing in the way of change and reforms in more than one Arab country. In my home country, in Yemen, the family of Ali Abdallah Saleh still has the upper hand over the security and military apparatus, although he himself has already left the country. The networks of corruption, which he has built over the course of 30 years, still holds power. He and other high-ranking officials are granted immunity and the protection of the Gulf Initiative. 

And this, ladies and gentlemen, has given them the opportunity to slaughter more people, stir up trouble and stand in the way of the transition which our young people have heavily paid for with their blood. Therefore I urge the United States, the European Countries and all the countries of the world to freeze the assets of Ali Abdallah Saleh and his civil and military high-ranking officials, and to refer his case to the International Criminal Court, regarding him as a criminal. He has to be braught to account for shedding the blood of innocent young people in Yemen and stealing the wealth of the country.

The second pillar for a new Middle East is justice. It is clear that a new Middle East which enjoys security and stability cannot become a reality as long as millions of Palestinians are still either seeking refuge outside their country or living under occupation, although international law and international agreements are on their side. The Palestinian wound is putting high pressure on the Arab and human conscience. This will not change until this great people achieves victory and justice, and until all the peoples in the region live in security, peace and stability, because there is no peace without justice.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Freedom inside and justice from the outside is all that the new Middle East needs – with its young peoples, glorious civilizations and immense resources – to become part of a human solution, not part of a problem.

Finally, ladies and gentlemen, we do praise the efforts of the organizers of this conference. But I would like to draw your attention to the fact that women are underrepresented in this conference, both as participants and speakers. With the exception of myself and Hilary Clinton there are almost no women in a conference that is suppost to decide upon security policies in the wold. This is an example of a dominating male presence that overlooks women’s participation. And this per se is the reasons for recent wars and conflicts in the world. Therefore, to achieve good security policies and a world of peace and security, I hope that women will be fairly and equally represented at the upcoming conferences.

Thank you very much for your attention!