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Iran war 'would be a tragedy for world'

The last 16 years have been "terrible" for the Gulf region and it is now important to find "reasonable" ways to end tensions over Iran's nuclear programme, the first Bahraini woman to head the UN General Assembly said.

  • By Eliana Benador, Special to Weekend Review
  • Published: 00:00 March 2, 2007
  • Gulf News

The last 16 years have been "terrible" for the Gulf region and it is now important to find "reasonable" ways to end tensions over Iran's nuclear programme, the first Bahraini woman to head the UN General Assembly said.

"A new war would be a tragedy not only for us but also for the whole world ... because we have oil," Shaikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa said in an exclusive interview to Weekend Review. "It is really important to reach an amicable, reasonable solution regarding issues such as the situation in Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions, Lebanon and Palestine."

Shaikha Haya was elected president of the UN General Assembly last June, capping a successful legal career spanning three decades.

A champion of women's rights, she is optimistic of the future of women in the Arab world.

Secretariat reforms

"One of the stereotypes about Arab and Muslim women is that they are closed, they are covered and they do not understand anything. However, it is not like that."

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Shaikha Haya said the new UN Secretary-General wants to reform the Secretariat, the UN's main policy-making arm, in a bid to improve the effectiveness of the organisation. "Maybe within this year, things will start changing for the better."

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