The United Nations has long been engaged in diplomatic efforts to bring the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an end en route to a just and comprehensive regional peace. The Department of Political Affairs is responsible within the UN Secretariat for policy toward the Middle East peace process.

The Secretary-General is supported by DPA in his active participation in the Quartet for Middle East Peace, comprised of the four principal international actors engaged in the peace process – the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and the Russian Federation. The Quartet works for a resolution of the conflict based on Security Council resolutions and the two-state vision laid out in the Quartet’s 2003 Road Map for peace.

DPA also provides support and guidance to the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), based in Gaza, Jerusalem and Ramallah. UNSCO, created in 1994 following the signing of the Oslo Accords, serves as the political focal point for UN activities in support of the peace process and coordinates UN assistance to the Palestinian people. UNSCO is headed since January 2008 by Robert Serry, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestine Authority.

The Special Coordinator is in permanent contact with the parties to the conflict, exchanging views and making available the good offices of the Secretary-General in the search for peace. He also promotes effective coordination between the Palestinian Authority, the Government of Israel and the international community including the United Nations.