Mideast situation/Palestinian question – SecCo work assessment under China presidency (October 2008) – Letter (excerpts)

    Letter dated 7 November 2008 from the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

  I have the honour to transmit herewith a report on the work of the Security Council during the presidency of China in October 2008 (see annex). The document was prepared under my own responsibility, following consultations with other members of the Security Council. I should be grateful if you would have the present letter and its annex circulated as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Zhang Yesui

Ambassador and Permanent Representative

of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations

    Annex to the letter dated 7 November 2008 from the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

    Assessment of the work of the Security Council during the presidency of China (October 2008)

   Introduction

  Under the presidency of China, the Security Council dealt with a wide range of regional issues, including Afghanistan, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, the Middle East, Somalia and the Sudan, and general issues, namely, women and peace and security and post-conflict peacebuilding. The Council held 23 meetings and 9 consultations of the whole, during which five resolutions and five presidential statements were adopted.

/…

   Middle East

    The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question 

  On 22 October, the Council heard a briefing on the Middle East from the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs. He told the Council, inter alia, that despite ongoing efforts by the parties concerned, the situation on the ground was not improving “in the way that is required” to ensure a durable settlement. He also hoped that, notwithstanding the transition currently under way, the Israel-Palestinian negotiations would not only continue but intensify until the end of the year, within the Annapolis framework. During consultations of the whole, many members of the Council reaffirmed their support for the continuation of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and expressed the wish that the United Nations would, as appropriate, play a greater role in support of the peace process. Members of the Council also emphasized that the international community could not lose sight of the humanitarian situation on the ground.

/…

___________