Provisional
Security Council
Sixty-sixth year
6477th meeting
Tuesday, 8 February 2011, 10 a.m.
New York
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President: |
Mrs. Viotti |
(Brazil) |
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Members: |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Mr. Barbalić |
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China |
Mr. Yang Tao |
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Colombia |
Mr. Osorio |
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France |
Mr. Araud |
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Gabon |
Mr. Moungara Moussotsi |
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Germany |
Mr. Wittig |
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India |
Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri |
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Lebanon |
Mr. Salam |
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Nigeria |
Mr. Onemola |
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Portugal |
Mr. Moraes Cabral |
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Russian Federation |
Mr. Churkin |
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South Africa |
Mr. Sangqu |
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United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
Sir Mark Lyall Grant |
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United States of America |
Mrs. DiCarlo |
Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in maintaining international peace and security
The President: Under rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite Baroness Catherine Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union.
The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I give the floor to Baroness Ashton.
Baroness Ashton: …
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We are witnessing major change in the Middle East. The contours of what will eventually emerge are not yet clear — they cannot be — but we do know that urgent progress on the Middle East peace process is vital, now more than ever. This weekend, I chaired an important meeting of the Quartet in Munich to review the current situation and chart a common plan of action. The search for a negotiated peace between Israel and the Palestinians has dominated the region for decades. Current developments must bring us closer to that goal, not farther away, and I am pleased that the Quartet agreed on a specific path to do this, with a follow-up meeting of our envoys in Brussels. For the first time, the Quartet will meet separately with Palestinian and Israeli negotiators to hear their views. We further agreed to meet again at the ministerial level in March to ensure that momentum is kept up, and we confirm our support for having a framework agreement in place by September 2011.
The parameters for peace as seen by the European Union are well known: two States, co-existing in peace and security, with a Palestinian State that is sovereign, independent, democratic, contiguous and viable, based on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the future capital of two States. Our position on this and on related issues, including settlements, remains unchanged.
We are also active in laying the foundations of a future Palestinian State through practical measures. We are at the forefront of providing budgetary support and assistance on security to the Palestinian Authority. During my most recent visit to the region, I confirmed that we will front-load an initial financial package of €100 million for the occupied Palestinian territories under the 2011 budget. I also discussed the new Palestinian National Plan with Prime Minister Fayyad in Paris last week, and reconfirmed our support for his plan. We will also host the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting in Brussels on 13 April to promote efforts on Palestinian State-building.
The Security Council also knows well the needs of the people of Gaza, and we are committed to supporting them. I have proposed a comprehensive package of EU support for the Gaza crossings, focusing on infrastructure, equipment and training. Our objective remains an unconditional opening of those crossings, while addressing Israel’s legitimate security needs.
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The President: I thank Baroness Ashton for her briefing.
I now give the floor to the members of the Council.
Mr. Araud (France) (spoke in French): …
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The European Union is also involved in the resolution of major international crises. From that perspective, I thank the High Representative for her very useful and enlightening comments today on the meeting of the Middle East Quartet that she chaired. That meeting, she told us, was just a first step; it should augur a change in the political software used by the international community to advance towards a negotiated final settlement of the dispute, the parameters of which are familiar to us all and which we know the two parties are incapable of achieving by themselves. Phased approaches have proven to be paths to nowhere, and we must therefore move on to a final settlement. We hope that the Quartet will play a key role in that regard.
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Mr. Moraes Cabral (Portugal): …
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Portugal stands fully behind Baroness Ashton’s remarks concerning the Middle East and the peace process. Indeed, the current developments in the region clearly underscore the urgency of a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East. Portugal thus reiterates the Quartet’s most recent appeal to the parties to overcome the current obstacles in the peace process and to engage in serious negotiations on the basis of the well-known parameters for peace. I thank Baroness Ashton for clearly reaffirming those parameters. We know what the issues are. What is needed is the effective political will to address them, with the serious ambition of reaching peace through a comprehensive agreement on all final status issues, as underlined by our French colleague.
Ending the 63-year conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is the shared aspiration of all those in the Chamber. That is surely another area where the European Union and the United Nations can actively work together towards a positive outcome, through both the Quartet and the relevant United Nations bodies.
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Mr. Churkin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): …
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A priority of our cooperation with the European Union (EU) and the United Nations, including as part of the Quartet of leading international mediators, is the topical issue of a Middle East settlement. The most recent ministerial-level meeting of the Quartet took place on 5 February in Munich, at Russia’s initiative. During the meeting, there was a substantive exchange of views on the situation in the Middle East, including in the light of recent events in Egypt and other countries in the region.
Russia commends the efforts of the EU to support the Middle East peace process. Our positions on that issue are broadly the same. EU support for Palestinian State-building and the restoration of normal trade and economic links between the Gaza Strip and the outside world are important. We consider it necessary to bolster those efforts in active pursuit of intra-Palestine unity. We, in turn, are also striving to solve this issue by acting in coordination with regional and other partners.
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Mr. Wittig (Germany): …
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Baroness Ashton also informed us about the meeting of the Middle East Quartet in Munich, which she chaired three days ago. Our common goal is very clear: we all want to see the State of Israel and a sovereign, independent, democratic, contiguous and viable State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security.
The Munich statement, in which the Quartet highlighted the urgency of meaningful negotiations on all final status issues and their conclusion by September 2011, committed to playing an active role and scheduled the next principals’ meeting for March, is an important contribution to creating much-needed momentum.
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Mrs. DiCarlo (United States of America): …
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Beyond Europe, we welcome the role played by the EU as a member of the Middle East Quartet. The United States is continuing to consult with both the Israelis and Palestinians, and is working with the Quartet and our partners in the region to achieve a framework agreement on all the core issues, ultimately resulting in a negotiated peace agreement.
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Mr. Onemola (Nigeria): …
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We also welcome the important role the EU continues to play in efforts to find a lasting solution to the Middle East crisis. Its commitment expressed at the 5 February Quartet meeting in Munich, Germany, to set up an engagement in the peace process is commendable. It is hoped that the next meeting, scheduled to take place on the margins of the Group of Eight Foreign Ministers’ meeting, will add impetus to this process.
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Sir Mark Lyall Grant (United Kingdom): …
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On the Middle East peace process, where decisive progress is urgently needed, the European Union has demonstrated the practical application of the comprehensive approach, in close coordination with the United Nations. As a member of the Quartet, the European Union has been involved in pressing for a political solution to the conflict, while at the same time providing critical assistance to the Palestinian Authority’s State-building programme, which will continue to provide the foundations of a future and viable Palestinian State.
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Mr. Salam (Lebanon) (spoke in Arabic): …
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Lebanon urges the European Union, which has enhanced its role on the international scene following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, to prioritize its foreign policy in order to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East and to put an end to violations of international law and international humanitarian law. This is all the more important given the European Union’s key position in the international Quartet.
Lebanon believes that the mere occasional condemnation of certain Israeli practices is insufficient. Indeed, such condemnation has not prevented Israel from ignoring the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly, as well as the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice. We recall here that Israeli practices contravene the very principles of the European Union, such as the rejection of violence and racism, the establishment of the rule of law, and respect for basic human rights and international humanitarian law, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention. That Convention prohibits collective punishment, such as that meted out in Gaza, and the transfer of settlers to occupied territories, such as continues to occur in the West Bank today.
It is high time for all parties that seek a two-State solution to recognize the Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and to support it in bringing an end to the occupation of all Palestinian territories. The new Palestinian State should be a Member of the United Nations, and could be before the next session of the General Assembly begins in September.
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Mr. Moungara Moussotsi (Gabon) (spoke in French): …
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With regard to the Middle East, and more specifically the Palestinian question, we commend the European Union’s involvement, in the framework of the Quartet, in relaunching direct Palestinian-Israeli talks to find a lasting negotiated solution to a conflict that has persisted too long. The recent meeting held in Munich, over which Baroness Ashton personally presided, clearly demonstrates the consistent commitment of the European Union to peace in the Middle East and to the creation of a Palestinian State, which we, too, call for wholeheartedly. I am delighted by the similar views of the European Union and Gabon on that issue. We call on the European Union also to continue its support to the Palestinian Authority.
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Mr. Osorio (Colombia) (spoke in Spanish): …
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We value the contribution of the European Union and the members of the Quartet in seeking lasting peace in the Middle East. For Colombia, all approaches towards achieving and strengthening peace in the region must be governed by the fundamental principles of the peaceful settlement of disputes, the obligation on the non-use of force and the free self-determination of peoples. Furthermore, they must be in accordance with due observance of human rights and international humanitarian law and, of course, respect for the dignity of all. Historically, Colombia has maintained that the solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict must lie in the existence of two States living together in peace, which are essential conditions to achieving the stability and security of the region.
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The President: I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of Brazil.
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Brazil appreciates the role that the European Union plays in bringing about a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, which is long overdue. We hope that the peace process can soon resume and move forward quickly so that the international community will swiftly achieve our common goal of two States living side by side in peace and stability. …
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This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of speeches delivered in the other languages. The final text will be printed in the Official Records of the Security Council. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room U-506.
Document Type: Briefing, Meeting record, Provisional verbatim record, Security Council Briefing, Verbatim Record
Document Sources: European Union (EU), Quartet, Security Council
Subject: Assistance, Gaza Strip, Humanitarian relief, Peace process, Quartet
Publication Date: 08/02/2011