Explanation of Security Council vote in favour of draft resolution presented by Jordan – France MoFA statement/Non-UN document

مجلس الأمن – مشروع القرار الفلسطيني – تفسير تصويت السيّد فرانسوا دولاتر، الممثل الدائم لفرنسا لدى الأمم المتحدة(30 ديسمبر/كانون الأوّل 2014 )

(December 30, 2014)

Unofficial translation

Jordan presented Tuesday December 30th a Palestinian draft resolution at the Security Council. Put to the vote, the draft failed to pass: 8 votes in favor, 2 votes against and 5 abstentions. After the vote, François Delattre, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, pronounced the following explanation of vote:

Mr. President,

Since the end of peace talks last April, the situation has deteriorated. We are facing two threats:

First, the necessary two-state solution is on the verge of becoming a mirage. The illegal continuation of settlement-building is straining the viability of a Palestinian state on the ground. In both Israel and Palestine, public opinion is becoming radicalized.

Second, the violence is escalating, from Gaza to the West Bank by way of Jerusalem. The conditions are ripe for a general conflagration.

We are aware of the crux of the problem: the lack of a political future that meets the legitimate needs of both the Israeli and Palestinian people. For the Palestinians, the aspiration to a sovereign, independent state; for the Israelis, the guarantee of lasting security. These two legitimate demands can be resolved only by moving toward the solution familiar to us all: sharing territory in a way that makes it possible to forge two states for two people.

Mr. President,

France believes in the possibility of a fair and definitive for both parties. We must give ourselves the means to achieve it. These means are collective. The successive failure of negotiations over the past 20 years reminds us that the peace process as we are conducting it must change. For largely domestic reasons, the parties cannot take alone the difficult decisions required to conclude negotiations. The United States cannot alone bear the burden of seeking this difficult peace. After more than 25 years of negotiations, the international community must share the weight of these negotiations and bear its share of the political and historical responsibility.

France is determined to help a method emerge that provides greater support for negotiations by the concerned international partners – i.e., the European Union, the Arab League and the permanent members of this Council – along with and in support of the major role played by Washington.

This collective effort must be based on the indisputable foundation that only the Security Council can provide, in order for the negotiations to be credible. It is up to us to determine internationally recognized parameters to resolve the conflict, and negotiations that lead to the satisfaction of the various claims.

That is what the Council and its members are here to do today. To fully exercise their responsibilities in the area of peacekeeping and international security.

Mr. President,

It is for this purpose that we have constantly urged this Council to act, in order to establish a credible basis for peace. France wanted to offer – in the form of a draft resolution – a constructive, reasonable and consensual alternative to the initial Palestinian draft, in order for the Security Council to become a positive actor in the conflict rather than the theater of protests, theoretical declarations and successive vetoes.

Unfortunately, despite this positive approach and goodwill, no credible negotiations have gotten under way, while the deteriorating situation on the ground makes it imperative to act without delay.

Motivated by the urgent need to act, by the profound necessity to change our methods, by the responsibility incumbent upon each member of the Security Council, we therefore voted in favor of the resolution presented by Jordan.

That does not mean that this text is ideal. We have reservations about some of its formulations, and about the method adopted to present it. We would have preferred, and continue to wish for, an approach based on consensus in order to rally all the members of this Council around a clear and recognized vision: that of an independent, sovereign, democratic Palestinian State living in peace and security alongside Israel, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.

While the modalities of a solution that is fair to Palestinian refugees, or the details of security arrangements – notably the withdrawal of Israeli forces – fall within the scope of the agreement to be concluded by the parties, we can and must collectively establish the broad parameters of these negotiations. We must also establish a clear timetable for their completion – for how can negotiations be credible if they never end? The draft presented by France provides for that.

Mr. President,

France regrets that it isn’t possible to reach a consensus today on the points that should have the international community’s backing. But our efforts must not stop here; it is our responsibility to try again. Before it’s too late.

France will therefore continue its efforts.

Thank you.

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy-1/united-nations/events-2136/events-2014-7848/article/security-council-palestinian-draft