30 SEPTEMBER 2015
SC/12064
All United Nations Tools Must Be Used to Reverse Downward Spiral of Instability
in Middle East, North Africa, Secretary-General Tells Security Council
7527th Meeting (AM)
SECURITY COUNCIL | MEETINGS COVERAGE
Rampant instability and terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa could only be stemmed through a united, comprehensive approach that addressed root causes, speakers stressed to the Security Council today in an all-day high-level open debate presided over by the Russian Foreign Minister with a briefing by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
“We must work together to stop this downward spiral, using all United Nations tools,” Mr. Ban said, as he opened the meeting, which also included the participation of the United States Secretary of State and scores of other foreign ministers, with more than 75 high-ranking officials taking the floor in total.
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Some speakers spoke at length about the Israeli-Palestinian situation as a driver of terrorism, saying that the lack of progress in the peace process, the long-term occupation of Palestinian land and tensions over the holy sites were rallying issues for extremism. Israel’s representative, however, said his country had been beset by terrorism since its inception and called for renewed clarity and determination by democracies to prevail against the scourge.
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Statements
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WANG YI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of China, …On the Israel-Palestine conflict, he supported the early restoration of Palestinians’ rights and peaceful coexistence of two States.
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NASSER JUDEH, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Expatriates Affairs of Jordan, said …The only way forward was a two-State solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State along 1967 borders. Restoring stability required a comprehensive political process.
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MOUSSA FAKI MAHAMAT, Minister for Foreign Affairs and African Integration of Chad, …A two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be reached, along with an end to counterproductive Israeli practices. In Syria, renewed momentum to promote direct dialogue between the parties was critical. He urged the international community to come together with regional organizations under the leading role of the Security Council to end the “existential threat” of terrorism.
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DELCY RODRÍGUEZ, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, said there was a moral debt to be paid to Palestinians. The conflict had been provoked by Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territory, which complicated the broader situation in the Middle East. A two-State solution could not be achieved when terrorists were massacring Palestinians; there must be two equal, sovereign States. Israel promoted terrorism, which affected Israelis themselves. She urged examining power centres that controlled the media and other actors, as well as the economic models that had led to poverty, asking whether the Arab Spring had brought greater happiness and democracy.
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DATO’ SRI ANIFAH AMAN, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, …The world must not allow the plight of the long-suffering Palestinians living under occupation to be cynically exploited by terrorist groups. In order to continue playing a constructive and positive role in the region’s conflicts, the Council must find the will to overcome differences and speak in one voice.
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U. JOY OGWU (Nigeria),…calling for the resumption of negotiations for a two-State solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said that the lack of progress there had exacerbated the rise of terrorism in the Middle East and Africa.
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SHEIKH SABAH KHALED AL-HAMAD AL SABAH, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kuwait, …The most outstanding example of failure was the Palestinian question, the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Council must assume its responsibilities, as stipulated by the Charter, and work on implementing its resolutions in support of the rights of the Palestinian people.
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SAMEH HASSAN SHOKRY SELIM, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt, said …An independent Palestinian State, good governance, and provision of basic services could collectively provide the region the peace and security to which it aspired.
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M. JAVAD ZARIF, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iran, said …It should also address the occupation of Palestine and Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people over so many decades. He regretted that one or two neighbours of Iran had failed to recognize the scale of the threat and continued to behave irresponsibility.
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NABIL ELARABY, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, said that the international community, in discussing terrorism, must not forget that there was also the terrorism of States, namely, the practices of Israel. Palestine had been occupied since 1948. The Security Council had called on Israel to withdraw from Egypt, Jordan and Syria; however, Israel had not withdrawn from Palestine, as well as some parts of Lebanese and Syrian territory, and had also tried to grab other Palestinian territories through actions considered illegal by the Security Council and the International Court of Justice. He asked why the Council did not take action even while Israel attacked Christian and Muslim holy sites, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque. One of the reasons for the current state of affairs was the use of the veto. The Council had started working in 1946 and yet its rules of procedure were still provisional. There was not a permanent standing set of standards, he said, urging the international community to face up to the challenges of the twenty-first century.
KHALID BIN MOHAMMED AL-ATTIYA, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, said…The international community should revive the political process on the Palestinian-Israeli front if it wanted to reduce tensions in the region. Political settlements in Syria and Yemen, too, would require a demonstration of greater political will on the part of the international community.
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JEAN ASSELBORN, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg, said…The security of Israel would be strengthened by the establishment of an independent Palestinian State. The past could not be changed, but lessons could be learned for the future.
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IYAD AMEEN MADANI, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), …the consequences of the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people owing to an unjust and illegal occupation, and the invasion of Iraq had dangerous fallouts. The multifaceted dimensions of the conflicts must be addressed.
Within that context, he said, the OIC had initiated specific projects that focused on understanding and addressing the political and socioeconomic environments that bred conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism and violent extremism. It also focused on the need to counter all types of radical extremist discourses as well as the underlying causes of sectarian violence. Today, the flag of Palestine flew high at the United Nations, reflecting the sentiment of the overwhelming majority of the international community in support of that just cause.
DIDIER REYNDERS, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Belgium, said …The renewed tensions in Jerusalem underscored the need for revitalizing the political process between Palestine and Israel to ensure durable peace and stability in the region.
MAURO VIEIRA, Minister for External Relations of Brazil, …Israel and Palestine must resume talks under parameters that could lead to a two-State solution. In Libya and Yemen, he urged avoiding the use of unilateral force and supported working with parties to promote dialogue.
ERLAN A. IDRISSOV, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan said …Improvement in the current situation in the Middle East depended on resolution of the Palestinian issue. Kazakhstan recognized the legitimate right of self-determination for the Palestinian people and strongly supported the creation of an independent State of Palestine within 1967 borders. States must reject the unconstitutional and illegal use of military force, including external foreign military interventions, which only led to the destruction of Statehood.
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KARL ERJAVEC, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, said …Resumption of political talks between Israel and the Palestinians was crucial to lasting peace and security in the region.
ABDULLAH GHOBASH, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, said …His country believed that peace and security in the region could be bolstered by achieving a final, lasting and just settlement of the Palestinian cause, the major threat to peace and security in the region.
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TZIPI HOTOVELY, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel, said that her country had long been the subject of terror campaigns. Now that the Middle East and North Africa were experiencing a broad expansion of terror, Israel was flanked by terror groups on all its frontiers: Hizbullah and Jabhat al-Nusra in the north, ISIL-Sinai in the south, and Hamas in Gaza, which last year had launched thousands of missiles against civilian targets while tunnelling under the border. Israel, she said, dealt with that huge security threat while scrupulously abiding by international humanitarian law, and Hamas turned those principles on their head through the use of human shields. Unapologetic clarity was needed in the fight against terror. Israel’s commitment to the rule of law and democracy allowed its foes to use its principles against it, but democracy would always prevail through a fierce conviction to do battle with any or all those who strove to defile the sanctity of human life.
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PETER VARGHESE, Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, said the causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and others in Libya and Yemen, were “diabolically” complex.
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ABDULAZIZ ABDULRAHMAN ALAMMAR, Permanent Observer of the Gulf Cooperation Council, called for resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he maintained was fuelling terrorism in the region.
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AIZAZ AHMAD CHAUDHRY, Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, said the Middle East Spring had become the autumn of despair. The Palestine issue was the primary cause of instability in the Middle East. He advocated the creation of a viable Palestinian State based on 1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
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MILORAD ŠĆEPANOVIĆ, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro, said On the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, key actors should bring both sides back to the negotiation table. The parameters of a peace package for a two-State solution were already in place.
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ABDALLAH Y. AL-MOUALLIMI (Saudi Arabia) said the root causes of conflict in the Middle East and North Africa included domination, exclusion and a lack of international law, citing Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and aggression against the Al-Aqsa mosque. The international community must immediately end Israeli occupation of Palestine and other Arab territories. He supported the creation of a Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital.
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ASOKE KUMAR MUKERJI (India) called for the Council to invest more in political efforts to resolve the multiple conflicts in the region under discussion, including the civil war in Syria, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the intensified militia warfare in Libya and the worsening situation in Yemen.
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KINGSLEY MAMABOLO (South Africa), …called on the Council to redouble its efforts to promote conditions for inclusive dialogue aimed at political solutions to all conflicts in the region, including the one between Israelis and Palestinians and those in Syria, Libya and Yemen.
HAHN CHOONGHEE (Republic of Korea) said that in the many worrisome and even terrifying developments in the Middle East and North Africa, key stakeholders needed to clarify common strategies and priorities. It was time to move beyond differences on the Syrian conflict and ISIL. Political transitions in Yemen and Libya should be inclusive, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must not be put on the back burner.
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Taking the floor a second time, Iran’s representative said comments by his counterpart from Israel were irrelevant to today’s debate. Foreign occupation was the gravest form of terrorism. There was no doubt that that regime was responsible for oppression, civilian deaths, genocide and war crimes, as well as for turning millions of Palestinians into refugees. Its State terrorism had created deadly oppression around the world.
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Document Type: French text, Press Release, Statement
Document Sources: Secretary-General, Security Council
Subject: Holy places, Incidents, International presence, Jerusalem, Peace process, Peace proposals and efforts, Security issues, Situation in the OPT including Jerusalem, Statehood-related, Terrorism
Publication Date: 30/09/2015