General
General Assembly President Welcomes Newest Member State; Calls for Transparent, Impartial Negotiated Israeli-Palestinian Peace.
Opening the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate amid a global climate marked by lingering financial uncertainty, widening social inequality and growing cries for self-determination, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged world leaders to tackle those challenges decisively so as to secure a better world for future generations.
“We have five imperatives — five generational opportunities to shape the world of tomorrow by the decisions we make today,” the Secretary-General said, calling on delegations to rally behind a set of priorities including sustainable development; preventing and mitigating conflicts, human rights abuses and the impacts of natural disasters; building a safer, more secure world; supporting countries in transition; and boosting opportunities and participation for women and young people.
Flagging sustainable development as the most pressing of those concerns, he said: “We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security and women’s empowerment. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all.” It was also necessary to start thinking immediately about concrete ways to take the Millennium Development Goal agenda forward, beyond the 2015 deadline. He called on leaders to reach a binding agreement on climate change, with more ambitious national and global targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and to take urgent emission-cutting action and adaptation measures.
He went on to say that the effort to build a safer and more secure world was the core responsibility of the United Nations, noting that it had been “sorely tested” in that regard. In Côte d’Ivoire, the Organization had “stood firm” for democracy and human rights, while in Afghanistan and Iraq, it would carry on its missions with determination and commitment. “In Darfur, we continue to save lives and help keep peace under difficult conditions,” he added.
But, turning to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an issue that was much on the mind of all speakers today, he said: “[We] must break the stalemate. We have long agreed that Palestinians deserve a State. Israel needs security. Both want peace,” pledging unrelenting efforts to help achieve that peace through a negotiated settlement. As for the dramatic events in North Africa and the Middle East, he cited Syria as a cause for special concern. “For six months we have seen escalating violence and repression. […] The violence must stop.” On a more positive note, the United Nations was deploying a special mission to support the transitional authorities in Libya, he said. “Let us help make the Arab Spring a true season of hope for all.”
In his address, Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser ( Qatar) noted that the United Nations had this year welcomed its newest Member State, South Sudan. The question of Palestine would also be particularly crucial and receive great attention during the coming session. He said he looked forward to working with Member States for a just and comprehensive negotiated peace, based on a two-State solution and conducted in a transparent, impartial manner, in keeping with the will of the collective United Nations membership.
Recalling the theme of the general debate, “The role of mediation in the settlement of disputes”, he said mediation had been one of the key reasons for which the Organization had been founded. In its previous session, the Assembly had taken an important step by adopting its first ever resolution on mediation as a vital tool for conflict prevention and resolution. “It is my intention to give high priority to mediation through this session, to galvanize this theme and operationalize it for real multilateral capacity,” he said.
Also reflecting on the sweeping changes of the past year, President Barack Obama of the United States said: “Something is happening in our world. The way things have been is not the way they will be.” He noted that dictators were now “on notice”; technology was putting power in the hands of the people. “But, remember, peace is hard,” he cautioned. “Progress can be reversed. Prosperity comes slowly and societies can split apart.” As such, the measure of success for the United Nations was whether people could live in sustained peace and security, he said.
President Obama acknowledged that for many in the Assembly Hall, the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians was a test of that principle and of United States foreign policy. Recalling that he had called for an independent Palestine one year ago, he said: “I believed then — and I believe now — that the Palestinian people deserve a State of their own.” However, he had also said that genuine peace could only be realized between Israelis and Palestinians themselves. “I know that many are frustrated by the lack of progress. So am I. But, the question isn’t the goal we seek; the question is how to reach it,” he said.
Convinced that there was no shortcut to the end of a conflict that had endured for decades, he said it was ultimately Israelis and Palestinians who must live side by side, and it was they — “not us” — who must reach agreement on the issues dividing them, including borders and security; refugees and the status of Jerusalem. “Peace depends upon compromise among peoples who must live together long after our speeches are over, and our votes have been counted,” he said, emphasizing that the deadlock could only be broken when each side learned to stand in the other’s shoes.
But later in the meeting, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said that after the past year, when populations crushed by oppression had risen up to claim the right to be free, the world must find a solution to the Israel-Palestinian stand-off. By setting preconditions for negotiations, “we doom ourselves to failure”, he said, calling for a halt to “endless debates on the parameters”. He proposed a timetable for reaching a “definitive agreement”, with talks to resume within a month and a final deal to be reached in a year. He also offered to host a donors’ conference to help the Palestinians complete the construction of their future State.
“We should not look for a perfect solution, because there are no perfect solutions,” he emphasized. Member States therefore faced a choice: everyone knew that Palestine could not immediately gain full and complete recognition as a Member State, yet a veto in the Security Council risked engendering a cycle of violence in the Middle East, he pointed out. “Let us not be diplomats for a day,” he said, urging delegates not to exclude an intermediate stage in resolving the conflict. Such a solution would offer Palestine the status of a United Nations observer State. The ultimate goal must be the mutual recognition of two nation-States for two peoples, established on the basis of the 1967 lines, with agreed and equivalent exchanges of land, he said.
Another example of the changes occurring in the past year was the appearance of President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, the only woman in the 66-year history of the United Nations to speak first in the general debate. Taking the podium to rousing applause, she declared: “I am certain this will be the century of women.” Among three other women Heads of State addressing the Assembly — along with the Presidents of Argentina, Finland and Switzerland — she set the tone for the discussions, recalling the mass popular demonstrations that sparked the “Arab Spring”.
She said Member States must be united in finding legitimate and effective ways to help societies that called for reform, while keeping their citizens in the lead. Brazil repudiated the brutal repression of civilians and remained convinced that the use of force must always be a last resort, she said, emphasizing also that the quest for peace and security must not be limited to interventions in extreme situations. While much had been said about the “responsibility to protect”, little was heard about responsibility while protecting — two concepts that must be developed together.
She was among several speakers who underscored the Security Council’s vital role in that regard, arguing further that the greater the legitimacy of that body’s decisions, the better it would be able to play its part. However, its legitimacy hung on reform, which, after 18 years, could no longer be delayed. “The world needs a Security Council that reflects contemporary realities,” she asserted, calling for new permanent and non-permanent members, particularly from developing countries.
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda challenged diplomats on their commitment to the session’s theme, saying: “While it is appropriate to talk about how mediation can support efforts to prevent and manage conflict, we should also ask ourselves why, after decades of trying, we are not making the progress we would like to in this regard.” The likelihood of conflict was high when citizens felt disenfranchised and marginalized, and it made good economic and political sense to invest in conflict prevention, thus reducing the potential for future outbreaks and avoiding short-term quick-fix solutions, he said.
Experience had shown that, if mediation was to succeed, national efforts should be supported on the basis of specific cultural and political contexts, he said. Rwanda had seen that type of approach to mediation produce long-lasting solutions and tangible results on the ground because they were “home-grown”. Involving regional and subregional players, who were familiar with often-complex local dynamics, was also important, as was examining the toll that traditional diplomatic mediation could have on the lives of those in conflict areas. “Too often while resolutions are being debated and refined, people are dying,” he pointed out, stressing that ultimately, long-lasting solutions were those emanating from within.
Also speaking today were the Presidents of Mexico, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Lebanon, Republic of Korea, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, Colombia, Nigeria, Estonia, Switzerland, Honduras, Ukraine, Paraguay, Guyana, Mongolia, South Africa, Latvia, Guatemala, Senegal, Mozambique, Bolivia and Slovenia.
Also addressing the Assembly were the Amir of Qatar, the King of Jordan and the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The General Assembly will reconvene at 9 a.m. on Thursday, 22 September, to open its High-level Meeting to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. At 11 a.m., it will continue the general debate.
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