AHLC and other reports

Statement by United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, on recent developments related to Palestinian unity

Jerusalem, 13 September 2017

“I welcome the recent developments related to Palestinian unity in Cairo. Reconciliation is critical to addressing the grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza, preventing the continuing militant buildup and restoring hope for the future.

I urge all parties to seize the current positive momentum and reach an agreement that would allow the Palestinian Government to immediately take up its responsibilities in Gaza.

Gaza is and must be an integral part of any future Palestinian state. Unity is an essential step towards the peaceful realisation of the Palestinian national aspirations.”

بيان صادر عن المنسق الخاص للأمم المتحدة لعملية السلام في الشرق الأوسط، السيد نيكولاي ملادينوف بشأن التطورات الأخيرة المتعلقة بالوحدة الفلسطينية

القدس، 13 أيلول 2017

"أرحب بالتطورات الأخيرة المتعلقة بالوحدة الفلسطينية في القاهرة. إن المصالحة هي أمر بالغ الأهمية من أجل معالجة الأزمة الإنسانية الخطيرة في غزة، وكبح التكديس المستمر للاسلحة واستعادة الأمل في المستقبل.

أحث جميع الأطراف على اغتنام الزخم الإيجابي الراهن والتوصل إلى اتفاق يسمح للحكومة الفلسطينية بأن تتولى مسؤولياتها فورا في غزة.

ان غزة هي ويجب أن تكون جزءا لا يتجزأ من أي دولة فلسطينية مستقبلية. ان الوحدة هي خطوة أساسية نحو التحقيق السلمي للتطلعات الوطنية الفلسطينية".

Prof Reichman, President and Founder of the Interdisciplinary Centre (IDC) in Herzliya,

Prof Ganor, Founder and Executive Director of the IDC,

Chairman of the Board, Mr Shavit,

Honourable Minister Shaked,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for the opportunity to address the 17th World Summit on Counter-Terrorism.

It is quite symbolic that we meet today on September 11th, a day at which practically anyone in the western world will remember where they were 16 years ago on this day when the biggest terrorist attack on American soil happened.

On this day, I am also humbled to speak before an audience in which there are many who sadly remember and have lived through many other terrorist attacks. Israel is a country that has lived with terror for decades. Decades in which most families have been hurt by violence and terror. Decades in which most families have remembered the losses, the sadness, the fear and the trauma that terror causes.

I speak also as someone who has sadly lived with that phenomena for most of my life. The first car bomb that I experienced was at the age of seven. In Iraq I’ve lost friends and colleagues. My own country, Bulgaria, has experienced terror.

In the last couple of years, as the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, I can attest to how vastly destructive the impact of terrorism is, not just on human beings but also on the prospects of peace.

Sadly, in this part of the world, extremists have chosen terrorism as their most prominent tool to destroy political processes, to destroy the prospects of peace. That is why standing up firmly to terror must be an integral part of any peace effort, not just in words but also in deeds.

Just as we often speak of the need to promote peace through sustainable development and economic opportunity, so we must insulate efforts to achieve peace in the region from the risks that terror and violence bring.

In the Middle East of today, we face a reality in which terrorist threats are interconnected. To tackle them we need a broad approach that extends well beyond the borders of any one country and go beyond the region as a whole.

Today’s reality demands a new international approach on how we deal with the new threats that the Middle East and North Africa face. I would like to briefly speak about three processes that together unfortunately create the perfect storm that we see unfolding right now in the Middle East, before I make some suggestions of how to deal with these challenges.

Firstly, we see a process of collapsing states that lack democratic legitimacy, that lack strong institutions, or the ability to deliver services to their people. In Syria a president stood up against his own people. In Iraq, a collapsed state was replaced by ethnic and sectarian divisions.

When such states are unable to meet the legitimate demands of their people for representation, economic and social development, security or human dignity, they create space for radical groups and extremists.

In late 2013, the Iraqi people in the Anbar province and elsewhere took to the streets demanding jobs, dignity and fair economic and social opportunities. They were not met with dialogue but with guns. Soon their protests that had turned into sit-ins that were infiltrated by Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and ISIL and by the spring of 2014. Their agenda was hijacked by radical extremists with a destructive agenda.

Had the government reacted differently, perhaps that would not have happened.

At the same time, we see across the Middle East the implosion of marginalized communities. Groups that are impoverished, or have been disenfranchised, or feel marginalized or discriminated against quickly collapse under the pressure of radical extremists; And become breeding grounds for terror, mass atrocities and violence.

Almost two years before Mosul fell to the hands of ISIL, all the signs were there; and the United Nations had been warning the world. For years the people in Mosul lived in fear of the central government. They felt that their dignity was not respected. Their lacked economic opportunities, institutions were corrupt and ineffective. People felt marginalized. In the period before the fall of Mosul to the hands of DAESH, practically every single elected representative was killed, maimed, kidnapped or kicked out by the terror organizations.

Terror struck in waves; first it struck elected officials, then it struck civilians, then it struck religious communities, and last but not least, it struck schools.

In the last couple of months before the fall of Mosul, we had a surge of terror attacks in which suicide bombers attacked schools. This destroyed the social structures of society.

As states collapse, as social structures implode, the international community lacks the tools to deal with the trans-border threats that face the region today. Our instruments were designed to deal primarily with state-to-state conflicts. They would have helped us deal with a war between Iraq and Syria, but how do we deal with a war inside Iraq and inside Syria that risks to spread and engulf everyone around them?

These are some of the challenges that today we need to find the answers to and to deal with at an international, regional and national level.

We in the United Nations, together with our many partners around the world, are investing great attention and resources in trying to fix our own approaches so that we have a better understanding of what needs to be done.

We are investing not just in providing humanitarian relief to suffering communities but also working to help still-functioning states and as-yet-unbroken communities in the region protect themselves from the vulnerabilities of what is happening around us.

It is very important that we take the necessary actions to prevent further conflict.

UN Secretary-General Guterres has been very much focused on developing a new vision for the Organization; one which prioritizes prevention over response. As part of his efforts to focus on preventing violence, conflict and mass atrocities, he has also established a UN Office for Counter-Terrorism.

My colleague, Jehangir Khan will speak later more specifically on these developments.

I would like to focus on five objectives related to how we deal with terror in the international community that warrant some discussion.

Firstly, is the moral foundation for our work — zero tolerance for the justification or legitimization of terror. In Israel, this is particularly pertinent discussion. It is however a very valid discussion well beyond the borders of your state.

We must constantly reaffirm and strengthen the clear international consensus against terror. Let me quote a UN General Assembly Resolution (49/60), adopted in 1994: “Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them”.

So first we need to condemn terror, then secondly we have an obligation to promote inclusive political solutions to conflicts.

Experience in this part of the world has shown us that if you create hope, and then take hope away, most of the time you end up with violence. This is particularly pertinent to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Today, we live in a historical period in which the hope for peace and for a solution to the conflict is well beyond the reach of political leaders on all sides.

Terrorism strives where there is division and suffocates when the core grievances that people have are addressed.

This is one of the reasons why in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is important to create the hope for peace by recreating a political horizon to address the final status issues. Such a political process needs to be accompanied by economic and social measures that improve the lives of Palestinians and a regional framework that insulates the process from those who will seek to destroy it.

The third objective that we must focus on is the need to address the political and socio-economic factors that breed violent extremism. Across the region, this means investing in development, upholding human rights and strengthening the resilience of communities against extremism.

Fourthly, we need to focus on the coordinated fight against the drivers and enablers of terrorism at an international level. We need to strengthen the international response to incitement and radical propaganda; focus on illicit weapons smuggling and production; the financial flows to terror groups; the movement of foreign fighters; and the question of accountability for states in upholding their international obligations.

Last but not least, we also have a political objective that I believe is very important and that is to strengthening the forces of moderation in the Middle East. Over the last year or so, we have seen a growing understanding among leaders in some countries of the Arab world of the need to focus on this priority and this a welcome development.

Ladies and gentlemen,

These are just some of the priorities that I suggest we should look at in our international efforts to address the threat of terrorism, particularly here in the Middle East. Much more can be said and certainly much more can be done.

In closing, let me remind everyone that sadly terrorists have a doubly de-humanizing impact on all. On the one hand, they brand entire populations as legitimate targets. On the other, they stigmatize their own ethnic or religious groups as potential terrorists. We should not allow them to win by caving into this bias. The negative action of one terrorist today still resonates widely, while the actions of many individuals who work every day to prevent violence remain unnoticed.

I hope that this conference will be able to speak to how we challenge this visibility bias and the de-humanizing effect of terror.

But let us also not shy away from the political task that we have before us, the political challenge of our time — how do we strengthen the forces of moderation and how do we increase the residence of communities so that we can together stand against violent extremism and terror.

Hopefully, this forum can contribute to how we formulate a much broader and multidimensional approach to counter-terrorism at an international level.

Thank you.

Dear Prime Minister, Ambassador, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

I am honoured to speak to you today after visiting the Museum of the Jewish People, which tells a story stretching over millennia and to all corners of the world.

This remarkably rich mosaic is a Jewish legacy. But it is also an important part of the collective heritage of humanity, a showcase of its highest summits and its lowest depths.

One cannot escape the fact that so many communities, where Jews lived and thrived for centuries, no longer exist because of countless waves of persecution and genocide.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

For one of my first speeches as Secretary-General, I took part in the International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony in the UN General Assembly Hall.

The Holocaust was an incomparable tragedy and an incomparable crime in human history.

The world has a duty to remember that the Holocaust was a systematic attempt to eliminate the Jewish people, together with some others.

Let us also recognize that the Holocaust was the culmination of thousands of years of hatred and discrimination targeting the Jews – what we now call anti-Semitism.

I am ashamed that my own country, Portugal, is marred by this history, and I was deeply moved by the eloquent testimony in the museum about the history of Portuguese Jews, their predicament, and their success around the world.

The persecution reached its height with the order by King Manuel I in the 16^th century, expelling all Jews who refused to convert. This was a hideous crime that caused tremendous suffering.

But it was also a colossally stupid act that deprived Portugal of much of the country’s dynamism and led to prolonged periods of cultural and economic stagnation.

Many Portuguese Jews went to the Netherlands, and we have seen a model of that wonderful building, the Portuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam, and they helped that country become one of the 17th century’s leading economies and innovators.

When I became Prime Minister in 1995, I felt it was my duty to demonstrate my country's remorse for the Portuguese Inquisition and centuries of merciless attacks against the Jews.

In 1996, the Parliament revoked the letter of expulsion. This was an admittedly symbolic act, but the spirit of repentance was genuine. Several descendants of expelled families have now exercised their right to regain Portuguese nationality.

And I then was able to visit the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam to formally present a copy of that decree and apologize on behalf of my country.

I was impressed, as everybody can be, looking at the model right here, by the beauty of that Synagogue, and moved by what I learned about the vibrancy of Jewish life in the years before the Second World War. But sadly, in the Netherlands too, the Jewish community was almost completely destroyed by the Holocaust. As we have seen again and again, anti-Semitism tends to come back.

After the Holocaust, the founding of the United Nations generated hope that the world could avoid such hatred and violence and would work together to advance equality and human rights for all.

Yet, anti-Semitism and intolerance remain disturbingly widespread.

There are still people who, despite the facts, deny the Holocaust or diminish its scope. There is even a tendency in some countries to rewrite the history around the Second World War and to rehabilitate some of the figures that were themselves involved in the crimes and the tragedy of the Holocaust.

The Internet and social media are filled with hate speech and anti-Semitic imagery.

We hear on the streets of democratic societies the repeating of some of the most vile Nazi chants and charges, just a few weeks ago, “blood and soil” or “the Jews will not replace us”.

Today, anti-Semitism, along with racism, xenophobia, anti-Muslim hatred and other forms of intolerance, are being triggered by populism and by political figures who exploit fear to win votes. Immigrants, refugees and minorities across the world are also among the most frequent targets of this animus.

Let me stress that when I talk about anti-Semitism, I include calls for the destruction of Israel. Israel is a Member State of the United Nations. It bears all the responsibilities and enjoys all the rights of every other Member State and, therefore, it must be treated as such.

As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I am determined to do everything I can to stand against anti-Semitism and to all other forms of bigotry and discrimination.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Three months from now, we will mark the 70^th anniversary of the vote at the General Assembly on the “Partition Plan” that led to the creation of the state of Israel. Seventy years later, however, the promise of peace has not yet been delivered. Decades of conflict have cost thousands of lives and left deep scars in virtually every Palestinian and Israeli family.

The United Nations remains committed to providing Israelis and Palestinians with all possible assistance and support to reach the goal of a comprehensive two-state solution.

I have observed this process over the years with great concern, as someone who cares deeply about this land and its people.

As Prime Minister of Portugal and in other political capacities, I worked with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and was impressed by the genuine desire they have shown to provide a secure and dignified future for their peoples, hoping to see a negotiated solution of two states based on relevant UN resolutions.

Like many here and around the world, I have gone from great hopes about the peace process, to frustration over its stagnation.

It is my deep belief that a two-state solution is the only way forward – the only path towards the historic compromise that can settle this conflict and lead to a better future for all.

That is why I have been, and will continue to be, expressing my disagreement when it’s the case, with unilateral measures and facts on the ground that can or could undermine that solution –including settlement activities, but also continued violence, terror and incitement.

I am well aware of the suspicious polarization and despair that have kept each side from seeing the other as a partner. I am equally cognizant of the political difficulties faced by each side’s political leaders.

Yet I believe there is no alternative to a negotiated solution between the two parties.

It is equally clear that we in the international community cannot simply turn away and allow the situation to deteriorate. We have a role and a responsibility to support the parties in resolving this conflict.

The basic premise has not changed – this land is the ancestral homeland of two peoples.

Both have an undeniable historic and religious bond with it; both have a right to live on it independently and as a free people, as masters of their own fate.

Anyone visiting Israel is left with no doubt that it has fulfilled the rights and national aspirations of Jews throughout generations.

Your country has become renowned worldwide for its great cultural, scientific, technological and scholarly achievements.

We had the opportunity just two days ago to see some remarkable examples of innovation that can be of extreme utility for humankind all over the world in fighting climate change or in accomplishing the Sustainable Development Goals.

You have succeeded in protecting your security against many threats, and signing peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and building successful international alliances.

Most importantly, you have created, for the first time in 2,000 years, a home for your people.

It is now overdue that the Palestinians also fulfill their legitimate rights and national aspirations.

I am deeply convinced that, when they do, when they are citizens of their own state, living side by side in peace and security with Israel, Jews will enjoy greater security – as it needs to be guaranteed, prosperity and recognition, and it will be an even greater source of pride for Israelis and for Jews around the world.

I know that many in Israel share this conviction.

Young men and women, including many of you here today, have the power to challenge physical and psychological barriers and seek to build a common future.

Allow me to pay tribute to Palestinians and Israelis who are taking positive actions in their daily lives, often very quietly, to promote tolerance, cooperation and understanding between the two peoples.

I was deeply moved this morning. We visited Nahal Oz, a kibbutz close to the Gaza Strip, that has been bombarded several times and in which one child has been killed by a rocket. I had the enormous pleasure, when talking to the families of the kibbutzim, to note that instead of what would be natural, a feeling of anger in relation to what is an attack on civilians and a violation of international humanitarian law, I have seen from them an extraordinary message of peace and reconciliation, asking us to help the Palestinians in Gaza to overcome their tragic humanitarian problems and being themselves ready to help and to provide support to the Palestinian community in Gaza.

It was a fantastic example of solidarity, of humanity, of tolerance, that I want to pay tribute here publicly today.

The voices of these true peacemakers must not be drowned out by the strident voices and violent actions of the far fewer agents of hate and division.

Let us not forget that those individual peacebuilders represent the best faces of their communities and serve as the human foundation so essential for a lasting peace, here and everywhere.

Thank you very much.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, thank you very much for your presence.

I am deeply moved to be in Gaza today, unfortunately, to witness one of the most dramatic humanitarian crises that I have seen in many years working as a humanitarian in the United Nations.

And deeply impressed by the suffering of the Gaza people in these tragic circumstances. Gaza needs a solution for its problems but, in between, I appeal to the international community to strongly support humanitarian aid in Gaza and, from the limited resources of our Central Emergency Relief Fund, I have ordered the immediate release of $4 million to support the activities of the United Nations staff that is working for the benefit of the Gaza people in these tragic circumstances.

I have to say that I am very proud of the work that the UN staff, the majority of them from Gaza, is doing here in support of the people of Gaza in these very difficult moments.

The solution for the problems of the people of Gaza is not humanitarian.

I would like to leave here with two strong appeals.

The first, an appeal for unity. Yesterday, I was in Ramallah. Today, I am in Gaza. They are both parts of the same Palestine. So, I appeal for the unity, in line with the principles of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. The division only undermines the cause of the Palestinian people.

The second appeal, allow me to repeat what I said yesterday in Ramallah, with many years of contact with this conflict, I have a dream. A dream to one day see the Holy Land with two states – Israel and Palestine – living in peace and security together. Because of the that, I have appealed for a credible political process in order to address the problems that exist and to allow for the two-state solution to be implemented, removing the obstacles on the ground. But, at the same time, together with that political process, a program of action to improve the living conditions of the Palestinian people. It is important to open the closures, in line with resolution 1860 of the Security Council. It is important to avoid the buildup of the militantism that can undermine the confidence between the two people.

And being in Gaza, allow me to express my dream in a different way: the dream to be able to come back to Gaza one day and to see Gaza as part of a Palestinian state in peace, with prosperity and welfare for the people of this wonderful place.

Shoukran.

When visiting this museum, there are of course many emotions and many feelings, but the most important of them is the feeling of the suffering of the Palestinian people. Since many years, when in different capacities as Prime Minister of Portugal and as president of an international political organization, I was following very closely the peace processes in its hopes and in its frustrations.

I have a dream, a dream to see in the Holy Land two states: A Palestinian state and Israeli state, living together in peace and security, in mutual recognition and allowing for this kind of suffering not to be possible anymore.

Whatever I can do as Secretary General of the United Nations to support what I believe is necessary - a serious political process aiming at creating the two state solution and at the same time a serious process to improve the living conditions of the Palestinian people, everything that I will be able to do, I feel deeply motivated to do my best.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister, for your words and for your warm reception here in Ramallah.

I want to express very strongly the total commitment of the United Nations, and my personal total commitment, to do everything for a two-state solution to the materialize. I’ve said several times that there is no plan B to the two-state solution.

A two-state solution that will end the occupation and, with the creation of conditions, also the suffering even to the Palestinian people, is in my opinion the only way to guarantee that peace is established and, at the same time, that two states can live together in security and in mutual recognition, and we do everything we can to work in that direction.

That means, naturally, that it is important to remove the obstacles for that solution to be implemented. We recognize that the settlement activity that, as I’ve said several times, is illegal under international law, that the settlement activity is an obstacle that needs to be removed in relation to the possibility of two-state solution to be adequately implemented.

Of course, there are more difficulties, more obstacles. It’s important to create the conditions for leaders on both sides to appeal for calm, to avoid forms of incitement, for violence to settle down… There are many things that need to be done, but obviously, the settlement activities represent a major obstacle in relation to the implementation of the two-state solution.

It is my deep belief that it is essential to restart a serious and credible political process of negotiation aiming at that objective – the two-state solution – as it is also important to create conditions on the ground to improve the situation of Palestinian populations. But it is also important to recognize that improvements of economic and social nature and mobility on the ground are not a replacement for the two-state solution or for the serious political process of the negotiation. They are just a necessary complement of these negotiations to strengthen its viability and to make sure that there is a peace dividend felt by populations that help enhance also the commitment of populations in relation to peace.

I would also like to say that we remain very concerned with the humanitarian situation in Gaza. We are totally committed to support UNRWA’a activity as well as the activities of reconstruction that are taking place in Gaza. We will do also everything possible to support the effort that President Abbas is making in order to create conditions for a unified leadership both in West Bank and Gaza, with the dialogue for peace behind it. I want to express also my wishes of the best success in all your efforts to improving the governance, improving the action that you have been undertaking with us, Prime Minister, to the benefit of the people of Palestine.

Question: Mr. Guterres, Mr. Jimmy Morales ordered the expulsion of the UN anti-corruption commissioner in the country, my question, did he ask or at least suggested you to remove him? The second question, are you concerned for his security, is there any plan for his protection? Has he reached Mr. Morales to change his mind? Thank you.

Secretary-General: I would also like to express my total support to the work of the Commissioner. I believe that CICIG [International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala] has done a very important job in creating conditions for good governance and to fight corruption in Guatemala. I expressed how shocked I was with the order that was given in relation to his departure from the country. There was never a formal request for me to dismiss him, even if the President expressed concerns, but that is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that the order is an order that shocked me and we have been in contact with different authorities in the country in order to make sure that his security is not put into question.

As you know, there was a decision of the Constitutional Court and we hope that this decision will be upheld.

Question: To the Secretary General, you reiterated your commitment to a two-state solution and the issue of settlements being potential bar to that, you are aware of the Prime Minister of Israel last night made comments about being here to stay forever and there will be no another Israeli settlement uprooted from the West Bank, what’s your reaction to the content of that message and also its time given you are here talking about two state solution, talking about settlements, and also listening to criticism of what Israel is calling anti-Israel bias at the UN?

Secretary General: I think it is clear that there is a disagreement on that matter. We believe that settlement activity is illegal under international law. We believe it is an obstacle to the two-state solution and so we obviously are in disagreement with what was said.