GAZA WAR: CALL FOR UNITED NATIONS EMERGENY FORCE

International Progress Organization delivers statement at United Nations meeting on Palestine

 

United Nations Office at Vienna, 5 December 2023
RE/29130c-is

 

In a statement delivered at a special United Nations meeting convened by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the President of the International Progress Organization, Dr. Hans Köchler, warned of the consequences of the war of extermination being waged in Gaza. The indiscriminate attacks against civilians, indeed a brutal collective punishment of the entire population, risk triggering a cycle of violence and revenge that will preclude any chance of a peaceful settlement and threaten to engulf the entire Middle East. Those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity must be held accountable, regardless of the person’s role or position. It will be up to the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute cases in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The President of the I.P.O. further spoke about the role of the General Assembly in this situation of global emergency. In view of the total loss of confidence between the warring parties and due to the paralysis of the Security Council, the General Assembly could follow the precedent of the decision it took during the Suez crisis of 1956, on the basis of the “Uniting for Peace” formula. The UN member states could again create a “United Nations Emergency Force” to monitor a future ceasefire and act as a buffer between the parties along the border. Countries with sufficient clout should act as guarantors for each of the parties, Israel and Palestine. In that regard, the international community should pay attention to the recent proposal by the President of the Republic of Türkiye.

In messages addressed to the meeting, the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Emir of the State of Qatar, SheikhTamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the King of Jordan, Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, expressed their support for a two-state solution as only viable alternative to perpetual conflict. The delegate of the People's Republic of China also reiterated his country's support to a two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders.

In a special message delivered upon conclusion of the meeting, the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, expressed his people's determination to resist all attempts at liquidating the Palestinian issue: "The current Israeli aggression places us at a crossroad, in which either the international will prevails or the occupation's will to perpetuate its colonialism and its vision of an unstable and fiery Middle East, with settlement policies and settler terrorism, incursions in the City of Jerusalem and violation of sanctities that will transform the conflict from a political conflict into a religious war that will have dire consequences. (...) We will spare no effort to protect our people and search for all means to avoid the scourge of war, killing and destruction, and to preserve the unity of our people and the unity of their destiny in their homeland, Palestine."

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Text of I.P.O. statement