UN PEACE PROCESS PLEASE

Senior UN official urges renewed effort on Mideast peace process

A senior UN official urged on Tuesday the international community to renew an effort aimed at pushing forward the Middle East peace process that had been bogged down in crises. Continued conflicts between Israel and Palestine and the month- long war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon have dashed hopes of moving forward the Middle East peace process, said Ibrahim Gambari, the UN under secretary-general for political affairs. Last year, Israel had been in the process of disengaging from Gaza and part of the northern West Bank, and the international community, led by the Quartet, had been working to ensure that step would lead the parties back to the Road Map and the revival of the economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, he told the Security Council.

These hopes have not been fulfilled,he said, adding that far from advancing towards the vision of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, we have seen that vision slip further away during the past year. We have reached this sorry juncture in the Middle East peace process, he said, adding it was now clear the challenges that lay ahead for the wider international community. He recognized that the absence of a comprehensive solution in the peace process was the root cause of the region's problems and that progress towards a two-state solution would undoubtedly facilitate the resolution of conflict elsewhere in the region and vice versa. The stalled state of the peace process should, therefore, be regarded as unacceptable both on its own merits, and because of its broader implications,he said.

Gambari said it was time to consider a renewed international effort sanctioned and championed" by the Security Council, to bring peace and stability to the region. The tragedy such as the international community had witnessed in the past month should be converted into an opportunity to take prompt, concerted action by all parties to resolve the problems and issues in the region, which had confronted everyone, without resolution, for far too long, he said. Gambari's remarks reflected an earlier call by UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan for a comprehensive approach to addressing the various crises in the region. The UN chief said in a speech to the council on Aug. 11 that crises in the region must be addressed, not in isolation or bilaterally, but as part of a holistic and comprehensive effort, sanctioned and championed by the Security Council, to bring peace and stability to the region as a whole. Source: Xinhua