United Nations (TDI): Pakistan has called for “meaningful action” at the upcoming international conference aimed at advancing a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an effort to restore hope in peace and justice.
“The June Conference in our view must rise to this moment,” Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told an informal meeting held to prepare the ‘High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution’.
The conference, sponsored by Saudi Arabia and France, is set to take place in June at UN Headquarters in New York.
“The unprecedented human tragedy and suffering in Gaza and the West Bank cannot be allowed to continue,” Ambassador Asim told the preparatory meeting.
In the meantime, the conference got a boost when French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that France plans to recognize Palestinian statehood in June this year.
Palestine has been recognized as a sovereign state by 147 out of 193 UN members so far, with, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Bahamas, Armenia, Slovenia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados joining their ranks last year.
In the run up to the June Conference, Pakistan’s ambassador emphasized that the ceasefire must be restored and fully implemented in Gaza, the blockade ended, and humanitarian access guaranteed.
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He said that civilians and humanitarian personnel must be protected.
Any attempt to forcibly evacuate Palestinians or annex their land must be unequivocally rejected and effectively prevented, he added.
“The Gaza Reconstruction Plan, endorsed by the OIC and the Arab Group should be operationalized with full backing of the global community. UNRWA, the UN agency caring for Palestinian refugees, must be enabled to fulfill its mandate without obstruction.”
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The envoy further said that the conference must generate irreversible progress toward the two-state solution, including full recognition of the Palestinian state and its admission to the UN.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion must be implemented, occupation must end, and accountability for violations of international law must be ensured, he stressed.
