Friday, January 31, 2020

US Middle East peace plan ‘lopsided’, says independent UN rights expert

 

UNICEF/Ahed Izhiman
On 12 July 2018 in the State of Palestine, 8-year old Hamid looks out over the old city of Hebron from the roof of his house. Checkpoints punctuate Hebron’s old city, part of the area known as H2, and affect the movement of people, including access to education as many children must pass one or more checkpoints on their way to school.
    
31 January 2020
Human Rights
A United States plan released this week to resolve the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is “lopsided” and will only entrench occupation, an independent UN human rights expert said on Friday. 
President Donald Trump announced his administration’s ‘Vision for Peace, Prosperity and a Brighter Future’ at the White House on Tuesday, which would legalize Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel also would be allowed to annex around 30 per cent of the West Bank.
In response, the UN underlined its longstanding commitment to realizing a two-State solution, with Israelis and Palestinians “living side by side in peace and security, within recognized borders, on the basis of the pre-1967 lines.” 
However, what the US plan offers is “a one and half state solution”, according to Michael Lynk, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory. 
“This is not a recipe for a just and durable peace but rather endorses the creation of a 21st century Bantustan in the Middle East”, he said, referring to the homelands established for black South Africans during the apartheid era. 
“The Palestinian statelet envisioned by the American plan would be scattered archipelagos of non-contiguous territory completely surrounded by Israel, with no external borders, no control over its airspace, no right to a military to defend its security, no geographic basis for a viable economy, no freedom of movement and with no ability to complain to international judicial forums against Israel or the United States.” 
Mr. Lynk deplored the proposal to legalize Israeli settlements, and he urged countries to condemn any call to annex Palestinian territory, which is prohibited under international law. 
“This unilateral act undermines the Palestinians’ right to self-determination, and it threatens to drag the world back to darker times, when conquest was acceptable, borders could be redrawn and territorial integrity was regularly undermined”, he stated.  
Under the Trump plan, Jerusalem would remain Israel’s undivided capital, which, Mr. Lynk called distressing as it “recognizes the conquest and illegal annexation of East Jerusalem, which remains occupied territory under international law, as embedded in scores of United Nations resolutions”. 
The rights expert also took issue with proposals that would prevent Palestinian refugees from returning to their homes in Israel. 
 “Nothing in the Trump plan alters the continuing prevalence of the laws of occupation, the human rights of the Palestinians under occupation, and the absolute obligation on the international community to redouble its efforts to achieve a just, equitable and durable solution on the basis of equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis alike,” said Mr. Lynk. 
“International law remains the Northern Star, the only guide to a sustainable peace.” 

Independent experts’ role

Independent experts and Special Rapporteurs and are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.

 

Courtesy:zUN Newd

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$1.4 billion needed this year to fund UN’s agency for Palestine refugees


© UNRWA
Palestinian children ride a tuk-tuk (modified motorcycle and miniature pickup) on their way to school.
    
31 January 2020
Humanitarian Aid
A minimum of $1.4 billion is needed to fund the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, known as UNRWA, the acting chief said on Friday.
Christian Saunders said the funds would provide essential services throughout 2020, including life-saving humanitarian assistance for 5.6 million registered Palestine refugees across the Middle East.
He noted that the pledges of support UNRWA received at the General Assembly in December was “an overwhelming validation of the agency and of our mandate” and stressed the importance of donors and partners matching those commitments, to allow the agency to provide refugees with “protection and those critical services considered a basic human right”.
He said UNRWA would ensure “that every penny of public funding we receive is used wisely, properly and effectively.”

Impacting Palestine refugees

In 2020, Palestine refugees in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria will “continue to face daunting human development and protection challenges” precipitated by the occupation of the West Bank, the conflict in Syria, the political crisis in Lebanon and the growing needs in Jordan, said Mr. Saunders.
“We are stretched to our limits under our shrinking budgets and the growing needs of Palestine refugees who are impacted by the same volatility and unpredictability that people face in the Middle East every day”, he said.
The funds will be used for essential core services, including infrastructure, protection, social services and microfinance as well as to contribute to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda. 
Moreover, it will help to provide education to over half a million girls and boys in some 700 schools across the region and enable 8.5 million patient visits in its health facilities, similar to laast year 2019.
Until there is a just and durable solution, “we are the only agency able to provide the type of essential services that Palestine refugees are entitled to”, he maintained, calling on donors to strongly support UNRWA, and saying “your investment is very well-placed, it is an investment in a beleaguered people deserving of your continued support and it is an investment in the region’s stability”.

US proposal to end Israel-Palestine conflict

Turning to US President Donald Trump’s administration’s ‘Vision for Peace, Prosperity and a Brighter Future’ aimed to resolve the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, the top UNRWA official said that “a lot of Palestinians are in a state of shock at this point in time, in a state of disbelief”.
The United States administration’s proposal aims to legalize Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem while allowing Israel to annex around 30 per cent of the West Bank
Mr. Saunders said it was “extremely unsettling for the Palestine refugees living under occupation, under blockade, and through conflict after conflict and crisis after crisis, hoping for justice and human rights, and with the constant fear that the international community will one day abandon them”.
“Today, more than ever there is a need for stability and today the international community must send a clear message to Palestine refugees and to the world at large that the international community stands firmly behind them”.
He recalled that in 2018, UNRWA’s largest donor at that time, the US, stopped its funding, cutting nearly one-third of the agency’s budget.
“The repercussions on our finances and plans were huge, but the support we received from our member States and partners was phenomenal”, he said, calling it “a true testament to the continued international commitment to Palestine refugees.”
Despite the potential implications of the loss of funding, the “incredible support allowed us to continue to provide vital services and protection to Palestine refugees”, he concluded.

 

Couetesy:UN News

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Iraq: Solutions needed ‘urgently’ to quell ongoing violence, break political deadlock


Photo: UNAMI/Sanaa Kareem
Street scene in Baghdad, Iraq.
    
30 January 2020
Peace and Security
Amidst ongoing anti-government protests, rising casualties and the likelihood of further demonstrations, the top UN official in Iraq on Thursday, urged politicians to break the political deadlock, and “press ahead with substantial reforms”.
“The continuing loss of young lives and the daily bloodshed is intolerable”, said UN Special Representative Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, lamenting that “at least 467 protesters have been killed and over 9,000 injured since 1 October”.
She warned that that the use of force only costs “precious lives” and will not end the crisis.   
A recent increase in the use of live ammunition by security forces, shootings by unidentified gunmen at protesters and “the continued targeted killing of demonstrators and human rights defenders, are alarming”, said Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert, who also heads up the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).
She added it was “imperative” that Iraqi authorities protect the rights of peaceful protesters and ensure that use of force complies with international standards: “Equally important is full accountability: the perpetrators of unlawful killings and attacks must be brought to justice”.
Political action must replace indecisiveness to deliver on promises and intentions, she said, which requires building resilience both at “the State and societal levels” as “the only way forward to draw people out of despair and into renewed hope”, the Special Representative emphasized.
“Many have sacrificed everything to have their voices heard. Solutions are urgently needed”, she spelled out. “Iraq cannot afford the ongoing violent oppression nor the political and economic paralysis”.

Human rights violations prevail

The UNAMI Human Rights Office has been closely monitoring the human rights situation surrounding the demonstrations.
Since the protests over rising unemployment, years of corruption and failing public services began last October, UNAMI has issued three reports documenting human rights violations for the period 1 October to 9 December, and presented recommendations to the authorities.
It has recorded at least 19 demonstrators killed and over 400 injured by security forces in Baghdad, Basra, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Diwaniya, Karbala and Wassit, since 17 January.
Preliminary information points to the use of live ammunition and the impact of tear gas canisters as the chief cause of death, while additional injuries occurred as a result of security forces beating demonstrators with sticks.
Moreover, most violence used by security forces occurred in the context of attempts to clear roadblocks or disperse demonstrators.
And targeted killings continue against demonstrators and activists.
Since 1 October, there have been at least 28 incidents in which persons associated with demonstrations, either as participants, journalists covering the protests, or prominent activists, have been targeted by armed men or improvised explosive devices, resulting in 18 deaths and the injury of at least 13 others, including the targeted killing of two reporters for the Dijlah Television network.  
UNAMI also continues to track and monitor reports of physical attacks against demonstrators, including stabbings, demonstrators and activists gone missing, and incidents of threat and intimidation.

Pointlessness of violence

Stressing the futility of violence in responding to the protests, Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert said that all efforts should instead focus on how to fully implement reforms and initiate a constructive dialogue to tackle the country’s problems.  
“It is high time to restore confidence by setting aside partisanship, acting in the interest of the country and its people”, she concluded. “Hard work and goodwill gestures will resonate with the people, and will be met in kind, strengthening the country’s resilience as it seeks to emerge stronger from this crisis”.

 

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UN chief urges Asia to take up leadership on global issues

 

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses ASEAN summit in Bali, Indonesia
    
19 November 2011
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today challenged the Asian and Pacific region to assume global leadership on issues of international concern, including climate change, sustainable development, access to food and energy, human rights and the empowerment of women.
“Now is the moment for Asia, and ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] in particular, to step into a truly global role,” Mr. Ban told a news conference on the margins of the ASEAN summit in Bali, Indonesia.
“To the assembled leaders, I said the world needs your help, your leadership. The world needs Asia to fully engage on the great challenges of our day.”
He welcomed the Joint Declaration on a Comprehensive Partnership between the United Nations and ASEAN signed today in Bali, saying it builds on a strong foundation and introduces new avenues of cooperation, including mechanisms for more regularized communication and common action.
“We should be able to discuss the widest range of issues, including those that are difficult and most sensitive,” Mr. Ban said in his address to the ASEAN summit earlier. The UN and ASEAN have a shared stake in helping Myanmar advance towards democracy, he added.
He said sustainable development is the “number one imperative” of the partnership between the UN and ASEAN, noting that Asia understands the interconnection between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health and food and nutrition security.
Yesterday, Mr. Ban met with the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, and two leaders discussed issues related to the border dispute between that country and Thailand, as well as human rights and good governance.
Mr. Ban voiced his hope that the UN-ASEAN partnership will continue to grow under Cambodia''s leadership of the association next year.
On the UN-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), the Secretary-General urged the Government to respect and support the independence of the judicial process, and maintain full cooperation with the court.
Set up under an agreement signed in 2003 by the UN and the Cambodian Government, the ECCC is an independent court that uses a mixture of Cambodian staff and judges and foreign personnel.
It is tasked with trying those deemed most responsible for crimes committed under the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979 during which as many as two million people are thought to have died.
Courtesy:UN News

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