On 26 October, The Global Network on the Question of Palestine expressed its appreciation in a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for his address to the Security Council on October 24. The letter acknowledged the Secretary-General’s timely and necessary factual review of the responsibilities of the parties to the current conflict. It also referenced the network’s letter at the beginning of the year that highlighted the threats facing Palestinians and regional peace.
The network welcomed the Secretary-General’s call for a ceasefire and urged him to urge you to go beyond calling for a humanitarian pause and demand an immediate and complete cessation of all hostilities. It reiterates its previous call to “re-establish the UN’s independence of action in seeking a just resolution of the Question of Palestine, for over seven decades the most enduring question on the agenda of the Organization”. In doing so, the network pledged full support for these ongoing efforts.
Dear Secretary-General,
As members of the Global Network on the Question of Palestine, we would like to express our appreciation for your statement to the Security Council on 24 October. This was a timely and necessary factual review of the responsibilities of the parties to the current conflict. As we and many others have made clear, the manner in which Israel is prosecuting its war with Hamas also engages the responsibility of state parties to the Genocide Convention.
We wrote to you on 24 January expressing our concern about the heightened threat to Palestinians and peace and advocating a new approach, with respect for international law at its heart and the UN in the lead. A section of that letter was headed “The Palestinian people’s lived reality”. We welcome the outline in your statement of this reality: an understanding of it over the last 75 years is a prerequisite for any just resolution.
We welcome your call for a ceasefire. In view of the stalemate at the UN Security Council, and the failure of key members of the international community to act in accordance with their responsibility under international law, we urge you to go beyond calling for a humanitarian pause and demand an immediate and complete cessation of all hostilities.
Our letter urged you to resist the pressures of those who prefer the oppressive status quo – which the conflict has confirmed was indeed unsustainable – and to “re-establish the UN’s independence of action in seeking a just resolution of this, for over seven decades the most enduring question on the agenda of the Organization”. In doing so you have our full support.
With best wishes,
Dr. Lex Takkenberg
Senior Advisor on the Question of Palestine
Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development
Amman – Jordan
