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Mr.
Chairman, Like
many others who wish for just, lasting and meaningful peace in the Middle East,
I would like to thank you for convening this meeting. By your leadership, we are
reaping the respect of our negotiating partners in the multilateral fora and at
the same time elevating the prestige of our Movement. Thank
you also for inviting me to be present. With
the hope and confidence that the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) can make a
difference in the elusive peace in Middle East, it was an invitation that I
readily accepted. But
what is unacceptable, Mr. Chairman, is the continued and increasing suffering of
the Palestinian people. What is unacceptable is the resort to political
assassination. What is unacceptable
is the delay in the implementation of the Road Map to Peace. Recently,
we joined many others in the General Assembly in reaffirming the right of the
Palestinian people to self-determination and to sovereignty over their territory
(UNGA Resolution “Status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East
Jerusalem”). This
resolution expresses the international community’s determination to contribute
to the achievement of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the
attainment of a just and comprehensive negotiated peace in the Middle
East resulting in two viable, sovereign and independent states, Israel and
Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. Though
at times frustrating, the Philippines believes in maintaining faith in
multilateralism and the central role of the United Nations in the search for
peace in the Middle East, a just and comprehensive negotiated peace, and a
sovereign and independent Palestine. There
is an urgent need, at this point, for the peace process to move forward and for
the Quartet to redouble their efforts towards this end by steering negotiations
through the Road Map endorsed by Security Council Resolution 1515 under the
envisaged “two states solution” and the principle of parallelism in the
performance of obligations by both sides under the Road Map.
We call on both parties to re-commit to the Road Map, which was
re-affirmed by the Ministers to the Quartet in their meeting in New York on 4
May 2004. As
a member of the Movement currently sitting as a non-permanent member of the
Security Council – I am glad to see other members of the NAM Caucus in the
UNSC – the Philippines will continue to abide by these principles and work for
the realization of our common vision. We
believe that NAM has an important role to play in all this.
We support the idea of establishing a NAM Ministerial Delegation, to work
with the members of the Quartet and other stakeholders on helping find that
elusive peace in the Middle East. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman. |