DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION -- INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ENCOUNTER ON QUESTION OF PALESTINE, PARIS, 18 JUNE

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION –- INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ENCOUNTER

ON QUESTION OF PALESTINE, PARIS, 18 JUNE

(Received from a UN Information Officer.)

Day One : Morning Session

KOICHIRO MATSUURA, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), opened the Encounter. Mr Matsuura added his voice to that of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to implore the two parties in the conflict to try to keep the peace process alive. He said that education is a powerful tool to change attitudes in depth, alongside non-partisan and objective information.

SHASHI THAROOR, Interim Head of the Department of Public Information (DPI), introduced the meeting, the ninth in a series organized by DPI to contribute to a better understanding of the rights of the Palestinian people and to examine obstacles to peace in the Middle East. Mr Tharoor read the message of the Secretary-General and said that the Secretary-General has been using his personal diplomacy in the region.

In his message, the Secretary-General says that the theme of the Encounter  -- The search for peace in the Middle East -- "could not possibly be more topical, indeed urgent, than it is today". The Secretary-General adds: "Now, trust has all but vanished. Throughout the region there is anxiety that at any moment a new cataclysm may be unleashed". Mr Annan says that he has spent the last six days in the region talking first to the leaders of all neighbouring countries, then to President Arafat and his colleagues in Ramallah, and finally to the leaders of Israel. He also met victims of the conflict on both sides. The Secretary-General said there is no time to be lost in consolidating the ceasefire, and "this can only be done by embedding it in a wider political process -- one which offers the Palestinians hope of an end to the occupation, and of an independent State. It is equally urgent to bring them economic aid, and give them the space to resume normal economic activity".

The Secretary-General says that he has been pressing the parties to agree on time-lines for implementing all the recommandations of the Mitchell Committee, and to accept the help of third parties in whom they both have confidence.

LOIC HENNEKINNE, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, stressed that far too many journalists were hurt when trying to cover the events in the region. He said that the report of the Mitchell Committee offers a way out of the crisis. France has insisted upon the necessity to apply its

recommendations in full. The consolidation plan for the ceasefire is encouraging. Mr. Hennekinne believes that there will not be an end to the violence without implementing a political solution. The Palestinians must do everything to put an end to the violence while Israel must not use excessive force. The question of ending settlements is at the centre of the issue. France welcomes the involvement of the United Nations in the peace process. Finally, Mr. Hennekinne underlined the responsibility of the media, noting that images are not neutral and can have a real effect on the situation.

IBRA DEGUENE KA, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, stated that his Committee remains preoccupied by the persistent violence in the occupied territories and the terrible losses of lives, mostly on the Palestinian side. He said the situation in the field was getting worse and that it was time for the international community to act. He recalled that the media have a crucial role to play to raise awareness in an objective and unbiased way.

Mr. THAROOR introduced the panelists of the morning session, dedicated to the United Nations and the question of Palestine. He regretted that two Palestinian journalists had not been able to join the Encounter due to restrictions on travel from the Israeli authorities.

IBRA DEGUENE KA gave a comprehensive picture of the role of the United Nations and the question of Palestine. Both the General Assembly and the Security Council had repeatedly taken up the issue. He said that the United Nations and the Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People continue to uphold the peace process in the Middle East despite the problems and the delays encountered, because they see it as the only way to find a just and lasting solution to the conflict. For the Committee, the United Nations has a principal responsibility concerning the question of Palestine until it is resolved, based on Security Council resolutions 242 and 338. And it will continue to meet the aspirations of the Palestinian people.

NASSER AL-KIDWA, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, referring to the Mitchell Report, said that Prime Minister Sharon refused what the Palestinian side sees as an essential part of the report, that is, an end to all settlements. Israel speaks of "separate stages" in the report, but the essence of the report is a call for the implementation of recommendations as a whole. The Palestinians make clear that they will sign only a comprehensive package. Although the Security Council has continuously dealt with the issue, none of the 25 resolutions adopted since 1976 had been implemented. In March, the United States vetoed the draft resolution which would have created an international observer mission. Resolution 1322 was indeed adopted in October 2000, but no follow-up was allowed by the United States. We are not going to exempt the Security Council of its responsibility, he said. He still believes that these resolutions have the value of international law and represent the ultimate “safety net” to preserve the rights of the Palestinian people.

YURI TAMIR, former Cabinet Minister in Prime Minister Barak's Government (Israel), explained why in her own view the United Nations is seen has a biased partner in the peace process by the Isrealis. In the particular case of this Encounter, she deplored the fact that the name of Israel is absent, that there are no Israeli journalists and that there is no dialogue, just a presentation of points of view. She said that public opinion in Israel had changed for the worse

in the belief that now there is no chance for peace. Yet Mrs Tamir thinks that trust and dialogue can be rebuilt through discussion with the two parties.

CLOVIS MAKSOUD (Lebanon), Director, Centre for the Global South, American University, and former Permanent Observer of the League of Arab States to the United Nations, said that there is a duality at the United Nations that has created a situation of imbalance and a deep frustration about its objectives pertaining to the question of Palestine. "We are dealing with two United Nations: the United Nations as international community and the United Nations as part of United States policy on the question of Palestine". He considered that the United Nations has been activated on the question of Iraq and marginalized on the question of Palestine. According to him, the Oslo agreement has replaced the relevance of the United Nations system, except for humanitarian assistance. He regrets that the denial of the right of return of the Palestinian people has become structured. Israel is totally contemptuous of United Nations resolutions, and has not admitted yet that it is an occupying Power nor committed itself to the dismantling of the settlements.

STEPHEN COHEN, President, Institute for Middle East Peace and Development, hailed the new policy of the United Nations and its Department of Public Information in addressing the question of Palestine not only as an issue of debate but as a matter of conflict resolution. He said that rather than rehashing past grievances the United Nations priority should be to advance the cause of peace. He considered that it was time to adopt a new language which could lead to the resolution of conflict and which would be inspired by a humanist vision, focusing on the peoples; which would be inclusive and address the concerns of all the peoples of the Middle East; and finally which would take into account the political changes in the region.

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