Calling on the Security Council to view the recent violence along the Gaza border as part of a larger picture — in which political stagnation, frustration and disillusionment were mounting across the wider Palestinian diaspora — the senior United Nations official in Jerusalem today urged all parties to the conflict to rein in provocations, address urgent humanitarian needs and support the resumption of peace talks aimed at ending the long-entrenched conflict.
Despite the increasingly dire circumstances in the territory occupied by Israel and in exile abroad, the Palestinian people would never abandon their struggle for peace, freedom and self-determination, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine stressed in closing remarks as the United Nation Forum on the Question of Palestine concluded today.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern over the murder of three human rights defenders working with indigenous and peasants’ rights organizations in Guatemala during the last 10 days, calling for a prompt investigation into those and other attacks against rights defenders, and accountability for the perpetrators.
Following are Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the opening of the United Nations Forum on the Question of Palestine, in New York today:
Seventy years after a General Assembly resolution first sought to partition Palestine into Arab and Jewish States — an anniversary that sparked both joyous commemorations and lethal violence earlier this week — Palestinian and Israeli scholars, legal experts and Government officials today opened a high-level forum aimed at harnessing the region’s difficult historical lessons and forging a new path forward towards peace.
A peacekeeper from the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) was killed and eight others injured this morning in the southern part of the country. The contingent from Mauritania was escorting a convoy to the town of Alindao when it was attacked by presumed members of the anti-Balaka.
Michael Keating, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, joined that country’s President Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmaajo” on Tuesday in calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities between “Somaliland” and Puntland forces following recent fighting in the Tukaraq area of the Sool region.
A reported 60 Palestinians were killed on 14 May during protests at the perimeter fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel, the deadliest day of violence since 2014, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today, condemning the actions leading up to the bloodshed and calling for an independent investigation.
The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today that 14 May was a day of tragedy for the people of Gaza. He said that there is no justification for the killing, and there is no excuse.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
