Ban Ki-Moon Reminds Security Council Of "Shared Responsibility" To Resolve Mid-East Conflicts

By Manik Mehta NEW YORK, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on the international community, particularly, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to use all available tools to help steer the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region towards a path of freedom, safety and dignity. Speaking at the Security Council on Wednesday, he reminded the international community's obligation to ensure a peaceful solution to the conflict in Syria and also not to lose sight of accountability from those responsible for the serious crimes committed in the conflict areas. "Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen are our common concern and their resolution is our shared responsibility," Ban stated at a ministerial-level meeting of the Security Council on the settlement of conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa and countering the terrorist threat in the region. He underlined the problems plaguing the region which was in the midst of some of the deadliest conflicts and worst humanitarian emergencies ever, with terrorist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Al-Qaida affiliates "elevating the horror and complicating the search for solutions". "While each is very different, the crises and conflicts in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen has the commonality of similar horrors," he said. Ban said with no sight of a let-down in the armed conflicts that were devastating parts of the Middle Eastern region, accompanied by the suffering of the civilian population and the resulting mass exodus of refugees to various countries, Syria had proven to be the most intractable. "It has generated one peril after another; the use of chemical weapons, the rise of ISIL and other extremist groups; the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War; and the displacement of eight million people inside the country". He made a passionate appeal to the UNSC to strongly support the efforts of his Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura in promoting a comprehensive and credible political transition based on the 2012 Geneva Communiqué, "which sets out a clear roadmap for a democratic transition and remains the basis for any peaceful settlement". The UN secretary general also noted that conflicts, governance failures and systematic violations of human rights were affecting not only the Middle East and North Africa but in fact, the world at large. "Women and girls are facing systematic brutality. Young people are having their futures taken away from them before they have barely had a chance to dream. "We must work together to stop this downward spiral, using all UN tools. The people of the Middle East and North Africa deserve our full support in meeting these tests and steering the region towards a path of freedom, safety and dignity for all," he said. Speaking on devising ways and means to stop terrorism, Ban said, "it is not enough to counter terrorism; we must also prevent violent extremism, while taking care not to take steps that only breed the resentment and alienation on which violent extremism feeds". To that end, he said the UN was working with partners to expand capacity-building assistance to member states, including stemming the flow of foreign terrorist fighters and addressing the related ills of illicit drug-trafficking and cybercrime. "During the course of this General Assembly, I will present to the member states a comprehensive plan of action outlining ways we can work together in this endeavour," he said. The security council's ministerial meeting was presided by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, as Russia holds the rotating Council presidency for the month of September. On a separate note, Ban also attended on Wednesday what some Arab diplomats here described as the "historic" Palestinian flag-raising ceremony. Speaking at the flag-hoisting ceremony, Ban called it a "day of pride for Palestinians around the world … a day of hope", stating that symbols were important, considering that a "symbol can lead to action in the right direction". "The symbolism of raising your flag at the United Nations reflects the commitment of the Palestinian Authority to pursue the long-held dream of the Palestinian people for their own state. It also symbolises the longstanding commitment of the United Nations to support Palestinian aspirations," Ban said. He added that attaining Palestinian statehood required decisive action to advance national unity, and that the first step was to ensure that the West Bank and Gaza were integrated under a single authority. It was time, he said, to support initiatives which would preserve the two-state solution and create the conditions for a return to meaningful negotiations on the basis of an agreed framework. "Now is the time to restore confidence by both Israelis and Palestinians for a peaceful settlement and at last, the realisation of two states for two peoples. "I sincerely hope that a successful peace process will soon yield a day when we unfurl the Palestinian flag in its proper place - among the family of nations as a sovereign member state of the United Nations. "Let us continue to work together to realise the aspirations that this flag carries -- Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security," he said. --BERNAMA