NEW YORK: It is time for the international community to shoulder its responsibilities to help find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and resolve other conflicts in the region, Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative to the UN said on Friday.
Speaking on behalf of the UN Arab regional group, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi told Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the Palestinian question has been “central to the UN agenda since its inception,” but “the process to resolve this issue has been at an impasse for decades.”
The envoy was speaking during an informal dialogue session at the UN General Assembly about the selection of the organization’s next secretary-general. In the absence of a serious challenger, Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal and UN refugee chief, was making his case for a second, five-year term.
After praising Guterres for his “excellent management of the COVID-19 crisis,” which had limited the spread of the virus within the UN organization, Al-Mouallimi urged the UN chief to make the Palestinian issue a priority during his second term.
He called on him to ensure “serious participation of the parties involved in the conflict” and revitalize the work of the Quartet on the Middle East — the UN, the US, the EU and Russia — “so we end up with a fair peace based on the international consensus as we have enshrined in the relevant resolutions and the international law.”
The Saudi envoy also asked the secretary-general to continue supporting the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) by striving to find a long-term sustainable funding model.
“Your personal commitment to this is very important,” said Al-Mouallimi. “So what are you planning to do to make sure that the peace process in the Middle East, and the Palestinian issue, move forward? What role can the UN play here?”
Guterres replied: “You can count on my total commitment to UNRWA. We have survived a very difficult moment,” he added, referring to the crisis in 2018 when US President Donald Trump withdrew US funding for the agency.
“But the situation looks more promising now and we are totally committed to move in the future in a more effective way.”
The secretary-general reiterated his commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Jerusalem as a capital for both states. He pledged to do “everything possible” to revitalize the work of the Quartet and other forms of regional cooperation, but added that this “depends on the will of member states.”
Guterres also expressed his “appreciation for what has been a constructive attitude that Saudi Arabia has been demonstrating in our recent discussions” regarding the war in Yemen.
Al-Mouallimi asked him about his plans to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people and avoid an even greater economic and political disaster in the country.
While lamenting a few “hiccups” in the efforts to resolve the conflict, Guterres said he hoped that an agreement might still be in sight.
“We are moving in a direction, we are totally committed to it, and I am trying to talk to as many actors as possible to make sure pressure is put in this regard,” he added.
Turning to other regional conflicts and the challenges the UN faces in helping to resolve them, Guterres said that pushing for the next meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, for elections to take place at the right time in Libya, and for the withdrawal of foreign troops and mercenaries from conflict zones “is not easy but it must be a priority for all of us.”
Al-Mouallimi then raised the subject of nuclear weapons, saying: “Nuclear danger is present in the Middle East and threatens our people. What is your vision to make sure that the Middle East is an area free of nuclear weapons and that nuclear facilities in the region are subject to IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards?”
“We have a number of initiatives taking place. You can count on my full engagement,” Guterres replied.
He also said that fighting desertification and water scarcity in the Arab world is another of his priorities.
The Saudi envoy then pressed the secretary-general on the unfair geographical distribution of senior leadership appointments at the UN, in particular the under-representation of the Arab world.
Many regional states and groups have expressed concerns that for decades the nominations and appointments of senior UN officials have been monopolized by the most powerful nations, especially the permanent members of the Security Council: the US, Russia, China, the UK and France.
Guterres said although some progress has been made in enhancing geographical parity, he laments the limitations on recruitment and promised to tackle the issue as part of UN reforms.
Al-Mouallimi asked him what the best formula might be to ensure the fairest representation on the Security Council.
“(Former Secretary-General) Kofi Anan already said it: There can’t be reforms of the UN without reforms of the Security Council,” said Guterres. “It all depends on the will of member states. We will always be at the disposal of member states. But we fully respect the autonomy of the UN bodies.”
In response to a question from Al-Mouallimi about the measures that are needed to tackle hate speech, and Islamophobia in particular, Guterres said the latter is a major concern that undermines the cohesion of many societies.
“You can be absolutely sure of my total commitment to fight Islamophobia,” he added.
As part of his vision during a second term, Guterres also called for a new social contract to better address “two seismic shifts” he said will shape this century: the climate crisis and digital transformation.
“Both could widen inequalities even further,” he said.
Seven people have nominated themselves as potential challengers to Guterres, including Rosalia Arteaga, the former president of former Ecuador, but none of them have received the backing of a UN member state.
“Of course, we would like to see more than one candidate,” Enyseh Teimory of 1 for 7 Billion, a global campaign committed to ensuring the selection of the best possible secretary-general, told Arab News.
“But the very fact that the secretary-general was in front of the General Assembly taking questions is a really important consolidation of the progress we saw in 2016.”
In 2016, the General Assembly for the first time hosted an open debate with the 13 candidates for secretary-general, seven of whom were women. For many years the selection was made behind closed doors by the two most powerful member nations: Russia and the US.
“We are in a good (position to ensure) that in 2026 we’re going to go even further to make sure that civil society is fully engaged in all steps of the election process. I think there’s now appetite for (this) on the part of member states.”
UN must shoulder responsibility to resolve Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Saudi envoy says
https://arab.news/rbxzk
UN must shoulder responsibility to resolve Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Saudi envoy says
- Abdallah Al-Mouallimi also pressed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on his plans to help bring peace to Syria, Yemen and Libya
- Guterres was making his case to the General Assembly for a second five-year term as UN chief, and answering questions
The shootings in Minneapolis are upending the politics of immigration in Congress
WASHINGTON: The shooting deaths of two American citizens during the Trump administration’s deportation operations in Minneapolis have upended the politics of immigration in Congress, plunging the country toward another government shutdown.
Democrats have awakened to what they see as a moral moment for the country, refusing funds for the Department of Homeland Security’s military-style immigration enforcement operations unless there are new restraints. Two former presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, have broken from retirement to speak out.
At the same time, Republicans who have championed President Donald Trump’s tough approach to immigration are signaling second thoughts. A growing number of Republicans want a full investigation into the shooting death of Alex Pretti and congressional hearings about US Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
“Americans are horrified & don’t want their tax dollars funding this brutality,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., wrote on social media. “Not another dime to this lawless operation.”
The result is a rapidly changing political environment as the nation considers the reach of the Trump administration’s well-funded immigration enforcement machinery and Congress spirals toward a partial federal shutdown if no resolution is reached by midnight Friday.
“The tragic death of Alex Pretti has refocused attention on the Homeland Security bill, and I recognize and share the concerns,” said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the GOP chair of the Appropriations Committee, in brief remarks Monday.
Still, she urged colleagues to stick to the funding deal and avoid a “detrimental shutdown.”
Searching for a way out of a crisis
As Congress seeks to defuse a crisis, the next steps are uncertain.
The White House has indicated its own shifting strategy, sending Trump’s border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take over for hard-charging Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, which many Republicans see as a potential turning point to calm operations.
“This is a positive development — one that I hope leads to turning down the temperature and restoring order in Minnesota,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune posted about Homan.
Behind the scenes, the White House is reaching out to congressional leaders, and even individual Democratic senators, in search of a way out of another government shutdown.
At stake is a six-bill government funding package, not just for Homeland Security but for Defense, Health and other departments, making up more than 70 percent of federal operations.
Even though Homeland Security has billions from Trump’s big tax break bill, Democrats are coalescing around changes to ICE operations. “We can still have some legitimate restriction on how these people are conducting themselves,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona
But it appears doubtful the Trump administration would readily agree to Democrats’ demands to rein in immigration operations. Proposals for unmasking federal agents or limiting their reach into schools, hospitals or churches would be difficult to quickly approve in Congress.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that while conversations are underway, Trump wants to see the bipartisan spending package approved to avoid the possibility of a government shutdown.
“We absolutely do not want to see that funding lapse,” Leavitt said.
Politics reflect changing attitudes on Trump’s immigration agenda
The political climate is a turnaround from just a year ago, when Congress easily passed the Laken Riley Act, the first bill Trump signed into law in his second term.
At the time, dozens of Democrats joined the GOP majority in passing the bill named after a Georgia nursing student who was killed by a Venezuelan man who had entered the country illegally.
Many Democrats had worried about the Biden administration’s record of having allowed untold immigrants into the country. The party was increasingly seen as soft on crime following the “defund the police” protests and the aftermath of the death of George Floyd at the the hands of law enforcement.
But the Trump administrations tactics changed all that.
Just 38 percent of US adults approve of how Trump is handling immigration, down from 49 percent in March, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted in January, shortly after the death of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by a ICE officer in Minnesota.
Last week, almost all House Democrats voted against the Homeland Security bill, as the package was sent the Senate.
Then there was the shooting death of Pretti over the weekend in Minneapolis.
Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York, who was among the seven Democrats who had voted to approve the Homeland Security funds, reversed course Monday in a Facebook post.
“I hear the anger from my constituents, and I take responsibility for that,” Suozzi wrote.
He said he “failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis.”
Voting ahead as shutdown risk grows
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday the responsibility for averting another shutdown falls to Republicans, who have majority control, to break apart the six-bill package, removing the homeland funds while allowing the others to go forward.
“We can pass them right away,” Schumer said.
But the White House panned that approach and House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has blamed Democrats for last year’s shutdown, the longest in history, has been mum. The GOP speaker would need to recall lawmakers to Washington to vote.
Republicans believe they will be able to portray Democrats as radical if the government shuts down over Homeland Security funds, and certain centrist Democrats have warned the party against strong anti-ICE language.
A memo from centrist Democratic group Third Way had earlier warned lawmakers against proposals to “abolish” ICE as “emotionally satisfying, politically lethal.” In a new memo Monday it proposed “Overhauling ICE” with top-to-bottom changes, including removing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from her job.
GOP faces a divide on deportations
But Republicans also risk being sideways with public opinion over Trump’s immigration and deportation agenda.
Republicans prefer to keep the focus on Trump’s ability to secure the US-Mexico border, with illegal crossings at all-time lows, instead of the military-style deportation agenda. They are particularly sensitive to concerns from gun owners’ groups that Pretti, who was apparently licensed to carry a firearm, is being criticized for having a gun with him before he was killed.
GOP Sen. Rand Paul, the chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Oversight Committee, demanded that acting ICE director Todd Lyons appear for a hearing — joining a similar demand from House Republicans over the weekend.
At the same time, many GOP lawmakers continue to embrace the Trump administration’s deportation strategy.
“I want to be very clear,” said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., in a post. “I will not support any efforts to strip DHS of its funding.”
And pressure from their own right flank was bearing down on Republicans.
The Heritage Foundation chastised those Republicans who were “jubilant” at the prospect of slowing down ICE operations. “Deport every illegal alien,” it said in a post. “Nothing less.”
