{"id":136153,"date":"2018-05-17T13:20:31","date_gmt":"2018-05-17T13:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=136153"},"modified":"2018-05-18T14:40:43","modified_gmt":"2018-05-18T18:40:43","slug":"un-forum-on-question-of-palestine-new-york-17-18-may-2018-deputy-secretary-general-message-dsgsm1175-gapal1408","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/un-forum-on-question-of-palestine-new-york-17-18-may-2018-deputy-secretary-general-message-dsgsm1175-gapal1408\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Forum on Question of Palestine (New York, 17-18 May 2018) \u2013 Deputy Secretary-General Message (DSG\/SM\/1175-GA\/PAL\/1408)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DSG\/SM\/1175-GA\/PAL\/1408<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
17 MAY 2018<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

Following are Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed\u2019s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the opening of the Â鶹APP Forum on the Question of Palestine, in New York today:<\/p>\n

I have the honour to read a statement on behalf of the Secretary General.<\/p>\n

My first words are to deplore the tragic loss of lives and suffering in Gaza and to express my deep sadness and condolences to the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n

Today is an occasion to reflect on the costs and consequences of the 1948 war, which resulted in the mass displacement and dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.\u00a0 It is also an opportunity to look ahead at what must be done to address this situation.<\/p>\n

This year we celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. \u00a0The principles and standards enshrined in the Universal Declaration should guide the search for a durable solution to the question of Palestine, a solution that must be based on international law, the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis, as well as dialogue for reconciliation and for accountability.<\/p>\n

The recent violence in Gaza underscores the need for action.\u00a0 Israeli forces must exercise maximum restraint in the use of force, in particular live fire.\u00a0 Hamas and the leaders of the demonstrations have a responsibility to prevent all violent actions.\u00a0 It is imperative that everyone show the utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life, including all civilians \u2013 and particularly children \u2013 are not in harm\u2019s way. \u00a0The cycle of violence in Gaza must end, it serves no one.\u00a0 As I have since the start of the violence, I repeat my call for such killings to be investigated thoroughly.<\/p>\n

These events remind us that for far too long the international community has failed to find a just and lasting solution to the plight of Palestine refugees \u2014 as it has failed to find a just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine.\u00a0 To this day, the refugees of 1948 and their descendants \u2014 now numbering more than 5.3\u00a0million women, men and children \u2014 are unable to return to their homes. \u00a0Instead, the lives of generations of Palestinians and Israelis have been defined and confined by a conflict that has shaped their physical and human landscape under a heavy atmosphere of fear, mutual distrust.<\/p>\n

Settlement establishment and expansion, illegal under international law, is further contributing to displacement and is a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.\u00a0 The unacceptable violence and incitement exacerbate mistrust between Palestinians and Israelis.\u00a0 Intra-Palestinian reconciliation remains critical to restore hope for the future and a political horizon.<\/p>\n

Peace requires political will and courage from all sides.\u00a0 We, the international community, must work for an outcome where fear is replaced with dignity and denial cedes ground to justice.\u00a0 We must strive for a future where Israel and Palestine thrive as States in which all are equally respected, and where civil society is able to play its constructive role.\u00a0 The Â鶹APP will continue to support Israelis and Palestinians on the road to peace by helping them to take the historic steps to achieve a solution of two States living side by side in peace and within secure and recognized borders, with Jerusalem as the capital of both.\u00a0 Over the course of the next two days, I urge you all to reflect on how we can turn this vision into a reality.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DSG\/SM\/1175-GA\/PAL\/1408 17 MAY 2018 Following are Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed\u2019s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the opening of the Â鶹APP Forum on the Question of Palestine, in New York today: I have the honour to read a statement on behalf of the Secretary General. My first words are to deplore the tragic […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2621,1329,2637],"document-source":[3621,5352],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2005,1801,1749,1797],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-136153","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-message","document-category-press-release","document-category-remarks","document-source-deputy-secretary-general","document-source-secretary-general","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-inalienable-rights-of-the-palestinian-people","document-subject-palestine-question","document-subject-peace-process","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/136153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/136153\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=136153"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=136153"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=136153"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=136153"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=136153"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=136153"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=136153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}