By Holy See Mission
Intervention of H. E. Archbishop
Francis ChullikattApostolic Nuncio, Permanent
Observer of the Holy See to the UNin the Security Council Open
Debate on“The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question” (New York, 20 January 2014) Mr. President, My Delegation congratulates you on this month’s Jordanian
Presidency of the Security Council and commends your convening of this timely
open debate on “The situation in the Middle East,
including the Palestinian question”. Jordan’s
leadership draws on insights into the region of great benefit to this Council,
and it will be from Amman in your own country
that His Holiness Pope Francis, as a witness to peace, will begin his own
pilgrimage of prayer to the Holy Land on May
24th of this year. For the Holy
See, the resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians
constitutes a positive development, in regard to which Pope Francis has
expressed the hope that “both parties
will resolve, with the support of the international community, to take
courageous decisions”.[1]
Courageous decisions are seldom easy ones and can make demands on us that may
be politically difficult and unpopular. Yet when faced with the reality of
conflict in the Middle East all right-minded
people see the need for change. Peace is not simply the absence of war but
requires that the demands of justice are met for all peoples and communities.
My Delegation, accordingly, joins its voice once more with all people of good
will who welcome, with great hope, the re-engagement of direct, serious and
concrete negotiations so that a rejuvenated peace process may help unfold
better prospects for the future.Of great significance, furthermore, is
the recent agreement of the Permanent Members of this Council and Germany with
Iran in respect to its nuclear programme, which offers great hopes that an era
of distrust may be displaced by a new climate of trust and cooperation and it is hoped that it will be fully implemented
and open the path to a definitive agreement.Mr. President,The Holy See has
urgently and repeatedly voiced its clear concerns for the peace and welfare of
all the peoples of the Middle East. Most
recently it has been the ongoing situation in Syria which has prompted Pope
Francis to renew the Holy See’s profound solicitude for the situation in the
whole of this region. Calling the Catholic faithful to prayer and fasting for Syria in September last year, Pope Francis made
a heartfelt plea “that the violence and
devastation in Syria
may cease immediately and that a renewed effort be undertaken to achieve a just
solution to this fratricidal conflict.”[2]
“Never has the use of violence brought
peace in its wake,” said the pope: “War
begets war, violence begets violence.”[3]Mr. President,May the Geneva II
talks on January 22nd be an occasion for a renewed reflection on the
criteria needed to offer a new start for this beautiful nation left prey to
indescribable destruction and loss of lives! These must include an immediate
ceasefire without procrastinations owing to political preconditions, including a
renewed commitment to promoting initiatives of peace instead of the sending and
funding of arms, which has escalated the violence and conflict. At the same
time, this must involve an immediate roll-out of humanitarian assistance and
reconstruction for the countless refugees and displaced persons being housed
temporarily in neighbouring countries, where so many suffer life-threatening
deprivations, inter alia, of
nutrition, safe drinking water and basic sanitation. The urgency of rebuilding peace
trumps the resolution of other political and social questions, though such rebuilding
certainly will need to include new forms of political participation and
representation that ensure the voice and security of all groups calling Syria
their home.The Pope has
expressed his deep concern for those experiencing relocation and displacement in
efforts to escape incessant violence, as well as for those nations challenged
by the influx of a great number of refugees. The international community cannot
stand aloof to their praiseworthy efforts to assist. The Holy See – through its
wide array of educational, health care and social service outreach efforts –
pledges to continue to work alongside those alleviating the suffering of all
marginalized, uprooted and oppressed by conflict.Many of these
refugees constitute a worrying exodus of Christians from their bi-millennial
homelands owing, among other causes, to the targeting and instability visited
upon them by fundamentalist and extremist forces. Interreligious dialogue and
reconciliation will be required, thus, to restore the balance in the rich and
complex pluralism of Syrian society. The Holy See stands ready to support all religious
communities in their efforts to reach new understandings and the restoration of
trust after these years of violence, revenge and recrimination.Mr. President,The Syrian people
have demonstrated by their history an ability to live together in peace.
Regional and international rivalries, therefore, that have little to do with
the Syrian communities themselves, must be set aside, so that at the heart of
the discussions are not these interests but rather those of the individual human
person and the good of Syria. To this end all the interested parties are called
to work together if conditions for lasting peace are to be put in place. The
Geneva II talks must, accordingly, ensure inclusive participation for all
parties to this conflict, in the region and beyond. The Holy See, by its
presence, wholeheartedly wishes to support this objective.Finally, I wish to call
to mind the concern expressed by Pope Francis for the ongoing political
problems in Lebanon, and also for Iraq, which struggles to attain the peace and
stability for which it hopes.Mr. President,For the United
Nations the challenges of the Middle East are a clarion call for its
peacemaking role, the very raison d’être
for this institution. May this open debate help muster the much needed
political will to spur the international community to make a real difference in
the lives of the peoples of the Middle East
and help them to fulfil their dream of long-awaited peace! The global economic
situation no longer permits that the international community continue
indefinitely to fund growing refugee populations. Political solutions are the best solutions even for the economies of these
countries because peace is the necessary precondition for the socio-economic
stability capable of attracting development funds. In his address to the
members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See on January 13th,
therefore, Pope Francis urged the whole world with great insistence to address
the problems of the Middle East and to act, before any further deterioration of
the situation occurs.[4]I thank you, Mr.
President.
[1]Address of Pope
Francis to Members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, 13
January 2014.
[2]Words after the
Angelus Prayer of Pope Francis, Saint Peter's Square,
Sunday, 8 September 2013.
[3] Words during the
Angelus Prayer of Pope Francis, St. Peter’s Square, Sunday, 1 September 2013.
[4]Address of Pope
Francis to Members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, 13
January 2014.
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