STATEMENT BY RUSSIAN DELEGATION MEMBER R. A. ROMANOV AT THE 60TH SESSION OF THE UN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS ON AGENDA ITEM 8: THE QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES, INCLUDING PALESTINE GENEVA, MARCH 24, 2004
Unofficial translation from Russian
Statement by Russian Delegation Member R. A. Romanov at the 60th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights on Agenda Item 8: The Question of the Violation of Human Rights in the Occupied Arab Territories, Including Palestine
Geneva, March 24, 2004
Mr. Chairman,
For more than half a century, the situation in the Middle East has been the focus of attention of the United Nations and continues to pose a threat to the rights and interests of this region's peoples. Tensions that are continuing there by no means contribute to the eradication of violations of human rights and freedoms. We note with regret that no substantial results have been achieved in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict over the past years.
The recent tragic events in Israel have further complicated the already not simple situation in the region. Russia strongly condemns terrorist actions against the civilian population of Israel and extends its deeply-felt condolences to the families of the dead. We are convinced that it is impossible to reach political aims through acts of terrorism. Terrorists' actions undermine the efforts for restoring peace in the region, and are creating new obstructions on the road to political settlement. Not only do they bring death to innocent civilians; they inflict harm upon the national interests of the Palestinian people and are erecting obstacles to the Palestinians' gaining their statehood.
We call upon the Palestinian Authority to take drastic action against persons and groups carrying out and planning violent acts, as well as measures to reinforce control in their territory.
In turn, Israel should renounce extrajudicial executions, and unilateral moves and actions that can only complicate the situation, leading away the settlement cause from the solution of the central task of discontinuing the occupation of the Palestinian lands and ensuring the coexistence of two states, Israel and Palestine, within secure and recognized borders. In this context the construction by Israel of a "separation wall" in the Palestinian territories appears to us to be a counterproductive step undermining the efforts for overcoming the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation. The right of Israel to defend its citizens should not be realized through tearing away other people's territories and go against the norms of international humanitarian law. We call upon the Israeli authorities to also give up the disproportionate use of force, as well as to take effective steps to ease the economic burden of the Palestinian population.
Mr. Chairman,
We have repeatedly stated that a way out of the situation can only be found at the negotiating table and not via military operations and unilateral actions. The coordination of efforts by the parties will raise the effectiveness of the struggle against terrorism and alleviate the plight of the population in the occupied territories. We regret to note that a meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian premiers that had been prepared for a long time was again indefinitely postponed following the act of terrorism in Ashdod.
The Russian Federation is convinced that the immediate task now is to restart a direct political dialogue between the parties, for which there is a solid foundation - the Road Map, accepted by Israel and the PNA and endorsed by the Security Council of the United Nations.
It is obvious that the Road Map, for all the difficulties in its implementation, remains an unalternative program for getting out of the confrontational impasse, offering a unique opportunity to reach a settlement which would fully meet the interests of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples alike and the realization of which would create conditions for their life in a safe world.
Russia presumes that resolving the Middle East crisis should be effected on all the negotiation tracks on the basis of the Madrid principles, UN Security Council Resolutions 242, 338, 397 and 1515, the Arab peace initiative and other existing agreements. We hope that the parties will show the good will and actively help the work of the Quartet of International Mediators, of which our country is a member.
Mr. Chairman,
Overcoming the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation and getting the conflict back on the peace track remains one of the priority tasks of the Russian foreign policy in the Middle East. In cooperation with all the concerned parties, primarily the Quartet partners, we shall continue to work consistently for a settlement which would ensure the peaceful secure coexistence of two states, Israel and Palestine, and reliable stability and security for all countries and peoples of the region.
