The UN Security Council
I visited the UN Security Council about two weeks ago. Here is an article I wrote on the experience for the intern newsletter.
One of the perks of being an UN intern is the ability to waltz into open Security Council meetings. While attempting to inconspicuously dance your way past security might raise a few eyebrows, by simply flashing your badge you gain immediate access to the world of high diplomacy.
On January 27th the Security Council held an open debate entitled “The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question”. Held in the Security Council chamber, it was the first opportunity for many interns to witness the operation of arguably the most important UN decision-making institutions. Along with the regular Member States, representatives from the Palestinian Authority and Israel, as well as the Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon, were in attendance.
While not a debate in the traditional sense, the topic did stimulate some interesting discussion on the current situation in the region. Centred on the plight of the Palestinian people, Oscar Fernandez-Tarano, assistant secretary-general for political affairs delivered a sobering assessment of the situation on the ground one year after the Gaza Conflict had erupted. He elaborated on cases of denial of food and aid to the Palestinians and argued that the continued stalemate is precipitating a humanitarian crisis in the region.
Many nations urged Israel to loosen restrictions on the transport of aid and fuel into the occupied territories and stop the continued expansion of settlements into East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Israel stated its willingness to negotiate with the Palestinians, but demanded the cessation of the continued rocket attacks into its territory. Israel also noted Hamas’ continued denial of its sovereign legitimacy. Lebanon provided the most vitriolic reaction, whereas the United States condemned Hamas’ rocket attacks but urged Israel to restrict settlement building in the occupied territories.
While this meeting seemed informal, it gave the interns an interesting look into how the council operates, as well as the nuances of international diplomacy and debate. It also gave insight into the somewhat overwhelming complexities of attempting to solve an issue as old and volatile as ‘the Palestinian Questions’.
I couldn’t stay for the entire debate, but you could see that Israel was in for a bad day. Apart from the US, all other nations condoned Israel’s behaviour. While I don’t condone violence of any kind including the Hamas rocket attacks, but what Israel are doing – namely the expansion of settlements – is not constructive. The rest of the world can see that but not many seem interested in helping the Palestinians people.
The UN issued a press release that includes information concerning the entire breadth of the debate which you can read by clicking here.
I also attended the UN’s Holocaust Memorial Ceremony held in the General Assembly that same night. I have to say, I was disappointed. While the music was quite good, the speeches were sloppy. The keynote speaker seemed a charming old lady and had some interesting stories, but rambled on a bit more than was necessary.
One speech by the Israeli minister for Information Yuli Edelstein could only be described as outright propaganda. He did not really talk on the Holocaust at all, instead gave a demagogic lecture about the right of Israel to exist and the threat of Iran’s (conveniently forgetting Israel’s own alleged nuclear arsenal), glossing over anything that actually had anything to do with ‘remembering the holocaust’. You can tell by his previous press statements, that there wasn’t much hope for the exercise of rationalism.
While I don’t disagree with Israel’s right to exist, nor disagree with their right to be suspicious of Iran, the whole manner in which Edelstein preached to the crowd, taken in context with the current plight of Palestinian, left a bad taste in my mouth. I cannot support the utilisation of human tragedy as contemporary political currency. Simply put, it wasn’t the time or place to talk about such subjects.
There was what seemed like a moving speech from a Sinti representative who talked the 20,000 deaths of the Sinti people during the holocaust, but the sound was so awful that it was really hard to hear.
Still an impressive day – getting to hang in both the Security Council and the General Assembly was pretty special.
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The UN Security Council and Holocaust Memorial
The UN Security Council
I visited the UN Security Council about two weeks ago. Here is an article I wrote on the experience for the intern newsletter.
I couldn’t stay for the entire debate, but you could see that Israel was in for a bad day. Apart from the US, all other nations condoned Israel’s behaviour. While I don’t condone violence of any kind including the Hamas rocket attacks, but what Israel are doing – namely the expansion of settlements – is not constructive. The rest of the world can see that but not many seem interested in helping the Palestinians people.
The UN issued a press release that includes information concerning the entire breadth of the debate which you can read by clicking here.
I also attended the UN’s Holocaust Memorial Ceremony held in the General Assembly that same night. I have to say, I was disappointed. While the music was quite good, the speeches were sloppy. The keynote speaker seemed a charming old lady and had some interesting stories, but rambled on a bit more than was necessary.
One speech by the Israeli minister for Information Yuli Edelstein could only be described as outright propaganda. He did not really talk on the Holocaust at all, instead gave a demagogic lecture about the right of Israel to exist and the threat of Iran’s (conveniently forgetting Israel’s own alleged nuclear arsenal), glossing over anything that actually had anything to do with ‘remembering the holocaust’. You can tell by his previous press statements, that there wasn’t much hope for the exercise of rationalism.
While I don’t disagree with Israel’s right to exist, nor disagree with their right to be suspicious of Iran, the whole manner in which Edelstein preached to the crowd, taken in context with the current plight of Palestinian, left a bad taste in my mouth. I cannot support the utilisation of human tragedy as contemporary political currency. Simply put, it wasn’t the time or place to talk about such subjects.
There was what seemed like a moving speech from a Sinti representative who talked the 20,000 deaths of the Sinti people during the holocaust, but the sound was so awful that it was really hard to hear.
Still an impressive day – getting to hang in both the Security Council and the General Assembly was pretty special.