NEW YORK, United States (US): A United Nations (UN) high-level conference on the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine concluded Wednesday at the UN headquarters in New York, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.
Held from July 28-30, the meeting brought together senior officials from nearly 130 countries and ended with the adoption of the ‘New York Call’ and ‘New York Declaration’ in support of the two-state solution.
The US and Israel did not attend the conference, which was co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, speaking at the pre-opening session, said the two-state solution was at a “breaking point”.
“Statehood for the Palestinians is a right, not a reward. And the denial of statehood would be a gift to extremists everywhere,” he said.
Guterres condemned the worsening situation in Gaza, warning that the enclave had “descended into a cascade of catastrophes”.
Fifteen countries, including Australia, Canada, France and Spain, reiterated support for the two-state solution through the ‘New York Call’.
In a joint statement, the countries voiced grave concern over civilian casualties in Gaza and urged others to consider recognising Palestine as a necessary step toward peace.
“We agreed to take collective action to end the war in Gaza, to achieve a just, peaceful, and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the effective implementation of the two-state solution,” the statement said.
The declaration warned that the conflict continues to cause immense human suffering and poses serious threats to regional and global stability.
Countries endorsing the declaration included Turkiye, France, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Norway, Qatar, Senegal, Spain, the United Kingdom (UK), the European Union (EU) and the Arab League.
During the conference, both the UK and Canada announced plans to formally recognise the State of Palestine at the 80th UN General Assembly in September. – BERNAMA-
