United Nations General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock has said a show of global unity behind the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine in September has sent a signal that the UN Security Council is ready to act.
UNGA overwhelmingly backed in September a resolution reviving the two-state solution. The New York Declaration, which outlines “tangible, timebound and irreversible steps” towards such a settlement, was adopted with 142 votes in favour, 10 against – including Israel and key ally the US – and 12 abstentions.
“The strong call at the two-state solution conference led by Saudi Arabia and France was so important,” Ms Baerbock told The National in an interview on the sidelines of the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha.
“It was a strong call of 142 member states in the New York Declaration of saying, this is a pathway we want to go forward. It also showed that if there's a strong commitment, if there's a strong call, if there is, especially a cross-regional co-operation from different countries and parts of the world, that also the Security Council is ready to move.
“Because afterwards, we saw for the first time in a long time, the condemnation of the attack by the Israeli government on Qatar. It was [condemned] by all members of the Security Council,” said Ms Baerbock.
She was referring to Israel’s strikes against the Hamas leadership in the Qatari capital in September. The attack was condemned by the UN Security Council in a statement agreed by all 15 members. A few weeks later, a ceasefire deal was reached in Gaza between Hamas and Israel.
While the Gaza ceasefire has ended most fighting, the violence has not completely stopped. Both sides have accused each other of breaching the US-brokered truce. The US, a permanent member of the Security Council, has vetoed previous calls for Palestinian statehood.
Ms Baerbock stressed that both Israel and Hamas must deliver on the commitments under the agreement. “The Israeli government has accepted this peace plan, and they now have to deliver on the ceasefire and steps forward for peace,” she added.
“There are intensive discussions going in the Security Council about the next steps of this peace agreement.”
Sudan's civil war
On Sudan, the UNGA president spoke of the urgent need for a ceasefire and humanitarian access during the ongoing civil war. But Ms Baerbock said ending the conflict is ultimately the responsibility of those leading the fighting.
There is a “strong international call saying there needs to be a ceasefire”, said Ms Baerbock.
The war in Sudan has killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly 13 million people. The fighting began in April 2023 when tension between the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Gen Mohamed Dagalo, erupted into open conflict.
The war reached a new tipping point after the RSF took control of El Fasher in the Darfur region, with prosecutors at the International Criminal Court suspecting war crimes were committed. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that since the RSF entered El Fasher last weekend, the situation was growing worse by the day.
“There needs to be humanitarian access, especially to El Fasher," said Ms Baerbock. "But we have to also be very blunt and open, especially in this situation of civil wars, that it is the responsibility of those leading the wars to end the fighting.
"Therefore, there is this very strong call of the international community also here at this conference, for the RSF and the Sudanese army to end the fighting and allow humanitarian access."
Aid cuts and SDGs
Asked whether the world could meet 2030 targets to end hunger and poverty amid wars, conflicts and sweeping aid cuts, Ms Baerbock said: “We can if we want to.”
“It's crystal clear that achieving the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals], the 17 SDGs, is not impossible because of the lack of money. There's enough money in the world. The question is how this money is being invested,” she said. The SDGs are 17 goals to set the world on a more sustainable path by 2030.
Ms Baerbock said the future lies in renewable energy. It not only provides sustainable power but also brings electricity to regions that remain largely off the grid, she said.
“But if the investments are not happening mainly in Africa, where we would have the best sites for solar, but they are going to Europe, China and other parts of the world, then obviously we deepen the divide on energy security.”
She added: “We will never reach our goal to fight hunger if conflicts are going on. Peace and security are heavily connected to hunger, and again, the climate crisis is the bigger threat [to achieving] the SDGs.”
