Small gesture for peace

AT THE START of the high-level week of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Trinidad and Tobago made good on its formal recognition in May of Palestine by convening its first bilateral engagement with that country through the signing of a joint communique in New York on September 22. We hope this gesture, though small, contributes to ongoing efforts for international peace and security.

This country is not alone in its dismay over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the lead up to the general assembly, UN members, including TT, voted overwhelmingly on September 18 for a resolution demanding Israel end its presence in Palestinian territory. This, as the conflict was taken to the brink of all-out regional war, with Israel widely believed responsible for an audacious attack in Lebanon on Hezbollah involving the lethal detonation of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies.

In announcing its position recognising Palestine in May, Cabinet said TT has been a long-standing advocate of the two-state solution as “the only credible path to peace,” a view expressed by the Prime Minister last year.

The move was not welcomed by the group known as the Understanding Israel Foundation, described as a local proxy for Israel interests, which sent a legal letter to Dr Rowley in June, arguing recognition violated the Oslo Accords of 1993-1995 and the Vienna Convention.

With almost a year having passed since the horrific October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the nuances of international law appear to have been almost completely obliterated.

The UN has been sidelined; it has had no direct role in negotiations done through Qatar and the US. The crossing over, by the right-wing administration of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, from the pretence of self-defence into all manner of violations of war-time treaties has damaged the ability of the world and bodies like the UN to address other boiling global issues, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and the breakdown in Haiti. The ICC and ICJ have been shown contempt. The Gaza death toll has crossed 40,000.

Against all hope, the UN assembly this week adopted a pact stating: “We, the heads of state and government, representing the peoples of the world, have gathered to protect the needs and interests of present and future generations.

“We are at a time of profound global transformation. We are confronted by rising catastrophic and existential risks, many caused by the choices we make. Fellow human beings are enduring terrible suffering. If we do not change course, we risk tipping into a future of persistent crisis.”

The UN is still a vital pulpit for world leaders. But that future may already be here, unless a breakthrough occurs.