18 April 2002
Annan Calls for Peacekeepers in Occupied Territories
(US will study proposal very seriously, Negroponte says) (1030)
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- Secretary General Kofi Annan asked the Security
Council April 18 to consider establishing a multinational peacekeeping
force to give the Israelis and Palestinians an opportunity "to
extricate themselves from the current impasse."
"It is time for the international community to pursue such an option
in a pro-active way, rather than waiting for the parties to arrive at
this conclusion on their own. A multinational force is essential to a
gradual restoration of trust between the two sides," the secretary
general said.
During a private meeting with council members Annan said that
Secretary of State Colin Powell's mission to the region "has succeeded
in slowing, at least temporarily, the spiraling violence that has
beset the region in recent months" and focused attention on the need
for a security, political, and economic strategic framework.
"His mission gives us hope that the peace process so long delayed and
so frayed could be resumed," Annan said.
Nevertheless, the secretary general said that unless the international
community "assumes a direct and effective role on the ground" there
may well be a resumption of the cycle of attacks and reprisals between
Israelis and Palestinians with an intensification of violence and a
continuing disregard for international law.
"Both parties will need help to restore security," he told the
council, according to a text of his remarks released to journalists.
"It is this analysis that leads me to the conclusion that we need to
consider possible courses of action that are bolder than have hitherto
been considered practicable."
The proposed force would not be mounted by the United Nations, but be
formed by a "coalition of the willing" such as in the case of the Gulf
War and in Afghanistan. While the nations participating in such a
force would have to provide the operational details, the secretary
general sketched out what he saw as being needed.
Authorized under Chapter VII of UN Charter (which makes compliance
mandatory on all UN member states), the force must be "impartial and
capable of taking decisive actions....have a robust mandate, credible
strength and be large enough to carry it out," Annan said.
"I am aware that such an operation would not be risk-free," he said.
"However, the situation is so dangerous that the international
community has an obligation to provide this assistance."
Talking with journalists after the meeting, Annan said that he felt he
received support from the members of the Security Council who said
that they would take his proposals back to their capitals.
US Ambassador John Negroponte said that the United States will
consider the secretary general's proposal very seriously.
Powell briefed President Bush on his Middle East mission April 18 and
the US National Security Council was also scheduled to meet in
Washington during the day, the US ambassador pointed out.
Negroponte also reconfirmed the longstanding US position that any
peacekeeping force must have the consent of all parties to a conflict
before being deployed.
The force proposed by Annan would have four objectives: work with the
parties to end the cycle of violence; gradually create secure
conditions in the occupied territories so normal economic activity,
humanitarian aid, and development assistance could resume; cooperate
with the international community so Palestinian Authority institutions
can be rebuilt; and create a stable environment to permit the
resumption of negotiations aimed at achieving a political settlement.
The secretary general stressed that the aim of the force would not be
to freeze the political and territorial status quo but would be part
of a process leading to long-term security for Israel and the end of
the occupation and the withdrawal of Israeli settlements from
Palestinian areas.
"I would expect the parties to cooperate fully with such a force and
to facilitate its deployment," the secretary general said. "It is in
their interest to do so."
"For Israel, the force, if adequately deployed and sufficiently
mobile, would create conditions on the ground that would place an
international spotlight on any extremist Palestinian groups that try
to undermine a cease-fire by continuing to engage in terrorism," he
said.
"For the Palestinians, the force would increase security and create
conditions for the resumption of humanitarian and development
assistance, especially in the rebuilding and reordering of the
Palestinian Authority's security and law enforcement institutions,"
Annan said.
In the past weeks, the secretary general had suggested deploying
unarmed observers. But, given the current circumstances, their safety
and security would be doubtful, he said. "Moreover, their presence
would not be sufficient to help consolidate and monitor the cease-fire
that Secretary Powell and others have been working so hard to achieve
and that the Security Council has repeatedly called for."
The secretary general also urged Israel to lift the curfew imposed on
the Jenin refugee camp and to comply fully with its obligations under
international humanitarian law to provide humanitarian agencies full
and unimpeded access to the camp.
He said that people in the region must not lose sight of the
fundamental truth that "there is no military solution to this
conflict."
"Israel cannot achieve long-term security through force of arms no
matter how overwhelming that force may be," the secretary general
said. "The Palestinians, it is equally evident, will never be able to
establish their own state by force of arms, let alone by terrorist
acts."
"The international community must act to move both of the parties away
from their current self-defeating course and to bring them back to
agreement on the only possible basis for a political settlement -- the
implementation of Security Council resolutions 242, 338, and 1397 and
the principle of land for peace," he said.
Annan said that the head of the UN Refugee and Works Agency (UNRWA)
and UN special envoy described what they saw as in the Jenin refugee
camp as "horrific" and said they "witnessed people digging out corpses
from the rubble with bare hands."
No major emergency rescue operation has been allowed to begin and the
destruction is massive and the impact on civilian population is
devastating, he told the council.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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