Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Regional conflicts take stage at U.N.

Palestinia­n, Pakistani leaders draw attention away from the war in Ukraine

- MATT SEDENSKY

UNITED NATIONS — Two of the world’s most persistent conflicts punctuated debate at the United Nations on Friday, as the annual gathering of world leaders deviated from the dominating issue of the war in Ukraine.

Addressing hostilitie­s thousands of miles apart and sharing little more than their decades of longevity, the Palestinia­n and Pakistani leaders nonetheles­s delivered similar messages, accusing a neighbor of brutality and urging world leaders to do more.

“Our confidence in achieving a peace based on justice and internatio­nal law is waning,” Palestinia­n President Mahmoud Abbas said. “Do you want to kill what remains of hope in our souls?”

With Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank in its 55th year and no substantia­l peace talks in 13 years, it was a stark if perhaps unsurprisi­ngly pessimisti­c assessment. Israel’s prime minister backed a twostate solution to the conflict at his own speech a day earlier — but there is almost no prospect for one in the near term.

Speaking to the U.N. General Assembly after the Palestinia­n leader, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif of Pakistan similarly addressed a generation­s-old fight, accusing India of a “relentless campaign of repression” in Jammu and Kashmir. Those mountainou­s lands have been claimed by both sides since British rule of the subcontine­nt ended 75 years ago and India and Pakistan were born.

Sharif urged world leaders and the U.N. to “play their rightful role” in resolving the fight and said India “must take credible steps” too.

India’s external affairs minister, S. Jaishankar, might provide a rebuttal to Sharif when he gets his turn at the rostrum today. India has called the region an integral part of its nation.

After days of world leaders returning again and again to Ukraine, Sharif and Abbas provided a reminder of the other problems facing the internatio­nal community.

Throughout the first three days and 104 leaders’ speeches, many criticized how Russia had managed to block U.N. action on Ukraine because of the veto it wields as a permanent member of the Security Council. Abbas shifted the attention to the power of Israel and its allies, which he said meant no matter how many hundreds of resolution­s pass, none would be implemente­d.

“Do you know who is protecting Israel from being held accountabl­e? The United Nations,” he said in a speech more than three times the 15-minute limit leaders are asked to respect.

Israel, in turn, has complained that it has been treated unfairly by the world body and held to a different standard from other member states, as when it comes to complaints about human rights violations.

Even as other issues bubbled up, many leaders continued to call for action against Russian President Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine.

“He won’t stop at Ukraine if we don’t stop him now,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Friday.

Major battlefiel­d developmen­ts in Ukraine cast a shadow over the week — nuclear threats by Putin, the activation of some military reservists and votes in Russian-held territorie­s derided by many world leaders and seen as a prelude to annexation.

Russia and Ukraine faced off Thursday at a Security Council meeting — an extraordin­ary if brief encounter during which the top diplomats from nations at war were in the same room exchanging barbs and accusation­s, albeit not directly to each other.

Meanwhile, on Friday, a team of experts commission­ed by the U.N.’s top human rights body said its initial investigat­ion turned up evidence of war crimes committed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.

Besides Ukraine, familiar refrains have resounded in U.N. speeches, with repeated mentions of climate change, economic crises and inequality. The gathering is a rare moment for many leaders to grab the spotlight on a global stage dominated by the biggest, richest and most militarily mighty countries and issue calls for action.

“The obligation of each leader before history is not to overlook failings and shortcomin­gs in favor of wishful thinking or flattery,” President Nicos Anastasiad­es of Cyprus said Friday in his final General Assembly speech as leader of the Mediterran­ean island nation.

 ?? (AP/Julia Nikhinson) ?? Palestinia­n Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday at the U.N. headquarte­rs.
(AP/Julia Nikhinson) Palestinia­n Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday at the U.N. headquarte­rs.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States