Ordinarily, the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the UN, should have been a moment of celebration. Instead, the occasion has turned into a sombre affair accompanied by controversies.
A few days ago, the US government denied visas to the entire Palestinian Authority delegation to the assembly as well as a meeting to discuss the two-state solution. The two-state solution supports the coexistence of the states of Palestine and Israel. This is widely accepted as the only credible solution for the conflict in the Middle East.
Amid the 80th session of the assembly, Israel, which no longer believes in the two-state idea, launched attacks in Qatar, which hosts an American army base. Tel Aviv, which has been bombing Gaza since the October 7 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, claims it was targeting Hamas operatives in Qatar.
This is concerning on two levels. Qatar has been playing a role in brokering peace in the region; and the attack came just months after a visit to the region by Donald Trump, America’s president, who was gifted an aircraft by the Qatari government.
Away from the US and Geneva, these UN-related issues are likely to be part of talking points in capitals such as London this week. Trump is undertaking a state visit to the UK this week.
The president has said that he wasn’t thrilled by the attacks in Qatar, but remains in support of Israel’s campaign to destroy Hamas, a militant group, worldwide. In the name of this campaign, Israel has attacked not only Gaza, but also supporters of Hamas’ allies such as Iran and Lebanon.
Countries such as Turkey and Egypt are worried that they may be on Israel’s target list. Attacks on these countries would set the peace cause back. These countries are integral to lasting peace in the region.
White House officials haven’t disclosed how much and when, if at all, Trump knew about the Qatari attack.
It’s significant to make a few points about the visa bans. The Palestinian Authority, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, has observer status in the UN. Which means its officials can speak in UN meetings — like the ANC during apartheid when it was banned — but cannot vote on resolutions.
In the run-up to this year’s assembly, an increasing number of European countries are warming up to the idea of recognising Palestine and supporting its UN membership. The support for this idea is not an endorsement of Hamas or extremism.
In denying the Palestine delegation US visas, Washington felt there was not enough daylight between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. The ban has been located within the broad national interests, security and foreign policy ambit. This sounds petty on the US part and unhelpful to securing peace in the region.
Palestinians have enough voices to advance their cause during assembly deliberations.
But the precedent of an arbitrary blanket ban on delegations is disturbing. For years of his misrule, Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s late president, was allowed to attend UN assembly meetings, which he used to rail against the West.
His large delegation was allowed to shop on the margins at these sessions.
A legitimate question that arises from the Palestinian issue is: now that Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years in jail for plotting to overthrow the government, will his successor, Luiz Lula da Silva of Brazil, be allowed to travel to the US?
Trump’s administration, which is sympathetic to Bolsonaro, has slapped Brazil with punitive tariffs in protest at the impending imprisonment of Bolsonaro. A Brazilian court has now confirmed a jail term.
Since inception, UN proponents will claim, the world has not experienced the third war. Maybe true, but they will struggle to dispute this happened despite the UN.
The conflicts in the Middle East and Africa are a blemish on the UN. Its role in world peace has been diminished by its powerful members.
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