Minister of Foreign Affairs Meets The Elders, Calls for Stronger International Action on Palestine

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Varsen Shahin met on Wednesday with a delegation from The Elders, led by former Irish President Mary Robinson and joined by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, to discuss the latest developments in the occupied Palestinian territory and the need for stronger international engagement.

During the meeting, Shahin emphasized the importance of mobilizing greater international support for the Palestinian cause. She called for full compliance with international law, including the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion and the commitments outlined in the New York Declaration, as steps toward the realization of an independent Palestinian state.

The minister also stressed the urgency of ending the war in Gaza, ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid, addressing the worsening humanitarian crisis, and confronting the escalating attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. She further urged the international community to challenge inflammatory rhetoric by the Israeli government, secure the release of withheld Palestinian clearance revenues, and halt settlement expansion, the E1 project, and measures aimed at altering the demographic and historical character of occupied Jerusalem.

For their part, members of The Elders reaffirmed their commitment to amplifying the Palestinian voice internationally and raising these priorities in meetings and international forums, expressing support for efforts to end the suffering of the Palestinian people and advance their right to self-determination.