Minister Malki Says Culture of Impunity Has Worldwide Reverberations
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riyad Al-Malki, said during the ongoing 18th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Baku, Azerbaijan, that the culture of escaping punishment has worldwide reverberations, especially in light of The Trump administration's unilateral and illegal recognitions of Israel's illegal annexation of Jerusalem.
“This culture of impunity has worldwide reverberations, especially in light of The Trump administration's unilateral and illegal recognitions of Israel's illegal annexation of Jerusalem and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. This has emboldened other states to take steps and assume policies supportive of this inflammatory and illegal position and to adopt policies in their regions that abandon multilateral cooperation in favor of unilateralism and confrontations,” Al-Malki said.
He continued, “Rogue states must understand that we will not stand by and passively observe as their illegal actions normalize annexation and forced displacement and undermine the foundations and standing of international law and the UN Charter. As a collective, we have an obligation to use our collective standing to protect against unilateralism and lawlessness since allowing it anywhere will normalize it everywhere.”
The foreign minister said that after 52 years of colonial occupation, land grab, and dispossession, it was time for the international community to recognize that “the Israeli regime of control and oppression in the occupied territory of the State of Palestine is an illegal occupation. It is time for the international community to recognize this fact and act accordingly. There must be no compromise or excuses for the agenda of colonization and annexation, and the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement must remain at the forefront of rejecting such illegal behavior and defending the law that protects us all.”
“Another dimension of the Israeli-American assault on Palestine and Palestinian rights is financial. A siege of walls, settlements, military checkpoints, and financial extortion are starving the Palestinian economy of financial vitality and depriving it of its natural economic lifeline. This extortion is designed to make life punitively difficult for the Palestinian people, including by inciting against the continued funding of UNRWA,” Al-Malki remarked.
On the issue of Jerusalem, he said, “At stake is the future and character of this City, which is central to human civilization, not just to the faith of hundreds of millions of Muslims, Christians, and Jews around the world. Palestinians in Jerusalem are targeted by rampant human rights abuses, home demolitions, arbitrary and mass detention, as well as cultural, religious, and political persecution.:
Al-Malki reaffirmed the Palestinian leadership's commitment to political engagement. “Nearly two years ago, President Mahmoud Abbas presented an initiative to ensure the launching of a credible political process, anchored in international law and with a clear timeframe. The situation on the ground is too volatile for open-ended processes and vague terms of reference. A credible peace process must be guided by the clear goal of ending the illegal Israeli occupation and freeing Palestinians and Israelis from the toxic and violent reality of colonization and oppression.”
“Palestine will remain a force of good, a champion of human dignity and the universality of the law. We remain energized and motivated to work, in partnership with all our friends and responsible and positive actors to ensure that we do right by our future generations because we believe that just like our past, our present and future are intertwined,” he remarked.
“You can count on our principled and constructive cooperation as a proud member of this Movement to advance our collective interests in a future of prosperity, dignity, freedom, and stability.”
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