{"id":91014,"date":"2017-05-01T12:00:56","date_gmt":"2017-05-01T11:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=91014"},"modified":"2017-04-23T17:04:03","modified_gmt":"2017-04-23T16:04:03","slug":"middle-east-engulfed-by-a-perfect-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/05\/middle-east-engulfed-by-a-perfect-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"Middle East, Engulfed by a \u2018Perfect Storm\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

In Mazrak, Yemen, a five year-old girl, diagnosed as malnourished, is given a pink wristband to wear to show she has not been getting enough to eat.
Credit: UNHCR\/Hugh Macleod<\/p><\/div>\n

21 Apr 2017<\/em> – A perfect storm has engulfed the Middle East, and continues to threaten international peace and security.<\/p>\n

Hardly anyone could sum up the Middle East explosive situation in so few, blunt words as just did Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.<\/p>\n

Reporting<\/a> to the UN Security Council on the \u201cdire situation across the Middle East region, marked by the largest refugee crisis since the Second World War, fractured societies, proliferation of non-State actors and unbelievable human suffering,\u201d Mladenov reiterated the need for a surge in diplomacy for peace to ease the suffering of innocent civilians.<\/p>\n

The UN Special Coordinator also warned that \u201cthe question of Palestine remained a \u2018potent symbol\u2019 and a \u2018rallying cry\u2019, \u201cone that is easily misappropriated and exploited by extremist groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question of Palestine remained a \u201cpotent symbol\u201d and \u201crallying cry,\u201d one that is easily misappropriated and exploited by extremist groups,\u201d UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLet us not forget that behind the images of savagery [there] are the millions [struggling] every day not only for their own survival but for the true humane essence of their cultures and societies,\u201d he on 20 April 2017 told the Security Council.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, a perfect storm has engulfed the Middle East, and continues to threaten international peace and security,\u201d he said, noting that divisions within the region have opened the doors to foreign intervention and manipulation, breeding instability and sectarian strife.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnding the occupation and realising a two-state solution will not solve all the region\u2019s problems, but as long as the conflict persists, it will continue to feed them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mladenov also informed the 15-member Security Council of sporadic violence that continued to claim lives and reported on Israel\u2019s approval of the establishment of new settlements and declaration of \u201cState land\u201d in the occupied Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n

On the Palestinian side, he noted multiple worrying developments that are \u201cfurther cementing\u201d the Gaza-West Bank divide and dangerously increasing the risk of escalation.<\/p>\n

Turning to the wider region, Mladenov briefed the Security Council members on the on-going crisis in Syria that continues to be a \u201cmassive burden\u201d for other countries and called on the international community to do more to stand in solidarity with Syria\u2019s neighbours.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrong, Loud Alarm\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe statement that Mr. Mladenov has just made should sound a strong, loud alarm,\u201d a retired Arab diplomat told IPS on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should always have in mind that the United Nations envoys and special coordinators use to be extremely careful when choosing their wording, in particular when it comes to reporting to the UN Security Council. This is why his words should be taken really seriously,\u201d the diplomat emphasised.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Displaced families from Reyadeh and 1070 neighbourhoods take shelter at a kindergarten in western Aleppo city. Conditions are still extremely basic.
Credit: UNICEF\/Khuder Al-Issa<\/p><\/div>\n

According to this well-informed source, several Middle East analysts and even regional political leaders \u201charbour mixed feeling and even confusion about what some consider as \u201cerrant\u201d foreign policy of the current US administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is anyway clear is that a new Middle East is now \u201cunder construction\u201d. Such process will not be an easy one, in view of the growing trend to embark in new cold war between the US and Russia,\u201d the diplomat concluded.<\/p>\n

Further in his briefing, the UN Special Coordinator spoke of the situation in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen as well as of \u201csocial exclusion and marginalisation that tend to provide fertile ground for the rise of violent extremism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recalling UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u2019 call for a \u201csurge in diplomacy for peace\u201d, Mladenov urged UN Member States, especially through a united Security Council, to assume \u201cthe leading role in resolving the crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMultilateral approaches and cooperation are necessary to address interlinked conflicts, cross-border humanitarian impacts and violent extremism.\u201d
\n
\n\u201cGrave Danger\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just one week earlier, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, told<\/a> the UN Security Council in the wake of yet another dire turn in the Syrian crisis, that the United States and the Russian Federation \u201cmust find a way to work together\u201d to stabilise the situation and support the political process.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his briefing on 12 April, de Mistura added that the previous week\u2019s reported chemical weapons attack, the subsequent air strikes by the US and intensified fighting on the ground have put the fragile peace process is in \u201cgrave danger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A seven-year-old child stands in front of her damaged school in Idleb, Syria. October 2016.
Credit: UNICEF<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThis is a time for clear-thinking, strategy, imagination, cooperation,\u201d said de Mistura.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must all resolve that the time has come where the intra-Syrian talks move beyond preparatory discussions and into the real heart of the matter, across all four baskets, to secure a meaningful negotiated transition package,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Prior to the reported chemical attack in Khan Shaykhun area of Idlib, modest but incremental progress were made, the UN envoy noted, highlighting that though there no breakthroughs, there were also no breakdowns. The most recent round of talks, facilitated by the UN in Geneva, wrapped up three weeks ago.<\/p>\n

However, the reported attack and subsequent events have placed the country between two paths: one leading more death, destruction and regional and international divisions; and the other of real de-escalation and ceasefire, added de Mistura.<\/p>\n

The UN Special Envoy reiterated that there are no military solutions to the strife in the war-ravaged country.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have heard it countless times, but I will say it again: there can only be a political solution to this bloody conflict [\u2026] regardless of what some say or believe,\u201d he expressed, noting that this is what Syrians from all walks of life also say and something that the Security Council had agreed upon.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, let us use this moment of crisis \u2013 and it is a moment of crisis \u2013 as a watershed and an opportunity perhaps for a new level of seriousness in the search for a political solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

_______________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Baher Kamal, Egyptian-born, Spanish national secular journalist. He is founder and publisher of\u00a0<\/em>Human Wrongs Watch<\/a>. Kamal is a pro-peace, non-violence, human rights, harmonious coexistence defender among human beings and with Nature, with more than 43 years of professional experience. With these issues in sight, he covered practically all professional posts, from correspondent to chief editor of dailies and international news agencies.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 ipsnews.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

21 Apr 2017 -Reporting to the UN Security Council on the \u201cdire situation across the Middle East region, marked by the largest refugee crisis since the Second World War, fractured societies, proliferation of non-State actors and unbelievable human suffering,\u201d Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, reiterated the need for a surge in diplomacy for peace to ease the suffering of innocent civilians.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east-north-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91014\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}