1. MALDIVES
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[Check Against Delivery]
General Assembly Plenary
Agenda Item 37: Situation in the Middle East
Statement by:
Jeffrey Salim Waheed, Deputy Permanent Representative
United Nations, New York, 23 November 2015
Thank you Mr. President,
On behalf of the Republic of Maldives I wish to express our deep appreciation to the United Kingdom, in
its capacity as President of the Security Council for the month of November, for convening this timely
debate in connection with the agenda item on the Situation in the Middle East including the Question of
Palestine. We would also like to express our gratitude to the Secretary General for his briefing and
dedicated efforts towards finding a lasting solution to the various conflicts that still plague this region.
Mr. President,
On the 30th of September, we welcomed the raising of the Palestinian flag here at the United Nations. We
must not stop at this; the most historic step will be when Palestine becomes a full member of this
international organization. Nevertheless, this marked an important step and a beacon of hope for Palestine
and the Palestinian people. In spite of this, the people of Palestine continue to suffer from oppression and
military occupation.
The countless UN resolutions, the Madrid Principles, the Oslo Accords, the Arab Peace initiative and the
Quartet Roadmap strive to overcome the Israeli occupation and apartheid system put in place, to change
the mind-sets of the generations that have grown up in an atmosphere of hatred, fear and violence. Despite

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this, the occupation of the Palestinian territories and the incessant violations of the human rights of the
Palestinian people continue today. For 67 years, this international organization has failed Palestine and the
Palestinian people. This failure epitomizes the inability of the international community to work together
and represents a deep malaise within this international community that we need to address without delay,
in order to bring an end to the Palestinian conflict and all other conflicts around the world.
Mr. President,
The recent and on-going violence in East Jerusalem and throughout the occupied territories reaffirms the
urgent need to find a solution to this conflict. In recent months, this violence has increased dramatically.
Furthermore, Israeli settlers are continuing to illegally move into the occupied territories, construct their
home and build their lives in lands that do not [legally] belong to them. The growlingly hostile and
aggressive political rhetoric employed by the Israeli state and the imposed physical and demographic
alterations to the occupied Palestinian territories continue to reduce the chances of finding a peaceful
solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This window for a peaceful solution that takes into account the
demands and needs of all sides continues to close, and we, the international community, need to take
action.
The Maldives reiterates its call for the full realization of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian
people: the right of Palestinian people to establish their own State, alongside Israel, on the basis of the
Two-State solution, on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Mr. President,
Palestine’s neighbors and countries in the region are currently facing one of its biggest threats in the shape
of the so-called Islamic State. The peaceful protests, which began in March 2011, rapidly deteriorated into
violence and brutality, before transforming into a civil war between many different factions, including
state and non-state actors. The humanitarian consequences of this conflict have been dire. By mid-2014,
OCHA estimated that 10.8 million of Syria's 22 million population was affected by the conflict and in
need of humanitarian assistance, including 6.5 million internally displaced. This conflict and the
international community’s failure to act in Syria, led to the birth of the so-called Islamic State who uses
the Islamic religion to legitimize the violence they are committing and the relentless violations of
international humanitarian and human rights law. These acts of barbarity committed in the name of Islam
are inhumane and un-Islamic. This so-called Islamic State represents the greatest emerging threat to the
international community. We, as the international community, have failed to take concrete actions to bring

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an end to the violence, since the conflict began almost 5 years ago. Today, after the terrorist attacks in
France, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq, we must take a firm stand and have a unified voice against this so-called
Islamic State to bring an end to the conflict in Syria and end the recruitment and financing of this so-called
Islamic State.
Mr. President,
The Syrian conflict has spurred the world’s largest refugee crisis. Men, women and children are fleeing
incessant violence, conflict and persecution, searching for a better future. The first countries to be affected
by this crisis were Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. These countries have bared the burden for the past 5
years with their countries’ population increasingly drastically, most notably Lebanon who’s population
was roughly 4 million before the outbreak of the conflict. Today, in addition to this, according to the
UNHCR, there are now more than 1.3 million refugees living in Lebanon. Turkey is also currently hosting
more than 1.5 million refugees according to the UNHCR. These countries have been unable to handle this
influx of refugees and the international community’s failure to act have led to this matter being a threat to
the peace and security of these states.
Finally Mr. President,
The nuclear deal agreed and signed between Iran and the P5+1 represents a sign of hope that agreements
can be achieved between parties in this region in a peaceful and diplomatic manner. We welcome this
agreement and look forward to it being concretely put into action.
Thank you.

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