It was formed to assist in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, in reality, envoy Tony Blair uses it for personal profit.
Ali Abunimah
Al-Jazeera
"Quartet envoy Tony Blair has been the target of stinging criticism of late from officials close to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. There have even been murmurs that Abbas' officials may formally request Blair's removal.
While Blair's Quartet role, which he took up the day he left office as UK prime minister in 2007, has undoubtedly been harmful to the Palestinian people and to any semblance of international law, it would not be enough to call for Blair to go.
It is the Quartet itself - an ad hoc committee of US, EU and Russian officials, and the UN Secretary General, that monopolises the so-called "peace process" - that has destroyed what little credibility the United Nations has left on the question of Palestine.
It functions as a front that launders Israeli and American demands as UN and "international" positions, sidelining international law and countless resolutions declaring myriad Israeli actions to be grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.
To begin to restore UN credibility, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon should end UN membership, funding and support for the Quartet. If he doesn't, UN member states should demand that he do so....
The Arab League states, at least, should demand that the UN Secetary General withdraw from the Quartet and halt funding Tony Blair's office from money that is supposed to assist Palestinians whose lives have been devastated by the very Israeli policies Blair facilitates.
If the UN is to begin to play any useful role in restoring the Palestinians' usurped rights, it must begin by abolishing the obstructionist and irredeemably corrupted Quartet."
Ali Abunimah
Al-Jazeera
"Quartet envoy Tony Blair has been the target of stinging criticism of late from officials close to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. There have even been murmurs that Abbas' officials may formally request Blair's removal.
While Blair's Quartet role, which he took up the day he left office as UK prime minister in 2007, has undoubtedly been harmful to the Palestinian people and to any semblance of international law, it would not be enough to call for Blair to go.
It is the Quartet itself - an ad hoc committee of US, EU and Russian officials, and the UN Secretary General, that monopolises the so-called "peace process" - that has destroyed what little credibility the United Nations has left on the question of Palestine.
It functions as a front that launders Israeli and American demands as UN and "international" positions, sidelining international law and countless resolutions declaring myriad Israeli actions to be grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.
To begin to restore UN credibility, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon should end UN membership, funding and support for the Quartet. If he doesn't, UN member states should demand that he do so....
The Arab League states, at least, should demand that the UN Secetary General withdraw from the Quartet and halt funding Tony Blair's office from money that is supposed to assist Palestinians whose lives have been devastated by the very Israeli policies Blair facilitates.
If the UN is to begin to play any useful role in restoring the Palestinians' usurped rights, it must begin by abolishing the obstructionist and irredeemably corrupted Quartet."
No comments:
Post a Comment