OMM Redaksiyası
Brunei has said there can be no lasting peace without justice for Palestinians, warning that the conflict has become a defining test of the United Nations’ credibility and the equal application of international law.
Addressing the 81st UN General Assembly, Brunei’s Foreign Minister Prince Abdul Mateen said Palestinians had waited for generations for “justice, statehood and dignity”, according to the original report.
“They cannot be asked to wait indefinitely for rights that are already theirs,” he said.
Humanitarian crisis in Gaza
Mateen described the scale of suffering and destruction in Gaza as intolerable, saying civilians — including many children — continued to bear the heaviest burden.
He said medics, journalists, humanitarian workers and UN personnel had also been killed while carrying out their duties.
“This suffering cannot become normal,” Mateen said.
Calls for equal application of international law
The minister also highlighted conditions in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians continue to face occupation, expanding illegal settlements, settler violence and displacement from their homes and land.
“Whether in Gaza or the West Bank, these are not merely numbers; they are human lives,” he said, arguing that the situation showed why international law and the principles of the UN Charter must apply equally to all.
“There cannot be one standard for some and another for others,” Mateen said.
He said a just and lasting peace required more than managing the consequences of the conflict and must address its root causes. This included recognising the Palestinian people’s “legitimate right to self-determination” and establishing an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“Without justice for the Palestinian people, there can be no lasting peace,” Mateen said. “This remains a defining test of the credibility of the United Nations and particularly the Security Council.”
Conflict’s regional impact
Mateen warned that the consequences of the conflict were no longer confined to Palestine and were spreading across the region. He pointed to Lebanon, where UN peacekeepers had also lost their lives.
Brunei co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 2823, aimed at strengthening accountability for crimes against UN peacekeepers, he said.
“Those who serve under the United Nations flag must be protected,” Mateen said, adding that accountability could not be “episodic”.
“The protection of those who serve peace and the protection of innocent lives, especially children, must remain at the heart of this organization,” he added.
