UN General Assembly
2003

The conflict in the Middle East continues to be a matter of grave concern. All initiatives towards a peaceful settlement, including the road map promoted by the Quartet, have so far failed. The decision by Israel and others to insist on determining who in the leadership of the Palestinians they will do business with is an unacceptable precondition for genuine negotiations. Worse still, the threat to expel the democratically elected leader of the Palestinians, Mr. Arafat, is a recipe for further strife that could result in more loss of life on both sides. That development should be condemned by all who want to see peace in that land. In Iraq, despite formal pronouncements that hostilities have ended, the country is still not at peace. Instead we see an escalation of violence, with many people, including coalition troops, being killed every day. The situation clearly calls for an intervention by the Security Council to ensure that the Iraqi people are 29 given the mandate to govern themselves and that the United Nations is given a bigger role to play in the