UN General Assembly
2016

On 4 February, I attendeded, with our Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, the London 2016 donors conference, entitled “Supporting Syria and the region”. We will adhere to the commitment to provide €37.5 million between 2016 and 2020 to help the victims of the conflict in Syria and in neighbouring countries, with an emphasis on children’s education, in particular by supporting the UNICEF programme “No lost generation”. Last week, I returned from a visit to Israel and Palestine. While the Syrian conflict is hitting the headlines, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a strong factor for destabilization in the Middle East. It is a catalyst for frustration and hatred that terrorist movements in the region feed on brazenly. We cannot resign ourselves to allowing this conflict to continue. The two-State solution is the only possible way of arriving at a sustainable settlement of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. The parameters of this solution are well known and include the 1967 borders and Jerusalem as the capital of two States.