Prince Saud calls for restricting the use of permanent members' veto powerUNITED NATIONS – Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal urged the United Nations Monday to accept the Palestinians' request for full membership in the world body and to recognize it as an independent state. “As a result of the continued Israeli intransigence and disruption of the peace process, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia calls upon all member states of the United Nations to recognize the state of Palestine with the borders of June 4, 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital, and to grant it full membership in the United Nations,” Prince Saud said, addressing the 66th session of the UN General Assembly. “The kind of peace that we seek to achieve is a just and comprehensive peace. It will not be achieved without the withdrawal of Israel from all occupied territories, including the occupied Golan and Lebanese territories. “Accordingly, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia calls upon the Security Council to act without delay to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East as provided in Security Council resolutions 242, 338, and all relevant UN resolutions and decisions of the Madrid Conference, in particular the principle of ‘Land for Peace' as well as the Arab Peace Initiative,” he said. The Saudi foreign minister did not appear in person to give his speech. His statement was issued in written form at the end of Monday's speeches. “The Israeli colonies undermine the possibilities of creating a viable Palestinian state and make it difficult for any Palestinian government to function effectively. “It is unethical to impose siege and sanctions on people suffering under occupation, while the occupying authority continues its settlement activities free from any accountability and in defiance of Geneva Conventions,” said Prince Saud. “The Arab states have clearly expressed, through the Arab Peace Initiative launched by Saudi Arabia and adopted by the Beirut Arab Summit in 2004, their commitment to achieving just and comprehensive peace based on the rules of international law. However, we were not met by any reciprocal commitment from Israel. “My Country is of the view that in this context of pursuing the objectives and purposes of the Charter (the San Francisco Charter under which the United Nations was established), it is imperative to avoid double-standards; emphasizing that this should be coupled with credibility and seriousness through respecting the principles of international legitimacy, the provisions of international law and the requirements of international justice. “One of the important reforms in this area should be restricting the use of the veto power through a commitment from permanent members not to use it on actions that are intended for the implementation of already adopted resolutions of the Security Council,” said Prince Saud. The UN Security Council will meet Wednesday to hand the issue to a committee that will review and assess the Palestinian application. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said he wants the Council to make a decision within weeks, but Western diplomats say that the process could take much longer. On the topic of the Arab Spring uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa, Prince Saud reiterated the Kingdom's “condemnation of military operations against the defenseless people in Syria”. He also called on “all parties in Yemen to clearly announce their full commitment to implement the peaceful transition to power as stipulated in the Gulf initiative in order to swiftly end the serious Yemeni crisis.”
