There is just one Arab seat on the 15-member United Nations Safety Council, which rotates each two years among the many 22 Arab international locations. Which means Lebanon is obtainable the seat solely as soon as each 44 years. It may solely be referred to as serendipitous, then, that when essentially the most sweeping change to return to the Arab world within the trendy period started in early 2011, Lebanon was on this seat. Nawaf Salam, the everlasting consultant of Lebanon to the United Nations, sat with Govt in New York to debate what it was like being aware of, and influential in, the worldwide energy performs that befell in setting up the collective world response to those historic occasions in our area.
They’re certainly thrilling occasions. First… it was an enormous problem. You could recall the Lebanese political institution was divided as as to whether we must always go for the seat within the Safety Council or withdraw our candidacy. Not operating on the final second would have despatched the worst sign, I feel: that we’re incapable of creating choices, that we’re a failed state. I used to be supported by President Sleiman and [Fouad] Siniora, who was then Prime Minister, to see this as a possibility to show to the world that we’re a state that’s recovering and rebuilding its international coverage, and likewise to venture a distinct picture of Lebanon, removed from the pictures of a battle floor or divided nation.
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Two: the thrilling occasions had been primarily due to the Arab Spring, and I used to be on the council when it began in Tunisia and the autumn of Egypt. In each circumstances, the council didn’t intervene however in Libya, the council performed a crucial position and Lebanon, being the one Arab member within the council, was essentially the most crucial nation within the council.
[Also], we needed to current, as the one Arab nation within the council, the Palestinian case for membership within the UN, and so we needed to develop the authorized and political briefs in protection of Palestinian statehood and the correct to be a full member within the UN.
Lastly, we needed to deal with Syria. I feel the teachings to be drawn from the dealing with of Syria are within the disassociation coverage we ended up adopting and are necessary to the way forward for Lebanese international coverage.
You characterize a Lebanon, whether or not on the council or not, that’s divided into extremes. How do you handle this equilibrium with regards to, for instance, the ousting of former Libyan chief Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi?
Qadhafi was straightforward for the world, straightforward for the Arabs and simple for Lebanon. Syria was way more tough. Yemen was not very straightforward. Qadhafi was straightforward as a result of he managed to antagonize everybody: the Individuals, the French, the Russians weren’t very completely happy. He additionally remoted himself within the Arab world to the purpose the place it was very easy… for the Arab League to determine to droop Libya’s membership.
Domestically, the unity in opposition to Qadhafi was straightforward, regardless of of his Arab alliances… due to the Musa Sadr affair. Libya is definitely an excellent instance as a result of it exhibits you that when you may have a united home entrance, your margin to maneuver turns into vital and we had been actually capable of play a number one position on the Safety Council and within the Arab group as a result of I had the clear assist again house.
On different points, sure Lebanon is split, however we aren’t an exception as many international locations are divided — Belgium, Bosnia… we aren’t a novel scenario. Nevertheless, as a result of the scenario was so polarized in Lebanon, we had a way more tough time than others, however the basic rule is the next: regardless of the end result of unity you see in positions of any state, international coverage is the results of two processes, home negotiations and worldwide negotiations.
Inside every state there are completely different home gamers with completely different pursuits who search to affect the choice of their nation… for instance, [with regard to] Iran, the place Lebanon was divided, I voted for abstention, although Lebanon was divided on that and we weren’t alone in abstaining… our predominant agenda is to guard the curiosity of our nation, to protect our nationwide unity and stability… These are a very powerful elements for us and there’s no disgrace in that. Lebanese are usually not used to considering like that. We all the time consider the pursuits of different international locations, however the unity of this nation is a very powerful.
How tough was taking a stand in Egypt in comparison with Libya and Tunis?
We didn’t need to take a place within the council relating to Egypt because it by no means reached the council because it resulted in 18 days and [President Hosni] Mubarak fell.
Libya was laborious in a number of locations. It was the primary time that the accountability to guard concerned using drive. [Qadhafi] was heading to Benghazi so how do you cease him? The usage of drive was licensed [by] all members. The Russians and Chinese language [abstained]. What turned it into an operation was that NATO took the lead. Within the referral to the Worldwide Prison Courtroom, we had been searching for to affect Qadhafi’s entourage greater than Qadhafi himself. However right here we had Qadhafi and his son Saif who mentioned they may present “rivers of blood”. It was not a hypothetical challenge and the tip recreation is understood on his half.
The response of the worldwide group after the assassination of [Lebanese security chief] Wissam el-Hassan appeared to point out a willpower to protect the then authorities and that it’s not our flip for change, till Syria’s scenario is over. Are there winds of change coming towards Lebanon?
There are winds of change blowing within the area. They’re good winds as a result of they shook the stagnation that has been there for therefore lengthy. However what actually has modified between earlier than [former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine] Ben Ali and Mubarak and after Ben Ali and Mubarak? Underneath them, it was extra of the identical and there was no perspective in anyway, nothing was potential. Now every thing has change into potential, publish Mubarak and Ben Ali. These transitions are going to see ups and downs, in fact, however you now have actual empowerment of the folks and that is irreversible: the genie and individuals are out of the bottle. They might not get it proper from the start or constantly however there’s a mechanism that may auto-correct.
You witnessed the Palestinian quest to change into a member nation within the United Nations and the powers inside the U.N. for and in opposition to. What are the teachings discovered?
It’s true that I adopted the bid for statehood from day one. I spent hours with them and they’re each unprepared and dealing with a tricky foyer. However, large scale, it exhibits that although slowly and in an incremental approach the query of Palestinian statehood and its recognition, and in the end its membership within the UN, has been put heading in the right direction and it is vitally tough to cease.
Regardless that it’s a state underneath occupation, it’s nonetheless acknowledged as a state. They’ve all the necessities of a statehood: folks, territories, authorities… the issue is that it’s a state underneath occupation however that doesn’t undermine its statehood however locations a burden on the worldwide group to finish its occupation and grant it a full membership within the UN.
I feel that the weather of a closing resolution are identified, whether or not what to do with the settlements (two p.c [of built-up area]) or frontiers (the 1967 borders, plus or minus). Jerusalem will stay united however the capital for 2 states and with a form of internalization of the Holy Land.
There’s a couple of formulation to handle the refugees and the correct of return to Palestine… what’s lacking are two issues: the correct bundle of frontier and safety and worldwide ensures to the 2 events. The one participant that may do that is the American administration; they’ve to point out management. They want an end-game bundle deal method. Step-by-step confidence constructing will take us nowhere in the present day.
Placing the events on the identical desk and getting them to speak will result in nothing as they’ve been speaking since Madrid, for 20 years, and but nothing has actually occurred to shut the deal… With out the [United States], this is not going to be achieved and but the US, left to its personal gadgets, is not going to do it. So right here you want the European group and also you want larger Arab involvement [to pressure the US]. I actually imagine on this.
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