Government of Brazil Continues to Build Palestine by
Seeking a Seat in the UNSC
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| President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. |
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BPNIC Briefing, January 2009
A major breakthrough in peace negotiations is still not
expected between Palestinians and Israelis, unless Israel
ends the colonization and abandons the occupied territories.
However, the
participation of Brazil in the United Nations Security
Council (UNSC) will give greater legitimacy to the peace
process, help find a negotiated political solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and achieve concrete progress
in building the Palestinian State.
The Brazilian government in 2007 and 2008 has announced
several measures that would help the country join the UNSC,
specifically related to advancing the path of national
independence for the Palestinians and security for the
Israelis, and has consistently spoken in favor of a
ceasefire, and against mutual acts of hostility.
With the support of the India Brazil and South Africa
Dialogue Forum (IBSA-Trilateral)
and Summit of South American - Arab Countries (ASPA),
desiring to promote mutual relations, the Brazilian initiative for peace between the Palestinians
and Israelis included the call for the Palestinian National
Authority (PNA) and Israel to join the Southern Common
Market (MERCOSUL), and the
appointment of a group of Brazilians to work in the
definition of projects that would improve friendships, develop economic relations, and prepare the Palestinians
for a future independent state in the occupied territories.
A recent contribution of $10 million from Brazil
to the Palestinian government’s economic reforms program,
and the sending of medicinal products for the Palestinian
people affected by the attacks carried out by Israel in
Gaza reinforces peace, and equality in the Middle East.
Brazil is
an example where coexistence between Arabs and Jews is
peaceful, and the designation of Brazil as a country involved in mediating the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, within the
UNSC, would further isolate the violence and promote initiatives that can reflect the determination to strengthen diplomatic, economic and political relations between the
PNA and Israel, and thereby encouraging Israel to co-exist alongside a Palestinian state.
With the support of its members, the Brazilian Palestinian
National Interest Committee continues to promote Brazil as
key for Palestinian-Israeli peace, and promote Brazil's
interests in the Middle East by urging its members to
maintain contact with Members of Congress, to adopt resolutions to help in restoring the peace process and thus resolve the humanitarian situation in order to avoid future conflicts in the region, and to support
important initiatives that would lead to the creation of a
Palestinian State.
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