A More Thoughtful Address than Obama

U.N. Leader Opens General Assembly on Somber Note

By: NEIL MacFARQUHAR

The leader of the United Nations formally opened its annual General Assembly on Tuesday with admonitions about the unbridled war in Syria, the unresolved Palestinian statehood issue, Israel-Iran war rhetoric and unchecked Islamic fury over an anti-Muslim video.

In introductory remarks at the General Assembly to be followed by six days of speeches by world leaders, Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said the most pressing international conflict was the Syria conflict.

“This is a serious and growing threat to international peace and security which requires Security Council action,” Mr. Ban said.

The Council remains sharply divided, with Russia and China arguing that the opposition needs to be curbed while the West wants President Bashar al-Assad to step aside.

“We must stop the violence and flows of arms to both sides, and set in motion a Syrian-led transition as soon as possible,” said Mr. Ban. He noted that “brutal” human rights abuses continue, “mainly by the government, but also by opposition groups.” Criminal prosecution should be pursued, he said.

On the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, being given scant high-level attention this week, Mr. Ban said that when it comes to the two-state solution, “the door may be closing, for good.” The growth of settlements in occupied Palestinian territory as “seriously undermines,” efforts toward peace, he said.

Mr. Ban also made an oblique critical reference to the threats traded between Israel and Iran about a possible war over Iran’s disputed nuclear program, describing the shrill war talk as “alarming.”

“I also reject both the language of delegitimization and threats of potential military action by one state against another,” he said. “Any such attacks would be devastating.”

Speaking about the outbreak of global rioting in the past few weeks over an anti-Muslim video, Mr. Ban said, “a disgraceful act of great insensitivity has led to justifiable offense and unjustifiable violence.”

While endorsing freedom of speech as a fundamental right, he said it should not be used as a license to incite nor commit violence. Divisions around the world are too often “exploited for short-term political gain,” Mr. Ban told120 assembled world leaders.

“Too many people are read to take small flames of difference and turn them into a bonfire,” he said. “Too many people are tolerant of intolerance.”

(N Y Times, 25, September, 2012)