April 4, 2004

Draft United Nations Security Council Resolution
To End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
By Richard Hudson

   The Security Council,

   Concluding that the United Nations has essentially failed over more than five decades to achieve its goals as set forth in Chapter I, Article 1 of the United Nations Charter:

Chapter I
PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES
Article 1 

The purposes of the United Nations are:

1.      To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;

2.      To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;

3.      To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and

4.      To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.

   Asserting that it must not be beyond the limits of human ingenuity to achieve breakthroughs toward these ends,

   Therefore,

   Calls for a revival of human love and mutual tolerance within all global communities,

   Resolves to change the course of international relations from its present ugly, disastrous direction to one aimed at establishment of a world functioning under the rule of law and justice,

   Determines to assume anew its responsibility under the United Nations Charter to build a happier world,

   Seeks to address constructively the many conflicts around the globe, including those in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and in island states, but beginning with the long festering Israeli-Palestinian confrontation,

   Presents to the world community this list of suggestions which could collectively bring about a stable peace between the states of Israel and Palestine:

1.      Creation of a standing peacekeeping force of at least 10,000 strong, the United Nations Force for Israel and Palestine (UNFIP) to keep the peace throughout the area, including Jerusalem,

2.      Establishment of a safe corridor under the supervision of UNFIP connecting the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and passing through Jerusalem,

3.      Provision for setting up the Commission to Assist UNFIP (CAUNFIP), which will include Jimmy Carter of the United States of America, Mikhail Gorbachev of the Russian Federation, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic and Sadako Ogata of Japan,

4.      Laying down, in cooperation with CAUNFIP, specific guidelines for settlements of these problems:

(a)    The limits of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories,

(b)    The limits of the “right to return” of Palestinians to their pre-1967 locations,

(c)    The international funding needs to carry out these purposes, both in regard to peace and security as well as social and economic goals,  

(d)   The denuclearization of the Middle East under appropriate safeguards and verification,

   Calls on the two most representative organs of the United Nations, the Security Council and the General Assembly (although each has its imperfections) to work together more closely on all global problems, particularly, in this case, on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After the Security Council proceeds as far it can with the elements of the resolution, it urges the General Assembly to engage itself in reinforcing the efforts of the Council by engaging in an extended dialogue to corroborate and/or amplify the provisions of this resolution. In this effort by the General Assembly, the Security Council asks that the Assembly require majorities not only of the usual two-thirds of those present and voting, but also, to insure broad-based international support of the global community founded on three pillars:

1.      The sovereign rights of all United Nations member states,

2.      The democratic factors of giving states voting influence related to their populations, and

3.      The practical, political element of taking into account economic, social, and military power, as represented by contributions to the regular United Nations budget.

(This arrangement, popularly known as the Binding Triad system for global decision-making, has been developed by the Center for War/Peace Studies, based in New York City, over many years.)

   Believes that such a new relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly, beginning with the peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, would open the way to a much wider range of areas of agreement that could help the United Nations, at last, to move toward achievement of its aspiration expressed in the opening words of the United Nations Charter:

WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED
to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind….