Tunisia
TUNISIAN REPRESENTATIVE:  Thank you Mr. President.  The General Assembly is meeting today to consider the report of the UN fact-finding investigative mission concerning the violence in Gaza adopted by the Council of Human Rights in Geneva.  Our delegation here agrees with the conclusions of this report designed to guarantee the implementation of international law and human rights in particular regarding people subjugated to foreign occupation and the Palestinian people is the most flagrant example of this because of the daily violations of its rights over the last six decades.
Sir, our organization and its major bodies, namely the General Assembly and the Security Council, are first and foremost concerned regarding the maintenance of international peace and security and the protection of civilians during periods of war and conflict.  One of the responsibilities of our organizations, however, is the respect for the rights of civilians and the equal and just application of international resolutions and conventions.  That responsibility today has been reiterated in light of the importance of the subject under consideration.  
Mr. President, the Israeli acts of aggression against Gaza indeed demonstrate the true situation in the region, while at the same time there is a need to provide an impetus to the peace process and to create conditions conducive to so doing.  
We see the acts of violence committed against women and children and also the destruction of infrastructure of homes of civilian sites and facilities and even of UN offices.  The military escalation and excessive use of force and weapons which are internationally prescribed can only exacerbate the situation and fuel violence and anger.  This runs totally counter to the efforts of the international community and cannot serve the cause of peace in the Middle East and the world.   
The Goldstone report reflects in an impartial and objective manner, the atrocities and aggression against the Palestinian people, despite reiterated appeals, appeals on the part of the international community and Tunisia insists on a halt to that escalation and the prevention of a humanitarian disaster committed against a people which has already suffered so much.
Based on our dedication to international legality, my delegation believes that there is a need to give the conclusions of the Goldstone report the full attention they require and serious followup to adopt the necessary measures.
Mr. President, my delegation is convinced that the peace process is the sole way of avoiding another crisis and a danger to security in the Middle East.  It is also the best guarantee of the lives of innocent civilians.  Here we reiterate our position regarding the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause.  It must recover its legitimate rights and establish its independent state on its territory, and this must put an end to the tragedy that has lasted for too long.  
In addition, Tunisia reiterates its appeal to the international community and above all to those who wish to see peace to step up efforts to oblige Israel to announce its policy of the settlements and its policy of provocation.  It must lift the blockades and the closings imposed on the Palestinian people.  It must do so unconditionally in order to achieve a resumption of negotiations between the two parties on the basis of international agreements, the peace process and the Arab initiative.
Lastly, my delegation wishes once again to insist on the need to pool all international efforts to assist the Palestinian people in overcoming the divisions caused by the Gaza war and by providing humanitarian assistance through appeals of the UN and its specialized agencies under UN resolutions, in particular security resolution 1860.  Thank you. 








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