That is how the international community will be able to fully assume the collective responsibilities imposed upon it. To prevent humanitarian tragedies and face emergencies, we must implement the “responsibility to protect” that the UN recognized at the behest of France . I am thinking in particular ofthe Darfur tragedy, which is threatening to draw all of East Africa, and perhaps beyond, into a destructive, dangerous conflict.
We must also apply these principles to economics and development in order to humanize globalization.
At the world level: This is why I proposed the creation of a World Economic Council, in order to better structure the dialogue between the major international economic bodies to ensure consistency and a common ambition: that of a more equitable system of trade. To meet the Millennium Goals on health, water, education and infrastructures, we must also go farther in the establishment of innovative means of financing that alone can make it possible to procure the resources that we will never obtain from State budgets. That is what France has done with the solidarity contribution on plane tickets, which it wants to serve as an example and a precedent. This pilot project deserves to be extended. It‘s a matter of dignity and justice.
On the European level: Europe is today the leading provider of aid. It is Europe that has the longest experience of cooperation, particularly in Africa. Now we want to go farther. In the area of peace and security, which are the prerequisite for development, Europe has established a European facility for peace that is enabling it, notably, to be the leading contributor to the financing of the African Union force (AMIS) in Darfur. In the area of trade, France wants new economic partnership agreements between Europe and developing countries, particularly in Africa, that serve their interests. It is up to us to take into account the specificities of the countries concerned. And it is up to us to help them comply with the rules of the WTO.
3.Finding a collective solution to the crises in the Middle East is absolutely urgent in order to maintain our global equilibrium.
The Mideast today is being torn apart by a series of crises and fault lines that threaten to join together. They bring together all the factors of instability: civil and regional wars, terrorism, proliferation risks, the displacement of refugee populations. Our top priority should be building a lasting peace in the region.
Make no mistake: the various crises playing out in the Mideast have their own logic but are linked. Because they have their own logic, we should deal with them separately. Because they are linked and could become linked even further, we must deal with them simultaneously. Indeed, the risk is that those whose interests don’t lie with peace will exploit them, establish new ties between them and make them even more dangerous for the international community.
That is why I would like to share some of our trains of thoughts beginning with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this conflict, the principles and elements of a solution are clear: the renunciation of violence, the creation of two States living in peace and security, are and will remain the point of departure for any viable approach. But to move forward, we must go farther on three elements:
The first is the absolute need for international reengagement within a precise framework. Because the parties cannot succeed alone. Neither the United States nor Europe is doing enough.
Let‘s keep the Quartet format but give it a real power to take initiatives. We need an international conference as soon as possible that together with the parties will establish the framework for a resolution, with which the moderate Arab states in the region must be associated, particularly Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.
Let us fully restore our aid to the Palestinians. What Europe is doing currently with the temporary international mechanism cannot be a lastingsolution. We must resume direct assistance to the Palestinian National Unity Government as soon as it is inaugurated. We must also resume aid to cooperation projects in order to reestablish the conditions for real development.
Let’s set a timetable. It should include short-term elements, to help rebuild trust by giving the parties a chance to show their good faith: the release of Corporal Shalit; the resumption of Israel‘s payment of tax revenues to the Palestinians; a halt to rocket fire. It must also set a medium-term deadline: Together let us propose to the Palestinians and Israelis a fixed date for the creation of a Palestinian state. Around this date, which should be rather close, a true political dynamic would be established. The international community could offer guarantees for Israel’s security with an international force in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.
The second element is the need to better take into accounts the realities on the ground: We must help Mahmoud Abbas and give a chance to supporters of peace by facilitating changes within Hamas. That is why, for example, France supports the Mecca agreement on a Palestinian national unity government. I was among the first to recall the three principles of the Quartet after the Palestinian elections in 2006, and we will remain vigilant with respect to the composition and actions of that government. But the most important thing is to launch and nurture a process that leads Hamas to evolve and to accept these three principles.