Sayyid Shihab heads Oman's delegation at Arab Summit
BAGHDAD: On behalf of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, HH Sayyid Shihab bin Tarik al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for Defence Affairs chaired the Sultanate of Oman's delegation at the 34th Arab Summit and the Fifth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit, held on Saturday in Bagdad, the Republic of Iraq.
President Dr Abdul Latif Rashid of the Republic of Iraq, delivered a speech in which he warned that the specter of war threatens security and stability in the region. He noted that Baghdad Summit is being held amidst serious challenges endangering the region, the security of Arab nations and the fate of their peoples.
He emphasised Iraq's rejection of the forced displacement of Gaza's population under any pretext and stressed the necessity of unified Arab action in the current phase. He called for serious and responsible Arab efforts to save Gaza, reactivate UNRWA's role and ensure the delivery of aid to the Strip.
On his turn, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that the death toll in Gaza is staggering and unacceptable, accusing Israel of violating international law. He stressed that what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank cannot be ignored.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed Oman's mediation in announcing a halt to attacks in the Red Sea, expressing hope for a political solution in Yemen. He also called for an end to the ongoing war in Gaza and rejected the forced displacement of its residents.
During his speech, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asserted that Israel's killings and forced displacement are part of a broader plan to sabotage the two-state solution. He urged the adoption of an Arab-led initiative to achieve peace.
HH Sayyid Shihab was accompanied by an official delegation that comprised Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidy, Foreign Minister, Dr Abdullah bin Mohammed al Saeedi, Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Dr Said bin Mohammed al Saqri, Minister of Economy, Abdullah bin Nassir al Rahbi, Ambassador of Oman to Egypt and its Permanent Representative to the Arab League and the Charge D'affaires of Oman's Embassy in Iraq. — ONA
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
9 hours ago
- Observer
UN experts accuse Israel of 'extermination' in Gaza attacks
GENEVA: An independent United Nations commission said on Tuesday Israeli attacks on schools, religious and cultural sites in Gaza amount to war crimes and the crime against humanity of seeking to exterminate Palestinians. "Israel has obliterated Gaza's education system and destroyed over half of all religious and cultural sites in the Gaza Strip," the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in a report. It accused Israeli forces of committing "war crimes, including directing attacks against civilians and wilful killing, in their attacks on educational facilities that caused civilian casualties. "In killing civilians sheltering in schools and religious sites, Israeli security forces committed the crime against humanity of extermination," the report said. It noted: "While the destruction of cultural property, including educational facilities, was not in itself a genocidal act, evidence of such conduct may nevertheless infer genocidal intent to destroy a protected group." Commission chair Navi Pillay said in a statement accompanying the report: "We are seeing more and more indications that Israel is carrying out a concerted campaign to obliterate Palestinian life in Gaza." "Children in Gaza have lost their childhood," the senior South African judge said. "They are forced to worry about survival amid attacks, uncertainty, starvation and subhuman living conditions." The three-member commission said Israeli attacks "targeted religious sites that served as places of refuge, killing hundreds of people, including women and children". The commission was set up by the UN to investigate violations of humanitarian and human rights law in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. In May, UN humanitarian relief chief Tom Fletcher urged the countries of the UN Security Council to take action "to prevent genocide" in Gaza. Israel has denied committing genocide. The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs demanded that Israel lift its aid blockade on Gaza, where the UN says the entire population of more than two million people is at risk of famine. "For those killed and those whose voices are silenced: what more evidence do you need now?" Fletcher said on May 14. "Will you act — decisively — to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law?" The UN commission's report paid special attention to Gaza but also focused on Israeli attacks on civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories as a whole, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel itself. It said Israel had "done little" to prevent or prosecute Jewish settlers in the West Bank who "intentionally targeted educational facilities and students to terrorise (Palestinian) communities and force them to leave their homes". The report said Israeli authorities had intimidated and, in some cases, detained Israeli and Palestinian teachers and students who "expressed concern or solidarity with the civilian population in Gaza". The panel urged the Israeli government to stop attacking cultural, religious and education institutions, "immediately end its unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory" and cease all settlement activity. It said the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should comply fully with provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice. The court has ordered Israel "to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide against people in Gaza" and allow humanitarian aid to get through. It also urged Hamas, the Islamist militant group that runs Gaza, "to cease using civilian objects for military purposes". The commission is to present its findings to the UN Commission on Human Rights on June 17. Meanwhile, more than 300 civil servants at Britain's foreign ministry have written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy expressing concerns about Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza, the BBC reported on Tuesday. The officials warned of potential UK "complicity" in what they called "Israel's violations of international humanitarian law" during the conflict in the Palestinian territory. The letter dated May 16 questioned the continuation of some UK arms sales to the country, according to the broadcaster. — AFP
Observer
10 hours ago
- Observer
UK sanctions two Israeli ministers as it ramps up pressure over Gaza
London: Two Israeli government ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, have been sanctioned by the United Kingdom because of their comments on Gaza. Ben-Gvir, the security minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, and Smotrich, the finance minister,will both face a travel ban and see their assets frozen. The move comes as the UK and other Western nations seek to ramp up pressure on Israel's government amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said it was "outrageous that elected representatives and members of the government are subjected to these kind of measures." He added: "I discussed it earlier today with PM Netanyahu and we will hold a special government meeting early next week to decide on our response to this unacceptable decision." Smotrich and Ben-Gvir both belong to right wing parties which help to prop up Netanyahu's fragile coalition government. Both have been criticized for their hardline stance on the war in Gaza. Smotrich has campaigned against allowing aid into Gaza, while Ben-Gvir has called for Gaza's people to be resettled from the territory. The UK and its allies have increased pressure on Israel in recent months amid ongoing aid shortages in Gaza, as well as suggestions it could launch a new large-scale offensive into the territory. Reports suggest only scarce amounts of aid are making their way into the hands of Gazans, amid a new aid initiative backed by the US and Israel, instead of the previous UN-run programme. The slow flow of food and medicines has prompted warnings of famine and starvation among the territory's population. In May, Foreign Secretary David Lammy paused negotiations towards a UK trade deal with Israel as the government called on Israel to abandon its planned offensive into Gaza. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canada's Mark Carney also wrote a joint statement last month warning that Israel's leaders risked "breaching International Humanitarian Law," and calling for more aid to be allowed into Gaza. Netanyahu responded by claiming the three leaders were on the "wrong side" of history. In September last year, the UK government halted 30 out of around 350 arms sales licences to Israel, for fear they may be used for war crimes. Ministers insist that this means F-35 fighter jets used by Israel no longer receive replacement parts from the UK, and no UK-made bombs or ammunition are used in Gaza. Former prime minister David Cameron has previously said he considered sanctioning both Israeli ministers in his final days as foreign secretary in Rishi Sunak's Conservative government.
Times of Oman
a day ago
- Times of Oman
High Seas Treaty: UN's Guterres warns of 'wild west'
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday told delegates at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France: "The ocean is the ultimate shared resource. But we are failing it." The UN boss cited collapsing fish stocks, rising sea levels, ocean acidification, plastic pollution, destructive fishing and the quest for mineral riches at the ocean floor as key threats in his remarks. The conference was organized to ratify a treaty that would give nations the right to establish protected marine areas in international waters. Beyond providing sustenance and a habitat for local communities, sea creatures and organisms, oceans also absorb roughly 30% the globe's CO2 emissions. The High Seas Treaty, adopted in 2023, would allow countries to legally establish protection for roughly two-thirds of the world's oceans — where activities are largely unregulated today. Currently, only 8% of the world's oceans have marine conservation designations, although it is estimated that only 1% overall can be considered truly protected. Macron says High Seas Treaty a 'done deal' To go into effect, the High Seas Treaty must ratified by at least 60 countries. French President Emmanuel Macron told those gathered that 50 countries had ratified the treaty so far and another 15 had formally promised to, making it "a done deal." France's foreign minister said he expects implementation to take place by the end of the year. Macron also announced that France would partially restrict bottom-trawling — a destructive form of fishing — in half of the countries protected marine areas. But conservation groups blasted him for not going far enough to protect French waters. Guterres: Mining could turn seabed into 'wild west' The UN's Guterres began the conference by addressing a major threat facing the world's oceans — deep-sea mining. Guterres warned of the dangers of letting the ocean floor "become the wild west." The US, China and Russia, among others, are keen to exploit potential mineral wealth on and beneath the ocean floor. US President Donald Trump has moved aggressively on this front, fast-tracking US exploration in international waters and threatening to take territorial control of Greenland to get its share of Arctic rare earths. Macron is lobbying for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, calling it "an international necessity." "I think it's madness to launch predatory economic action that will disrupt the deep seabed, disrupt biodiversity, destroy it and release irrecoverable carbon sinks," he said. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva joined Macron in criticizing a "predatory race" among countries looking to extract critical minerals on the ocean floor. No US delegation present at ocean conference The US has also withdrawn from all international climate commitments and cut funding for climate and oceanographic projects under President Trump. Commenting on the fact that the US had not sent a delegation to the conference, France's Macron, said: "It's not a surprise, we know the American administration's position on these issues." "If they [the US] don't ratify it, they are not bound by it," said Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance. "Implementation will take years but it is critical that we start now," said Hubbard, adding, "we won't let the US' absence stop that from happening." Small island nations call out the big fish Investment in ocean health totaled $10 billion (€8.8 billion) from 2015 to 2019. The UN estimates that investment needs to be $175 billion annually to meet conservation coals. The UN has announced it will introduce a new scheme to mobilize new and diverse sources of capital to finance an attempt to restore ocean health by 2028. Alongside political and business leaders, ocean experts, conservationists and activists, the Nice conference was also attended by representatives from numerous small island nations facing rising seas, marine trash and decimated fish stocks. Although the conference will not produce any legally binding agreement, those engaged in its implementation are pushing ahead. Samoa, for one, led by example this week, announcing the creation of nine marine parks protecting 30% of its waters. As large nations haggle over the price of protecting the oceans, President Surangel Whipps Jr of the low-lying Pacific nation of Palau, called them out: "We say to you, if you are serious about protecting the ocean, prove it."
