UN General Assembly debate: Baerbock urges ceasefire in Middle East

New York (dpa/d.de) – Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called on Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia to agree to an immediate 21-day ceasefire. “Wide-ranging regional escalation would not provide lasting security to anyone,” Baerbock warned during the debate in the UN General Assembly in New York. Although a “lack of progress was sometimes painful and frustrating,” she said, she also pledged not to give up on the search for a political vision for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. “Passive acceptance is simply not an option in my view, as that would mean that the script written by terrorism and extremism holds the upper hand,” she said.Earlier, a group of states around the US and Germany had joined with influential Arab states to call for a three-week ceasefire.  

Baerbock also called for ongoing support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. When Russia ends its assault, she said, the war would be over, but Ukraine must go on defending itself in order to continue its existence. During the debate in the UN General Assembly, Baerbock also called for a woman to succeed António Guterres as the UN’s first female Secretary General. In every country around the world 50% of the population were women, “but in the 80 years this organisation has existed, a woman has never been Secretary General,” Baerbock said. “If this organisation is promoting justice and equality around the world, it’s long overdue that we demonstrate those here in New York.”