PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago has re-affirmed its position regarding the need for a “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestine situation, urging also dialogue and diplomacy and an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.
Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister Dr. Amery Browne outlined Port of Spain’s position during a meeting with a visiting delegation from the Bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) on Monday.
Browne told the Committee that the effects of the situation in Palestine “appalled the People of Trinidad and Tobago and that the policy of the Government has consistently been to support the ‘Two State Solution’ with Israel and Palestine co-existing as sovereign and neighbouring countries.
“Trinidad and Tobago has repeatedly called for dialogue, diplomacy and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in an effort to put an end to the dire conflict,” according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the meeting.
CEIRPP strives to heighten international awareness of all aspects of the question of Palestine and promote international support for and assistance to the Palestinian people. Additionally, it strongly supports the objective, affirmed in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1397 (2002), of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side within secure and recognized borders.
It is composed of 25 UN member states, including Afghanistan, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Cyprus, Ecuador, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia, Türkiye, Venezuela.
The delegation was led by Cheikh Niang, Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations, and the statement quoted him as saying that the Committee’s visit to Trinidad and Tobago expressed that the Committee is part “of its advocacy efforts given the principled position maintained by this country on the conflict and its leadership role in the region.
“The Committee hoped that Trinidad and Tobago would encourage its regional neighbours to support the cause of Palestine in seeking recognition by the United Nations as a sovereign state,” the statement added.
It said that Ambassador Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the UN gave a graphic account of the tremendous loss of life and damage to persons and property occasioned by the conflict.
“He referred to the millions of persons around the world who had expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine and asked for the support of Trinidad and Tobago in achieving Statehood,” the statement said.
It said that Amery “congratulated the Committee on its work towards promoting peace and committed to continued engagement of Trinidad and Tobago in efforts towards peaceful resolution of the conflict”.
Earlier this month, the United States, which is Israel’s biggest supporter, vetoed a Palestinian request to the United Nations Security Council for full UN membership, blocking the world body’s recognition of a Palestinian state.
The vote in the 15-member security council was 12 in favor, the US opposed and two abstentions, the UK and Switzerland.
Hamas is an Islamist militant movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades. It also violently rejects Israel’s existence. In October 2023, Hamas infiltrated southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking dozens more hostage.
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