Vous avez construit une cabane de jardin ou un hôtel de luxe sans permis ? L'un et l'autre vont être éligibles aux procédures de légalisation, aux mêmes conditions. Les ONG dénoncent un projet de loi qui s'apparente à une capitulation de l'État face au fléau des constructions illégales.
- Articles / Radio Slobodna Evropa, Monténégro, Environnement, Société, Economie, Littoral MonténégroWatch Full event on UN Web TV>>
IPI President Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein addressed the UN High-Level Conference on “The Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution” on July 28th, urging the international community to focus on moving past diplomatic gestures and vague visions. He stressed that short of clear and collective action with specific policy commitments based on a recognised sovereign and contiguous Palestinian state, the two-state solution will remain an abstraction.
Read his remarks in full:
Thank you, Your Highness, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, friends.
I am grateful to be joining Presidents Mary Robinson and Juan Manuel Santos, as the third external speaker to this morning’s session; and would like to begin by thanking our Co-chairs France and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – not only for their leadership on this topic, but also for their insistence this conference centres on the specific actions needed to realise a two-state solution.
Our Co-Chairs are also right to think the greatest threat to the viability of a two-state solution is a staggering international community that lacks an understanding of either what a workable two-state solution actually entails, or of the path we must all take to get there, once the terrible atrocities in Gaza stop. In other words, how can we transition from rubble to renewal without a compelling and credible vision for what renewal means?
Others may argue this differently, claiming the main obstacle to peace is not so much the violent extremists on both sides who demand the complete removal or destruction of the other – that is perhaps too obvious a point – rather it is the filing down in both societies of those who believe peace is possible. Such is the depth of fear, anger, and fatalism that now marks the prevailing mood.
After all, virtually all Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, and many others accuse the Israeli leadership of committing acts of genocide in Gaza, this on top of a long and cruel military occupation of Palestine. The Israeli government, the US Administration, and some European leaders see Israel as fighting a violent enemy which threatens it existentially, an enemy that murdered Israeli civilians cold-bloodedly almost two years ago, and took hostages. Many people around the world see truth in both views.
Despite conceding the reality of the present moods and hatreds swirling within the two populations, what is fortunate about a vision of two states is that, like any other vision, it need not correspond exactly with the current psychology of Israelis and Palestinians. A vision is not for today’s emotional audit, but for a tomorrow when new imperatives have inspired both populations, and not because the vision would be something utterly fanciful; quite the opposite, a two-state solution would have to be practical to gain support.
This is why one of the first lessons to draw on from decades of failed efforts to resolve this conflict is that wholesale vagueness about the endgame is not strategic— it is dangerous. It empowers rejectionists and weakens those who believe peace is still attainable.
Today, as we have heard many speakers say, leading figures in Israel’s far-right government are openly articulating a vision of permanent occupation, territorial annexation, and forced displacement. And they are acting accordingly, taking steps every day to implement their vision through concrete policies and actions on the ground. The international community cannot counter this with carefully worded platitudes. What is needed is a clear, collective affirmation of the two-state solution—not as an abstraction, but with specific policy commitments: a full end to the occupation, borders based on the 4 June 1967 lines, and a sovereign, contiguous Palestinian state. Short of this, recognition of Palestine will remain symbolic and will do little to transform the lives of Palestinians on the ground and effect meaningful progress towards Palestinian self-determination.
Now this is not a fantasy.
Palestinians and Israelis, working together, have developed a vision for a two-state solution that can work, and they have devised elegant and symmetrical solutions to issues like settlements, refugees, and Jerusalem; core issues that have divided them in the past.
The first point this vision articulates is this: a viable peace must address the emotional and deep connection felt by both Israelis and Palestinians to all the land, from the river to the sea. The vision also addresses the need for two distinct and sovereign states as a means of facilitating self-determination for two peoples and ensures a complete end of the military occupation. And it also overcomes past obstacles to the achievement of a two-state settlement, proposing a just solution for the Palestinian refugee population and a framework for Jerusalem while guaranteeing access to it. And it achieves all of this in a way that ensures Israel can maintain a Jewish voting majority.
So how can this be done?
There would be two states, but one homeland. The path to reach it entails, as a starting poin,t an acceptance of the Armistice Line as it was prior to 4 June 1967 as the border between the two states — with, at most, minor territorial adjustments, rather than more significant swaps or the sweeping annexation contemplated by other proposals. Israeli settlers who wish to remain in their homes would have the option of becoming permanent residents of the State of Palestine. They would pay their taxes, abide by local law, and enjoy full protection of their rights, as is the case with permanent residents in almost all countries. All Palestinian refugees will, in turn, have the right to become citizens of Palestine, but they would also have the option of becoming permanent residents of Israel, creating a path for return. Israeli Arabs would remain Israeli citizens and would be guaranteed full equality. Over time, there will be freedom of movement for all throughout and across both states. Jerusalem would be given special status. There will be some confederal institutions, including a human rights court as an appellate body.
A mechanism will need to be devised to bind the two states together—possibly through a cleverly designed, regionally anchored security arrangement—to prevent unilateral abrogation. As a first urgent transitional step, a reconstruction and rehabilitation mission should be established with an international mandate and based on a regional partnership. To succeed, this mission must prioritise restoring political and economic links between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which Israel and the PLO have recognized as constituting a single territorial unit.
Finally, Israel’s approach of achieving security through domination and fragmentation of Palestinian life— by imposing a stranglehold on Palestinian territory, institutions, and leadership, and by the undermining of UNRWA over the years — has hitherto produced only a notion of security for Israel. It has deepened Palestinian dispossession, inflicted great harm and degraded the Palestinian civilian population and threatened regional stability. Years of these measures, and the expensive fortified fences and sensor arrays surrounding Gaza, did not prevent the atrocious attacks of October 7. The lesson for Israel is not to double down on fortification, separation, and militarisation — after all, there will always be new ways to inflict harm on Israeli citizens in the absence of a just peace. What has worked has been mutuality —a sense of equality in status and obligation–and cooperation. This is why Israel’s peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan have been so durable. They were born not out of dominance, but respect for sovereign equality and territorial inviolability.
It is on these foundations that this vision of meaningful and durable renewal, this vision of Two-States One Homeland, was conceived — not in abstraction, but grounded in law, shaped by pragmatism, and sustained by a shared attachment to the land that both Israelis and Palestinians call home.
I thank you for your attention.
The post Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein: The Two-State Solution Needs A Credible Path Forward appeared first on International Peace Institute.
US-Präsident Donald Trump und EU-Kommissionspräsidentin Ursula von der Leyen haben sich gestern auf einen Handelsdeal geeinigt. Dazu eine Einschätzung von Ruben Staffa, Außenhandelsexperte und wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter der Abteilung Makroökonomie im Deutschen Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin):
Ein Handelskrieg zwischen den USA und der EU konnte abgewendet werden. Das ist angesichts der vorherigen Drohgebärden von US-Präsident Trump erstmal eine gute Nachricht. Doch die Einigung hat es in sich: 15 Prozent Einfuhrzölle auf europäische Warenausfuhren in die USA bedeuten knapp eine Verzehnfachung der durchschnittlichen Zölle, die vor Trumps zweiter Amtszeit galten. Hinzu kommen Zusagen Europas, im dreistelligen Milliardenbereich fossile Brennstoffe und Militärausrüstung in den USA einzukaufen. Hoffnungsvoll stimmt, dass für einige ausgewählte Gütergruppen gegenseitig keine Zölle erhoben werden sollen, darunter Halbleiterprodukte, die die USA dringend für die Chip-Herstellung benötigen. Vielleicht kommen auf diese Ausnahmeliste demnächst noch weitere Produkte. Vertragsdetails sind bisher nicht bekannt. Das gilt auch für viele der anderen Abkommen, die die USA in den vergangenen Wochen und Monaten geschlossen haben. Als regelbasierte Handelspolitik lässt sich dieses Vorgehen kaum bezeichnen. Es ist zu hoffen, dass die derzeit laufenden Untersuchungen zu Einfuhren von Pharmaprodukten nicht in produktspezifischen neuen Zöllen münden, denn diese würden Europa besonders treffen und den Wert der Einigung deutlich schmälern.
Greta Thunberg était samedi dans la montagne de Kožuf pour prendre part à une manifestation contre la construction de petites centrales hydroélectriques sur la rivière Došnica. Alors que le gouvernement a prolongé d'un an le délai de construction accordé au concessionnaire, ce projet menace l'un des derniers écosystèmes intacts du pays.
- Articles / Radio Slobodna Evropa, Environnement dans les Balkans, Barrages Balkans, Macédoine du Nord, EnvironnementFebruár közepén az Új-zélandi Királyi Haditengerészet egyik SH-2G(I) Seasprite helikopteréről első ízben indítottak hajó elleni Penguin rakétát. A fegyver kezelésének, függesztésének és indításának begyakorlása azért vált sürgetővé, mert az új-zélandi haditengerészet egy hadihajóval és a fedélzetére települt SH-2-essel a közel-keleti vizeken operáló többnemzeti harccsoporthoz csatlakozott.
Az SH-2-es Seasprite helikoptert a Kaman Aircraft Corporation még az ötvenes évek végén fejlesztette ki. A gépek a US Navynél 1962 és 2001 között álltak szolgálatban, de hadihajókról a kilencvenes évek közepe után már csak ritkán üzemeltek. Az Egyesült Államokon kívül Ausztrália, Egyiptom, Lengyelország, Peru és Új-Zéland is rendszeresítette a típust, használt és új példányokkal erősítve fegyveres erejét. Az új-zélandi helikopterek története még akkor kezdődött, amikor a munkáspárti Helen Clark miniszterelnöksége idején a légierőnél leépítési hullám futott végig. Feloszlattak két A-4 Skyhawk és egy MB339-es századot és törölték az F-16-os beszerzést is, a forgószárnyas közösség azonban négyéves előkészítés után 2001-ben szolgálatba állíthatta az SH-2-es típust. Az öt új helikopter beszerzéséről még az előző kormány idején, 1997-ben döntöttek, hogy a hasonlóan rút kiskacsát, a Westland Wasp helikoptert leváltsák velük. A gépek megérkezéséig négy használt SH-2F-et vettek át az amerikaiaktól, majd ezeket a régebbi példányokat az új SH-2G(NZ) Super Seasprite-ok érkezésekor kivonták az aktív szolgálatból és a továbbiakban alkatrészbázisként használták.
Au cœur du parc national de la Sutjeska, en Bosnie-Herzégovine, le festival Jelen OK Fest a réuni des milliers de festivaliers venus des Balkans, entre nature spectaculaire, musique éclectique et engagement. Trois jours de fête et de réflexion dans un lieu marqué par la geste des partisans de la Seconde Guerre mondiale.
- Articles / Courrier des Balkans, Tourisme balkans, Bosnie-Herzégovine, Culture et éducationPerché sur les hauteurs du Kosovo, le village de Kukaj a accueilli, du 6 au 12 juillet, la 15e édition du festival Etnofest. Théâtre, musique, expositions, gastronomie et créations contemporaines venues d'ailleurs ont exploré cette année encore le thème de l'« identiteti ». Reportage.
- Articles / Courrier des Balkans, Kosovo, Culture et éducation, GratuitDer US-amerikanische Chiphersteller Intel hat die Pläne für eine Chip-Fabrik in Magdeburg endgültig aufgegeben. Dazu eine Einschätzung von Martin Gornig, Forschungsdirektor für Industriepolitik in der Abteilung Unternehmen und Märkte des Deutschen Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin):
Die geplante Ansiedlung von Intel in Magdeburg wäre ein zentraler Baustein für den Aufbau eigener Halbleiterkapazitäten gewesen. Angesichts geopolitischer Spannungen und globaler Abhängigkeiten – etwa bei Mikrochips – wird die Versorgungssicherheit bei einer solchen, für viele Produkte entscheidenden, Komponente immer dringlicher. Investitionssubventionen, wie sie im Fall von Intel staatlicherseits geflossen wären, sind deshalb quasi eine Versicherungsprämie gegen zukünftige Krisen. Deutschland und die EU müssen nun umso entschlossener den Aufbau eigener Kompetenzen zur Chipproduktion vorantreiben – etwa über Initiativen im Rahmen der Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI), wie sie bereits in Dresden erfolgreich umgesetzt wurden.
En trois jours, deux hommes ont été exécutés à Podgorica, tandis que le maire de Budva était agressé sur une plage. Derrière cette flambée de violence, la guerre des clans criminels monténégrins refait surface, alors que les autorités sont accusées d'impuissance, voire de compromission.
- Le fil de l'Info / drogues, Radio Slobodna Evropa, Monténégro, Défense, police et justiceLa Croatie aborde le cœur de sa saison touristique avec appréhension. Les prix en forte augmentation dans l'hôtellerie pourraient pousser les habitués vers d'autres destinations moins coûteuses. Mais avec des chiffres en trompe-l'œil, le secteur s'obstine dans sa politique de l'autruche.
- Articles / Courrier des Balkans, Croatie, Economie, Tourisme balkansThe new ALGREE thematic report entitled “Mapping the dominant media frames between Greece and Albania and exploring alternative frames to override negative stereotypes” is a key output of the “ALGREE – Albania-Greece: Understanding. Connecting. Partnering” project. Authored by Panagiotis Paschalidis and Kriton Kuci, and implemented by the South-East Europe Programme of ELIAMEP, the study investigates the ways in which Greek and Albanian media portray the other’s country and proposes constructive counter-narratives to challenge negative stereotypes.
Using a mixed-method approach that combines quantitative content analysis with qualitative frame analysis, the report explores media coverage through six case studies focused on politically and socially sensitive topics, such as Albania’s EU accession process, the Greek minority in Albania, maritime border disputes, regional dynamics, economic cooperation, and the high-profile “Beleri case.” It examines both the tone and framing of news stories and highlights how political alignment often influences media narratives on both sides.
Its key findings include a persistent politicization of media discourse, a strong focus on conflict-laden narratives, and a lack of attention to positive themes such as culture, society, and economic cooperation. While some progress is noted—particularly regarding regional cooperation and perceptions of economic partnership—the presence of stereotypes remains a significant obstacle to balanced representation.
The report offers a series of recommendations aimed at depoliticizing media narratives and encouraging more nuanced and constructive reporting. By fostering alternative frames that promote mutual understanding, the study contributes to the broader goals of ALGREE in support of evidence-based dialogue, informed policy-making, and improved bilateral relations between Greece and Albania.
You can read the thematic report here.