Palestinian Reform: London Meeting (Hansard, 16 January 2003)

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

On 14 January my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary chaired a meeting in London attended by representatives of the Quartet and Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. We are grateful that they were able to attend and contribute. They were joined through a video link by Palestinian Authority Ministers and civil society representatives, as the Israeli Government had unacceptably denied permission for them to travel to London. This arrangement was no substitute for a face to face conference, but we believe the meeting to have been constructive and wide ranging. It will support and complement the efforts of the Quartet on the road map towards a two-state settlement.

Palestinian reform is only one part of the work required to achieve a just and comprehensive peace, but it is an important part. It is clear that the Palestinians are committed to the reform of their 54WA institutions and have already started that process. But there remains much to be done, and they need support and encouragement. At the meeting they repeated their condemnation of violence against civilians as a means of achieving Palestinian ends and briefed us on their plans for a new Palestinian constitution, political, economic and administrative reform and the creation of a Palestinian state.

This is an objective the whole international community shares. The next step will be meetings in London in early February of the Taskforce on Palestinian Reform and of Quartet envoys. It will take action from all sides, including Israel, to maintain momentum and implement the roadmap.

Her Majesty's Government urged the leaders of all sides to demonstrate the courage necessary to realise their obligations towards one another and turn that realisation into a genuine process of negotiation.

The Foreign Secretary has placed a summary of his understanding of the proceedings and outcomes from the meeting in the Library of the House. The key elements were:

An agreement that we need practical action to begin implementing the clear Palestinian declaration against violence and terrorism.
A new Palestinian commitment to work on constitution. We expect an agreed outline by the end of this month and have promised to support their work on this.
A clear commitment to finalising preparations for free, fair and open elections.
Recognition of the work the PA has clone on financial accountability.
A clear message to the Palestinians on the need to do more on the judiciary.