Undersøkelseskomiteen for Midtøsten, ledet av tidligere senator George Mitchell og med bl.a. utenriksminister Thorbjørn Jagland som medlem, hadde sitt første møte i New York 26. – 27. november d.å.

- Det er mitt håp at komiteen kan bidra til å bryte voldsspiralen og være et verktøy til å hjelpe partene tilbake til forhandlingsbordet, sier utenriksminister Thorbjørn Jagland.

Komiteen hadde separate møter med israelske og palestinske representanter og med FNs generalsekretær Kofi Annan. Komiteen ba partene om en snarlig presentasjon av sine respektive syn på de siste ukers hendelser. Komiteen tar sikte på å reise til regionen på sitt første arbeidsbesøk i nærmeste framtid og vil sluttbehandle sin arbeidsplan i lys av de gjennomførte samtaler med partene

Komiteens uttalelse etter sitt første møte følger vedlagt.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH FACT-FINDING COMMITTEE
Meridian International Center
1630 Crescent Place, NW
Washington DC 20009

FOR IMMIDIATE RELEASE

Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee Holds Initial Meeting

Contact: Ambassador Kenton Keith

(202) 939-5590

The Sharm-el Sheikh Fact-Finding Mission Committee held its initial meeting in New York City on November 26 og 27, 2000, under the Chairmanship of former U.S. Senator George Mitchell. The Committee, which also includes former U.S. Senator Warren Rudman, former Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, European Union High Representative Javier Solana and Norwegian Foreign Minister Thorbjorn Jagland, discussed the Commitee’s organization, mission, and plans for carrying out that mission.

Meridian Internation Center, a Washington D.C. based non-governmental organization, will provide administrative and logistical support to the Committee.

At its meeting, the Commitee met with representatives of both the Israeli and Palestinian sides to recieve their thoughts and expectations about the Committee’s work. The Committee will draw on these consultations as it finalize its plan of work. The Committee will request each side to present to the Committee its views on the recent events in the region involving violence, including their assesments of exactly what has happened and why it has happened. The Committee will travel to the region in connection with its work in the near future.

In its discussions, the Committee emphasized its strong belief that the violence between the Israelis and Palestinians must be brought to an end. The Committee’s work will be guided by the goal of breaking the cycle of violence so that the parties can resume their efforts toward peace, which was the primary objective of the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit.

The Committe plans to seek information and advice from a range of individuals and institutions in the course of its work. The Committee reaffirmed that it will work closely with the Israelis and the Palestinians to provide an independent and objective assesment of the recent events involving violence with the goal of preventing their recurrence.

The members of the Committee thank president Clinton for his efforts in the service of peace in the Middle East and in developing the Committee. The Committee looks forward to continuing cooperation of the Israeli and Palestinian sides in the Committee’s work. The Committee again stresses the importance of an early end to the violence in the region and its hope that the Commitee’s work can facilitate a return to the parties’ efforts toward peace.