UN Chief Calls for Two-State Solution and Humanitarian Law at Arab Summit Amid Gaza Crisis Escalation

Dr. Asif Nawaz Assistant Professor Hamdard Institute of International Studies, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi draasifnawaz@gmail.com +91 9013228794 On May 17, 2025, UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered remarks at the Arab Summit in Baghdad, Iraq. The Arab Summit is a gathering of leaders from the 22 member states of the Arab League, convened to address regional challenges, including the Arab-Israeli conflict, security, and humanitarian crises. The choice of Baghdad as the host city signals Iraq’s efforts to reassert its role in regional diplomacy amidst ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Guterres reiterated the UN’s longstanding position that a two-state solution—envisioning an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, based on pre-1967 borders with mutually agreed land swaps and Jerusalem as a shared capital—remains the only viable framework for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. This stance is consistent with UN resolutions, such as Resolution 242 (1967) and later agre...