‘There is an imperative need to find a fair and just solution to the injustices being faced by the Palestinians’ French control of island of Mayotte ‘a painful episode that has persisted for 40 years’ LONDON: Respect for state sovereignty remains essential as the world tackles a series of interlocking crises, the president of Comoros told the UN General Assembly on Thursday. Azali Assoumani urged his fellow delegates to remember the centrality of sovereignty in the international system in tackling global injustice. “There is an imperative need to find a fair and just solution to the injustices being faced by the Palestinians,” he said. “This solution must be recognition of a two-state system in which the Palestinians have a state of their own and one in which East Jerusalem is their capital, so that they may live in peace side-by-side with their neighbor Israel.” Reflecting on his country’s own issues of territorial sovereignty, Assoumani said Comoros had for more than 40 years been locked in a dispute with France over the island of Mayotte. While the four islands making up Comoros voted for independence in 1947, France interpreted the results on an island-by-island basis, allowing it to maintain control of Mayotte, which voted against independence. “This is a painful episode that has persisted for 40 years, but we welcome the dialogue between Comoros and France,” said Assoumani. “We have just celebrated our 47th year of independence. The first two decades saw lots of instability, but for 20 years now we have celebrated stability. “But island nations like ours need greater attention paid by the international community in this moment of upheaval.”