UN chief: Israel, Palestinians setting stage for peace

2009 "is a year which I hope will bear fruit in the Middle East," United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday.

Progress toward Middle East peace is being made "somewhat below the radar" by Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, he said. "They are setting the stage for peace."

The UN chief said he was convening the so-called quartet - the European Union, the United States, Russia and the United Nations - to meet Monday with Arab partners for discussions on Middle East peace efforts.

Ban said US President-elect Barack Obama has assured him he will work for a "stronger partnership between the United Nations and the United States."

'Rise above regional divides'

Ban, in Geneva for observances of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, said the Human Rights Council created in 2006 was falling short of expectations, in part because the United States refused to join.

"That should be the council of all the member states of the United Nations," Ban said. "For that to be possible then it is necessary and desirable that the United States takes part as a member of the council."

The United States, which played a leading role in the creation of the rights declaration under former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, has stayed on the sidelines of the 47-nation council since it was created in 2006 to replace the discredited Human Rights Commission.

Washington has frequently criticized the council for spending a large percentage of its sessions attacking Israel's treatment of Palestinians while downplaying abuses in other parts of the world.

Ban told council members they "must rise above partisan posturing and regional divides" if they are to have a major impact on abuses in the world.