CEIRPP Chair’s Statement at the Security Council Quarterly Debate on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question – 23 January 2024

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STATEMENT TO THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL

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BY MS. HELENA NDAPEWA KUZEE DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS

ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

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OPEN DEBATE ON THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST, INCLUDING THE PALESTINIAN QUESTION

New York, 23 January 2024

I congratulate France for the January presidency of the Security Council and thank you, Mister President, for elevating this meeting to ministerial level in consideration of the urgency of prioritizing the matter at hand.

I also thank the Secretary-General for his briefing and tireless advocacy for peace and justice, including a just solution to the question of Palestine.

Distinguished Council members,

Ladies and gentlemen,

The somber briefing and tragic figures we heard are an urgent call to overcome the prevailing inertia and push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It is the fundamental requirement for saving human lives, protecting civilians and ensuring their sustenance and welfare, and salvaging the prospects for peace.

The Gaza Strip has been subject to one of the most intense bombardments in modern history, reflected in over 25,000 Palestinians killed – most of whom were women and children, more than 61,000 people injured, the denial of access to food, water, fuel and other essential supplies that have caused starvation, spread of disease, extraordinary levels of want, and vast destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and other vital civilian infrastructure.

The Committee echoes the overwhelming demand of the international community for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and for the unconditional release of all hostages and detainees. We call for the full adherence by all parties to their obligations under international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, and to all relevant resolutions, including General Assembly resolutions ES-10/21 and ES10/22 and Security Council Resolutions (2712) and (2720) of 2023.

Israel’s indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks have consistently breached the distinction between civilians and combatants as well as between civilian and military objects. Israel has also consistently breached its obligations as the occupying Power under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Prisoners must be provided humane and dignified treatment. However, disturbing reports and images of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of Palestinian prisoners continue to emerge. Thousands of Palestinians, including children, have been detained in just over three months’ time.

Journalists and media professionals must not be targets for attacks or reprisals. Their family members must not become extended targets to coerce these professionals into silence.

Throughout Gaza, freedom of movement and access to humanitarian relief remain severely limited despite the clear provisions of Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. The weaponization of starvation as a method of warfare is prohibited under international law; this practice has been decried by the UN and must be halted.

As the Secretary-General has repeatedly underscored, nowhere and no one is safe in Gaza. So-called “Safety Zones”, where civilians were forced to flee, are further subjected to Israeli attacks.

Mister President,

More than 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza have been forcibly displaced. This was a forced mass displacement of an occupied people, most of whom are 1948 Nakba refugees. The majority are sheltering in 155 UNRWA schools and facilities that continue to come under Israeli attack.

Repeated calls by Israeli ministers to forcibly transfer the Palestinian civilian population out of Gaza are abhorrent and must be prevented, as such transfer would constitute a war crime.

The escalating violence by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank, is turning this year into the deadliest on record for children not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with 344 Palestinians killed since 7 October, including 88 children.

Excellencies,

Israel’s indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Gaza are the latest episode in its 16-year blockade, 56 years of occupation, and 76 years of the Nakba. Israeli ministers openly discuss their wish and actions to make Gaza unlivable for Palestinians.

For this reason, several Member States, including from our Committee, have referred the situation in Palestine to the International Criminal Court, urging accountability for the crimes being perpetrated against the Palestinian people.

We commend South Africa, a proud member of our Committee, on its application instituting proceedings at the International Court of Justice against Israel, asking for immediate provisional measures to prevent violations of the Genocide Convention in Gaza.

Distinguished members,

There is no time for semantics nor room for paralysis; we must not succumb to exceptionalism, double standards or “international omertá”.

The Committee reiterates its calls for an immediate Gaza ceasefire, prioritizing the protection of Palestinians. We emphasize the need for urgent humanitarian assistance, and for immediate efforts to realize a durable and just solution in the Middle East. This involves ending occupation and respecting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including self-determination and independence, and the right of return for refugees, as per international law and UN resolutions.

The time is now to pursue without hesitation the two-State solution on the pre-1967 borders, the longstanding international consensus for a just solution.

The Committee seconds the call for an international peace conference and a multilateral negotiating process aimed at resolving the question of Palestine in all its aspects.

And to paraphrase Nelson Mandela, our collective pledge of “leaving no-one behind” is incomplete without the freedom of Palestine.

For this reason, the Committee further demands the admission of the State of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations to allow it to take its rightful place in the international community.

Thank you.