Statement by H.E. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations, at Security Council meeting on the adoption of the draft resolution under the agenda item “Admission of New Members” (Palestine)

Madame President,

I thank the delegation of Algeria for putting forward the resolution and for being fully transparent from the very beginning about the approach it intended to take.

Thirteen years after the last request, today another call for justice for the Palestinian people was made but the Council's response was not enough to deliver that justice. Guyana raised its hand for justice today because, for us, it was the right choice. And it was long overdue. 

The Palestinian question has been before this Council since 1947. From that time, there have been at least 792 formal meetings of the Council. An examination of those meeting records provided some key revelations about the Council's approach to the Palestinian question, three of which I will highlight briefly.

First, over these decades, Council members have, inter alia, acknowledged the need to address the various dimensions of the Palestinian question, consistently stressed the need for the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination, and emphasized the need for the realization of the two-state solution. However, while this shows that the Council has largely been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, this sympathy has not generated enough political will to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question.

This takes me to my second point, Madame President. The Council’s historic sympathy for the Palestinian people has led to many band-aid measures to address the symptoms of the Palestinian question. We have not been able to comprehensively address the root cause of the problem – the lengthy delay in the creation of an independent State of Palestine. The resolution we voted on a moment ago was an important step towards addressing this gap and Guyana deeply regrets that it was not adopted. Without getting to the root of the problem, the symptoms will persist, and the reactive cycle will continue. The people of Palestine deserve a clear political horizon and a path to a comprehensive and just peace.

The third issue is the serious lack of accountability that has accompanied the Palestinian question from 1948 to present day. If the occupying power were held to account for its continuous violations of international law, the path to a free and independent Palestine would have been cleared a long time ago. The impunity must end.

Madame President,

Guyana supports the State of Palestine’s full membership of the United Nations and believes that it has met all the requirements set out in Article 4 of the United Nations Charter, which are the only ones to be taken into consideration for the admission of a member into the United Nations. We are therefore deeply disappointed that the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people were not met today. Guyana had hoped that the Council’s historic sympathy and apparent empathy with the Palestinian cause could have translated into strong political will this time around, given the existential threat Palestinians currently face. Notwithstanding, Guyana reaffirms its unwavering commitment to continue working with this Council and the entire UN membership to secure justice for the Palestinian people.

To the Palestinian people, Guyana will never abandon you. We will continue to use our voice until justice is served.

I thank you.