Statement delivered by H.E. Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana, at the press stakeout of the Ten Elected Member States of the Security Council on the E10 draft United Nations Security Council Resolution on Gaza

Good morning.

I am honored to make this statement on behalf of the ten elected members of the Security Council, namely Algeria, Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland and my own country, Guyana.

Today, a resolution drafted by the E10 Member States was tabled for adoption by the Security Council to address the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The resolution was developed over a five-week period during which the E10 demonstrated great flexibility to reach consensus in the Council.

At the time that the decision was taken to develop this draft, four months had elapsed since the passage of resolution 2735. We had all supported 2735 with the expectation that a ceasefire deal would have been agreed and implemented swiftly. Therefore, in the context of a rapidly increasing death toll, and widespread injury, destruction and forced displacement in the Gaza Strip, we the E10 concluded that any new resolution by the Council should go further than the last four resolutions in relation to the conflict in Gaza.

Importantly, our delegations acknowledged the significance of unequivocally demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, while also reiterating the demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. We are therefore deeply disappointed that the text was not adopted.

Notwithstanding the non-adoption of the draft resolution that we put forward, the E10 is using this platform today to underscore three key messages.

First, the war in Gaza must end immediately, unconditionally and permanently and all remaining hostages must be immediately and unconditionally released.

Second, there must be full, rapid, safe and unhindered entry of humanitarian assistance at scale to and throughout the Gaza Strip so that Palestinian civilians can secure the relief they urgently need. In this regard, we also stress that UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza, and we call on all parties to enable the Agency to carry out its vital mandate.
Third, the parties must abide by their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, particularly with regard to the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, the treatment of detainees, and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Our collective efforts to end the hostilities will not stop. Once more, the E10 is underscoring to the international community, and more importantly to the hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians who continue to bear the cost of these hostilities, as well as those still held hostage and their loved ones, that we are deeply conscious that the Security Council, bears the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace. We are deeply committed to this responsibility and will continue our best efforts to try to facilitate Council unity on this critical matter. Too many lives have already been lost.