Statement by H.E. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations at the UNSC meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question: The Plight of Children in the Gaza Strip
Thank you, Mr. President
I thank USG Fletcher for his briefing and Ms. Bisan Nateel for her sobering testimony.
The subject of today’s meeting reminds us of the worst consequences of war – the devastating impacts on children. It reminds us of why peace must always be the only choice.
Over the past 15 months, we the members of this Council, and indeed, the entire world, have watched the children in Gaza bear the brunt of war that no child should ever experience. More than 14,500 children were killed and thousands more injured and maimed for life. Gaza is now the place with the highest number of child amputees in modern history.
Children lost limbs, suffered severe burns and their fragile bones were broken and crushed as Israeli air strikes and bombs destroyed their homes, the places where they played, and ravaged all the spaces where they sought shelter, in gross violation of international law.
Many lost their parents, their siblings and other beloved family members. They were displaced multiple times, travelling from place to place, often in harsh weather conditions, but finding nowhere truly safe. In December alone, eight infants and newborns reportedly died from hypothermia. It is reported that more than 3o,000 children were orphaned, and nearly one million displaced from their homes.
In this unrelenting war, children in Gaza were denied access to water and food and suffered malnutrition, with famine a real risk for many. In the absence of basic sanitation, thousands fell sick, suffering from preventable diseases with no recourse to healthcare as hospital after hospital was bombed and medical personnel attacked and terrorized. Previously eradicated diseases such as polio reemerged as vaccination programmes fell behind.
Schools in Gaza were not spared by Israel’s weapons. They were reduced to rubble erasing the hopes, dreams and educational aspirations of the students. UNICEF reports that 95 per cent of Gaza’s school buildings have been damaged or destroyed.
With the acquired ability to identify the various types of weaponry used through the ominous sounds of war, children in Gaza have witnessed the worst atrocities and endured tremendous suffering. The trauma and scars of the past months on their bodies and minds will endure for their lifetime.
Mr. President,
Guyana welcomes the current ceasefire, which offers much needed reprieve for the people of Gaza, particularly the children. We urge all parties to work assiduously to ensure that it holds and that it becomes permanent.
The protection of children in Gaza must be a priority during the implementation of the ceasefire. They must have shelter, the necessary humanitarian aid and healthcare, including psychosocial support. Access to education must return as soon as possible with attention paid to explosive ordnance clearance and risk education to ensure their safety.
Mr. President
The ordeal of Gaza’s children is far from over. Families are returning to new horrors in their communities, discovering flattened or gutted homes and pulling decayed bodies from the rubble. The reconstruction and rehabilitation process will be long, expensive and arduous, requiring the collective support and resources of the international community.
Crucial to these efforts is the continued functioning of UNRWA. It has been emphasized in numerous briefings to this Council that UNRWA is the only agency in Gaza with the capacity and reach to provide the wide range of support needed by civilians in Gaza. Guyana reiterates its call for Israel to not implement the law on UNRWA and respect the mandate given to UNRWA by the UN General Assembly.
We thank all UN agencies, including UNRWA, and the numerous NGOs, for their indefatigable efforts in providing life-saving support to children in Gaza, never giving up even in the most difficult circumstances. They must be given the requisite support by this Council and the international community to continue their critical work.
Mr. President
It is necessary to touch on another issue as we discuss today’s subject; that of accountability, which was also mentioned by USG Fletcher.
As the war on Gaza dragged on, the undertakings and assurances given to the world’s children in legally binding international instruments and under the umbrella of international law were eroded one by one in Gaza.
This Council, in resolution 1261 (1999) and subsequent Children in Armed Conflict (CAAC) resolutions, was united in identifying six grave violations against children in situations of armed conflict, calling on parties to ensure the protection of children and for accountability for violations.
Children in Gaza were subject to these grave violations. There has been blatant disregard for international humanitarian law and widespread human rights abuses.
Guyana is of the firm view that impunity and the failure to hold perpetrators of grave violations against children accountable are contributing to the increase in such violations worldwide. Those in breach must be held accountable.
This Council must be consistent and united in demanding that all parties to conflicts adhere to their obligations under international law to protect children. The children in Gaza deserve no less.
In closing, Mr. President, I reiterate that peaceful resolution of conflicts remains the best and only real protection for children. We must, therefore, spare no effort to end this conflict.
I Thank you.
