Statement delivered by H.E. Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations, at the United Nations Security Council meeting on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question"
Mr. President,
I thank you for convening today’s briefing. I also express my gratitude to USG Fletcher for his pellucid and indeed profound presentation and Ms. Jacome for the invaluable information provided.
Mr. President,
The catastrophic situation in Gaza continues to be compounded by several worrying developments of which I highlight the following.
First, the latest IPC report underlines the critical risk of famine which confronts the population in the Gaza Strip. The factors directly elevating this risk were identified as a protracted and large-scale military operation and continuation of the humanitarian and commercial blockade. These are both manmade factors, subject to the decision and control of the occupying power. Guyana has also taken note that the findings reflected in the IPC report, mark a significant deterioration from previous IPC analyses. The state of food insecurity continues to decline rapidly in Gaza with North Gaza and Rafah governorates projected to reach emergency levels of acute malnutrition between now and September. The Security Council cannot allow hundreds of thousands of civilians, including babies, to simply starve and waste away while food, medicine, and other essentials for their survival sit in trucks rotting and expiring.
This misery is compounded as a third of UN-supported community kitchens have recently shut down due to the depletion of food supplies and limited access to fuel. Guyana calls on Israel to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law not to deprive the civilian population of the items indispensable for their survival. We further stress that the use of starvation as a weapon of warfare is a war crime. Guyana also stresses that aid must not be weaponized.
Second, Guyana remains deeply concerned about the shrinking and extremely dangerous space in which aid workers and other humanitarian personnel are forced to operate in the Gaza Strip. With the lack of fully functioning coordination and deconfliction mechanisms, aid workers and other humanitarian personnel are forced to operate at great personal risk. Aid workers and other humanitarian personnel are guaranteed special protections under international law and parties to a conflict are obligated to ensure their safety. We therefore condemn all direct attacks on aid workers and humanitarian personnel and call for full accountability for lives lost and injuries suffered on account of such attacks. We also call on all parties, including the occupying power, to strictly abide by their legal obligations regarding the protection of aid workers and humanitarian personnel.
In this context, Guyana has taken note of the modality proposed by Israel for the distribution of aid in Gaza. The proposal entails replacing the existing aid distribution system run by the United Nations and its humanitarian partners and delivering supplies through Israeli hubs under conditions set by the Israeli military. We have taken note of the response to this proposal by the Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly their observation that “it contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy. It is dangerous, driving civilians into militarized zones to collect rations, threatening lives, including those of humanitarian workers, while further entrenching forced displacement.” We have also noted that the UN Secretary-General and USG Fletcher have both emphasized that the proposed modality fails to meet the minimum standards for principled humanitarian action and that the UN will not participate in any arrangement that does not fully respect humanitarian principles. Guyana stresses that the international community must not allow established international legal norms and standards governing humanitarian assistance to civilians in conflict situations to be upended by proposals which do not satisfy humanitarian principles and which will further violate the dignity of civilians.
Mr. President,
The third issue I wish to highlight concerns the continuing forcible displacement of civilians in Gaza. We are deeply concerned by the reported approval on 5 May, by Israel’s security cabinet of a plan to expand military operations in the Gaza Strip and to concomitantly move most of the population to the southern part of the Strip, where the Israeli military would retain a presence. According to the Israeli army spokesperson, the Rafah model will be replicated in other parts of the Strip. The observations by the UN Human Rights High Commissioner in response to Israel’s announcement are instructive. The High Commissioner noted that Israel’s reported plans “further aggravate concerns that Israel’s actions are aimed at inflicting on Palestinians, conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence in Gaza as a group." On this note, Guyana recalls the pronouncements of the International Court of Justice on the displacement of the Palestinian people by Israel and calls on Israel to adhere to its obligations.
Mr. President,
Allow me to also reiterate Guyana’s deep concern about the situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where the Israeli military operation in northern West Bank is still ongoing. The demolitions of Palestinian property, forced closure of UNRWA schools and harassment of UNRWA teachers, expansion of settlements and other illegalities are serious violations of the rights of the Palestinian people which must not remain unaddressed.
I conclude with the following appeals.
We need to immediately return to a ceasefire in Gaza as the first crucial step to saving civilian lives.
There must be an immediate and unconditional lifting of the aid blockade on Gaza which has been imposed since 2 March. Palestinians cannot simply be condemned to a fate of starvation, malnutrition and disease in the interest of advancing military objectives.
All remaining hostages must be released and all Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons without charge must also be freed. The recent release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander is a welcome move. Guyana stresses that the taking of hostages is a war crime and their release should not be transactional.
Guyana reiterates its appeal for the protection of aid workers, humanitarian and UN personnel, including staffers from agencies such as UNRWA.
Guyana calls on Israel to halt its military operations in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem and to halt all activities that are causing great suffering and hardships for the civilian population.
Finally, Guyana appeals for real peace to be given a chance in the Middle East. That peace is premised on a resolution of the Palestinian conflict in line with the two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders. Anything short of this will only perpetuate the cycle of violence and pain at the heart of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Our sincere hope is that all Member States will use the upcoming June Conference to achieve concrete outcomes for resolving the Palestinian question.
I thank you.
