Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Todd today delivered a statement during the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) Session on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”.
During his intervention, Minister Todd stated that the war in Gaza has set several new and unacceptable bars. Among them, a rapid decline in the nutritional status of the population in Gaza; the highest number of humanitarian workers killed in a single conflict globally; and more women and children have been killed in the war than in any other recent conflict in a single year.
The Minister posited that Guyana remains deeply troubled by the ongoing situation in north Gaza, where the population has been under siege and subject to a bombing campaign for more than three weeks; and called for the compliance of obligations under international law regarding the protection of the inhabitants of the territory.
The Minister further highlighted that the world is in a much better position today than it was thirty years ago, to act based on real-time information; and called on the Security Council to unite to de-escalate and stabilize the situation in the wider Middle East. He stated that to do otherwise would be to abrogate the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
Additionally, Minister Todd noted that the bills passed in the Israeli Parliament yesterday regarding UNRWA’s operations in the Occupied Palestinian territory give cause for grave concern. He stated that should UNRWA be dismantled, the implications would be devastating for the millions of Palestinians who depend on its lifesaving services in the absence of an independent Palestinian state and urged careful consideration by all concerned of the implications of unilateral action in this sensitive case.
In concluding, the Minister underscored the urgency of achieving a ceasefire and called on the Security Council to immediately rise to the occasion to address the unprecedented humanitarian situation in Gaza.
