{"id":290082,"date":"2023-10-24T16:45:12","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T20:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=290082"},"modified":"2023-11-01T16:49:24","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T20:49:24","slug":"statement-by-the-chair-of-the-palestinian-rights-committee-at-security-council-open-debate-on-mideast-situation-palestinian-question","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/statement-by-the-chair-of-the-palestinian-rights-committee-at-security-council-open-debate-on-mideast-situation-palestinian-question\/","title":{"rendered":"Statement by the Chair of the Palestinian Rights Committee at Security Council Open Debate on Mideast Situation, Palestinian Question"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arabic: \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a\u0629<\/a><\/p>\n

Fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/p>\n

STATEMENT TO THE SECURITY CO±¬ÁÏÍøCIL<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>**************<\/strong><\/p>\n

BY AMBASSADOR CHEIKH NIANG<\/strong><\/p>\n

CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>****************<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>OPEN DEBATE <\/strong><\/p>\n

ON THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST,<\/strong><\/p>\n

INCLUDING THE PALESTINIAN QUESTION<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

New York, 24 October 2023<\/p>\n

Mr. President,<\/p>\n

Excellencies,<\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People thanks Brazil for its Presidency of the Security Council this month and expresses appreciation for the briefing of\u00a0Mr. Tor Wennesland,\u00a0<\/strong>the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. The Committee also commends Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/strong> for his tireless efforts to address the crisis we are facing.<\/p>\n

Over the years, we\u00a0have\u00a0repeatedly\u00a0warned\u00a0that the\u00a0situation in\u00a0the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,\u00a0was unsustainable. Without\u00a0a\u00a0political horizon, and in a context of relentless human rights violations, the deterioration of the situation and escalation become inevitable.\u00a0Yet\u00a0the Security Council\u00a0remains unable to bring a halt to the\u00a0bloodshed\u00a0and to protect civilian lives – as regrettably witnessed with the veto last week.<\/p>\n

On\u00a07 October, I issued a statement\u00a0condemning\u00a0the\u00a0killing and wounding of\u00a0hundreds of civilians in Israel; we also condemned the taking of hostages. We welcome the recent release of 4 captives and thank Qatar and Egypt for their efforts to this end. I further call for the release of all captives as well as all political prisoners.<\/p>\n

On\u00a017 October, the Bureau of the Committee issued a statement that, inter alia, condemned\u00a0the killing\u00a0and wounding of thousands of civilians and the targeting and widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n

Israel, the occupying Power,\u00a0bears responsibility for protecting the civilian population and for the unfolding humanitarian\u00a0disaster.\u00a0Everyone repeatedly warned about the risks of explosion because Israel\u2019s 16-year-old illegal blockade on Gaza has transformed the Strip into an open-air prison and impoverished the population.<\/p>\n

We\u00a0strongly condemn Israel\u2019s reprisal air strikes and bombardment of the densely populated Gaza Strip,\u00a0<\/strong>killing, as of 23 October<\/u> over\u00a05,087\u00a0Palestinians,\u00a0including women and over\u00a02,055\u00a0children and injuring more than\u00a015,273\u00a0Palestinians.\u00a0 Thousands of others are said to remain under the rubble of their destroyed homes.<\/p>\n

Particularly abhorrent\u00a0war crimes are attacks on medical facilities, like the Al-Ahli Anglican hospital in Gaza City, where an air strike killed some 500 people,\u00a0including children, women, men and medical personnel, or places of worship sheltering civilians, as the attack on the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church, killing and wounding dozens.<\/p>\n

It is estimated by ±¬ÁÏÍø OCHA that over 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced.<\/p>\n

The Committee further condemns Israel\u2019s military orders for Palestinians in\u00a0northern\u00a0Gaza to \u2018evacuate\u2019 to the south of the Strip:\u00a0there is nowhere\u00a0safe\u00a0to go\u00a0in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Forced transfer of people is a grave breach of international law. We\u00a0second the call by the Secretary-General and ±¬ÁÏÍø agencies for Israel to rescind this\u00a0evacuation order. We cannot stand by and watch another Nakba being inflicted on the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n

Mr. President,<\/p>\n

Wars have\u00a0rules, which this Organization, this body must work\u00a0for to uphold and ensure compliance with – always.\u00a0Collective punishment, denial of humanitarian assistance, military attacks on homes, hospitals, places of worship, and schools and facilities where civilians seek refuge are violations of international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n

We call for\u00a0an immediate ceasefire.<\/p>\n

Israel must immediately lift its total siege of Gaza and allow food, water, electricity, medical and other lifesaving supplies as their deliberate denial is\u00a0tantamount to collective punishment of the 2.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza, half of whom are children.\u00a0We commend Egypt for facilitating the\u00a0entry of crucial humanitarian aid into Gaza through the Rafah crossing and urge Israel to allow an unimpeded flow of assistance. Similarly, we praise Egypt\u2019s convening of the Cairo International Summit for Peace in the Middle East, on 21 October. We need more \u2013 not less dialogue.<\/p>\n

±¬ÁÏÍøRWA reported losing 35 staff members killed by Israel\u2019s bombings. Its facilities are sheltering over 600,000 internally displaced persons while its life-saving supplies are dwindling. The Agency\u00a0has called\u00a0for\u00a0US$104 million\u00a0in emergency support. We call on all Member States to provide urgent financial assistance to ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA and to continue strongly supporting its indispensable mission.<\/p>\n

We regret that the situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is also rapidly deteriorating, with 91 Palestinians, including over 20 children, killed\u00a0since 7 October by Israeli occupying forces and settlers.<\/p>\n

The Committee welcomes the decision by the ±¬ÁÏÍø Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel to collect evidence of war crimes committed by all sides since 7 October 2023.\u00a0It\u00a0also\u00a0joins the call\u00a0for the International Criminal Court to launch a fact-finding mission\u00a0to investigate\u00a0violations of\u00a0IHL.\u00a0There must be accountability for all human rights violations and international law breaches perpetrated in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Mr. President, Excellencies,<\/p>\n

The\u00a0current\u00a0crisis\u00a0has proved once again the centrality of the Palestinian question to Middle East and\u00a0global stability.\u00a0While we are absorbed by\u00a0the immediate need of\u00a0securing a ceasefire\u00a0and providing desperately needed humanitarian assistance, we\u00a0must emphasize that\u00a0there is no military solution to this conflict<\/u>. We need to\u00a0focus on\u00a0our longstanding objectives:\u00a0the end of\u00a0the\u00a0Israeli occupation\u00a0and the fulfillment of the\u00a0inalienable\u00a0rights of the Palestinian people, including\u00a0to self-determination and independence. These are the pillars of a just and lasting peace.<\/p>\n

I appeal to the Security Council and all\u00a0Member States to overcome divisions\u00a0and to act now to stop the bloodshed\u00a0and\u00a0protect the Palestinian people.\u00a0We\u00a0reiterate our\u00a0call\u00a0for an immediate ceasefire and for the delivery of urgent and unimpeded humanitarian assistance to all those in need.<\/p>\n

Lastly, the Committee reiterates its appeals for serious\u00a0international efforts leading to the sovereignty and independence of the State of Palestine on the basis of the 1967\u00a0lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with international law and relevant ±¬ÁÏÍø resolutions, and for providing a just solution for the plight of the Palestine refugees.<\/p>\n

This\u00a0\u2013 and not bloodshed\u00a0–\u00a0is the only\u00a0path for\u00a0a\u00a0just and lasting\u00a0resolution of the question of Palestine as well as for peace in\u00a0the\u00a0Middle East.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arabic: \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a\u0629 Fran\u00e7ais STATEMENT TO THE SECURITY CO±¬ÁÏÍøCIL \u00a0************** BY AMBASSADOR CHEIKH NIANG CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE \u00a0**************** \u00a0OPEN DEBATE ON THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST, INCLUDING THE PALESTINIAN QUESTION     New York, 24 October 2023 Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":301,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1338],"document-source":[1753,1362],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1829,2005,1741,5200,1801,2385],"entity":[],"document-language":[],"class_list":["post-290082","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-statement","document-source-ceirpp","document-source-security-council","document-subject-casualties","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-humanitarian-relief","document-subject-inalienable-rights-of-the-palestinian-people","document-subject-security-issues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/290082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/301"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/290082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":290423,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/290082\/revisions\/290423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=290082"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=290082"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=290082"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=290082"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=290082"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=290082"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=290082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}