{"id":294010,"date":"2024-03-04T16:37:36","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T21:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=294010"},"modified":"2024-03-04T16:37:36","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T21:37:36","slug":"pga-remarks-at-the-general-assembly-4march24","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/pga-remarks-at-the-general-assembly-4march24\/","title":{"rendered":"Remarks of the President of the General Assembly at the General Assembly Plenary Meeting on the Use of the Veto – UN General Assembly"},"content":{"rendered":"
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March 04, 2024<\/p>\n

Remarks by President of the General Assembly,<\/b><\/p>\n

H.E. Dennis Francis,<\/b><\/p>\n

at the General Assembly Plenary Meeting on the Use of the Veto<\/b><\/p>\n

4 March 2024<\/b><\/p>\n

[As delivered]<\/b><\/p>\n

Excellencies,<\/i><\/p>\n

Distinguished delegates,<\/i><\/p>\n

From the inception of the United Nations in 1945, the General Assembly and the Security Council, both share a single overarching\u00a0duty: \u201cto save succeeding generations from the scourge of war\u201d.<\/p>\n

The purpose of our meeting today underscores the\u00a0vital\u00a0importance of that joint responsibility \u2013 and of the urgency\u00a0for\u00a0the two bodies to strengthen their collective efforts \u2013 within their respective mandates under the United Nations Charter, to preserve\u00a0and promote\u00a0global peace and security.<\/p>\n

In this context, I strongly urge Member States to engage in today\u2019s debate with a proactive, solution-oriented\u00a0posture\u00a0\u2013 mindful of all Member States\u2019 responsibility to exert every effort to avert further violence and\u00a0to\u00a0save lives.<\/b><\/p>\n

Excellencies,<\/i><\/p>\n

While I welcome the introduction and utility of the \u201cVeto Initiative\u201d \u2013\u00a0most especially in relation to\u00a0the accountability it seeks to foster \u2013 it is nevertheless deeply regrettable that\u00a0compliant with the rules of procedure,\u00a0this General Assembly must use it at all,\u00a0in connection with\u00a0the current\u00a0deepening\u00a0humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n

As you know, the situation in Gaza is catastrophic. Unconscionable! Shameful!<\/p>\n

I am\u00a0shocked and horrified at the\u00a0reported killing and injury of hundreds of people during disbursement of food supplies, west of Gaza City last week.<\/p>\n

This comes as the death toll in Israel and the Gaza Strip since October 7 has reached the\u00a030,000 mark<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Thousands of children have been killed; they are scrounging for food and watching their childhoods evaporate into the horrors of war.<\/p>\n

Moreover, recent published reports have indicated that a number of babies have died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Countless communities have been decimated.<\/p>\n

Countless families have\u00a0vanished, inter-generationally.<\/p>\n

Countless mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, nieces, and nephews\u2014all gone.\u00a0As the French would say \u201cdisparu<\/b>,\u201d, disappeared!!<\/p>\n

Their dreams extinguished, their potential lost forever, \u2013 and their futures obliterated.<\/p>\n

Eighty-five percent of Gaza\u2019s population \u2013 or 1.9 million people<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 are internally displaced.<\/p>\n

Nearly 1.5 million<\/b>\u00a0of them now reside in Rafah \u2013\u00a0that is,\u00a0more than six times the population prior to 7 October.<\/p>\n

I repeat, six times.<\/b><\/p>\n

I am deeply concerned about intensified Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, including in residential areas.<\/p>\n

In the words of UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, any ground operation \u2013 in such a densely populated area \u2013 would \u201cleave an already fragile humanitarian operation at\u00a0death\u2019s door\u201d.<\/b><\/p>\n

I, therefore, urgently call for maximum restraint to prevail in order to save innocent civilian lives.<\/p>\n

Israeli restrictions on the humanitarian access have drastically reduced the flow of lifesaving aid to a mere trickle.<\/p>\n

UNRWA reports a significant\u00a050% reduction<\/b>\u00a0in the number of trucks entering Gaza daily from January to February.<\/p>\n

It is therefore essential that we rapidly and substantially increase the scale of humanitarian operations \u2013 and ensure unrestricted access to all civilians in need.<\/p>\n

Excellencies,<\/i><\/p>\n

The will of the international community \u2013 as already expressed in the vote by the overwhelming majority of this General Assembly\u2019s membership \u2013 is unambiguous, clear and resolute.<\/p>\n

And I feel myself duty bound to reiterate that will here today \u2013 as it cannot continue to go unheeded.<\/p>\n

First<\/b>\u00a0and foremost, an immediate humanitarian ceasefire must be implemented. The bombardment must stop,\u00a0now<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Second<\/b>, all parties must comply with their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, especially\u00a0as it relates to\u00a0the protection of civilians and civilian facilities.<\/p>\n

Third<\/b>, all hostages must be immediately and unconditionally released.<\/p>\n

And\u00a0finally<\/b>, full and unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance by those in need must be ensured.<\/p>\n

Recalling that under the United Nations Charter, the Security Council acts on behalf of the entire UN membership, I call upon\u00a0all members of the Council, especially the permanent members, to redouble their efforts to reach a consensus that would bring about a safe, just and immediate response, compliant with these demands.<\/p>\n

All parties must do their utmost to meet these demands \u2013 and both preserve and save lives.<\/p>\n

Excellencies,<\/i><\/p>\n

Distinguished delegates,<\/i><\/p>\n

Let me close with a reminder that this week marks a grim milestone:\u00a0150 days of violence.<\/b><\/p>\n

150 days of violence breeding violence, despair, destruction, and devastation, and the dehumanization of people.<\/p>\n

Each day this painful reality continues to entrench the feeling of frustration and disillusionment \u2013 especially by those\u00a0 caught in the crossfire, and who look to the United Nations as a guarantor of the good.<\/p>\n

Each day that passes risks a deepening failure to meet our moral duties and obligations; and each life lost adds to the stain on our collective conscience.<\/p>\n

With resolve and urgency, let us\u00a0<\/span>therefore work much harder to immediately end this conflict and to\u00a0lay down the foundations\u00a0for a future where Israel and the State of Palestine can co-exist peacefully\u00a0<\/s>\u2014 two States living side by side in harmony, united by a\u00a0single shared vision for a brighter, more hopeful destiny.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an outcome of the deliberations today \u2013 and as per previous practice \u2013 my Office will share a summary with the President of the\u00a0Security Council\u00a0<\/span>and the entire UN membership.<\/p>\n

I thank you.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 04, 2024 Remarks by President of the General Assembly, H.E. Dennis Francis, at the General Assembly Plenary Meeting on the Use of the Veto 4 March 2024 [As delivered] Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, From the inception of the United Nations in 1945, the General Assembly and the Security Council, both share a single overarching\u00a0duty: \u201cto […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2637],"document-source":[1365],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2517,1769,1829,2265,2005,1741],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-294010","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-remarks","document-source-general-assembly","document-subject-access-and-movement","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-casualties","document-subject-ceasefire","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/294010","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\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/294010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":294030,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/294010\/revisions\/294030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=294010"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=294010"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=294010"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=294010"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=294010"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=294010"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=294010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}