New York : Highlighting the ”apocalyptic’ humanitarian conditions in Gaza, Pakistan has underscored the urgent need to put an end to Israel’s genocidal war in besieged enclave and for steps to alleviate civilians’ suffering, as the UN General Assembly resumed its Special Session on the situation in Palestine.
Speaking in the 193-member Assembly, Ambassador Munir Akram voiced Pakistan’s “deep dismay” over the U.S. veto on UN Security Council resolution, sponsored by it’s 10 elected members, that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, saying, “There is no rationale that can justify blocking a decision designed to stop the slaughter of helpless Palestinians.”
“The General Assembly must now exercise its responsibility, in accordance with the Charter, to demand an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and the implementation of the several resolutions adopted on this conflict by the Security Council and the General Assembly, as well as the adjudication by the International Court of Justice,” the Pakistani envoy emphasized.
Other delegates also opposed the use of the veto in the situation in the Gaza Strip and urged a depoliticization of events in the region.
Regretting that for over a year people have endured ‘a relentless cycle of death, destruction and displacement’, the General Assembly President, Philemon Yang of Cameroon, who opened the debate, said: ‘The horror in Gaza must end’.
In his remarks, Ambassador Akram said, “For over 400 days, the world has witnessed the indiscriminate slaughter of the Palestinian population of Gaza,” pointing out that forty-four thousand, mostly women and children, have been killed, while over one hundred thousand injured.
Pakistan, he said, welcomes the ceasefire in Lebanon, “But the slaughter continues in Gaza – as do strikes in Syria,” warning that the danger of a wider war continues to loom large over the entire Middle East.
Backing UNWRA, the world body’s agency for Palestinian refugees, Ambassador Akram condemned Israel’s efforts to halt its operations, asserting that it is the only organization capable of assuring humanitarian assistance and relief to the people in Gaza, the West Bank and elsewhere.