Dublin, 12 March 2024 (TDI): Irish President Michael D. Higgins, in an urgent, assertive, and persuasive statement, has condemned persistent aid obstructions in Gaza. He has also denounced the associated ‘propaganda campaign’ against the UN and the professionals in UNRWA.
Flour Massacre and aid obstructions
In the backdrop of the flour massacre orchestrated by Israel, the President commented that “the situation we are now witnessing in Gaza is one from which the global public must not be distracted or avert its gaze.”
He has condemned that the blockading of food and aid must immediately be stopped as it is a matter of life and death.
Aid that could be delivered immediately is scandalously being blocked and those responsible for doing so must take responsibility for the deaths that are ensuing, he further affirmed.
He has emphasized that “as the world watches Gaza descend yet deeper towards famine and ever greater loss of life, it is vital that every country in the world now does all in its power to ensure that a humanitarian disaster in its most extreme sense is avoided.”
Propaganda campaign against UNRWA
President Higgins pinpointed the severe propaganda that “all members of the United Nations should be concerned and take notice of the statement made by the Commissioner General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, that there has been little less than a campaign against UNRWA.”
He has clearly outlined the concerns that it is a campaign which could have the effect of undermining the role of the UN in the present circumstances and in relation to the future of Gaza.
He has condemned that such actions are taken by “some of the strongest economies in the world.”
Also Read: UNRWA Commissioner-General’s statement to General Assembly
He furthered proclaimed that countries who have stopped UNRWA funding “must take account of what is now being shown on the television screens of the world for all to see – infant children dying from lack of oxygen, many more dying from malnutrition and all of this set to escalate.”
Moreover, he has also condemned the approval of new settlements by Israel which have been referred by Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as a war crime.
Halting Rafah campaign
Lastly, he has seriously warned about the implications of an extension of the military campaign into Rafah. “No one now or in the future can say they didn’t know what the consequences of inaction would be’, Irish President added.
Therefore, “it is time for the world to put an end to this loss of life, to remember our shared humanity, listen to the peacemakers and commit all of its efforts to bringing this crisis to an end and ensuring an appropriate long term settlement is reached,” he concluded.
