United Nations (TDI): Pakistan has warned that the United Nations Security Council was failing to provide relief to the Palestinians who continue to suffer in occupied territories from deadly Israeli bombings, starvation, displacement and collective punishment.
“What is happening before our eyes is a travesty — It is unacceptable — the UNSC must act,” Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told the 15-member Council which met again in emergency session on Thursday to discuss the worsening situation in occupied Palestinian territories.
“We cannot be part of a body that merely watches and does nothing. We refuse to be complicit in this moral failure and the erosion of humanity,” he said.
Algeria, with the support of Pakistan, China, Russia and Somalia convened the meeting in the wake of the recent discovery of a mass grave in Gaza in which the bodies of fifteen humanitarian workers were interred.
The current grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza and beyond reflects the UNSC’s inaction, which is setting a dangerous precedent, Ambassador Asim said.
Given the impunity with which Israel is violating all norms of civilized conduct including UNSC resolutions, ceasefire deal, international law, UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions, the Palestinian people are left questioning whether the Security Council will ever take meaningful measures or merely be confined to lamenting their suffering.
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“Our failure (to act) not only exacerbate this institution but also erodes the international order built on the United Nations charter,” the Pakistani envoy said.
He added, “The UNSC must reaffirm its relevance by enforcing its own decisions before it becomes irrelevant.”
Read More: Pakistan Urges UNSC to Act on Attacks Against Aid Workers
While Gaza burns, the West Bank witnesses its own Nakba, he said, pointing out that more than forty thousand Palestinians have been driven from their home, 99 lives lost since January, with Israel’s intending to permanently colonize and annex the occupied territory.
