79th UNGA Session – World Leaders Highlight Israeli ‘War Crimes’, Call for UN Reform 

September 30, 2024 Blog, News
United Nations General Assembly hall in New York City. (Photo: Patrick Gruban, via Wikimedia Commons)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The 79th UN General Assembly, which brought together leaders and representatives from 193 UN member states in New York for one week in September, was marked by Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Lebanon and calls for reform of the organization.

The major diplomatic event, held from September 24 – 30, welcomed 76 heads of state, four princes, two heads of government, 42 deputy prime ministers, nine ministers, 54 deputy ministers and the European Union delegation, according to the Anadolu news agency.

It’s Genocide – Iran

Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian president said that the world has witnessed Israeli atrocities in Gaza, which “in eleven months has murdered in cold blood over 41,000 innocent people, mostly women and children.”

 

“Its leaders label this genocide; the killing of children, war crimes, and state-terrorism as ‘legitimate self-defense’; they label hospitals, kindergartens, and schools as ‘legitimate military targets’; they label the freedom-loving and brave people around the world who protest against their genocide as ‘anti-Semitic’; they label an oppressed people, who have stood up against seven decades of occupation and humiliation, as ‘terrorists’.”

Pezeshkian said “Israel has been defeated in Gaza and no amount of barbaric violence can restore its myth of invincibility. “

He also pointed out that “blind Israeli state terrorism over the past few days in Lebanon followed by a massive aggression with thousands of victims cannot go unanswered.”

“The responsibility for all consequences will be born by those who have thwarted all global efforts to end this horrific catastrophe, and have the audacity to call themselves champions of human rights,” he said.

Israel Must Be Stopped – Türkiye

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the international community to take action regarding the Gaza crisis, pointing out that the situation in the enclave highlights the UN’s failure to fulfill its duties.

“We observe with regret that in recent years, the United Nations is struggling to fulfill its founding mission and is gradually turning into a dysfunctional, unwieldy and inert structure,” Erdogan said.

He recalled his slogan “The world is bigger than five,” referring to the UN Security Council’s unrepresentative membership, the report said.

“I am asking you frankly from here…Human rights organizations! Are those in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, not human beings? The children in Palestine, do they not have the right to study, live, and play in the streets,” he asked.

“International media organizations! The journalists that Israel massacred on live television, whose offices were raided, are they not your colleagues?” Erdogan added.

To the UN Security Council, he said “What are you waiting for to prevent the genocide in Gaza and to put a ‘stop’ to this cruelty, this barbarism?”

“What more are you waiting for to stop the massacre network that endangers also the lives of its own citizens along with the Palestinian people and drags the entire region into war for the sake of its political prospects?” the president continued.

He further asked of “those who unconditionally support Israel,” for how long “will you continue to bear the shame of looking on this massacre, of being its accomplices?”

“Just as Hitler was stopped by the alliance of humanity 70 years ago, Netanyahu and his murder network must be stopped by the alliance of humanity,” he asserted.

‘We Will Not Remain Silent’ – South Africa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Palestinians continue to be subjected to “more than half a century of apartheid.”

“We will not remain silent and watch as apartheid is perpetrated against others,” he stressed.

 

“The Security Council has not fulfilled its mandate to maintain international peace and security,” Ramaphosa stated, adding the Council “must be reformed as a matter of urgency. It must become more inclusive so that the voices of all nations are heard and considered.”

Greatest Humanitarian Crisis – Brazil

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva emphasized the need to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon.

“In Gaza and the West Bank, we are witnessing one of the greatest humanitarian crises in recent history, now spreading dangerously to Lebanon,” Lula said.

 

Pointing out the “collective punishment” of the entire Palestinian people, he said that “The right to defense has become the right to vengeance,”

He proposed a “comprehensive review” of the UN Charter and called for urgent reforms within the organization itself.

Lula advocated for the Security Council to reconsider its exclusionary practices regarding permanent seats for Latin American and African countries.

“The exclusion of Latin America and Africa from permanent seats on the Security Council is an unacceptable echo of domination from the colonial past,” the Brazilian president said.

Murder of Civilians Must Stop Russia

Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, said “The murder of Palestinian civilians by US weapons must stop.”

 

He emphasized that the delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave “must be ensured, the restoration of infrastructure must be arranged and, most importantly, the implementation of the legitimate right of self-determination of the Palestinians must be guaranteed, and they must be allowed to establish a territorially integral and viable state within the borders of 1967 with its capital in East Jerusalem, not in words but in deeds, ‘on the ground’.”

Lavrov added “Another blatant example of the use of terrorist methods to achieve political goals is the attack on Lebanon, in which civilian technology was turned into a deadly weapon. This crime must be investigated immediately.”

He added, “It is already impossible to ignore the numerous publications in the media, including in Europe and the United States, which prove the various levels of Washington’s involvement and, at the very least, its awareness of the preparation of a terrorist attack.”

Biggest Wound to Human Counsciousness – China

The Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Yi, said “The question of Palestine is the biggest wound to human consciousness. Might can not replace justice. Historical injustice suffered by Palestinian people should not be ignored anymore.”

Crime of Extermination – Venezuela

Yvan Gil Pinto, Foreign Affairs Minister of Venezuela, said: “As we speak in this Assembly, bombs are being dropped on Gaza, where Israel has murdered tens of thousands of innocent girls, boys, women and men, with the complicity of the governments of the United States of America and the European Union.”

He said that the “greatest crime of extermination and genocide since the one committed by Hitler in the Second World War is currently being perpetrated.”

 

“Today, they intend to export their hatred and destruction to an entire region, bombing and murdering innocent people in Lebanon and Syria, as they try to destabilize the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is a real threat to both humanity and world peace,” he added.

“A new form of terrorism has been applied to Lebanon, with the complicity of private companies that manage the supply chains of mass consumer technologies. It sets a severe precedent, putting global security at risk. They also bomb civilian infrastructure in that brotherly country, killing innocent people, just as they do in Gaza. Israel has truly become a death machine that must be stopped immediately.”

Barbaric and Heinous Assault – Qatar

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani described Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza as “the most barbaric and heinous and extensive in breaching human values, international charters and norms.”

He called for an end to the attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, accusing Israel of committing genocide.

“This is not a war as commonly understood in international relations, but a crime of genocide, by means sophisticated weapons against a people trapped in a detention camp, where there is no escape from a barrage of aerial bombing,” he said.

The Emir said it was unfortunate that “the Security Council has failed to implement its ceasefire resolution in the Gaza Strip and to refrain from granting the state of Palestine full membership status in the United Nations despite the General Assembly’s adoption of a resolution supporting Palestine’s request for UN membership last May.”

He added, “The State of Palestine’s full UN membership neither establishes its sovereignty nor ends the occupation, but at least it sends a clear message to the far-right government involved in challenging international legitimacy that force does not eliminate rights.”

Occupying Usurpers – Palestine

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared that “Palestine will remain ours. And if anyone were to leave, it will be the occupying usurpers.”

He highlighted that Palestinians have endured nearly a year of Israel’s “crime.”

“It is the crime of a full-scale war of genocide that Israel is perpetrating. A crime that has killed more than 40,000 martyrs in Gaza alone, and thousands remain under the rubble. A crime that has injured more than 100,000 injured to this day,” Abbas stressed.

He implored, “Stop this crime, stop it now. Stop killing children and women. Stop the genocide. Stop sending weapons to Israel. This madness cannot continue.”

Israel is Committing Genocide – Namibia

President of the Republic of Namibia, Nangolo Mbumba said: “As a country that has endured genocide, Namibia believes that Israel, by intent and by action, is committing genocide.”

Destroying Humanity – Colombia

Gustavo Petro Urrego, President of Colombia, said: “A year ago I called for a peace conference for Palestine on this very spot, before the first bomb had even gone off.

“Today we have 20,000 children murdered under the bombs while the presidents of human destruction countries are laughing in these corridors, assisted by the communication power of the global media, which today are owned by big capital, rearrange the world without democracy, without freedom.”

He said “Even though we are the majority of the presidents of the world and represent the majority of humanity, we are not listened to by a minority of presidents who can stop the bombing. In other words, we are not being listened to by the presidents of the countries that can destroy humanity.”

Bloodshed and Suffering – Slovenia

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob banged on the General Assembly podium, calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to put an immediate end to the “bloodshed and suffering.”

“I want to say this out loud and clear to the Israeli government: Stop the bloodshed, stop the suffering, bring the hostages home, and end the occupation,” Golob demanded. “Mr. Netanyahu, stop this war now.”

Systematic Slaughter – Pakistan

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also pounded his fist on the table and condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon, describing them as a “systematic slaughter of innocent people.”

“This is not just a conflict; this is systematic slaughter of innocent people of Palestine; an assault on the very essence of human life and dignity.ِ”

“Can we, as human beings, remain silent while children lie buried under the rubble of their shattered homes?ِ Can we turn a blind eye to the mothers, cradling the lifeless bodies of their children?ِ” he asked.

“We must work for a durable peace through the two-state solution. We must seek a viable, secure, contiguous and sovereign state of Palestine,” Sharif emphasized. “And to advance these goals, Palestine must also be immediately admitted as a full member of the United Nations.”

Unprecedented Scale of Terror – Jordan

Jordan’s King Abdullah II said, “The attacks of October 7 on Israeli civilians last year were condemned by countries all over the world, including Jordan, but the unprecedented scale of terror unleashed on Gaza since that day is beyond any justification.”

“This Israeli government has killed more children, more journalists, more aid workers and more medical personnel than any other war in recent memory,” he stated, adding that the world and history would judge its leaders.

Step Back from Brink – United Kingdom

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Israel to “stop the violence. Step back from the brink,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said the war on Gaza “has gone on too long,” urging Israel to also “cease escalation in Lebanon.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who received standing ovations in the US Congress in July, faced protests at the UN General Assembly, which represents the international community.

Many delegations walked out of the hall in protest during his speech, leaving Netanyahu to address a nearly empty hall, with applause coming primarily from the gallery reserved for guests, filled with Israel’s delegation and their invitees.

(PC, Anadolu)

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