Átökin á Gaza verða ekki leyst nema í samhengi við friðarferlið
Umræða á neyðarfundi allsherjarþings Sameinuðu þjóðanna vegna ástandsins á Gaza hélt áfram í dag. Emil Breki Hreggviðsson, varafastafulltrúi, flutti ræðu fyrir Íslands hönd. Þar kom m.a. fram að átökin á Gaza þarf að leysa í samhengi við sjálft friðarferlið í Mið-Austurlöndum. Friðarferlið verður að hefja á ný, með fulltingi alþjóðasamfélagsins og Sameinuðu þjóðanna.
Í ræðunni ítrekaði Emil Breki fordæmingu íslenskra stjórnvalda á ofbeldinu í Mið-Austurlöndum. Árásum Hamas-liða á ísraelska borgara yrði að hætta. Brot eins aðila á alþjóðalögum heimiluðu ekki öðrum að brjóta þau líka. Árásir Ísraelshers á óbreytta borgara á Gaza, skóla, spítala og moskur væru óásættanlegar og brot á alþjóðalögum mannúðarlögum.
Í ræðunni var vitnað í upplýsingar SÞ og Rauða krossins af hörmulegum aðstæðum á svæðinu, þar sem fólk deyr af sárum sínum og sjúkraflutningar komast ekki óhindrað um svæðið. Krafist var af Ísrael að lyfta varanlega hömlum á sjúkraflutninga og neyðaraðstoð.
Mikilvægt starf Flóttamannastofnunar SÞ fyrir Palestínuflóttamenn (UNRWA) á Gaza svæðinu var áréttað og tekið undir áskorun öryggisráðsins um aukinn stuðning til stofnunarinnar. Árás Ísraelshers á höfuðstöðvar UNRWA á Gaza í gærmorgun var harðlega fordæmd og skýringa krafist á þeim fjölda árása sem Sameinuðu þjóðirnar hafa orðið fyrir í átökum síðustu þriggja vikna.
Ræðan er hér að neðan (á ensku). Einnig má horfa á hana á vefútsendingu Sameinuðu þjóðanna: http://www.un.org/webcast/
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Statement by Mr. Emil Breki Hreggvidsson
Deputy Permanent Respresentative of Iceland to the United Nations
General Assembly
Special Emergency Session: Illegal Israeli actions in the Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory
16 January 2009
Mr. President,
Iceland firmly supports calls by the UN Secretary-General for both sides to stop the fighting immediately. But the Gaza conflict cannot be addressed as a stand-alone issue. While we must acknowledge the urgency to stop the immediate crisis, we must also put our calls in a broader context of imperatives for sustainable peace: First and foremost the urgent recommencement of the Peace Process; intra-Palestinian reconciliation; the ending of the blockade on Gaza as well as the ending of the closure regime in the West Bank.
The Peace Process must recommence with the active involvement of the UN and the international community. A new approach is needed to find a way out of the impasse. The Arab Peace Initiative is promising but such an international process needs the full commitment of all parties involved. Iceland renews its call for the better inclusion of women in the peace process in accordance to Security Council Resolution 1325.
Mr. President,
The firing of rockets from Gaza to terrorize Israeli civilians must stop. Iceland has condemned these rocket attacks. Hamas bears a heavy responsibility for drawing civilians into the conflict zone.
This said, Mr. President, one side’s breach of international law does not exempt another from abiding by it. Iceland has already condemned the targeting of civilian homes, schools, hospitals and mosques; this is in violation of international humanitarian law. Growing pockets of the population are trapped in their homes and aid organisations are unable to access them, according to OCHA. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), states that “wounded people have been abandoned and left to suffer alone, unable to reach hospitals and inaccessible to ambulances and medical workers. Some wounded have even died because ambulances did not receive the required clearances to reach them in time”. We call on Israel to permanently remove restrictions on medical teams and humanitarian aid.
Mr. President,
Iceland stresses the importance of UNRWA’s work in the region, especially for Gaza’s inhabitants, whose vast majority are Palestine refugees. We welcome the Security Council’s call to Member States for additional contributions to the Agency in Resolution 1860. We strongly condemn Israel’s attack, yesterday, on UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza, where seven hundred civilians had sought shelter from the shelling and vital supplies were stored. We, UN Member States, must demand full explanation for the number of attacks the United Nations have suffered in Gaza in the past three weeks. These attacks are unacceptable.
Mr. President,
We must break out of this vicious cycle of violence. The international community must play the role of a good physiscian and do its best to remedy the cause of the conflict. At the same time, Israel and Palestinians must refrain from actions that inflame the symptoms.
This emergency session of the General Assembly should lend its full support for the call for ceasefire in Security Council Resolution 1860 and its immediate implementation.
Thank you, Mr. President.