Statement on the situation in Yemen
13 February 2025 – Statement by the Republic of Slovenia at the meeting on the situation in the Middle East, Yemen
Statement by the Republic of Slovenia at the meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question
Thank you Mr. President.
I thank USG Fletcher and Ms. Nateel for their powerful briefings.
Children in Gaza have experienced unspeakable horrors. Many lost their families, their homes, their schools. Too many are missing, either lost, disappeared, detained or buried. Far too many are maimed or killed. Basically all children in Gaza are traumatized for life.
Like everywhere else, in Gaza, children are the future. The future of Palestine. And to rebuild Gaza into place of living, place of hope and lasting peace, we must ensure that its people’s trauma is not perpetrated. We once again welcome the ceasefire agreement and urge all parties to fully uphold their commitments. We must make sure that this ceasefire translates into lasting peace. Children of Gaza deserve this.
Firstly, children in Gaza must be freed from deprivation. Safe, sustained and unimpeded access to large-scale humanitarian aid must be guaranteed to ease their pain and treat the widespread malnutrition. Access constraints need to be lifted and security and stability must be guaranteed. A full range of supplies, including water, food, shelter, medical supplies, fuel, and winter essentials, must be allowed into Gaza. These must be accompanied with materials for the restoration of critical civilian infrastructure – water supplies, hospitals, schools, housing and markets. Additionally, children must have the means and the opportunities to be reunited with their family members.
Secondly, children in Gaza need access to health services. Healthcare in Gaza has been under attack, rendering the majority of hospitals and health centers out of service and the rest only partially functioning. Such situation is leaving newborns and pregnant women without access to vital services of pre- and postnatal care, so urgently needed in the beginning of a child’s life. In face of the disproportionate impact of war on children, access to basic healthcare is crucial for their survival and development.
This is not optional – it is an obligation of Israel, as the occupying power, under the Convention on the Rights of the Child to protect every child’s rights to life, survival and development, health, and physical and psychological recovery. It must be guaranteed, including through medical evacuations.
Whether facing hunger or acute malnutrition, amputations and war-wounds or lifelong trauma, children in Gaza need access to long-term specialist care, including prosthetics and assertive technologies, and mental-health services. As WHO underscored, life-changing injuries in Gaza require rehabilitation services “now and for years to come.” For years, Slovenia has been engaged in providing medical rehabilitation and psychosocial support to over 200 children from Gaza. Most recently, a group of 10 children was evacuated from Egypt in October.
According to Save the Children, in 2024, an average of 15 children a day were left with potentially life-long disabilities due to explosive weapons. We underline the urgent need to prevent any further injuries or deaths, including by clearing explosive remnants of war.
Thirdly, we need to give these children an opportunity to build a better life for themselves. This generation of children is missing out on their second school year, with close to all of their schools being either damaged or destroyed. Education system must be rebuilt. It is essential to ensure children have access to safe spaces for learning, development and play. No society could ever be successful without access to education. A rebuilt Gaza must stand on pillars of better opportunities. We therefore repeat the essential role of UNRWA in human development. Now is the time to strengthen the Agency that offers basic services, not undermine it.
Mr. President,
Children are the biggest victims of any war. We therefore encourage listed parties in the Secretary-General’s annual report on children and armed conflict to initiate a dialogue with the UN for the development, adoption and implementation of action plans to end and prevent grave violations against children.
Ms. Nateel,
We were touched by carefully crafted words in your writings. In Slovenia’s book of life, we always acknowledged Palestinians, and in fact every human being, as more than just numbers and names. Images of children in Gaza during this war have been our constant reminder not to give up on peace.
Now that the ceasefire agreement is in place, many of children have nowhere to go and no one to return to. Their stories and struggles remind us that despite the recent breakthrough our work has not yet finished. This Council must continue working on a pathway to lasting peace and the two-state solution. Only then there will be also a peaceful future for children in Palestine, Israel and the region.
I thank you Mr. President.
13 February 2025 – Statement by the Republic of Slovenia at the meeting on the situation in the Middle East, Yemen
12 February 2025 – Statement by Representative of Slovenia to the UN Security Council Ambassador Samuel Žbogar at the meeting on the situation in the Middle East, Syria
11 February 2025 – Statement by Ambassador Samuel Žbogar, Chargé d’ affaires, at the 63rd Session of the Commission for Social Development, Agenda item 3(a) and (b), general discussion