Statement by Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations Samuel Žbogar at the UNSC meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question

Thank you very much Mr. President.

I want to thank Director Jácome for her briefing and I also want to thank USG Fletcher for his really powerful testimony. And I want to thank him for confronting us with our responsibility or even more important – with our conscience.

As Slovenia, we do keep asking ourselves: “Are we doing enough?” And probably and obviously, not. But we keep trying and we will continue to try.

Mr. President,

For 19 months, messages of the humanitarian community have echoed through the walls of this Council. Warnings, asks, pleas, and principles repeated time and again. Today, the consequences of ignoring these pleas are starkly visible. More than 15.000 children have died – each a tragic reminder of our collective failure. We fear that this war and absence of our decisive reaction to it could change the way wars are being fought in the future. So we clearly want to say: Wars have rules and Gaza is no exception. 

Our calls today are simple.

Number one: Lift the blockade and stop the starvation. Two months into the absolute denial of humanitarian aid to the territory, stocks inside Gaza that keep the people alive are depleted. Stocks outside are waiting and going bad. Yesterday, the IPC Partnership delivered an alarm with a sobering message. Two million people are heading into famine.

Half a million are already starving, right now, as we speak. A rock bottom of humanity and dignity has been reached. Blocking aid kills. Starvation as a method of warfare is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law and is codified as a war crime. Failing to agree on an immediate and sustained cessation of hostilities and immediate resumption of humanitarian aid will be measured in lives lost, systems collapsed, and people pushed beyond the brink.

Number two: Respect humanitarian principles. Humanitarian action, including aid delivery, must be based on the established principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. These principles ensure effective and ethical delivery of aid in any conflict zone. They prevent humanitarian aid from being used as an instrument of war. We reject any model which does not meet the minimum bar for principled humanitarian support, including the one recently outlined by Israel.

I want to state Slovenia’s clear support to the aid distribution system established and carried out by the UN and its humanitarian partners, and in conformity with international humanitarian law. The long-established network of UN agencies and NGOs, including UNRWA, WFP, and others, must remain the backbone of the response.

Number three: Spare lives that save lives. We are appalled by the recent attacks on humanitarian workers, whose sole mission is to deliver life-saving assistance. This encompasses the attack on an aid ship outside the territorial waters of Malta. 

United Nations, including UNRWA, and all humanitarian workers must be allowed to carry out their work in a safe and secure manner. This is simply paramount for every single humanitarian action, among others the polio vaccination campaign which has been postponed despite crucial needs. The number of incidents leading to deaths and serious injuries of humanitarian workers is unacceptable. We call for their protection and for accountability for all past incidents. As Assistant Secretary-General Msuya in front of this very audience rightly said recently, there is no lack of legal protection for humanitarian workers, but there is lack of political will. 

Mr. President,

Slovenia is convinced that further military escalation in Gaza would only exacerbate an already catastrophic situation for the civilian Palestinian population and threaten the lives of the hostages that remain in captivity.

The notion of humanity in Gaza is being crushed before our eyes. Our final plea is the one we have been repeating consistently. It is the beginning to an end to the suffering of the people in Gaza, including those taken hostage. It is never too late to change the course, to end this stain on our humanity and dignity. This war must end.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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