‘The Security Council has failed’ says the Maldives at the UNSC open debate on the Middle East
24 January 2024
‘The Security Council has failed’ says the Ambassador of the Maldives to the United Nations, Dr. Ali Naseer Mohamed, in a statement delivered at the United Nation Security Council open debate on ‘the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question’, convened at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 24 January 2024, Wednesday.
In his statement, Ambassador Ali Naseer stated that the refusal of the Council to call for a ceasefire is perpetuating a potentially genocidal war against the Palestinian people by the most powerful military in the Middle East, and expressed astonishment at the Council’s failure in upholding its responsibilities towards maintaining global peace and security.
Ambassador Ali Naseer reiterated the support of Maldives for South Africa’s application to the International Court of Justice on 29 December 2023 requesting to declare that Israel is in breach of the 1948 ‘Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide’, and noted that an expedited response by the ICJ will enable urgent action against the breaches of international human rights and international humanitarian law.
Concluding his statement, Ambassador Ali Naseer called on the Council to utilize the knowledge accumulated by the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and other United Nations agencies on conflict resolution and management in the Middle East, and called for stronger engagement by the UN in promoting dialogue and mediation.
