Briefing reporters on the United States priorities for the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, “We have never given up hope to find a path to peace.” Speaking today (17 Sep) at the UN, Thomas-Greenfield addressed key international issues including the Middle East conflict and the war in Ukraine. On the situation in Gaza, the US ambassador emphasized the US commitment to peace, highlighting President Biden’s efforts over the past year. She reiterated the US support for Israel’s right to self-defense but made it clear the US seeks an end to the ongoing war. “President Biden has put every ounce of effort that he has in his power to try to find a solution, to get us to a ceasefire,” she said, advocating for a two-state solution as the ultimate goal. On Ukraine, the Ambassador was critical of Russia’s role in the Security Council, citing the use of veto power as an impediment to peace. “It’s been a problem,” she said, adding that Russia, as a permanent member of the Security Council, “has broken every single tenant of the charter by invading a neighbor.” Thomas-Greenfield also expressed support for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Peace Plan, calling it a viable strategy that the US is committed to promoting during engagements with world leaders attending the UN General Assembly. Asked about a Palestinian resolution being proposed, Thomas-Greenfield expressed significant concerns. She pointed out that the resolution contains “a significant number of flaws,” particularly in its interpretation of the International Court of Justice’s decisions and its failure to acknowledge Hamas as a terrorist organization. The Ambassador warned that the resolution could “complicate the situation on the ground” and hamper efforts to achieve a two-state solution.
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Occupied Palestinian Territory The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that today its team was able to reach northern Gaza for the first time in four weeks. OCHA was leading an inter-agency assessment mission to Gaza City. However, they were only able to reach the north after being forced to wait for more than five hours before and at the Israeli checkpoint on the Coastal Road. OCHA warns that access to the north remains extremely limited for aid workers from the UN and other organizations. During the first half of this month, out of nearly 50 missions led by seven different UN agencies – all of which had been fully coordinated with the Israeli authorities – only a quarter could cross into the north through the Israeli checkpoints along Wadi Gaza. Even when these missions could cross, they often faced impediments along the way. Some convoys were stopped at gunpoint, shot at, or forced to wait for hours in the middle of a war zone. These incidents posed unacceptable risks to our staff’s safety and prevented these missions from completing their work. OCHA stresses that when humanitarian missions are not facilitated, it deprives Palestinians in Gaza of the food, the water, the shelter, health and other services essential for their survival. People in Gaza need more supplies, including basic items such as soap, to enter the Strip. It is also critical that these humanitarian goods and services reach all parts of Gaza, wherever needed. Without exception, security assurances provided to aid organizations and humanitarian missions must be reliable and fully respected. Haiti Turning to Haiti, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that violence continues to displace families in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. The latest clashes between armed groups in the neighbourhoods of Cité Soleil and Delmas displaced more than 2,000 people last week – and that is just in two days, between September 11 and 13. More than 170,000 people are now displaced in the capital. While most of them are staying with host families, three new temporary sites have sprung up. We and our partners in Haiti continue to support people in need across the country, including by providing food, water and sanitation as well as health care support. The International Organization for Migration also continues to distribute blankets, solar lamps and kitchen kits to displaced people. And as the new school year is approaching, the World Food Programme plans to provide school meals to 495,000 children. Many of these meals will be sourced from local smallholder farmers. The $674 million Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti is currently only 39 per cent funded with $263 million actually received in our bank account. We continue to call for increased support for the humanitarian response to help the Haitian people. Ukraine In Ukraine, we are told by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs that overnight attacks have left hundreds of thousands of people without power in the Sumy region in the north of the country. According to local authorities and the regional power company, 280,000 consumers – which include households, public facilities and businesses – were left without power. Water supply and critical services were also impacted. Water facilities and hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure, are right now running on backup systems. Despite the challenging circumstances, humanitarian organizations continue to provide assistance across the country. In the first seven months of the year we, along with our partners, provided aid to 6.2 million people. Nearly 2.9 million people received food aid; 1.4 million received health services, and 1 million benefitted from winter energy support and the distribution of emergency shelter materials and essential items. The $3 billion Humanitarian Response Plan is currently only 44 per cent funded with $1.37 billion received, leaving a significant gap in addressing the urgently emergency needs and the preparations for winter.
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