NEW YORK: A senior Pakistani diplomat has warned that the UN Security Council was failing to provide relief to the Palestinians who continue to suffer in occupied territories from deadly Israeli bombings, starvation, displacement and collective punishment, as he sounded a clarion call for action to redress the situation.
“What is happening before our eyes is a travesty — It is unacceptable — the Council must act,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the 15-member Council which met again in emergency session on Thursday to discuss the worsening situation in occupied Palestinian territories. “We cannot be part of a body that remains a mere spectator and does nothing; We refuse to be part of this moral bankruptcy, and … ‘erosion of humanity’,” he said in a emotion-charged speech.
Algeria — with the backing of Pakistan, China, Russian and Somalia — convened the meeting in the wake of the recent discovery of a mass grave in Gaza — in which the bodies of 15 humanitarian workers were interred,
The ongoing grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza and beyond reflects the Security Council’s inaction, which is setting a dangerous precedent, Ambassador Asim insisted. Given the impunity with which Israel is violating all norms of civilized conduct including UN Security Council resolutions, ceasefire agreement, international law, UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions, the Palestinian people are left questioning whether the Security Council will ever take meaningful steps or merely be confined to lamenting their suffering.
“Our failure (to act) not only undermines this institution but also erodes the international order built on the UN Charter,” the Pakistani envoy said. “The Council must assert its relevance by ensuring the implementation of its own decisions before it is rendered inconsequential.”
“While Gaza burns, the West Bank witnesses its own Nakba,” he said, pointing out that over 40,000 Palestinians have been driven from their home, ninety-nine lives lost since January, with Israel’s intending to permanently colonize and annex the occupied
“Equally concerning are Israel’s plans to seize territory in Gaza, including the establishment of a so-called “security corridor, ” the Pakistani envoy said, warning that this would be a dangerous escalation and a violation of international law.
“We also condemn the Israel’s deliberate violation of Al-Aqsa Mosque’s sanctity—an act of provocation and a clear breach of religious freedom protections under international law.”
Gaza, he said, has descended into an abyss of suffering, which is manifest from the way unarmed civilians including children, and women, humanitarian workers, UN personnel, and journalists as well as civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and schools are being attacked indiscriminately.
“Nothing is spared – not even the historic cultural sites. It is total annihilation, a situation where fundamental principles of humanitarian law are being disregarded with impunity,” he stated.
Ambassador Asim said that since breaking the ceasefire last month, Israel has killed over 1,100 Palestinians, adding to the more than 50,000 slaughtered between October 2023 and January 2025— including 17,000 children. “This is not just warfare; it is the systematic destruction of a people.” –Agencies
He highlighted that for a month now, Israel has sealed all border crossings, blocking humanitarian aid with no food or medical supplies being allowed entry in Gaza. He said that according to UNICEF, one million children are without basic necessities, while WFP warns of imminent famine.
“Starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime,” he warned.
Condemning the deliberate targeting of aid convoys including the killing of 15 humanitarian workers on March 23, Ambassador Asim pointed out that more than 400 humanitarian workers, including 284 personnel of UNRWA, the agency to assist Palestinians, have been killed—the highest toll in modern history.
“When UN staff and humanitarian workers are gunned down with impunity, we must ask: what remains of the global order we built from the ashes of World War II?,” he posed the question to the delegates.
