“In a world marked by turbulence, division and uncertainty, the United Nations is more necessary than ever.”
That statement by UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres on the organization’s website touting its 81st General Assembly meeting in New York was an issue raised by world leaders Sept. 22-26 as genocide in Palestine took a prominent position in statements delivered by presidents and heads of state.
Is the UN still relevant in an era of war and the genocide of the Palestinian people?
The president of France condemned the genocide being carried out by Israel on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank while also questioning the credibility and effectiveness of the world body.
“One year ago, several dozen states in the United Nations recognized Palestine,” a passionate Emmanuel Macron told heads of state Sept. 22. “You recognized it on paper. … But what is our credibility worth if we remain inactive on Gaza?”
Mr. Macron pointed out Israel’s daily violations of international law. He referenced the violence by Israeli settlers with the military’s support on Palestinians in the West Bank and the continued bombing of civilians in Gaza.
“What we need is respect for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, their legitimate right to exist,” he said, describing the situation in Palestine as “shameful.”
Denouncing the attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, an action that Israel claims justifies its genocidal response, UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres said Israel’s “scale of killing and destruction” is unlike anything he has seen in his years as secretary-general.
He said Israel has ignored and violated legally binding provisions by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In past statements, he has cited Israel’s killing more humanitarian and aid workers in Gaza, claiming the deaths mark the highest loss of life in a single crisis in UN history.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports 560-595 humanitarian and aid workers have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza and the West Bank since Oct. 7, 2023.
“Violence, displacement and settlement expansion by Israel in the Occupied West Bank are bulldozing the path to peace and raising the specter of ethnic cleansing. We cannot allow the two-State solution to disappear before our eyes,” he said.
Turkiye President Recep Tayyib Erdogan called Gaza “the world’s largest graveyard for children” and a place where the highest rate for child amputees exists. He said despite an internationally recognized ceasefire in Gaza and Hamas’s agreement to move to the second phase of the peace plan established by the U.S., “the Israeli Government is unwilling to halt the occupation.”
In its 81-year existence, “the UN has become unable to fulfill this mission,” he said.
Qatar, the Gulf nation instrumental in helping to negotiate past disputes and currently involved in helping to resolve the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, said the “arrogance and hubris” of Israel has affected the security of the Gulf region.
“Future generations will be astonished by the enormous gap between the scale of the catastrophe and the level of the international response to stop it. The law must apply equally to all,” said Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.
Speaking for the UK and Northern Ireland, Prime Minister Andy Burnham condemned Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,200 concert goers and 251 hostages, but said that does not justify Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians. To date, over 73,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
He said a construction project planned by Israel would divide the West Bank to the point of making a two-state solution beyond reach.
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama questioned the “might makes right” attitude of some superpower nations and using veto power as a “license for impunity.” The Palestinian genocide highlights the UN’s crisis of credibility, he said.
“We must stop using diplomatic euphemisms to veil the human carnage taking place in Gaza. How many more innocent lives must be lost before the world acts with decisive moral authority?
The blood of five-year-old Hind Rajab, and the more than 20,000 children killed in this brutal conflict, cries out to the conscience of the world,” he said, referencing the Palestinian child whose car—along with the ambulance and Red Crescent paramedics sent to rescue her—was bombed Jan. 29, 2024.
By Israeli forces as she was on a cell phone call with the Red Crescent. She had initially survived Israeli gunfire that claimed the lives of family members in the vehicle.
Even as criticisms were being launched, Israeli forces were bulldozing olive trees in Palestinian West Bank communities as harvest season approaches and killed seven Palestinians across the region, according to news reports.
In a Sept. 23 incident, an Israeli drone attack on a vehicle near the city of Khan Younis killed two people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified one victim as a senior Hamas finance official, reports said.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s so-called Board of Peace proposed a $2.4 billion plan to begin reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.
Denied an entry visa by the Trump administration, Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, which has “observer status” to the UN, delivered a statement via a pre-recorded video. He declared the denial of entry is a violation of the obligation of the U.S. as the host country and that Palestine had accepted President Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza.
“What is the international community waiting for in order to protect the Palestinian people, ensure their continued presence on their land and … implement the two-state solution on the basis of international legitimacy?” he asked.
He said the destruction of buildings and infrastructure in Gaza is to cause Palestinians to voluntarily leave their land. To the Palestinian people, he said: “You have painted the greatest picture of pride and dignity by holding steadfastly onto your land, your unity, and your legitimate rights. We will not accept displacement, and we will not allow anyone to decide our future on our behalf. We decide for ourselves.”
A flood of delegates rose to exit the assembly when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approached the podium to deliver his message, trying to justify the atrocities of his government.
He leveled unsubstantiated claims against New York Mayor Mamdani for creating an atmosphere of fear for Jews in New York.
Mr. Netanyahu highlighted “the hypocrisy” of Britain and France for calling Israel a colonial state, saying those countries invented the term. He claimed Israel was “a nation of laws.”
“They assure us that Israel is a country governed by laws,” countered Jordan’s King Abdullah bin Al Hussein. “Yet, what is happening on the ground says otherwise.”
He described Israeli soldiers watching or protecting as settlers attack Palestinians and the targeting of international journalists and medical professionals. He criticized the world body for its short attention span that determines which conflicts receive sustained diplomacy and which fade from the agenda.
“For decades, I have stood before this Assembly and warned of the dangers of leaving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict unresolved. But the international community chose to manage the conflict, not confront it,” he said. “If international law can be ignored for decades, then what exactly is that law worth?”
