WNAM REPORT: The Executive Council of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), at its 219th session held in the French capital, Paris, adopted a third resolution entitled The Impact and Consequences of the Current Situation in the Gaza Strip with Regard to All Aspects of UNESCO’s Mission, after unanimously adopting two resolutions related to the State of Palestine: Occupied Palestine, cultural and educational institutions.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Dr. Riyad Al-Maliki, welcomed the adoption of the resolution, pointing out that the adoption of these resolutions is important to preserve the rights of the Palestinian people in the areas of UNESCO’s work, in light of the crimes and violations committed by Israel, the illegal occupation authority, especially in the Gaza Strip, and ignoring them. International law, international humanitarian law, precautionary and provisional procedures and measures of the International Court of Justice, and in light of the policy of double standards and lack of accountability for crimes of genocide.
Al-Maliki stressed that the adoption of these resolutions is a testament to the ability of the international community to carry out its responsibilities, including by confronting violations and monitoring the damage to implement an urgent action plan to protect the Palestinian people, their cultural heritage and history, which are threatened by Israeli colonialism, and to rebuild and develop the Gaza Strip.
Al-Maliki pointed out that the importance of the resolution lies in its call to assess the destruction of schools, educational facilities, and historical and religious monuments, and to continue working to strengthen these educational and cultural institutions, by providing services and developing skills and competencies in education and in the technical and vocational field, and working to enhance the safety of journalists in the Gaza Strip. As well as calling on UNESCO to implement an action plan for an urgent assistance program in the Gaza Strip and thanking the member states that provided financial assistance to the fund established by UNESCO.
After the adoption of the resolution, 44 member states took the floor, expressing their full support for Palestine and standing by it.
The Ambassador of the State of Palestine to UNESCO, Munir Anastas, also delivered a statement in which he called on UNESCO and the international community to assume its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people and condemn the international silence regarding the crimes of the occupation in Gaza.
