Joint statement delivered by Ambassadors Trishala Simantini Persaud, Guyana Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN and Ondina Blokar Drobic, Slovenia Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, on behalf of Algeria, China, Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, Republic of Korea, Russia, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia and the United Kingdom.
I deliver this statement on behalf of Guyana and Slovenia in our capacity as informal co-focal points on conflict and hunger in the Security Council, as well as Algeria, China, Denmark, France, Greece, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, Somalia and the United Kingdom.
We express our profound alarm and distress at the IPC data on Gaza, published last Friday. It clearly and unequivocally confirms Famine in the Gaza Governorate.
We trust the IPC's work and methodology.
This is the first time Famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East region. Every day, more persons are dying as a result of malnutrition, many of them children.
We are alarmed by the report that famine is projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September.
At the same time, across the Gaza Strip nearly one and a half million people are facing emergency and crisis levels of food insecurity.
At least 132.000 children are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition between now and June 2026.
Older persons, and persons with chronic diseases also continue to be disproportionately affected by the conflict and are among the vulnerable groups reportedly succumbing to malnutrition-related deaths.
All of this while, hundreds of trucks laden with life-saving aid sit a short distance away.
We stand in front of you, especially disturbed by the levels of acute malnutrition among children in Gaza. We note that at least 41.000 children are at heightened risk of death from malnutrition between now and June 2026.
This is a manmade crisis. The use of starvation as a weapon of war is clearly prohibited under international humanitarian law.
Famine in Gaza must be stopped immediately. International Humanitarian Law must be respected. Security Council resolution 2417 of 2018 must be implemented.
Today, we collectively make three clear and urgent calls to action:
One: We call for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, we call for the immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, we call for a substantive surge of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza.
Two: Israel must immediately and unconditionally lift all restrictions on aid delivery. This includes opening all land routes and allowing the UN and humanitarian partners to operate safely and at scale. Humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence must be central to humanitarian action.
Three: We call on Israel to immediately reverse its decision to further expand its military operation in Gaza with the aim of taking over Gaza City. This decision, which we reject, will inevitably worsen the already horrific humanitarian situation and endanger the lives of all civilians, including the hostages.
Time is of the essence. The humanitarian emergency must be addressed without delay and Israel must reverse course. We have seen what is possible to achieve during a ceasefire.
