Group of Friends urges UN to comply with resolutions on Palestine

In a joint political statement, the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations (UN) urged the Security Council of the multilateral body this Monday to assume its responsibilities and ensure that its “resolutions on the Question of Palestine are fully respected and implemented”, in order to put an end to the genocide.

During an extraordinary ministerial videoconference, in which the Minister of Popular Power for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Yván Gil, participated, the Group of Friends assured that the time has come for the UN Security Council, “as well as all responsible members of the international community, to adopt urgent measures, including within the powers conferred on it by the Charter of the United Nations, aimed at ending the supply or transfer of arms, ammunition and related equipment to Israel, the Occupying Power”.

Along these lines, he condemned the position of the United States of vetoing last November 20 a resolution calling for an unconditional ceasefire and the release of hostages; an action that constitutes greater “complicity with Israel's policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”.

The Group of Friends echoed the recent statements of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, on the urgency of “silencing weapons and ending suffering”, being “a time for peace, international law and justice” that will be achieved through a process of accountability on the part of Israel, the “Occupying Power against the peoples of Palestine, Lebanon and other nationalities”.

“We also reaffirm our support for the long-awaited admission of the State of Palestine as a full Member State” of the UN, “so that it can take its rightful place in the community of nations,” they added, referring to the fact that the illegal Israeli occupation must be ended and, consequently, the independence of the State of Palestine achieved with East Jerusal/Al-Quds Al-Sharif, as its capital.

The member States of the Group of Friends also rejected the aggression against Lebanon, Syria and Iran, and described as malignant, the Israeli legislative measures on the “termination of any type of cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which violates, among others, Israel's obligations as an Occupying Power under international humanitarian law and its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, as well as countless resolutions of the General Assembly”.

The Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter was officially launched on July 6, 2021 in New York, in order to strengthen the power of multilateralism for the global resolution of specific problems or situations. On March 17, 2023, he was formally installed in Geneva, Switzerland; an achievement of the Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace.