News Americas, New York, NY, July 23, 2024: Guyana has urgently called for an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing Gaza conflict and emphasized the need to prioritize the protection of civilians. Her comments come as the Gaza death toll neared 40,000, according to the Hamas Health Ministry and another 84 were killed and 329 wounded throughout the Gaza Strip today, as Israeli forces launch a new ground invasion in southern city of Khan Younis.

Relatives of Palestinians, who lost their lives following the Israeli attack on Khan Yunis, mourn as dead bodies are taken from the morgue at Nasser Hospital for burial in Khan Yunis, Gaza on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“Mr. President, the silence has been deafening on a possible solution to end the war in Gaza. Guyana had hoped that with the adoption of resolution 2735 five weeks ago, supporting the efforts of the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, that the bombs and bullets that continue to rain down on Gaza would have been silenced,” Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett stated at the UN Security Council.

She commended the efforts of the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, stressing the importance of maintaining optimism. “We remind that it is the responsibility of this Council to continue to do all in its power to bring an end to this war,” the Guyanese diplomat said, noting the worsening multilayered catastrophe in Palestine.

“The dimensions of this catastrophe stretch across every facet of Palestinian life, both in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Its principal characteristics are oppression and repression, indignity and impunity, destruction, deprivation, and death,” Rodrigues-Birkett elaborated.

She highlighted that Palestinians, despite their immense suffering, look to the United Nations for an end to their plight. “Guyana’s appeal is for a collective mustering of political will, to advance the peace process, and to give the Palestinian people real hope of a secure and stable future. This is the only prospect which can equally secure a stable future for Israel and the Middle East,” she added.

The ambassador condemned Israel’s “barbaric war” on Gaza, which she said has resulted in a severely mutilated population. She stated that the death toll is nearing 40,000, with the majority being women and children. “What really is life in the Gaza Strip? Bombs, starvation, inadequate healthcare, and essential goods and services have seen the civilian population robbed of everything necessary for their survival,” she lamented.

Rodrigues-Birkett criticized the impediments to humanitarian aid, noting that despite the Kerem Shalom/Karam Abu Salem crossing being “open,” only a trickle of aid has entered due to active combat zones. She emphasized that the ongoing bombardment and breakdown of law and order in Gaza exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.

She condemned the attacks on key civilian infrastructure, including healthcare facilities and schools, and called for an end to the violence. “What red lines are there that allow for the continuous killing of women and children, and the bombing of schools, refugee camps, and hospitals? Guyana condemns this wanton violence in the strongest terms,” Rodrigues-Birkett said.

Guyana is also demanding that UN member states uphold their duty to ensure international law obligations are met, particularly international humanitarian law. She noted the escalation of attacks against UN facilities and personnel, especially those of UNRWA, and called for their protection.

“We also call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and Palestinians detained without trial in Israeli prisons. We urge adherence to the various resolutions of this Council,” she said, stressing the need for increased humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

Rodrigues-Birkett underlined the obligation of Israel as the occupying power to ensure access to humanitarian relief and echoed the demands of the International Court of Justice.

The Caribbean diplomat also called for actions to reduce tensions in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to mitigate the violence between Palestinians and Israelis. She urged good faith efforts to reduce regional tensions. A 16-year-old girl and a 50-year-old woman are among the dead in an Israeli incursion into the Tulkarem refugee camp, adding to the Gaza death toll.

News Americas, New York, NY, July 23, 2024: The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced on Monday a US$60 million humanitarian aid package to support the Haitian people and alleviate the suffering caused by gang war in Haiti.

Thomas-Greenfield, during her one-day visit to the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, stated that the aid would be channeled through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

US Ambassador to the United Nation Linda Thomas-Greenfield (C) greets Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille as they gather for a group photo with the Transitional Presidential Council after a meeting at the Villa d’Accueil in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on July 22, 2024. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

This funding will enable USAID partners to address critical gaps in nutrition, food security, and shelter; improve water and sanitation services; provide market-based cash assistance to help affected communities purchase essential commodities; and support crucial protection services for Haiti’s most vulnerable populations, including survivors of gender-based violence.

Currently, an estimated 5.5 million people in Haiti require immediate humanitarian assistance amid a complex crisis fueled by civil unrest, disease, economic instability, and organized criminal groups. These factors, combined with recurring natural disasters like droughts, earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes, have led to shortages of basic supplies and increased food insecurity across the nation.

Ongoing violence has further restricted access to essential healthcare, causing several hospitals and clinics to close, disrupting supply chains, elevating prices for staple foods, and reducing agricultural production.

Washington noted that this new funding builds on previous commitments of more than US$105 million earlier this year, bringing the total USAID humanitarian support for Haiti this fiscal year to over US$165 million.

Last week, UN Women, the agency dedicated to gender equality, highlighted the unprecedented levels of insecurity and sexual violence faced by displaced women in Haiti. The instability in the country has led to a surge in sexual violence against women and girls as armed gangs continue their assaults on the population.

A new report by UN Women reveals the dire living conditions and lack of security faced by approximately 300,000 displaced women and girls amid ongoing political instability, escalating gang violence, and the threat of the current hurricane season.

Women and girls constitute more than half of the 580,000 displaced individuals in Haiti, and the UN Women Rapid Gender Assessment underscores how makeshift camps, which lack basic necessities, are putting them at particular risk of sexual and gender-based violence.

The survey was conducted in April in the six most populated and diverse displacement sites in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

In addition, Thomas-Greenfield announced that the US Department of Defense would provide a “substantial increase” in the number of armored vehicles to the Kenyan-led, UN-backed multinational mission assisting the Haitian National Police (PNH) in combating widespread gang war in Haiti.