{"id":276794,"date":"2024-04-08T10:56:21","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T14:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/78\/?p=276794"},"modified":"2024-04-08T10:56:32","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T14:56:32","slug":"pga-remarks-at-the-general-assembly-plenary-meeting-under-agenda-item-63-use-of-the-veto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/78\/2024\/04\/08\/pga-remarks-at-the-general-assembly-plenary-meeting-under-agenda-item-63-use-of-the-veto\/","title":{"rendered":"PGA Remarks at the General Assembly plenary meeting under agenda item 63 \u201cuse of the veto"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Remarks by the President of the General Assembly,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr. Dennis Francis,<\/strong><\/p>\n

at the General Assembly plenary meeting under agenda item 63 \u201cuse of the veto\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

8 April 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

[As Delivered]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Video link<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Distinguished Delegates,<\/em><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s debate, convened in the context of the veto initiative, is a clear demonstration that two principal organs of the United Nations \u2013 the General Assembly and the Security Council \u2013 can and do work together to maintain international peace and security.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the two principal organs serve the same purpose enshrined in the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Charter \u2013 to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.<\/p>\n

While I support the thrust of the veto initiative \u2013 as a pioneering tool for transparency and accountability \u2013 I express deep regret that we must routinely employ it due to the perennial inability of the Security Council to speak with one voice on matters of grave importance and sensitivity in relation to the maintenance of international peace and security.<\/p>\n

Once again, we convene under this initiative as conflict in Gaza rages into its sixth bloody month, as death and destruction rule the day, and as divisions among Member States, especially in the Council, persist.<\/p>\n

With this foremost on our minds, I again call on Member States to approach today\u2019s debate with a sincere spirit of cooperation, mindful that the Assembly \u2013 as the world\u2019s parliament \u2013 also has the singular priority to prevent further bloodshed and to save lives.<\/p>\n

The conflict in Gaza is a blight on our common humanity \u2013 \u201cunparalleled in its intensity, brutality and scope,\u201d in the words of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mounting numbers speak to the horrors of life in the Gaza Strip:<\/p>\n