Published January 24,2025
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Russia on Thursday reprimanded the top of the U.N. kids’s company UNICEF for not offering a “weighty argument for her refusal” to temporary the Security Council on kids in Gaza – a gathering requested by Russia.
Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia mentioned UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, an American, had briefed the 15-member council on kids in Ukraine “at the drop of a hat” in December, through the U.S. presidency of the council.
“So it would appear that for UNICEF children in Gaza are less important than children in Ukraine,” Nebenzia mentioned.
Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine in February 2022 and has been at conflict since then. The conflict within the Gaza Strip between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas started in October 2023 and a ceasefire took impact on Sunday.
“The refusal of UNICEF’s head to brief the Security Council about the horrific tragedy linked to the death of tens of thousands of children in Gaza is a flagrant step, which deserves our most serious censure,” Nebenzia advised the council.
Russell is on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland with a give attention to addressing humanitarian crises and was unable to regulate her schedule to temporary the Security Council, mentioned a UNICEF spokesperson.
“Ms. Russell had offered the Director of Emergencies to deliver her statement on her behalf,” the UNICEF spokesperson mentioned. “The UNICEF Executive Director has briefed the Security Council several times on the situation of children in Gaza and appreciates the council’s focus on children impacted by war.”
The Security Council has met dozens of instances to debate the conflict in Gaza. Israel’s armed and safety forces, Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, and Russia’s armed forces are all on the U.N. international listing of offenders for killing and maiming kids.
Nebenzia additionally accused Washington on Thursday of some duty for the deaths of youngsters in Gaza after the U.S. used its council veto to defend Israel through the conflict. He additionally mentioned the U.S. ignored Russian requires a gathering on Gazan kids in December.
Acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea rejected Nebenzia’s accusations.
“The idea that the United States is responsible for the terrible suffering there is just unacceptable to us and we reject it in its totality,” she advised the council.
U.N. assist chief Tom Fletcher briefed the Security Council assembly on Thursday by way of video from Stockholm. He bluntly assessed the previous 15 months of conflict in Gaza: “Children have been killed, starved, and frozen to death.”
“They have been maimed, orphaned, separated from their family. Conservative estimates indicate that over 17,000 children are without their families in Gaza,” he mentioned. “A generation has been traumatized.”
Under the ceasefire, the United Nations and others are finishing up a surge of humanitarian assist into Gaza.
Source: www.anews.com.tr