Ministry Statements & Speeches:
President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates.
Since we addressed the General Assembly on this debate item last year, the scale and severity of humanitarian need remains distressingly pronounced.
New Zealand is particularly concerned by the growing numbers of civilians, including humanitarians, medical workers and journalists, killed in conflict.
The loss of life and the level of suffering that we have now seen for over a year in Gaza is devastating.
New Zealand has consistently called for all parties to abide by international law, including the need to ensure the protection of all medical and humanitarian personnel and facilities, in line with Security Council Resolution 2286. We strongly reiterate those calls today.
New Zealand continues to call on all parties to take urgent steps towards establishing an immediate ceasefire.
In any conflict, humanitarian access is critical to ensuing protection and assistance to civilians, and is a key requirement of international humanitarian law. We are shocked to see parties to conflicts around the world weaponise humanitarian access. This cannot become the new norm. New Zealand calls for barriers to humanitarian access in all contexts to be removed immediately. Safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access is vital and the minimum standard.
We applaud humanitarians working selflessly in the most difficult and dangerous circumstances. New Zealand remains particularly concerned that in some contexts, women humanitarians continue to face restrictions based solely on their gender.
Where humanitarian access is denied, and where humanitarians are attacked or killed, there must be accountability. As we mark the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, New Zealand calls on all States to recommit to uphold international law, and hold accountable those who violate it.
In that vein, New Zealand commends the UN Security Council’s passage of resolution 2730. We call for its full implementation.
President, while armed conflict continues to be a key driver of global humanitarian need, the impacts of climate change are increasingly an exacerbating factor, and a driver in their own right.
Collectively, we must be measured by how we both tackle the root causes of climate change and how we adapt and respond to its impact.
In this context, New Zealand is a strong supporter of anticipatory humanitarian action. When we know that a disaster is looming, anticipatory approaches can help lessen the scale of a crisis, and most importantly, reduce human suffering. We see evidence of this in our region, the Pacific.
We also urge the humanitarian system to continue progress towards humanitarian action that is locally led, and accountable to affected populations at all times.
New Zealand’s humanitarian support will continue to emphasise the importance of gender-responsive action, including reliable and safe access to sexual and reproductive health services. We will also continue our practice of providing quality, flexible and unearmarked funding to our partners.
Finally, I would like to highlight New Zealand’s deep concerns for the largest and most severe humanitarian crisis in our wider region, that is the situation in Myanmar and the associated displacement of one million Rohingya refugees into neighbouring Bangladesh. In Myanmar, humanitarian need is critical and has only continued to grow. We take this opportunity to draw attention to the launch of the Myanmar 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which highlights a dire increase in humanitarian need from 1 million four short years ago, to 19.9 million today.
To end, we are pleased to welcome the new Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr Tom Fletcher, to the role. You have New Zealand’s full support in this challenging role.
New Zealand is proud to play our part in the global humanitarian system, and to stand up for action that saves lives.
Thank you.