Ministry Statements & Speeches:
President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates.
The scale, severity and significance of humanitarian need, across a number of contexts, is particularly pronounced today. New Zealand is deeply distressed by escalating crises around the world, and growing numbers of civilian casualties. We are gravely concerned by the deaths of humanitarians, medical workers and journalists in the field.
The loss of life and the level of suffering that we are seeing in Gaza as a result of the Israel-Hamas conflict is devastating. New Zealand is extremely concerned about the renewed hostilities and its appalling impact on civilians.
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.
Ensuring meaningful humanitarian access is critical, and a key requirement of international humanitarian law. We call on all parties to urgently facilitate the necessary access to alleviate the plight of civilians in Gaza.
New Zealand is calling on all parties, as well as countries with influence in the region, to take urgent steps towards establishing a ceasefire.
We applaud humanitarians globally working in often very difficult and dangerous circumstances. New Zealand remains particularly concerned for women humanitarians facing restrictions based on their gender. Ensuring humanitarian actors, in all settings, can carry out their work without hindrance or obstruction is essential.
We call for barriers to humanitarian access in all contexts to be removed immediately. Safe, rapid and unimpeded access is vital. New Zealand hopes to see stronger language on this in humanitarian resolutions in the future.
While armed conflict continues to be a key driver of global humanitarian needs, the impacts of climate change are increasingly an exacerbating factor, if not a driver themselves. Reflecting on the past twelve months, we have seen drought, floods, increased temperatures and other intense weather events have devastating impacts, including on livelihoods, food insecurity, health outcomes and displacement.
In our own region of the Pacific, we recently saw a category five tropical cyclone make landfall in October. The fact that this occurred prior to the official start of the cyclone season in November is highly unusual.
We must be measured by how we both tackle the root causes of climate change and how we adapt and respond to its adverse effects.
In this context, New Zealand is a strong proponent of anticipatory humanitarian action. When we know that if a risk or a disaster is looming, anticipatory approaches can help lessen the scale of a crisis, and most importantly, lessen human suffering.
Inclusive humanitarian action is key focus of New Zealand’s humanitarian responses. We reiterate the importance of reliable and safe access to sexual and reproductive health services in ensuring the health and well-being of all people, especially women and girls. We are committed to defending these hard-won rights, and hope to see language on these issues continue to be strengthened in humanitarian resolutions. We also urge the system to make continued progress towards humanitarian action that is locally led wherever possible, and accountable to affected populations at all times.
An effective response to humanitarian need requires global solidarity and international cooperation. New Zealand continues to provide multi-year and flexible core funding to humanitarian partners, complemented by earmarked contributions to specific crises and longer term preparedness investments in the Pacific.
We are proud to play our part in the global humanitarian system, and to stand up for action that saves lives.
Thank you.