<\/p>\n
22 September 2026<\/p>\n
Excerpt of Secretary-General’s address related to the Middle East, including the Question of Palestine is reproduced below.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n THE SECRETARY-GENERAL<\/strong> New York, 22 September 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n [all-English]<\/strong><\/p>\n \/…<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/em><\/p>\n The first great power test in the 21st century is peace and security.<\/p>\n Peace is far more than the absence of conflict.<\/p>\n It is the presence of restraint of power by law.<\/p>\n It is the recognition, as enshrined in the UN Charter, that force cannot be the final arbiter of whose lives, rights and future matter.<\/p>\n Today that principle is under profound strain.<\/p>\n Across the Middle East, conflicts are cascading.<\/p>\n So-called ceasefires have amounted to little more than \u201clesser fires\u201d \u2013 with civilians continuing to pay the price.<\/p>\n Enough is enough.<\/p>\n I appeal to the leaders in this Chamber to maximize this High-Level week for de-escalation and dialogue.<\/p>\n Together, let’s send a clear message from this Hall:<\/p>\n The fighting must stop.<\/p>\n Humanitarian aid must flow.<\/p>\n And navigational rights and freedoms must be fully restored in accordance with international law.<\/p>\n Amid the turmoil engulfing the region, we must not lose sight of the devastating situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.<\/p>\n It is nearly three years since the abhorrent terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October.<\/p>\n What followed was an onslaught on Palestinians in Gaza, with a scale of killing and destruction unlike anything I have witnessed in all my years as Secretary-General.<\/p>\n The International Court of Justice<\/a> has issued legally binding provisional measures<\/a> in the case entitled:<\/p>\n \u201cApplication of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.\u201d<\/p>\n In an advisory opinion<\/a> last year, the Court was clear that the United Nations needs to be allowed to perform our mandates in Gaza \u2013 and for our staff and humanitarian personnel to be protected.<\/p>\n All parties must comply with international law and the Court\u2019s orders.<\/p>\n Meanwhile violence, displacement and settlement expansion by Israel in the Occupied West Bank are bulldozing the path to peace and raising the spectre of ethnic cleansing.<\/p>\n We cannot allow the two-State solution to disappear before our eyes.<\/p>\n \/…<\/p>\n The complete statement is available here:<\/em><\/p>\n Opening General Debate, Secretary-General Warns Power Must Be Governed by Law, Cooperation as Global \u2018Fault Lines\u2019 Widen | UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 22 September 2026 Excerpt of Secretary-General’s address related to the Middle East, including the Question of Palestine is reproduced below.\u00a0 THE SECRETARY-GENERAL — ADDRESS TO THE OPENING OF THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE 81ST SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY New York, 22 September 2026 [all-English] \/… Excellencies, The first great power test in the 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\n
\n—<\/strong>
\nADDRESS TO THE OPENING OF THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE 81ST SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY<\/strong><\/p>\n