UN Under-Secretary General Jorge Moreira da Silva deemed the Israeli government’s attacks on António Guterres “unfair” and highlighted the “true pride” and “great support” that United Nations officials have shown to the Secretary General.
‘I thought it was unfair and, as the Secretary General said at the time: [as críticas israelitas] were surprising, as far as the arguments for it [Guterres] used – and that we [chefes de agências da ONU] we have used – it has always been the same”said Moreira da Silva in an interview with Lusa in New York.
According to the Under-Secretary-General, the UN’s rhetoric has been guided by “a very strong condemnation of Hamas’s attacks, heinous, heinous attacks that cannot be forgiven and therefore a complete condemnation” of them, and also by “Demand for the release without any conditions of the Israeli hostages”.
However, both António Guterres and several UN officials have made clear statements on two other dimensions: “First, Palestinians cannot suffer collective punishment for the crimes committed by Hamas, because it makes no sense to confuse Palestinian citizens with Hamas.”, reiterated the Under-Secretary-General, who is also Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). On the second place, “a very clear statement that even wars have rules and that civilian infrastructure cannot be attacked, civilians cannot be attacked and that humanitarian aid must be able to reach all civilians most in need in safe conditions”he added.
In recent weeks, the leader of the United Nations has called for a humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, which has transformed the Gaza Strip “into a cemetery for Palestinian children”, in his words, and during a meeting of The Security Council stated that the Islamist group’s attacks “did not come out of nowhere” and recalled that Palestinians had been “subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”
Statements such as these led to harsh criticism of Guterres from Israel, with the Tel Aviv government calling for his resignation as UN Secretary General because it believes he justifies and defends the actions of Hamas, a group controlled by the European Union is considered terrorist. and the United States.
Following the Israeli attacks, there was a wave of support for the Secretary General, who, according to Moreira da Silva, is registered not only within the United Nations, but also among the “general population.”
“I can tell you that I cannot remember a moment of such great support for a Secretary General of the United Nations as at this moment, or from officials who have been really proud of the decisive manner in which he has expressed his views . position on climate change and now also on these conflicts, both on the part of the population in general”he declared.
When asked whether the tense relationship between Israel and Guterres in any way affects the UN’s ability to mediate in this conflict, the UNOPS leader said this is not the case.
“No, on the contrary. I think this positions the UN as a foundational organization in supporting those who need it most. We are on the ground, we are here to help those who need it most.”he defended.
Source: DN
