EXPLANATION OF VOTE: UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
TENTH EMERGENCY SPECIAL SESSION ON ILLEGAL ISRAELI ACTIONS IN OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM AND THE REST OF THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY - ITEM 5
18 September 2024
Statement by Permanent Representative to the UN, H.E. Ambassador James Larsen, Australian Mission to the United Nations
As Delivered.
President, thank you.
Australia is resolute in advancing the cause of peace around the world, including the urgent need for a two-state solution in the Middle East.
And Australia is a resolute defender of international law, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
That is why we abstaied with great disappointment.
We wanted to vote for a resolution that directly reflected the ICJ Advisory Opinion.
We wanted to vote for a resolution that clearly offered the Palestinian people a path to self-determination – and gave the world a path to a two-state solution.
And, we wanted to vote for a resolution that gave the international community a clear way to respond to the International Court of Justice's Advisory Opinion.
However, we are concerned that by making demands of the entire UN membership that go beyond the scope of the Advisory Opinion, the resolution distracts from what the world needs Israel to do.
President, we are deeply disappointed these concerns were not able to be addressed.
Australia supports many of the principles of this resolution. And we are already doing much of what it calls for.
We adopted the name ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’ because that it what they are.
We have affirmed that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal.
We insist Israel must cease settlement activity.
We have sanctioned extremist Israeli settlers because they must be held to account for their violence.
We will deny anyone identified as an extremist settler a visa to travel to Australia.
We doubled our funding to UNRWA because it does vital work.
We have not supplied weapons to Israel in at least the last five years.
We continue to call out unilateral actions that undermine the prospect for peace.
We have moved our position on recognition: we now see recognition as an integral part of a peace process, and as a way to contribute meaningfully towards the realisation of a two-state solution.
It's a matter of when, not if.
It's the only way to break the cycle of violence – the only hope for a prosperous future for both peoples. A Palestinian state and the State of Israel, side by side, behind secure borders.
Any alternative is either unacceptable or unachievable.
President, the occupation must be brought to an end, such that we see security for Palestinians, for Israel, and for the region.
To conclude, we meet at a time when the situation in Gaza is catastrophic.
Where the human suffering is unacceptable.
Where international law is under strain.
And when the region is on the brink of escalation.
We urge Member States to remain focused on these most desperately urgent issues.
We want to see aid flow at scale. We want to see civilians protected. And we want terrorist group Hamas to release the hostages it took on October 7.
There must be an immediate ceasefire.
This conflict must end.
Thank you, President.