UNSC: U/SYG HOLMES AND UNRWA CHIEF BRIEF COUNCIL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000064 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PTER EAID SOCI UNSC KWBG KPAL IS LY SUBJECT: UNSC: U/SYG HOLMES AND UNRWA CHIEF BRIEF COUNCIL ON GAZA HUMANITARIAN SITUATION REF: STATE 7040 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Under Secretary-General Holmes and UNRWA Commissioner-General Abu Zayd briefed the Security Council January 27 on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Holmes said he was shocked by the destruction and suffering he saw in Gaza on his recent trip and highlighted both Hamas' use of civilian installations and firing of rockets on civilian populations and Israel's failure to protect effectively civilians and humanitarian workers in Gaza. He voiced specific concerns about the lack of wider respect for international humanitarian law, especially the principles of distinction and proportionality. He reviewed the urgent relief needs and plans to launch a Flash Appeal February 2 with a prioritized list of needs. He called for much freer access for goods and staff and close cooperation with all parties to ensure an effective relief operation. He stressed the need for Palestinian reconciliation and the growing disconnect between the situation on the ground and the peace process. Abu Zayd shared her post-cease-fire impressions of Gaza and Gazans and pressed for political actions to facilitate recovery and reconstruction. Council members unanimously thanked Holmes and Abu Zayd for UNRWA and all UN agencies' tireless efforts in Gaza and stressed the need to get humanitarian aid quickly into Gaza. Most reiterated the need for the full implementation of UNSCR 1860, particularly a durable cease-fire given the bombing that morning on the Gaza-Israel border, and the opening of all crossings with arrangements to prevent illicit trafficking. A number of delegations voiced serious concerned at the shelling of UNRWA's facilities and Israel's disproportionate use of force. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordination John Holmes briefed the Security Council on January 27 about his January 21-25 trip to the region, including in Gaza to launch the humanitarian needs assessment. He said he was "shocked by the human suffering and destruction" that he saw. While some areas were relatively untouched, others were almost totally destroyed. He recognized the extraordinary efforts of the medical teams and first responders, both Palestinian and international. He said 13 local medical staff and six UN staff were killed, and 34 health facilities were damaged or destroyed. In a theme echoed later in consultations, he said, "the reckless and cynical use of civilian installations by Hamas, and the indiscriminate firing of rockets against civilian populations, are clear violations of international humanitarian law. However, even taking into account Israel's security concern to protect its own civilian population, it is clear that there are major questions to be asked about the failure of the Israeli Defense Force to protect effectively civilians and humanitarian workers in Gaza. Given the scale and nature of the damage and loss of life, there are also obvious concerns about a lack of wider respect for international humanitarian law, particularly the principles of distinction and proportionality. There must be accountability." ¶3. (SBU) Holmes highlighted the following urgent relief needs: food security, given that 90 percent of Gazans now need food aid; nutrition; water and sanitation; shelter; essential repairs of power, roads and other basic infrastructure; rebuilding the health system; rubble removal; unexploded ordnance; and psycho-social care. He plans to launch a Flash Appeal February 2 with a prioritized plan of urgent needs, and later asked Council members to provide financial assistance, not in-kind donations. He cautioned that two conditions need to be met for UN and other agencies to carry out their work: much freer access for goods and staff and close cooperation with all parties. He said commercial goods must be allowed in and out of Gaza and so must the cash needed for normal activity. He called for the crossings to be opened, as called for in UNSCR 1860, on the basis of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access, and not because "Hamas want it or might benefit from it, but because the Gazans need it." He registered concern about Israel's broad categories of dual-use items that cannot be allowed into Gaza. He stressed the "unacceptability of the status quo ante, with a limited trickle of items into Gaza continuing the effective collective punishment of the civilian population -- and the resultant counter productive reliance on tunnels for daily essentials." He said a successful relief operation entails working closely with the Israeli authorities and the Palestinian Authority and dealing "practically with those on the ground, without any of the parties trying to exert political control over humanitarian operations." ¶4. (SBU) He stressed the need for Palestinian reconciliation USUN NEW Y 00000064 002 OF 003 and said the UN would work with the PA to plan for longer term recovery and reconstruction. He highlighted the growing disconnect between the situation on the ground and the peace process. He described the people of Gaza continuing to exist in "what is effectively a giant open-air prison, without normality or dignity." He continued, "Their lives have been put at risk recklessly by indiscriminate rocket attacks from their midst, which have also killed, injured and traumatized Israeli civilians in Southern Israel. They (Gazans) have now endured a terrifying assault, and must live with its devastating aftermath." ¶5. (SBU) UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen Abu Zayd then briefed the Council on her impressions since the cease-fire. She described what appeared to be the "systematic destruction to schools, universities, residential buildings, factories, shops, and farms." She said that "every Gazan projects a sense of having stared death in the face" and that "there is a rage against the attackers for often failing to distinguish between military targets and civilians and there is also a resentment against the international community for having allowed first the siege and then the war to go on for so long." She said the priority for early recovery is to help restore normal life to Gaza through education, health-care, and employment generation projects. She noted that 200,000 UNRWA schoolchildren return to school January 24 while the 50,000 displaced who had been seeking shelter in those schools were rebuilding their homes or finding shelter elsewhere. She described UNRWA's Quick Response Plan which is being funded by UNRWA's Flash Appeal. ¶6. (SBU) She then turned to the political actions that must take place to facilitate recovery and reconstruction: (1) the re-establishment of law and order in Gaza; (2) the continuous opening of all of Gaza's borders; (3) negotiations to end the occupation and resolve the conflict that include refugee representation; (4) investigation of apparent violations of international law, including direct attacks on UNRWA personnel and facilities; and (5) Palestinian reconciliation. She expressed her fear that "this war will be remembered for the absence of restraint among the combatants and disregard for principles of humanity and the sanctity of humanity and the sanctity of human life." She noted that beyond its impact on civilian lives, the conflict has "placed in further jeopardy the authority of international law in the Middle East." In closing, she said that UNRWA will continue to discharge its mandate to promote the "inherent dignity and worth of the Palestinians we serve" but UNRWA appeals to the Security Council "as the body that sits at the pinnacle of multilateral power, to exercise your authority in ways that transform into reality the shared dream of both Israelis and Palestinians for a secure, peaceful and prosperous tomorrow." (Note: USUN e-mailed the text of Holmes and Abu Zayd's prepared remarks to IO/UNP on January 27. End note.) ¶7. (SBU) In Security Council consultations immediately following the briefings, members unanimously thanked Holmes and Abu Zayd for UNRWA and all UN agencies' tireless efforts in Gaza and expressed condolences for the loss of UN staff. They also stressed the need to get humanitarian aid quickly into Gaza and welcomed news of OCHA's Flash Appeal and the upcoming conference in Cairo. Most delegations reiterated the need to fully implement UNSCR 1860, especially the need for a durable cease-fire, given the IED bombing on the Gaza-Israel border that morning that left an Israeli soldier dead and a Palestinian farmer killed in the Israeli return of fire. Many urged that arrangements and guarantees be quickly put in place to allow the opening of border crossings, per UNSCR 1860. The UK stressed the need to give the GOI confidence against arms smuggling and said it was prepared to offer naval support. Japan called for an arrangement against illicit trafficking. The French Perm Rep said that the EU is ready to expand EUBAM to other crossing points, and that a French frigate is offshore of Gaza to help prevent illicit arms shipments. Many also pressed for Palestinian reconciliation (with some specifying it should be with President Abbas in the lead) in order to facilitate a long-term solution. Ambassador Wolff delivered the U.S. remarks (per reftel). ¶8. (SBU) A significant number of delegations voiced serious concern at the shelling of the UNRWA facilities and Israel's disproportionate use of force during the conflict. The UK DPR cited the UK's "deep concern at the attacks on the UN compound" which were "indefensible" and said that it was never permissible to target civilians. The French Perm Rep said that France had clearly condemned the UNRWA bombings and that UN sites cannot be targeted. The Turkish Perm Rep said he hoped the Council would have a response from Israel on the attacks against UN premises. The Russian DPR said that any USUN NEW Y 00000064 003 OF 003 attacks on UN facilities or personnel are "categorically unacceptable and must be investigated and perpetrators subject to punishment." He also "condemned the disproportionate use of force and any attacks on civilians, including rocket attacks on the Israeli population" and said the scope of the IDF actions in Gaza were "absolutely unacceptable and contrary to the efforts to get peace." Mexico called for the observation of international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Conventions. Holmes later responded to the issue of investigations and said it was "time to end the era of impunity" and that they would "pursue the matter with great vigor." ¶9. (SBU) The Libyan Acting Perm Rep only spoke of Israeli military actions in Gaza and labeled them "crimes of war and crimes against humanity." He said that the lack of Security Council condemnation of "these crimes" is tantamount to participation in these crimes. He called for the perpetrators of "these crimes" to stand before the ICC, and said that Israeli actions against UNRWA facilities were clear violations of international law. He then asked if UNRWA was preparing an assessment of the damage from the shelling and if it would seek compensation. Abu Zayd later replied that UNRWA was compiling an assessment of the damage (including the loss of a USD 4.5 million shipment of medicine),as it always does, and would submit it to the Israeli government for compensation. She noted that the current amount from damages caused by Israeli forces during the Second Intifada totals almost USD 1 million but that the GOI has never paid compensation. The Libyan Acting Perm Rep also asked Abu Zayd to address whether UNRWA facilities and vehicles were used by Hamas or others. Abu Zayd later replied that UNRWA fully stands behind the integrity of its facilities and vehicles. She said that during this conflict UNRWA has received profound apologies from the GOI for the attacks on UNRWA facilities, instead of accusations. Rice