New York - Saba:
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed that those responsible for the killing of UN staff and other civilians working in conflict zones should not go unpunished.
This came in remarks to reporters on the sidelines of an event held at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday to commemorate UN staff killed in the line of duty in 2024.
Guterres noted that 168 UN staff members were killed in conflict zones last year.
He said, "We will not accept the killing of humanitarian workers, journalists, medical personnel, or civilians as a new normal, anywhere and under any circumstances."
The UN Secretary-General added, "There must be no room for impunity."
He stated that recent years have been devastating for the UN family, and that the Gaza Strip has witnessed indescribable and unprecedented losses as a result of Israeli attacks.
He explained that 126 UN staff members were killed in Gaza, including 125 women and men working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Guterres stressed that this number represents "the highest death toll of staff members in the history of the United Nations."
He noted that more than one in every 50 UNRWA staff members in Gaza were killed during this horrific conflict, reiterating his call for full accountability.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli enemy, with American support, has been committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, leaving more than 180,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands displaced.
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