Mr. President,
Excellencies,
May I thank Malta, the United Arab Emirates and the Members of the Security Council for convening this important briefing and for affording me the opportunity to address you.
UNFPA deplores the loss of life in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in the escalating crisis since October 7th. We are deeply concerned for the safety and wellbeing of all women and girls caught up in the conflict. The situation they face is beyond catastrophic.
UNFPA delivers reproductive health and population-related services focusing on women and girls in over 130 locations, mainly developing countries around the world, including delivery of humanitarian aid to pregnant women and new mothers. This assistance aligns with the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. We have worked in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1986, where we are now providing desperately needed support.
Some two-thirds of all the thousands of people killed in Gaza are women and children, showing yet again that they pay the steepest price in conflicts.
Amid the ongoing fighting and devastation, in Gaza there are currently 5,500 pregnant women expected to give birth in the coming month. Every day approximately 180 women deliver under appalling conditions, the future for their newborns uncertain.
At a moment when new life is beginning, what should be a moment of joy is overshadowed by death and destruction, horror and fear. The situation is most dire for women facing obstetric complications – some 15% of pregnant women. Their lives are at risk due to severely limited access to healthcare and emergency obstetric care.
UNFPA is deeply worried about the more than 7,000 women who gave birth over the past 47 days. They lack access to postpartum care, water, sanitation and nutrition.
Due to attacks on health facilities, as well as the lack of fuel, electricity and supplies, half of all hospitals have shut down. Those that remain open are at the breaking point.
There are 2.2 million people in Gaza, where an entire population is besieged and denied access to the essentials for survival. Over 1.6 million people are living in overcrowded conditions without sufficient clean water and sanitation. This creates multiple health risks, including for women who have no access to menstrual hygiene, as well as those who are pregnant or have recently delivered. Lack of food and water across Gaza will have an adverse impact on the health and wellbeing of pregnant and breastfeeding women. They have higher daily water and caloric intake requirements.
A woman called Reham, who is two months pregnant and experienced bleeding, told us: “There is a treatment that I should take, but I am not able to get it. Pregnant women like me should be drinking milk, eating eggs. All bakeries have been bombed. There is no bread, no water.’’
In the West Bank, where settler violence is on the rise and households have been displaced, more than 70,000 women are pregnant and 8,000 are expected to give birth in the coming month.
We are deeply concerned about the protection risks facing women living under these conditions, especially gender-based violence. Lack of access and the loss of communications limit our ability to deliver the support and services that gender-based violence survivors require.
Al Shifa Hospital is no longer functioning, and across Gaza health supplies are running dangerously low. There are reports of women having to undergo cesarean sections without anesthesia. Military strikes and operations near hospitals are jeopardizing the lives of patients and of women and girls who desperately need medical care but are unable to receive it.
Hospitals, health workers and civilians must never be targets. They have special protection under international humanitarian law. When health facilities are under attack, the lives of critically ill patients and health workers, and all seeking shelter at these facilities, are at risk. They have nowhere safe to go.
Thus far, UNFPA has managed to deliver five truckloads of reproductive health kits to Gaza, containing pharmaceuticals, equipment and supplies for emergency obstetric and neonatal care. This includes anesthetics for use during cesarean sections. UNFPA is distributing clean delivery kits to improve the hygienic conditions for birth, wherever they may occur, as well as kits for women who have recently given birth.
UNFPA also provides cash transfers to pregnant and breastfeeding women, breast cancer patients, and survivors of gender-based violence.
UNFPA perseveres in providing life-saving services. Yet the assistance delivered in Gaza to date is nowhere near enough to meet the tremendous needs of women and girls. Operational constraints and the fact that our own staff and most partners are directly affected by the conflict themselves severely impinges on our ability to deliver essential services.
Our colleagues recount the impact of this daily trauma on their own families. One said that during her fourth evacuation, “We were running without purpose, unsure where to find shelter and refuge. The sounds of bombing filled the air, and dust enveloped us.”
In Israel, civilians are experiencing profound pain as they mourn the killing of 1,200 people in the brutal attacks of October 7th, which we once again condemn while once again calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas. We join the Secretary-General in welcoming the announcement of the recent deal regarding the release of some of the hostages, including women and children.
Mr. President,
UNFPA welcomes Security Council Resolution 2712 of 15 November, noting it calls for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses, and corridors throughout Gaza to save and protect civilian lives. UNFPA has continued to call for an immediate ceasefire. In this regard, the announcement of a four-day humanitarian pause is a welcome development, which must be used to allow for additional aid to reach those in desperate need.
Indeed, more aid is urgently needed in Gaza to save lives and stem the torrent of human suffering. Unimpeded access of humanitarian workers and of supplies, including sexual and reproductive health services, is a matter of life and death for women and girls.
In line with the Emergency Relief Coordinator’s ten-point plan, the continuous and sufficient flow of humanitarian assistance to all those in need, wherever they are, is essential. This is especially true for women and children.
Civilians and the infrastructure they rely on – including hospitals, shelters and schools – must be protected.
We call for the protection of humanitarian workers in Gaza, who risk their lives in the service of others, as we mourn the loss of over 100 UNRWA colleagues and scores of aid workers killed in the conflict.
UNFPA reiterates the Secretary-General’s call for international humanitarian law and international human rights law to be upheld by all parties, and for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, who include women and girls.
On this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which begins 16 Days to orange the world against gender-based violence, UNFPA denounces in the strongest possible terms all acts of violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, whenever and wherever they occur.
Mr. President,
Distinguished members of the Security Council,
The violence must end.
The fate of humanity does not belong in the hands of those wielding weapons. It rests with women and young people and allies standing together waging peace.
In this urgent test of humanity, women and girls desperately need peace to prevail. I call upon the Security Council to do everything in your power to make that peace happen.
Thank you.
