Lula calls for urgent action for peace in Gaza and condemns genocide in speech

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke at the 8th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) this Friday (1/3). During his speech, he called for concrete actions to cease hostilities in the Gaza Strip, a region that has been the scene of conflict between Israel and Hamas.

What Lula said about the genocide in Gaza

Lula suggested the drafting of a motion by Celac calling for an immediate end to what he classified as genocide in Gaza. Furthermore, he appealed to the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, who was also present at the event, and to the Japanese government, which assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council this Friday, to put the issue on the agenda urgently.

“The indifference of the international community is shocking”

The president stated that the indifference of the international community is surprising. He proposed a Celac motion for an immediate end to this genocide and said that the UN Secretary-General could invoke article 99 of the UN Charter to bring the Council’s attention to an issue that threatens international peace and security. The article cited by the President allows the Secretary-General to draw the Council’s attention to any matter that could threaten the maintenance of peace and security.

Urgent request to the Security Council

Lula directly asked the Japanese government to address the matter urgently. “I ask the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to put aside their differences and put an end to this killing,” he asked. “Our dignity and humanity are at stake. It is necessary to stop the carnage in the name of the survival of humanity, which needs a lot of humanism”, he concluded. After the CELAC summit, Lula will meet with representatives from Colombia, Chile and Mexico to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip. He also has a meeting scheduled with António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations.

Condemnation of the attack in Gaza

Last Thursday, Hamas accused Israel of killing more than a hundred people in Gaza during food distribution. The Gaza Ministry of Health also reported that 760 people were injured after Israeli soldiers fired on the population. The Brazilian government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, repudiated Israel’s actions.