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이스라엘군의 AI를 기반으로한 군사행동이 집단학살로 간주될 수 있음을 경고하는 연설문입니다. (글자수 약 1200자)

A genocide is unfolding before our eyes: History will not forgive our inaction, UN Special Committee warns General Assembly in report

2024.11.19

Glossary

1.    International Court of Justice (ICJ) 국제사법재판소

2.    UN Human Rights Office: 유엔 인권 사무소

3.    UNRAW: 유엔 팔레스타인 난민구호기구

Madam Chair, distinguished Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

On behalf of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, I present the Committee’s 56th report —yet another urgent, resounding alarm about the apocalyptic situation for Palestinians, particularly in Gaza.

Madam Chair,

Before we delve into our report’s findings, let us take a moment to step back and reflect on the broader picture. Under our watch, we have been permitting the clock to turn back to an era of unchecked barbarity—the very persecution we once vowed would never happen again—now permitted under the guise of technological precision, the manipulation of international law, and insidious disinformation. Our inaction is not only failing to protect innocent lives from the ravages of war; it is unravelling the international legal system itself—a framework painstakingly built to protect peace and security for all.

So I ask the question: to what end does our silence ultimately serve? Surely, it is serving to tear lives apart, fuel endless cycles of violence, set an entire region ablaze, and dismantle the very protections we established to safeguard humanity —all for the short-term geopolitical interests of a few.

As I present this report, I urge each and every one of you: do not turn a deaf ear. History will not forgive or forget our inaction and complicity.

Madam Chair,

This year’s report examines the mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians in Gaza. Our findings conclude that Israel’s methods of war align with the characteristics of genocide. Covering the period from October 2023 to July 2024, the report analyses developments across the occupied Palestinian territory and the occupied Syrian Golan, with a primary focus on the catastrophic impact of the current war in Gaza on the rights of Palestinians.

Madam Chair,

Since the beginning of this war, we have seen and heard Israeli officials openly endorsing policies that strip Palestinians of the very necessities required to sustain life— such as food, water, and fuel. These statements, combined with Israel’s total siege over Gaza, systematic obstruction of humanitarian aid, and targeted attacks on aid workers, make Israel’s intent clear: to turn lifesaving supplies into tools of war, instrumentalising starvation, disease and suffering for political and military gains.

For this reason, the Committee finds that Israel is intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury— using starvation as a method of war as we all know, and inflicting collective punishment on an entire population. All of this has continued, knowingly, despite repeated appeals and warnings from the United Nations, binding orders from the International Court of Justice, and resolutions from the Security Council.

Madam Chair,

Furthermore, Israel’s extensive bombing campaign in Gaza has decimated essential services and unleashed an environmental catastrophe with severe, long-lasting health impacts. Since early this year, over 25,000 tons of explosives — equivalent to two nuclear bombs— have been dropped on Gaza, causing massive destruction, collapsing water and sanitation systems, devastating agriculture, and spreading toxic pollution.

Distinguished delegates,

In doing so, the Israeli military has created a lethal mix of crises that will cause serious harm for generations to come. Hazardous debris, including carcinogenic asbestos, has poisoned Gaza’s air, water and soil, exposing Palestinians to severe, long-term health risks like respiratory disease and cancer. This is not a temporary crisis; it is a lasting catastrophe for the people of Gaza. Experts estimate that recycling even half of the staggering 39 million tons of debris could take up to 45 years, with some environmental damage potentially irreversible.

Madam Chair,

Our findings also reveal grave concerns over Israel’s use of AI-enhanced targeting systems to direct its military operations. Although the Israeli military claims this approach offers military precision, in reality, it has been deployed with devastating consequences for civilians. Israel’s use of AI-assisted targeting, with minimal human oversight, combined with heavy bombs and home and nighttime tracking of targets—shows a blatant disregard for its legal obligations to distinguish between civilians and combatants and to take adequate safeguards to prevent civilian deaths.

This failure is tragically evident we say in the staggering toll on women and children—who make up 70 percent of the casualties, as recently reported by the UN Human Rights Office. The consequences, however, extend even further. Attacks on health facilities and severe restrictions on essential supplies have led to a threefold increase in miscarriages and maternal deaths, while stillbirths have surged. Combined with the destruction of Gaza’s only fertility clinic, this underscores a heartbreaking reality: an entire generation is under attack, with lives eliminated before they even have a chance to begin.

Distinguished delegates,

Our report also brings to light harrowing instances of sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinian women and girls by Israeli forces —accounts we heard first-hand during our field visit to Jordan this year. It is deeply troubling we say that, since the Committee’s establishment in 1968, Israel has consistently denied us access to the occupied Palestinian territory. Our report further reveals the deliberate killing of women and children as they attempt to flee or seek refuge, even within hospitals where mass graves have been found. This systematic targeting of women and children, combined with horrific restrictions, is inflicting devastating physical and mental harm, creating life-threatening conditions, and preventing births among Palestinian women in Gaza.

Madam Chair,

Amidst this devastation in Gaza, the Committee has documented Israel’s escalating censorship of media, suppression of dissent, and targeting of journalists—deliberate efforts to obscure the world’s view of what is truly unfolding. This pattern is further reflected in the troubling trend of social media companies disproportionately removing pro-Palestinian content, while allowing posts inciting violence against Palestinians to remain.

This deliberate silencing of reporting, coupled with disinformation, distortion of international law, attacks on UNRWA and humanitarian workers, forms a clear strategy to undermine the UN’s vital work, sever the lifeline of aid to Gaza, and dismantle the international legal order that we are all bound to uphold.

Madam Chair,

While Gaza suffers in full view of the world, the West Bank remains in its shadow—yet equally alarming trends are emerging. Intensified military operations, settler violence, unlawful settlement expansion, home demolitions, movement restrictions, forcible displacement and economic strangulation—all upheld by a system of chronic impunity.

Distinguished delegates,

Our report leaves no room for ambiguity.

A genocide is unfolding before our eyes. Failing to act now—failing to put an end to this atrocity crime— will tear apart the very foundation of the international rule of law we have collectively built to protect peace, security, and the well-being of all. Our inaction today is setting a perilous precedent for tomorrow. Think about it.

Accountability rests with each of us, with every Member State, to end all support for Israel’s assault on Gaza and its apartheid system of injustice in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This requires an immediate halt to the transfer of offensive arms, an end to any economic activities that maintain Israel’s unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory and holding businesses accountable for enabling these grave violations.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, Madam Chair, let us be clear: the world is watching, and history will remember what we choose to do—or fail to do—at this very critical moment.

I thank you, Madam Chair.