At Arab League Summit, Guterres Reiterates Call For Gaza Ceasefire

17 May 2025
António Guterres told leaders meeting in the Iraqi capital that 'the region and the world face trials and tests on all fronts,' starting with the situation in Gaza.
He reiterated that neither the atrocious 7 October 2023 terror attacks by Hamas nor the collective punishment of the Palestinian people can be justified.
Permanent ceasefire now
'We need a permanent ceasefire, now. The unconditional release of all hostages, now. And the free flow of humanitarian aid ending the blockade, now,' he said.
The Secretary-General expressed alarm over reports that Israel plans to expand ground operations in Gaza and stressed that the UN 'will not participate in any so-called aid operation that does not adhere to international law and the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality.'
He again called for full support for UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA, including funding.
Two-State solution at risk
The UN chief rejected the repeated displacement of the Gaza population, as well as any suggestion of forced displacement outside Gaza, and urged leaders to remain focused on the terrible situation in the occupied West Bank.
'Let's be clear,' he said. 'Annexation is illegal. Settlements are illegal. Only a two-State solution can deliver sustainable peace.'
He said the high-level conference in June, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, is an important opportunity.
'The world, the region – and, most of all, the people of Palestine and Israel – cannot afford to watch the two-State solution disappear before our eyes,' he said.
Respect Lebanese sovereignty
The Secretary-General addressed the situation in Lebanon. He emphasized that the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected, and the Government must have full control over the entire territory.
He was encouraged by continued progress on reforms as well as efforts to deploy the Lebanese Armed Forces to the south, with support from the UN Mission in the country, UNIFIL.
Mr. Guterres touched on Syria, saying sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity are critical. He urged strong support for an inclusive Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that safeguards the rights and participation of all the country's people and ensures their protection.
Regarding Yemen, he noted that attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea have caused significant damage to regional and local economies. He welcomed the cessation of hostilities between the Houthis and the United States, announced by Oman on 6 May.
The Secretary-General also called for the release of UN staff and other personnel in Yemen who have been arbitrarily arrested.
Engagement on Sudan
In Sudan, renewed and coordinated multilateral engagement is crucial to help stem appalling violence, famine, and mass displacement, he said, and thanked the Arab League and African Union (AU) for the excellent coordination meeting convened the previous day. He also commended the Arab League's efforts to strengthen multilateral coordination.
The Secretary-General turned next to Somalia, saying unity and inclusive dialogue are imperative. Furthermore, assistance from Somalia's partners will be essential in the fight against Al-Shabaab militants and to strengthen peace and security.
For this reason, Mr. Guterres said he has put forward a recommendation to the UN Security Council to enable predictable and sustainable financing for the AU Support and Stabilization Mission in the country.
Meanwhile in Libya, the UN is also actively engaging in efforts to end the confrontation between armed groups, to preserve the independence of key oversight institutions, to address obstacles preventing national elections, and set the course for long-term stability and prosperity in line with the people's needs and aspirations.
Lessons from Baghdad
The Secretary-General concluded his remarks by commending the progress Iraq has made over since the restoration of sovereignty in 2004, such as strengthening institutions, resolving outstanding disputes through dialogue, and promoting sustainable development as well as human rights.
He said the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) has accompanied the country on this path and is working to ensure the successful delivery of its residual mandate and an orderly drawdown by the end of the year.
'Despite the enormous challenges, let us draw lessons and hope from here in Baghdad. Working in unity and solidarity, we can help resolve conflicts and build a future of peace and prosperity," he said.
Gaza situation 'beyond inhumane'
Speaking later to reporters, Mr. Guterres said the situation for Palestinians in Gaza 'is beyond description, beyond atrocious and beyond inhumane.'
Since 2 March, Israel has banned the entry of cargo into the Strip, including aid and other life-saving supplies. UN agencies continue to warn that the entire population, 2.1 million people, is at risk of famine and one if five faces starvation.
'A policy of siege and starvation makes a mockery of international law,' he said, calling for the blockade to end immediately.

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Newsroom

34 minutes ago

• Newsroom

$170m promised for EV chargers yet to materialise

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The Government is shifting management of the EV-charging infrastructure programme from EECA to National Infrastructure Funding and Financing, the successor organisation to Crown Infrastructure partners, which managed the rollout of ultra-fast broadband. Court says the broadband programme is an example of disciplined public investment. 'A small amount of Crown capital helped crowd in massive private investment, delivered huge gains for New Zealanders, and is now being fully recycled for other infrastructure priorities. That's what a sound business case looks like and it's the kind of approach Act could support.' Transport Minister Bishop says: 'Concessionary loans will bring forward private investment in public EV-charging infrastructure by lowering the cost of capital. They will also provide better value for money by maximising private sector investment while keeping the taxpayers' contribution to a minimum.' Hitting the 10,000 charger target would require 'regular refinement of the co-investment model', officials said, including the 'limited use of grants or suspensory loans' to build chargers in remote or rural locations, and holiday hotspots. (Given the expanding range of new electric cars, it's fair to assume the target might be re-assessed.) A hypercharger for electric cars – New Zealand's fastest – south of Auckland in the Bombay Hills. Photo: ChargeNet Luxon's lament in that Christchurch car park in 2023 was that New Zealand languished at the bottom of the OECD table, with one public charger for every 95 EVs. That was based on the International Energy Agency's Global EV Outlook 2023. There's good news and bad from the 2025 edition. It says New Zealand's ratio has improved to 82 EVs per charger – but we've maintained our bottom rank. (Australia is second on 76, while third-placed Mexico's ratio is 41.) Fundamentally, though, will the 'rapid rollout' of EV charging stations make any difference to EV sales? According to April's Cabinet paper, access to public EV charging is a 'key factor' in enabling faster uptake and while more chargers will give 'greater confidence', any surge in EV sales is 'difficult to quantify'. In 2024, EVs were 6.7 percent of new light vehicle registrations, and 2.6 percent of the total light vehicles. 'Ministry of Transport modelling suggests that by 2030 the share of light EVs could be expected to be around 7.2-11.2 percent of the fleet.' What about Luxon's comment, two years ago, that the way to reduce the country's emissions was to 'accelerate the transition to EVs'? Climate assessments state the EV charger policy doesn't meet the 'threshold for significance', and is expected to deliver only 0.21 million tonnes of emissions reductions between 2026 and 2035. In 2023, New Zealand's gross emissions were 76.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent gases. Without a drastic reduction in emissions, the country will likely have to buy billions of dollars' worth of overseas carbon credits to meet our Paris Agreement targets. New Zealand's rating on Climate Action Tracker is 'highly insufficient', and the Government's approach is being challenged in a world-first legal challenge.

The Spinoff

an hour ago

• The Spinoff

How has New Zealand responded to the escalating conflict in the Middle East?

The UN secretary general has described the American strikes on Iran as 'a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge', while US allies have shown cautious support for the attacks. So what's being said in Aotearoa? Fighting between Israel and Iran ramped up overnight, after the United States' recent entry into the conflict that began earlier in the month when Israel bombed several sites in Iran, including nuclear and military facilities, and Iran retaliated. While New Zealand has echoed concerns from 19 of the countries on the board of International Atomic Energy Agency about Iran's nuclear capability, the government here has been cautious to not expressly support or oppose the American strikes, arguing in favour of diplomacy. 'Ongoing military action in the Middle East is extremely worrying and it is critical further escalation is avoided,' said foreign minister Winston Peters on Sunday. 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During the Covid-19 pandemic and the initial period following the war in Palestine, which started on October 7, 2023, repatriation flights cost up to $5,500 per person, much more than a commercial flight. Because of the inability to safely fly at present, New Zealand embassy staff in Tehran, Iran's capital, have been evacuated with a convoy of people from other governments. Two embassy families have travelled by land to Azerbaijan, which is north of Iran. 'The New Zealand government has a duty of care to its staff posted overseas, so we did the responsible thing to get them out of harm's way,' said Peters. 'If and when opportunities arise to assist the departure of other New Zealanders in Iran and Israel, we will pursue them with urgency.' What is the official government stance on the conflict? In an initial response to the US attacks on Sunday, Peters said in a statement that the ongoing military action in the Middle East was 'extremely worrying', and urged 'all parties to return to talks. Diplomacy will deliver a more enduring resolution than military action.' In an updated statement yesterday afternoon, Peters said, 'New Zealand has consistently opposed Iran's nuclear programme, along with many other countries. Iran cannot be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. In that context, we note the United States' decision to undertake targeted attacks aimed at degrading Iran's nuclear capabilities. We also acknowledge the US statement to the UN Security Council that it was acting in collective self-defence consistent with the UN Charter.' Standing in for Christopher Luxon, who is in Europe, at yesterday's post-cabinet press conference, deputy prime minister David Seymour did not accept that Peters' statement was an endorsement of the US's actions, but denied New Zealand was 'sitting on the fence'. 'Nobody is calling on New Zealand to rush to judgment on the rights and wrongs of the situation,' he said. 'We're far better to keep our counsel because it costs nothing to get more information but going off half-cocked can be very costly for a small nation.' Luxon is currently attending meetings in Europe, including a Nato meeting – New Zealand is a Nato partner. 'What we don't need is more military action, we need a political solution to all of these issues in the Middle East,' Luxon told Radio New Zealand yesterday. 'New Zealand doesn't want to see a nuclear-armed Iran destabilising its neighbours,' he had said the day prior. 'We don't want to see Gaza under Israeli occupation. We don't want to see Hamas holding onto hostages. But the answer in all of those cases, and all of the conflicts within the Middle East is actually dialogue and diplomacy, not military action.' What about the opposition parties? Labour's defence spokesperson, Peeni Henare, said the party 'does not support the ongoing attacks, including the United States' bombing of Iran, which is in breach of international law, and the government should be saying this'. Labour leader Chris Hipkins criticised an earlier comment from Luxon that the strikes on Iran created an 'opportunity' for dialogue. 'I think some of the comments from the prime minister suggesting that you should bomb a country in order to get into negotiations with it are just simply wrong,' Hipkins told The Post. The Greens called on the government to condemn America's actions, with co-leader Marama Davidson saying the attacks were 'a blatant breach of international law and yet another unjustified assault on the Middle East from the US'. Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said the party stood firmly against 'the rising tide of military aggression', and alleged 'Luxon's complicity is putting everyone in Aotearoa at risk'. What have Iranians in New Zealand said? And what about advocacy groups? 'The fear is this war will escalate and more lives will be lost. We hope there will be negotiations for the end of this war soon, but with what America did [on Sunday] we are very stressed and scared about what will happen next,' Elham Salari, an Iranian in New Zealand with family in Tehran, told RNZ. The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa called for the government to condemn the US attacks, while peace group Just Defence, which is planning a protest in Wellington today, said 'we urge our government to distance itself from these violent, irresponsible states [the US and Israel]'. A spokesperson for the New Zealand Jewish Council urged people not to 'conflate the actions of the Israeli government with the Jewish community'. In an RNZ interview yesterday, Ben Kepes said this happened all the time and was 'not only absurd, it's a dangerous conflation'. 'It's concerning that Jews globally are held responsible for the actions of the Israeli government… I have no control over Israel. No sane person wants war, everyone wants de-escalation.' Marilyn Garson, a spokesperson for Alternative Jewish Voices, meanwhile, told The Spinoff that the attack was 'an absolute disaster, likely to spread [through the region] and a terrible distraction from the starvation and bombardment in Gaza '. While the concerns were about Iran being close to developing a nuclear weapon, Garson said that Israel's undeclared nuclear weapon programme was just as pressing an issue. 'The New Zealand government should at least speak about what is right and wrong, legal and illegal,' she said. Do New Zealand international relations and law experts have a perspective? Academics in New Zealand have pointed out that the strikes are illegal under international law. 'There's nowhere in the UN charter that says you can bomb someone who won't negotiate with you. But whether you get to a point where that is actually condemned is going to be very different,' Alexander Gillespie, a Waikato University law professor, told RNZ. 'There's the theory of international law, with the UN Charter, and then there's the reality of international politics at the moment, which means that America will not be condemned internationally by the Security Council or even through the International Court of Justice.' Similarly, Anna Hood, an associate professor in law from the University of Auckland, told RNZ, 'Under the UN Charter, it is only possible to use self-defence if you have been attacked, or you are at imminent risk of being attacked. So that means there are missiles firing at you or you know that very, very shortly that will happen.' Te Kuaka, an independent group advocating for New Zealand to have a progressive foreign policy, condemned the US attacks on Iran. 'This attack constitutes a clear violation of international law and the sovereignty of states,' it said. 'It risks catastrophic regional escalation.'