Canada Statement to the United Nations Security Council – Quarterly open debate on the Middle East

23 April 2020

Members of the UN Security Council,

The Government of Canada thanks the Council and the Dominican Republic as President for the opportunity to contribute to this Quarterly Debate, under circumstances never before experienced in the Council’s 75-year history. The COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the globe has affected every country in profound ways, and has added a new dimension of complexity and crisis management to regions already facing challenging and multifaceted security issues.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is no exception to these new and urgent challenges. And despite the longstanding issues between the parties, we see positive signs of coordination and cooperation amid this pandemic. Both the Israeli and Palestinian leadership recognize that this pandemic does not discriminate and both sides have a shared interest in combatting the spread of COVID-19. Canada welcomes the positive engagement we have witnessed between Israeli and Palestinian officials, including between Presidents Rivlin and Abbas, and we remain hopeful that this goodwill and cooperation can be sustained in the future, beyond the crisis response to the pandemic. We also extend our sincere thanks to the efforts of the UN, led by Nickolay Mladenov and Jamie McGoldrick, and its response to the crisis to date.

We would note in particular the early actions taken by the Government of Israel to prevent the spread of the virus and to expand their testing capacity, as well as the quick response by the Palestinian Authority that has helped contain the spread of the virus in the West Bank. We also welcome the assistance provided by the Government of Israel, including facilitating the transfer of urgently needed protective equipment, test kits, and other resources. As with many member states, we are particularly concerned about the potential consequences of a major outbreak in Gaza which could quickly overwhelm its limited resources and its extremely fragile healthcare system. In addition, the economic and food insecurity implications of the pandemic would further exacerbate these concerns. The training provided by NGOs that Israel has facilitated for Palestinian doctors and nurses, including Gazans, is a great example of positive steps to help protect Palestinians. We continue to call on Israeli and Palestinian authorities to take every step to protect the most vulnerable, including women and children, as they are disproportionately impacted by the crisis.

Canada has committed significant new funding in direct support of global efforts to address the COVID-19 crisis. The allocation of almost CAD $160 million that we announced on April 5, 2020 includes a total of CAD $4 million for the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and UNRWA to support the urgent health care needs of at-risk Palestinians, including refugees, in response to the UN’s emergency appeals to counter COVID-19.

Canada also recognizes that the COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating the pre-existing needs of poor and vulnerable Palestinians, and that, collectively, we must avoid diverting resources from these needs as we respond to COVID-19. Canada remains committed to providing assistance focused on empowering Palestinian women and girls, economic growth that works for everyone, and inclusive governance. In addition, Canada is announcing today a new allocation of CAD $18 million in humanitarian assistance, to address urgent priorities identified in the UN’s 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan for the West Bank and Gaza. This funding will help particularly vulnerable Palestinians – such as women and girls, survivors of gender-based violence, and marginalized communities – to access food, health care, water and sanitation services, through experienced UN agencies and civil society organizations. 

During this unprecedented global crisis, we reiterate Canada’s steadfast commitment to multilateralism and the rules-based international order, as well as our strong support for Secretary-General Guterres’ call for an immediate global ceasefire in the wake of the pandemic. We also reiterate Canada’s longstanding support for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. During these trying times, Canada applauds how Israelis and Palestinians have found ways to work together during this crisis, and we encourage them to continue to seek creative and innovative ways to ensure that the Palestinian Authority has the resources it requires during this pandemic. We hope that COVID-19-motivated cooperation can form the basis of more sustained engagement in the longer term, and encourage continued cooperation through a regional response to the pandemic. We also wish to use this opportunity to express serious concern for the new and resurgent forms of antisemitism, islamophobia and other forms of discrimination we are witnessing at this time. We must continue to stand together to protect vulnerable communities and build more inclusive societies around the world.

Canada will continue to work together with all our partners, Israelis and Palestinians included, to respond to this global crisis.