Palestine deserves independence, Nigeria says at UNGA

Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that the Palestinian people deserve to have a home of their own on territories already recognised by international law.

In an address of a little more than 20 minutes, Mr Shettima who represented President Bola Tinubu, said the situation in Gaza and other Palestinian Territories are heart-wrenching.

“We cannot discuss war and peace, conflicts and reconciliation or digital humanitarian imperatives today without reflecting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has been raging since 7th October last year,” Mr Shettima said.

“Palestine deserves independence, recognised by this very Assembly and by international law, which is being routinely ignored,” Mr Shettima said.

He added that Nigeria continues to urge efforts to bring back on track the ‘two-state solution’, which offers the prospect of a new beginning for the region.

Most of the world leaders speaking at the United Nations focused on the war in Gaza, condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza, where local health authority figures show that more than 41,000 people have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began nearly one year ago.

Other countries who spoke similarly to Nigeria at UNGA on Palestinian independence include South Africa, Namibia, Greece, and Colombia.

The conflict predates this period and has been simmering for a better part of half a century.

Mr Shettima said the war in Gaza shows that the international community has failed to live up to the spirit and aspirations of the United Nations to rid the world of inequality, violence and domination of one people by another.

“Justice is antithetical to revenge,” Mr Shettima said, noting, “Freedom is an inalienable right and a natural entitlement that cannot be denied to any people.”

The Nigerian leader also reaffirmed his country’s commitment to supporting United Nations Peacekeeping Operations.

“We recognise the need for Africa to build strong and professional armies to meet the multiple challenges we face. Consequently, we reiterate the call for international support to operationalise the African Standby Force, in addition to the provision of requisite support and resources to ensure the upgrade, take-off and effectiveness of a Centre of Excellence on issues of counter-terrorism in Africa.”

Mr Shettima urged world leaders to recommit themselves to multilateralism by deepening relations among member states of the United Nations in line with the principles of inclusivity, equality and cooperation.

This, he said, is the surest guarantee of global action against existential challenges faced by the international community.

Among other things, the vice president also insists on permanent seats for Nigeria and other African nations at the UN Security Council

He also calls for collective action against hunger, terrorism, climate change, and others. Lastly, he seeks renewed financial architecture, and debt forgiveness for developing countries.