U.S. aid policy on Gaza 'absurd' given military support for Israel, UN expert says

Record ID: 1771170

  • Title: U.S. aid policy on Gaza 'absurd' given military support for Israel, UN expert says
  • Date: 8th March 2024
  • Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (MARCH 8, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD, MICHAEL FAKHRI, SAYING: “The only thing I can imagine is that this is, so it's not serving a humanitarian purpose, that's very clear. It doesn't serve a clear international political purpose, because it doesn't fulfil any human rights by any definition or address the ICJ's concerns by any definition or prevent starvation and famine by any definition. I think we have to think domestically. I think this is for a domestic audience.” NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD, MICHAEL FAKHRI, SAYING: “This, my best educated guess, is probably a performance to try and meet a domestic audience with elections around the corner. That's the only, that's the only rational coherent interpretation, because from what I described to you at the front end, from a humanitarian perspective, from an international perspective, from a human rights perspective, it is absurd in a dark, cynical way.” RAFAH, GAZA (MARCH 5, 2024) (REUTERS) CHILD’S HAND HOLDING METAL BOWL CHILDREN GATHERING AND HOLDING CONTAINERS FOOD BEING POURED INTO POTS / CHARITY WORKERS POURING FOOD INTO POTS CHILDREN GATHERING AT SOUP KITCHEN / FOOD BEING POURED INTO POTS GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (MARCH 8, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD, MICHAEL FAKHRI, SAYING: “In situations like this - this is common, this is what's happening in Gaza - what happens is if you only have so much to feed each other, you always feed your children first. That's what always happens, that's what's happening. People are foregoing meals to feed their children, but what are they feeding their children? Animal feed. What water are they offering them? Dirty water, and that makes their children more sick. So imagine you're a parent and what your choices are, watch your child waste away, or feed them something you know is killing them, or hope you all get bombed at the same time. These are your choices.” NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD, MICHAEL FAKHRI, SAYING: “Now that it's the issue of starvation, I think countries are slowly, those that weren't willing to engage on the issue, are slowly realising something needs to be done, and that's ridiculous. How slow? How many more people need to die? How many more statistics? How many more stories? How many more pictures do we need? The Human Rights Council has done nothing, and that's what I told them yesterday. This is on your watch were my words, and I told them I spoke to them in a personal capacity I said, 'I'm talking to you as human beings. Those of you with children go home and look at your child, and think about what's going on in Gaza.' And I said, 'I appreciate the political constraints you have as diplomats but I don't know how you can live with yourselves.'” NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD, MICHAEL FAKHRI, SAYING: “Nothing's come out of the Human Rights Council, not even a no. At least in the Security Council they try and we know it's going to fail and at least there's something - something we can yell at and criticise. There's been nothing here. So we have a genocide, we have a starvation, and we have a historic degree of the speed of hunger, and we've seen our institutions fail. So I think the world will never be the same, the U.N. will not be the same, international law will never be the same after Gaza, but I can only hope it will be better, but I don't know if it will be. It could be worse after this.” NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS VARIOUS OF EXTERIORS OF THE U.N.
  • Embargoed: 22nd March 2024 17:51
  • Keywords: Gaza Hamas Israel Special Rapporteur United Nations air drop famine food war
  • Location: UNDISCLOSED LOCATION / GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / RAFAH, GAZA
  • City: UNDISCLOSED LOCATION / GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / RAFAH, GAZA
  • Country: Palestinian Occupied Territory
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East,Military Conflicts
  • Reuters ID: LVA004661108032024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:A U.N. expert on Friday (March 8) criticised U.S. efforts to boost humanitarian aid to Gaza, such as plans for a temporary port and recent airdrops, which he said were "absurd" and "cynical" methods so long as military aid to Israel continues.
    Amid warnings of looming famine five months into Israel's campaign against Islamist Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, the U.S. military has carried out air drops of meals into the enclave and on Thursday (March 7) announced a temporary port.
    "The time when countries use air drops and these maritime piers is usually, if not always, in situations when you want to deliver humanitarian aid into enemy territory," U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food Michael Fakhri told reporters in Geneva, calling them methods of "last resort."
    Air drops in particular "will do very little to alleviate hunger malnutrition, and do nothing to slow down famine," he said, warning of chaos as starving people joust for supplies. As for the port, he said no one wanted it.
    Fakhri, a Lebanese-Canadian law professor mandated by the U.N. Human Rights Council to document and advise on global food security, said such methods made little sense while Washington continues to provide military support to Israel.
    U.S. legislation foresees an additional $17.6 billion in new military assistance to Israel as its war against Hamas continues in response to the group's deadly Oct. 7 attacks.
    "That's more than ally-ship. That's a marriage...It's almost incomprehensible," he said of U.S. support to Israel, calling the recent aid measures a "performance to try to meet a domestic audience with (U.S. presidential) elections around the corner."
    Fakhri, who has been critical of Israel on social media, on Thursday told the Geneva Human Rights Council that Israel was destroying Gaza's food system as part of a broader "starvation campaign." Israel's envoy called this a lie and said it strongly denies restricting aid into Gaza.
    (Production: Cecile Mantovani)
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