UN’s Guterres slams impunity over the ‘nonstop nightmare’ caused by Israel in Gaza

The UN General Assembly is meeting for the first time since the state of Israel began its genocidal assault on occupied Gaza. And secretary general Antonio Guterres has heavily criticised the “get-out-of-jail-free card” mentality of numerous countries today. This seemed to be a clear reference to the US and its allies failing to hold Israel to account for its war crimes in Gaza.

Guterres lamented that ongoing impunity risked pushing the world towards a global conflict.

Israel’s genocide in Gaza, without a doubt, has brought into question the UN’s credibility as a worthwhile institution, as a small handful of nations have been able to ignore the will of the overwhelming majority of members.

Israel’s continuing impunity is ‘edging us towards the unimaginable’

Addressing Israel’s Gaza genocide in particular, Guterres insisted:

Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. The speed and scale of the killing and destruction in Gaza are unlike anything I have seen in my years as secretary general.

He also warned that:

Gaza is a nonstop nightmare that threatens to take the entire region with it

And he stressed that:

the level of impunity in the world is politically indefensible and morally intolerable. Today, a growing number of governments and others feel entitled to get-out-of-jail-free cards. They can trample international law, they can violate the United Nations charter, they can turn a blind eye to international human rights conventions or the decisions of international courts…

They can thumb their nose at international humanitarian law, they can invade another country, lay waste to all societies or utterly disregard the welfare of their own people and nothing will happen.

Many speakers from different countries mentioned the genocide in Gaza and urged action against Israel. But the secretary general’s comments above were a clear nod in Israel’s direction, specifically considering that the US and its lobby group of loyal nations have consistently blocked UN efforts to hold the Middle Eastern colonial power to account.

UN chief: ‘we are heading towards the unimaginable’

Finally, Guterres seemed to suggest that the lack of respect for international law is pushing the world closer and closer to a global conflict, saying:

We are edging towards the unimaginable. A powder keg which risks engulfing the world.

UN chief Antonio Guterres highlights Israel's war on Gaza, attacks on Lebanon and Israel’s illegal settlements as he criticised the ‘growing level of impunity in the world’ in his opening address at the annual UN General Assembly. pic.twitter.com/c7b22GJaVP

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 24, 2024