Ambassador Cherith Norman Chalet
Acting U.S. Deputy Representative to the United Nations
U.S. Mission to the United Nations
New York, New York
December 3, 2019
AS DELIVERED
The United States once again, opposed the five resolutions voted upon today, which are entirely biased against Israel. These are in addition to the ten other resolutions in the General Assembly this year, that criticize Israel.
Let me reiterate, this one-sided approach only undermines trust among the Israelis, Palestinians, and the international community, and fails to create the kind of positive environment critical to achieving peace.
We are deeply disappointed that, despite support for reform, member states continue to disproportionally single out Israel year after year through these types of resolutions. It is regrettable that the United Nations – an institution founded upon the idea that all nations should be treated equally – should be so often used by member states to treat one state in particular, Israel, unequally.
Furthermore, several of the resolutions presented here today support UN bodies whose primary purpose unbelievably is to target Israel, such as the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. These bodies cost the UN $6 million annually, but bring us no closer to a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Rather, they promote a culture of bias against Israel, as demonstrated by the anti-Israeli tone in the events, publications, and rhetoric produced by the bodies, and even more concerning consume scarce UN resources that could be better devoted to other priorities.
These resolutions are quick to condemn all manner of Israeli actions, but say nothing or almost nothing about terrorist attacks against innocent civilians. This is particularly apparent when we see Israel blamed for the situation in Gaza, while none of these resolutions even mentions the word “Hamas,” or any armed groups in Gaza.
As we have made clear at all levels of our government, the United States remains firmly and consistently committed to achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. Resolutions like those introduced here today only distract from this process. One-sided resolutions do not help advance peace. The cause of peace will be served when the bias promoted in these resolutions against Israel ends. The United States will continue to oppose every effort to delegitimize Israel, and we thank other Member States who joined us by voting “no” on these resolutions.
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