Sierra Leone Calls for Urgent Action at UN Security Council Over Gaza Crisis

Sierra Leone has issued a strong and uncompromising statement at the United Nations Security Council, condemning the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and urging immediate international action.

Speaking during the Council’s briefing on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Question of Palestine, Sierra Leone’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Dr. Michael Imran Kanu, described the conditions in Gaza as “beyond catastrophic. It is inhumane and indefensible.”

Briefings delivered by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Tom Fletcher, and UNICEF Executive Director, Ms. Catherine Russell, painted a grim picture of the humanitarian toll since the launch of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in late May 2025. Sierra Leone expressed grave concern over reports that more than 700 Palestinian civilians have been killed near aid distribution points with more than 600 of those deaths occurring at or around GHF-operated sites.

“These are not unfortunate side effects of conflict,” Ambassador Kanu declared. “They are the result of deliberate policies that deprive civilians of their most basic rights.”

Citing international legal frameworks, Sierra Leone reminded the Council that the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits collective punishment and obliges occupying powers to ensure access to food, healthcare, and other essential services.

Furthermore, the Rome Statute defines the intentional starvation of civilians by impeding humanitarian relief as a war crime.

Sierra Leone also referenced the recent ruling in South Africa v. Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which issued binding provisional measures compelling Israel to allow humanitarian access into Gaza. “The denial of food, water, shelter, and medical care, especially alongside mass destruction and displacement, can constitute evidence of genocidal acts,” Ambassador Kanu emphasized.

He further warned that the obligation to prevent genocide is a peremptory norm of international law, one owed by all States to the global community. “A blanket refutation, however consistent, is not a sufficient response to an erga omnes obligation,” he stated.

Sierra Leone called on the Security Council to take decisive and immediate action, outlining five key demands:

1. A complete cessation of hostilities and the start of a credible, irreversible political process toward a permanent ceasefire.

2. The immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, both Israeli civilians held by Hamas and Palestinian detainees held without due process.

3. An immediate lifting of aid restrictions and full, unhindered humanitarian access.

4. Full compliance with ICJ provisional measures, including facilitation of humanitarian relief.

5. Independent, impartial, and transparent investigations into all alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.

“As we recall the solemn words of ‘Never again,’ it must apply universally, to all peoples, in all places, and at all times,” Sierra Leone concluded.