Shuli Davidovich
17 November 2011
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I wish to express Israel’s disappointment with this politically motivated resolution. Let there be no doubt: at its core, this resolution is designed to institutionalize an anti-Israel narrative within the United Nations and to advance the political agenda of certain parties here with us today. It serves no other purpose. Again, this Committee has chosen to waste its time with this cynical distraction, instead of focusing on the many pressing issues of economic and social development.
It has been five years since the oil slick. Ironically, the more time that passes, the more that the effects of the oil slick diminish, the longer and the more radical the text of this resolution becomes.
This resolution cherry-picks information. It fails to provide the relevant context from the 2006 conflict. In particular, it makes no mention that the Hezbollah terrorist organization started the conflict by launching an attack across an internationally recognized border. There is also absolutely no acknowledgement of the Lebanese State’s responsibilities in that conflict.
Why doesn’t this resolution mention the major environmental destruction that the war caused in Israel? Ancient historical sites were damaged and destroyed. Many types of endangered fauna, as well as flora were burned in the forest fires set by the barrage of Hezbollah rockets.
This resolution also fails to mention Israel’s extensive cooperation with the United Nations Environmental Program, other UN agencies, and NGOs that worked to assess and address the environmental situation along the coast of Lebanon. It overlooks Israel’s active participation in the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution. Following the oil spill in 2006, Israel responded immediately to requests from the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea to assist and issue permits for the aerial photographic flights requested by international agencies.
Finally, this resolution intentionally ignores the findings of the report by the Post Conflict Assessment Branch of UNEP following the conflict, which paints a picture of the situation that is drastically different from the one implied by this resolution.
Such oversights are not accidental. They unveil the real motive behind this resolution.
For these reasons, my delegation has called for a vote and we will vote against this resolution. I urge other delegations that are committed to advancing the professional objectives of this Committee to do the same.
