President,
Italy voted yes on the draft under consideration today.
Such a vote is the logical consequence of the decision taken by Italy to vote in favor of the resolution, adopted on December 19th 2024, requesting for an advisory opinion of the ICJ on the obligations of Israel in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations, other international organizations and third States.
As a country firmly believing in multilateralism and in a rule-based international order, Italy is strongly committed to the international rule of law. The ICJ, the world’s highest judicial body, is the essential pillar of such international legal order, including when it releases advisory opinions. Within this context, Italy fully recognizes the consultative competence of the International Court of Justice to make legal determinations on matters of international law with regard to questions posed to it by the General Assembly, as it is the case today.
The ICJ advisory opinion recognized that Israel is bound to ensure that the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory has the essential supplies of daily life, including food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and services.
Israel also has specific obligations towards the UN and its agencies stemming from art. 105 of the UN Charter to ensure full respect for the privileges and immunities accorded to the United Nations, including its agencies and bodies, and its officials, in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Requesting Israel to abide by the obligations outlined by the Court in no way weakens Italy’s solidarity with Israel vis-à-vis the horrific, brutal terrorist attacks of 7th October 2023 nor Italy’s longstanding firm commitment to Israel’s security. Quite the opposite. We are convinced that it is exactly through the full respect of international law that peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians can be achieved.
With a view to UNRWA, while sharing the view expressed by the Court that Israel has an obligation to ensure full respect for the inviolability of the premises of the United Nations, including those of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, we also believe that the Agency must continue on the path of reform outlined in the Colonna Report, committing to definitively dispel, beyond any doubt, any accusation of connivance with Hamas.
Finally, we would have appreciated to see in the resolution, an explicit mention of Security Council Resolution 2803, endorsing the United States-backed ‘Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict ‘which constitutes now the “only game in town”, a positive development for the Gaza Strip and the necessary reference framework to solidify the cease-fire and to further build on it in order to reach a just and comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the two-state solution.
