Brussels - New York: Europe and the Arabs
The European Union expressed its concern about new legislation that grants temporary powers to the government to prevent foreign media networks from operating in Israel. In a post on the X website, Luis Bueno, the European spokesman for the Middle East and North Africa, said:
Freedom of the press must be guaranteed everywhere, including in contexts of war.
For his part, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the immediate implementation of the resolution adopted by the UN Security Council last week to cease fire in the Gaza Strip, for humanitarian reasons, and to expand the scope of humanitarian aid provided to the residents of the Strip.
Guterres said in his speech before an informal meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on human security, according to the official website of the United Nations, when I hear the phrase human security, I think of two million people in Gaza who do not enjoy security at all and are desperately searching for protection from hunger, disease and the continuing Israeli bombing.
He added that nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza, noting that the devastating Israeli air strikes that killed employees of the World Central Kitchen organization raised the number of aid workers killed in this conflict to 196, including more than 175 United Nations employees.
He explained that this is unreasonable but an inevitable consequence of the way the war is being conducted and demonstrates once again the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire on humanitarian grounds, the unconditional release of all hostages, and the expansion of humanitarian aid to Gaza, as demanded by the Security Council in its resolution adopted this week. the past.
He continued that the world faces very serious challenges, and conflicts, the climate emergency and the global cost of living crisis are combining to reverse decades of development gains.
According to media reports, the Secretary-General noted that many countries are struggling to implement the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, as deep divisions and growing inequality lead to people’s growing sense of anxiety and even fear.
He stressed that the concept of human security has an important role to play in strengthening ties at the local, national and regional levels, and providing the impetus to address our common challenges.