George Vella tells UN ... Millions of civilians continue to be impaired by a multitude of crises

During his visit to the United States and Canada (May 18 to 29th), the President of Malta, George Vella, held a meeting in New York (right) with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, who highly commended Malta on the work it is conducting at the UN Security Council as a nonpermanent member. He referred in particular to how the Maltese Presidency of the Security Council, during February, managed to address very sensitive dossiers with great success

President Vella also delivered a speech during an open debate at the UN on the protection of civilians in armed conflict organised by the Swiss Presidency of the United Nations Security Council, in which he pointed out that the lives of millions of civilians worldwide continue to be "impaired by a multitude of crises", including conflict-induced hunger, targeted violence, displacement, and climate change "From the Central African Republic to Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Ethiopia, the correlation between conflict and hunger is evident", said the President

Regarding the ongoing crises and complex humanitarian emergencies in various parts of the globe, President Vella stated that the UN Security Council must safeguard the protection of civilians and sustain humanitarian access and support.

"Arbitrary, discriminatory, and bureaucratic impediments that hinder the rapid delivery of aid that is vital are unacceptable, as without timely humanitarian access, there can be no meaningful humanitarian response", the President stated while welcoming the recent adoption of Resolution 2664, which provides for a humanitarian exemption for all UN sanctions regimes He also reiterated Malta's position that "civilians are not and should never be a target Humanitarian workers, helpers, and volunteers who aid them are not targets Objects and services indispensable to the survival of civilian populations are not targets. These distinctions are clear. Never can it be said that we did not know," he said

President Vella urged an increase in funding for humanitarian responses One must avoid seeing arms and ammunition continuously arriving in conflict zones In contrast, civilians in these zones are threatened by hunger, if not death, because humanitarian con- voys cannot reach them

He said that the world relies on the work and leadership of this Council to protect the most vulnerable from harm, suffering, or worse," concluded the President

Following the open debate, President Vella, who was accompanied by the Minister for Home Affairs, Security, Reforms and Equality Byron Camilleri and the delegation, held separate bilateral meetings with several personalities and Heads of states. He also visited Ground Zero in New York and laid a wreath at the 9/11 Memorial in remembrance of the victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks of 2001 and the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing, and paid a visit to the the 9/11 Memorial Museum

Aside of these meetings, the Presiden and his delegation visited members of the Maltese community in the US and Canada at their respective clubs