The Nigerian Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has identified with the struggle of the Palestinians for independence.
Shettima, who addressed world leaders at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, challenged the international community to work on fostering justice and peace in line with the aspirations of the United Nations.
UN sustainable development goals are rooted in the well-crafted framework to ensure peace, justice and development globally.
Speaking at the assembly, the vice president stressed the need for international law supporting Palestinian independence.
Shettima said, “We can’t discuss war and peace, conflicts and reconciliation or humanitarian imperatives today without reflecting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Today, we are all witnesses to the heart-wrenching situation in Gaza and other Palestinian Territories. We can’t discuss war and peace, conflicts and reconciliation or humanitarian imperatives without reflecting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has been raging since 7th October 2023.
“What this tells us is that the international community has failed to live up to the spirit and aspirations of the United Nations to rid the world of inequality, violence, and dominance of one people by another. Justice is antithetical to revenge.
“Freedom is a natural entitlement that can’t be denied to any people. The Palestinian people deserve independence. They deserve to have their own territories already recognised by this very Assembly and international law, which is being routinely ignored.”
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The Palestine and Israel war has raged for several months, claiming scores of lives and properties.
Arbiterz gathered that as of September 2024, 41,431 Palestinians and 1,706 Israelis have reportedly been killed in the Israel–Hamas war.
While foregrounding the role of global peace in the global struggle for sustainable development, Shettima’s comment revealed the urgent need to ensure equality among UN member states.
