Higgins condemns Gaza child deaths in his St Patrick’s Day message
President Michael D Higgins has called for “an immediate ceasefire” and an end to the killing of “such a huge proportion” of children in Gaza as well as the “release of hostages” in his St Patrick’s Day message.
He said Irish people scattered across the world, and all those who feel a connection to the country, were part of a global family with a shared culture and heritage.
“How much better it would be if these celebrations were taking place in conditions of peace and shared concern for the sustainable future of our planet and all forms of life on it,” he said.
The President said child deaths and malnutrition were carried each day on television screens around the world.
He said an example of “Irishness” at its best, in a world marked by conflicts, was our “practical contribution to peace-building”.
“On this, our national day, we pay tribute to all those Irish women and men directly engaged in peacekeeping and in humanitarian relief around the world and of whom we are so proud.”
Attacks on citizens have risen, as witnessed in the Hamas attack on Israel which killed 1,200 people last October followed by a “horrific assault as collective punishment”, he said.
More than 32,000 people have so far been killed, mostly women and children, in Gaza in Israel’s reprisal.
He said that the lead taken by Ireland in giving increased and additional aid to [Palestinian refugee agency] UNRWA is an initiative of which Irish people “can be proud”.
“So on this St Patrick’s Day 2024, this is a special year for holding in our minds the Irish involved in building and supporting peace in so many regions.”
Mr Higgins said humanity was currently faced with “unprecedented challenges of a global kind”.
“The United Nations, and multilateralism, itself is under grave threat. Secretary general António Guterres’s recent comments about how parties to conflict are not only ignoring but trampling on international law, cannot be ignored.”
He said that such a rejection of international law, of international responsibility, emphasises once again how the Security Council has been “weakened by abuse of the veto”.
This, he said, had led to its failure to respond with appropriate agreed resolutions both to Israel’s military operations in Gaza and to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
“Now is the time for all those countries of the world who wish to see a world of peace, the building of a sustainable, more equal world, to come together and ensure our multilateral system is reformed to make these vital goals a reality,” he said.