BARBADOS | CARICOM urged to highlight Israeli Genocide in Gaza at UN Confab in September

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica August 12, 2024 - In the shadow of an ongoing humanitarian crisis, a clarion call echoes from the Caribbean shores. Ambassador David Comissiong, Barbados’ representative to CARICOM, urges regional leaders to seize the upcoming September 2024 United Nations General Assembly as a crucible for change. 

His mission: to galvanize the global community into decisive action, stemming the tide of what he describes as a "genocidal action" unfolding in Gaza under Israel's hand.

Comissiong's impassioned plea isn't built on rhetoric alone. He anchors his argument in the sobering findings of a July 20, 2024 article from The Lancet, a beacon of medical scholarship. 

Penned by a trio of esteemed researchers - Dr. Rasha Khatib, Dr. Martin McKee, and Dr. Salim Yusuf - the piece, titled "Counting the Dead in Gaza: difficult but essential", paints a harrowing picture of the human cost in the conflict-torn region.

The Lancet's stark figures serve as a grim testament to the scale of devastation. As Comissiong notes, the article's revelations demand a broader audience beyond the medical community. He highlights the core of the article:

"By June 19, 2024, 37,396 people had been killed in the Gaza Strip since the attack by Hamas and the Israeli invasion in October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, as reported by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs …..… However, the number of reported deaths is likely an underestimate. 

“The non-governmental organization Airwars undertakes detailed assessments of incidents in the Gaza Strip and often finds that not all names of identifiable victims are included in the Ministry's list. Furthermore, the UN estimates that, by February 29, 2024, 35% of buildings in the Gaza Strip had been destroyed, so the number of bodies still buried in the rubble is likely substantial, with estimates of more than 10,000.

"Armed conflicts have indirect health implications beyond the direct harm from violence. Even if the conflict ends immediately, there will continue to be many indirect deaths in the coming months and years from causes such as reproductive, communicable and non-communicable diseases. 

“The total death toll is expected to be large given the intensity of this conflict; destroyed health-care infrastructure; severe shortages of food, water, and shelter; the population's inability to flee to safe places; and the loss of funding to UNRWA, one of the very few humanitarian organizations still active in the Gaza Strip.

"In the recent conflicts, such indirect deaths range from three to 15 times the number of direct deaths. Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza. 

“Using the 2022 Gaza Strip population estimate of 2,375,259, this would translate to 7.9% of the total population in the Gaza Strip".

These chilling statistics, Comissiong argues, lend scientific heft to CARICOM's consistent stance on the Gaza crisis. He points to the organization's comprehensive Statement On The Ongoing Situation In Gaza from February 2024, which condemned the "incessant Israeli bombardment of Gaza" and its catastrophic consequences. CARICOM's leaders had then called for "an immediate and unconditional ceasefire" and unimpeded humanitarian access.

Despite CARICOM's endorsement of US President Joseph Biden's three-phase ceasefire proposal in June 2024, the situation remains dire. As the September UN General Assembly looms, Comissiong suggests it's time for CARICOM to revisit its February stance, particularly the call for the UN to invoke the "Uniting for Peace" resolution.

In Comissiong's view, The Lancet's findings underscore an apocalyptic scenario: the potential loss of 8% of Gaza's population, with the threat of further decimation if hostilities continue. This grim forecast, he contends, must spur CARICOM leaders to action at the upcoming UN General Assembly.

As the Caribbean's diplomatic corps prepares for this crucial international gathering, Comissiong's message resonates with urgency. For CARICOM, he asserts, the September assembly represents more than a routine diplomatic exercise. It's a "Gaza Mission" - a moral imperative to rally the world towards ending what he views as a genocidal campaign, and to write a new chapter of peace in this long-suffering region.

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