New York – Ma’an – The State of Palestine, represented by the Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, participated in the Arab ministerial meeting on the situation of persons with disabilities in the Gaza Strip in light of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, within the 17th Conference of States Parties to the Convention on Persons with Disabilities, which His work began at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Mansour thanked the General Secretariat of the Arab League and the Republic of Egypt, in its capacity as Chairman of the 43rd session of the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs, for organizing this important meeting. He also thanked the Arab countries that received the wounded who were evacuated from the Gaza Strip as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression.
He stressed that the Palestinian government attaches importance to reducing disability rates as an important goal in the field of public health, noting that the
number of individuals with disabilities in the Gaza Strip has increased from 2007 to 2022 due to Israeli measures and aggression, and will increase this year due to the current aggression.
Mansour explained that people with disabilities face harsh conditions due to the risks they are exposed to due to their difficulty in accessing health services and the lack of care due to Israeli measures.
He stressed the necessity of an immediate and sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in order to begin the recovery phase for those wounded and their families, calling for the necessity of implementing the recent Security Council resolution for the ceasefire.
He continued: It is necessary to continue concerted Arab and international efforts in order to end the suffering in the Gaza Strip, provide urgent aid, and put pressure on Israel to end its siege of the Gaza Strip, open all commercial crossings and withdraw completely from the Strip, and begin the phase of recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction, which will
ensure the return of life. In a way that guarantees the rights of individuals and people with disabilities.
He stressed the need to confront all attempts to forcefully displace our people and perpetuate a second Nakba, and to work to create a political horizon that leads to an end to the occupation and the independence of the State of Palestine in accordance with agreed upon international references.
Source: Maan News Agency