An Open Letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Secretary-General António Guterres
United Nations
UN Headquarters, S-3800
New York, NY 10017
February 19, 2024

Re: Inauguration of UN peacekeeping mission in Gaza

Dear Mr. Secretary-General:

We respectfully submit the following request for your immediate review.

The whole world waits with tremendous and increasing trepidation as Israel prepares to invade Rafah.

We all saw what happened in northern Gaza post the 10/7 during the first waves of attacks by the IDF against the countless Palestinian civilians who were mercilessly killed and seriously wounded.

In the wake of that unparalleled slaughter of civilian innocents, South Africa instituted proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel alleging genocide.

The final ruling of that court proceeding was very clear as follows:

“The Court issued an Order in relation to the provisional measures request on 26 January 2024, in which it ordered Israel to take all measures to prevent any acts that could be considered genocidal according to the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Source: South Africa v. Israel (Genocide Convention)

So, here we are today with the IDF massing its soldiers and weapons of war and other armaments poised to enter Rafah.

In light of the several pronouncements that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party cohorts have made about Israel’s strong intention to invade Rafah (see attachment below), don’t we have a rapidly developing situation very similar to many others over decades of UN intervention where genocide was either averted or significantly mitigated?*

*As a matter of historical fact, there have been several conflicts that involved UN peacekeeping missions which were not nearly as compelling, or urgent, or so highly consequential as the present predicament in Gaza.

Yes, we are well aware of how intensely charged this particular war has been.  And, how easily Rafah can become the site of yet another horrific cataclysm where thousands of women and children, elderly and inform are killed as recently occurred in north Gaza.  Therefore, may we suggest the following UN-sponsored, genocide-preventing game plan for your expeditious consideration?

The United Nations can deploy a peacekeeping force comprised of soldiers and peace officers from member nations, EXCEPT Israel and the countries that support Israel, to go into Gaza and set the stage to free the Israeli hostages as well as to forestall a massacre by their very presence.

As you know, the Secretary-General can introduce a resolution to the Security Council and, if drafted with the most diplomatically appropriate and factual language, any member nation would have a difficult time opposing this quite necessary humanitarian solution to end the war.

We understand that, with Israel participation being eliminated from the resolution, this initiative would have a very good chance of being approved.

Just the introduction of the resolution will serve to undermine Israel’s looming ground operation, which will inevitably have a devastating impact on the roughly 1.4 million Palestinians currently sheltering in Rafah.

Both the UN resolution and a sizable peacekeeping force could lead to getting the hostages released and end the conflict in Gaza thereby saving tens of thousands of lives.

PM Netanyahu will be forced into a ceasefire and letting the UN peacekeeping force take over, especially because the Israeli citizens are now rising up and demanding the release of the hostages.

Mr. Secretary-General, we firmly believe that you are the best person in the world to end this impending disaster.

Please, sir, seize the day, as ONLY you can given your pivotal position at the United Nations.

And, please be aware that…….

If not Rafah, then where?
If not now, then when?
If not you, then who?

Respectfully,

A Global Group of Concerned Advocates for Peace in Gaza

P.S. The following stunning statistic was posted by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and it reflects the urgent need to deploy a UN peacekeeping force in Rafah post-haste.

“About 100,000 Palestinians have been killed, reported missing, or wounded since 7 October 2023 due to Israel’s ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said in a statement on Saturday, 13 Jan 2024, noting that the number includes those who now have long-term disabilities.”
— OCHA

Cc: UN General Assembly

Attachment

Israel’s Gantz threatens to invade Rafah by Ramadan ‘if hostages not released’