STATEMENT (4C) : MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT (NAM) ON PALESTINE AT THE SIDELINES OF XIX MIDTERM MINISTERIAL MEETING OF NAM

STATEMENT BY

H.E. AMBASSADOR AHMAD FAISAL MUHAMAD

PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MALAYSIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS

THE MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT (NAM)

ON PALESTINE AT THE SIDELINES OF

XIX MIDTERM MINISTERIAL MEETING OF NAM

KAMPALA, UGANDA

Chair,

First, I thank the Republic of Uganda for convening this important meeting at the sidelines of the NAM Ministerial Meeting. I also thank His Excellency Minister Riyad Mansour, the distinguished representative of the State of Palestine, for his briefing.

2. More than 67,000 including over 20,000 children, were killed in Israel’s disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks against Palestinians in Gaza, which lasted more than two years.  In addition, it also recorded unprecedented number of deaths among humanitarian workers and media personnel.

3. Thus, Malaysia welcomes the ceasefire in Gaza, pursuant to the first phase of the agreement to end the hostilities, achieved recently in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

4. We commend the important roles played by certain NAM Members, particularly Egypt and Qatar, in the negotiation process.

5. Now that ceasefire has been achieved, we must ensure that humanitarian access resume unimpeded and at scale, into and throughout Gaza, including the supply of food, medicines, shelter, water and fuel. 

6. In this connection, we reiterate our unwavering support for the United Nations and its agencies, particularly UNRWA, whose essential services to Palestinians are indispensable and irreplaceable, and therefore must be safeguarded, until empowered Palestinian institutions are able to assume such a responsibility. 

Chair,

7. Malaysia welcomes the adoption, with overwhelming support, of the New York Declaration at the UN General Assembly on 12 September 2025. We look forward to the implementation of this Declaration, which provides the pathway towards realising the self-determination of the Palestinian people in a sovereign and independent state, in accordance with pre-1967 borders, and East Jerusalem as its Capital.

8. We wish to emphasise that the right to self-determination is recognised under the UN Charter and International Law.  Palestinians’ right to statehood must not be treated as a concession or attached with pre-conditions.     

Chair,

9. We stress the importance of accountability, particularly for the gravest crimes perpetrated by Israel against Palestinians, which include war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

10. We support ongoing judicial processes at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, including the case brought by South Africa against Israel under the Genocide Convention.  

11. Malaysia has also submitted written and oral statements in the request for the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion Concerning the Obligations of Israel in Relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organisations and Third States in and in Relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. We look forward to the ICJ’s decision, expected to be announced on 22 October 2025, in The Hague.

Chair,

12. In conclusion, Malaysia calls upon all NAM Member States to bolster our efforts to ensure the realisation of a fully sovereign, independent, and economically viable State of Palestine, without delay. We must also intensify our coordination to advocate for the admission of the State of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations at the earliest possible.

Thank you.