27 January 2010 - On the occasion of the annual Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony, Ambassador Leshno Yaar quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning that “it may seem to some that because there are remaining witnesses to a crime, that the historical memory is preserved. That is not true.  In history it can be twisted out of shape a lot faster than you think and certainly over a slow period of time it can be destroyed beyond recognition.”

"In view of the calls for Israel's destruction, and statements denying the Holocaust", Ambassador Leshno Yaar stated that "our efforts in Holocaust education must be strengthened" and that "the Holocaust's lessons have yet to be learned."

Moreover, the Ambassador stressed that "Anti-Semitism, with the goal of discriminating and eliminating a people, is not only a Jewish issue, but a global issue, threatening the foundations of the democratic states and the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter."

For the full statement, please click here.

27 January 2010 - During the Special Session of the Human Rights Council dedicated to the Recovery Process in Haiti after the Earthquake of January 12, Ambassador Aharon Leshno Yaar said that "as the first phase of emergency assistance is coming to an end, Israel is now considering how to further assist the Haitian people in the enormous task of reconstructing their country".

Ambassador Leshno Yaar explained that in response to the natural disaster, "Israel immediately sent a 280 person medical and rescue team to the frontline of the rescue efforts in Port-Au-Prince" and that "within forty-eight hours the IDF aid delegation set up a field hospital which included 40 doctors, 25 nurses, paramedics, a pharmacy, a children's ward, a radiology department, an intensive care unit, an emergency room, two operating rooms, a surgical department, an internal department and a maternity ward."
"Thus far, the delegation has treated approximately one thousand patients, conducted hundreds of successful surgeries, delivered tens of babies, and saved many from within the ruins", the Ambassador stressed.

For the full statement, please click here.

2 November 2009 – Speaking at the UNECE Beijing + 15 Regional Review Meeting, Adviser Rona Langer Ziv stressed Israel's continued commitment to gender mainstreaming and equality:

"Israel remains fully engaged in continuing the effort to raise awareness for the equality of women... Israel has always considered investment in training women to be central to sustainable development... In over 50 years, some 14,500 women, from Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, as well as Palestinian women and women from other countries in the Middle East have received training in Israel…"

For the full statement, please click here.

15 October 2009 – In an address to the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Aharon Leshno Yaar expressed his disdain for the Goldstone Report, saying:

"We still do not understand how a report that completely ignored the concept of Israel's inherent right of self defense, Hamas' smuggling of weapons and Israel's genuine humanitarian efforts during the conflict could be seen as anything but biased and irrelevant… The only beneficiaries of today's proposal would be Hamas and their allies who only seek division and conflict and an end to any hope for peace."

For the full statement, please click here.

For more information about the Goldstone Report, please click here.

For the 4 November 2009 statement of Ambassador Gabriela Shalev in New York City on the Goldstone Report, please click here.

16 October 2009 – In an additional speech, Ambassador Aharon Leshno Yaar highlighted Justice Goldstone's statement that “this draft resolution saddens me because it only makes allegations against Israel. There is not one single sentence condemning Hamas...”

The Ambassador also noted that "[t]here are still members of this Council that had no interest in the report, no interest in human rights, no interest in self defense, no interest in the actual questions that face democracies in fighting terror…[I]f you would like to see Israelis and Palestinians gain the confidence to take risks, if you would like to see improvements on the ground for all sides, if you want to see the moderates in the region gain ground and reject extremism, you must reject today’s proposal."

For the full statement, please click here.

29 September 2009 – The Goldstone Report was already discussed during the 12th Regular Session Human Rights Council, where Ambassador Aharon Leshno Yaar stressed that a "report which is based on carefully selected incidents, cherry picked for political effect…gives credibility to every allegation or hearsay against Israel, and none to even direct admissions of guilt by Hamas leaders…Regrettably this one-sided report, claiming to represent international law but in fact perverting it to serve a political agenda, can only weaken the standing of international law in future conflicts…The authors of this "Fact-finding Report" had little concern with finding facts. The Report was instigated as part of a political campaign, and it represents a political assault directed against Israel and against every state forced to confront terrorist threats…Unlike the Hamas terrorists who rejoice with every civilian death, Israel regards every civilian casualty as a tragedy. Israel is committed to fully examining every allegation of wrongdoing. Not because of this Report but despite it."

For the full statement, please click here.

For more information about the Gaza Operation, please click here.

For more information about the Goldstone Report, please click here.

30 September 2009 – For the fourth session of the Committee on Economic Cooperation and Integration of the UNECE, the Deputy Permanent Representative Ron Adam presented a report on the progress which has thus far been made by the comprehensive programme of capacity building in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).

"The demand for our services is now bigger than our available resources. We will continue to provide a service but it will be challenging to help with implementation in countries with our current level of secretariat support."

Deputy Permanent Representative Ron Adam commended "some of the members of the team of specialists who are helping the secretariat to engage with the private sector in this effort to raise further resources for PPP capacity building."

For the full statement, please click here.

22 September 2009 – At the UNCTAD 56th TDB session, Ron Adam addressed the Report on UNCTAD’s Assistance to the Palestinian people. Although Israel commends any program and project which aim to promote the situation of the Palestinian economy, the report entertains many distortions, inaccuracies and politically-motivated one sided statements. As a result, Israel presented a report titled: "Supporting Palestinian Capacity Building: Israel's efforts in Supporting the Palestinian Economy, Civil Affairs and Security Reforms".

For the full statement, please click here.

18 September 2009 - Before the 12th general session of the Human Rights Council, Israel addressed the report of the High Commissioner on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.

"[A]s we all mark the 60th Anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, it is appropriate to ask the important questions that are raised in the Report of the High Commissioner about the impact of counter terrorism measures. At the same time it is vital to recognize that these concerns must be balanced with the most basic of rights, the right of an ordinary citizen, of every human being, to the "inherent right to life" as provided for in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."