Malawi: Chaponda Stayed Put As Malawi Skips UN Walkout On Netanyahu
Malawi’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, led by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Dr George Chaponda, stayed in the chamber for the duration of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address, even as delegations from a number of other countries walked out in protest.
Netanyahu faced a starkly divided hall as he took to the podium, with large sections of the chamber emptying out shortly after he began speaking. According to reports, delegations from dozens of countries – spanning the Arab world, Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and Oceania – took part in the walkout, amid continuing international criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Malawi was not among them. Images shared online show Chaponda seated in the assembly hall throughout Netanyahu’s roughly 40-minute address, as the Israeli prime minister continued speaking to a visibly emptier chamber.
The walkout followed days of discussion at the UN on the situation in Gaza, with several nations having already moved to formally recognise Palestinian statehood ahead of Netanyahu’s address. Only a small number of delegations, including that of the United States, remained fully seated for the duration of the speech, according to reports from the assembly.
Malawi’s government has not issued a statement explaining the delegation’s decision to remain in the hall, and it is not clear whether this reflected a specific diplomatic position.
By Nyasa Times.
