A recent diplomatic controversy has put Saint Lucia in the global spotlight following widespread reports that its UN delegation joined a mass walkout of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) chamber as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his scheduled address last Thursday.
The coordinated walkout, which saw delegates from dozens of countries exit the hall moments after Netanyahu took the podium, quickly sparked international backlash. In his speech, the Israeli leader publicly denounced the departing diplomats, labeling their collective action an act of “moral cowardice.” In the days that followed, multiple circulating reports named Saint Lucia as one of the nations whose representatives either participated in the walkout or were absent from the chamber during the address.
However, during a pre-Cabinet press briefing held on Monday, Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre firmly pushed back against these claims, issuing a categorical denial that Saint Lucia took any part in the protest action. “Saint Lucia did not walk out,” Pierre stated, confirming that at least one member of the country’s delegation remained at the nation’s assigned seat for the full duration of Netanyahu’s speech.
Beyond clarifying the delegation’s actions, Pierre also reaffirmed that the Caribbean nation has long maintained a transparent and consistent position on global conflicts, including ongoing tensions in the Middle East. In his own address to the UNGA delivered just one day after Netanyahu’s speech, last Friday, Pierre laid out Saint Lucia’s formal stance to the global body.
“Saint Lucia laments the continued conflicts and human suffering across the globe, including Ukraine, Sudan and the wider Middle East, including Gaza, and calls for renewed efforts towards peace, stability and respect for international law,” Pierre told assembled delegates. He added: “In accordance with their right to self-determination and UN resolutions, in particular Resolution 3236 of 1974, the people of Palestine should be allowed their own State and full membership of the UN, alongside the state of Israel.”