US VETOES RESOLUTION ON GAZA CALLING FOR ‘IMMEDIATE HUMANITARIAN CEASEFIRE’
US VETOES RESOLUTION ON GAZA CALLING FOR
‘IMMEDIATE HUMANITARIAN CEASEFIRE’
UN, USA, FRANCE, UK, PALESTINE, CHINA,
RUSSIA, UAE, ISRAEL, OTHERS SPEAK
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Friday
morning New York time to discuss the catastrophic situation in Gaza. This
follows Wednesday’s urgent letter by Secretary-General António Guterres,
invoking Article 99, one of the most powerful tools at his disposal, urging the
body to help end carnage in the war-battered enclave through a lasting
humanitarian ceasefire. A resolution tabled late afternoon in the chamber
calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire was vetoed by the United
States.
Article 99 says, "The Secretary-General may bring to
the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may
threaten the maintenance of international peace and security." It is
intended to raise the alarm to prevent a brewing crisis from spiraling out of
control.
The US vetoed a resolution put forward by the United Arab
Emirates and backed by over 90 Member States.
Of the 15 members in the security council, there were 13
votes in favour and the United Kingdom abstained.
Currently made up of 193 Member States, the UN and its work
are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.
The UN has evolved over the years to keep pace with a rapidly changing world.
The Security Council is one of the six main organs of the
United Nations established under the UN Charter. Its primary responsibility is
maintaining international peace and security. The Council is composed of 15
Members. There are five permanent members: China, France, Russian Federation,
the United Kingdom, and the United States, and ten non-permanent members
elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly. Each Member has one vote.
According to Article 27 of the UN Charter, each member of
the Security Council has one vote. Decisions on procedural matters require a
minimum of nine 'yes' votes. Decisions of the Security Council on all other
matters require a minimum of nine 'yes' votes including the concurring votes of
the permanent members.
The five permanent members have exercised the right of veto
at one time or another.
The UN chief began this latest meeting on the crisis with a
stark warning that “the conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian
aid no longer exist.”
He said “the eyes of the world - and the eyes of history -
are watching", demanding that the international community "do
everything possible" to end the ordeal of the people of Gaza.
Mr. Guterres said “the UN is totally committed to stay and
deliver for the people of Gaza.”
The resolution which failed to pass took note of the
Secretary-General’s invocation of Article 99, expressed grave concern over the
“catastrophic situation” in Gaza, and emphasized that both Palestinian and
Israeli civilians must be protected.
It demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, and the
immediate and unconditional release of hostages as well as humanitarian access.
It however did not condemn the terror attacks perpetrated by
Hamas on 7 October.
“Millions of Palestinian lives hang in the balance, every
single one of them is sacred and worth saving,” he said, adding that instead of
allowing this Council to follow its mandate by finally making a clear call,
after two months of massacres and atrocities, “the war criminals are given more
time to perpetrate their crimes.”
“How can this be justified? How can anyone justify the
slaughter of an entire people?”, he said.
Explaining the UK’s abstention from the draft resolution,
Ambassador Barbara Woodward said her country could not vote in favour of a
resolution that fails to condemn the atrocities Hamas committed on innocent
Israeli civilians on 7 October.
“Calling for a ceasefire ignores the fact that Hamas has
committed acts of terror and is still holding civilians hostage,” she said,
noting that Israel needs to be able to address the threat posed by Hamas and it
needs to do so in a manner that abides by international humanitarian law.
She reiterated the importance of working meaningfully
towards a two-State solution “which delivers statehood for the Palestinians,
security for Israel and peace for people on both sides.”
France’s Permanent Representative Nicolas de Rivière said
the UN chief was correct to raise the alarm over the humanitarian tragedy
unfolding in Gaza.
“It is for this reason that France voted in favour of this
resolution and it is for that reason that we plead for an immediate and lasting
humanitarian truce”, he added.
“For our part, we do not see any contradiction in the fight
against terrorism and the protection of civilians, in strict respect of
international humanitarian law,” he said, adding “we would have wished for this
Council to finally have been able to condemn the Hamas attacks and those of
other terrorist groups on 7 October.”
The US engaged in good faith on the text, said Deputy
Permanent Representative Robert A. Wood, that would increase opportunities for
hostage release and more aid to reach Gaza.
“Unfortunately, nearly all of our recommendations were
ignored” leading to an “imbalanced resolution that was divorced from reality
that would not move the needle forward on the ground in any concrete way. And
so, we regretfully could not support it."
He said the US still could not understand why the
resolution’s authors declined to include language condemning “Hamas’s horrific
terrorist attack” on Israel, of 7 October.
It killed people from a range of nationalities, subjecting
many to “obscene sexual violence.”
He said he had explained earlier in the day why an
unconditional ceasefire would simply be “dangerous” and leave Hamas in place,
able to attack again.
It was “a recipe for disaster for Israel, for Palestinians
and for the entire region”.
Any ceasefire leaving Hamas in control would also deny
Palestinians the chance to build something better for themselves, he added.
Robert A. Wood, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent
Representative of the United States (US) to the UN, said that the Security
Council’s failure to condemn Hamas’ 7 October terrorist attacks including its
acts of sexual violence and other unthinkable evils, is a serious moral
failure.
“It underscores the fundamental disconnect between the
discussions we have been having in this chamber and the realities on the
ground,” he said.
An “undeniable part of that reality”, he added, is that if
Israel unilaterally laid down its weapons today, Hamas would continue to hold
hostages.
Ambassador Wood stated that as of today, Hamas continues to
pose a threat to Israel and remain in charge of Gaza, stressing that no
government would allow such as threat to continue to remain on its borders,
after events like the 7 October massacres.
“For that reason, while the US strongly supports a durable
peace in which both Israel and Palestine can live in peace and security, we do
not support calls for an immediate ceasefire. This would only plant the seeds
for the next war, because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a
two-State solution,” he said.
Representative of China Zhang Jun, paid tribute to the
Secretary-General for his statement on the seriousness of the situation in
Gaza.
The draft resolution submitted by the UAE reflects the call
of the international community, which China supports and co-sponsors because
only an immediate ceasefire will save lives and pave the way for the two-State
solution, he added.
“A larger crisis is imminent,” and regional peace and
security is “on the precipice”. The world is watching. Member States must act,
he warned.
Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative, Dmitriy
Polyanskiy, said that with the humanitarian pause, the parties got their break
in hostilities and realized their tactical objectives but then Israel, with the
“proactive support” of the United States, moved on to a new, even more bloody
phase of its ground operation in Gaza.
He quoted from the UN chief’s letter, emphasizing the
desperate conditions being faced by civilians.
Meanwhile, the Security Council has not adopted any clear,
binding decision demanding – not calling – for the parties to stop the
violence.
The discussions here amount only to “empty words”, he said.
Mohamed Issa Abushahab, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent
Representative of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the UN said that for many
Gazans who have never left the enclave, “their entire world is systematically
demolished before their eyes”.
He stated the Security Council must act on the crisis when
too little aid is getting in and humanitarian workers are unable to deliver it
for the fear of getting killed.
“Despite the recent temporary pause, the violence and danger
to civilians has not abated, in fact this conflict has now graduated to a new
and more dangerous phase,” he added, noting that the siege of Khan Yunis and
other parts in southern Gaza has now started.
“There is literally no safe haven for the millions of people
trapped and under attack,” the Ambassador said.
Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador, said the globe has been
reeling from the impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Yet not once, has Article
99 of the UN Charter been invoked by the current Secretary-General, citing
other grinding conflicts which have destabilised entire regions.
He said that on 6 October, a ceasefire held, but the
following day “thousands of Hamas Nazis” carried out a massacre the like of
which has not been seen since the Holocaust.
Mr. Erdan said if Hamas was not destroyed, then atrocities
would be carried out by the group “again and again”. Gazans have been forced to
live in poverty, he said, and calling for a ceasefire would ensure that the
suffering and the fighting will continue.
He said it sent a clear message: “that Hamas is forgiven for
their deliberate atrocities, and Hamas’s oppression of Gazans is given a green
light by the international community.”
The Israeli ambassador said Hamas’s main weapon was terror
and was seeking to “maximize civilian casualties” to put more and more pressure
on Israel to relent.
He said Hamas was the root cause of the situation in Gaza,
and yet there has been “zero accountability for their evil”, questioning why
Hamas was not being held responsible for its actions.
With 138 hostages still being held “Hamas has not even
allowed the Red Cross to visit them and provide their families with the most
basic sign of life. This is an abhorrent war crime”, he said.
He said Israel would continue with its mission, while
supporting "every humanitarian initiative", but the destruction of
Hamas is the only option..
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