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The UN Security Council is struggling to speak with one voice ahead of a vote expected on Tuesday regarding a new resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
A vote may occur as soon as Tuesday morning if negotiations succeed in breaking an impasse 10 days after a US veto.
On December 8, despite unprecedented pressure from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the United States blocked the adoption of a resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip, where Israel continues its deadly strikes.
Last week, the General Assembly adopted the same nonbinding resolution by 153 votes to 10, with 23 abstentions, out of 193 member states.
Based on this overwhelming support, Arab countries have announced a new attempt at the Security Council, with an uncertain outcome. A draft text prepared by the United Arab Emirates, obtained by AFP on Sunday, called for “an urgent and lasting cessation of hostilities to allow unimpeded access of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.” However, according to diplomatic sources, a new, modified text is now on the table in an attempt to get closer to a compromise.
The postponement of the vote until Tuesday “means that there are negotiations over the text — most probably to avoid another or several vetoes,” Amnesty International's Secretary-General Agnes Callamard posted on X.
“Every hour, every day that passes — civilians in Gaza are dying.”
A man sits with children by a fire outside one of the tents housing Palestinians displaced by the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 18, 2023. (Mahmud Hams, AFP)
The Security Council is also discussing the terms of a monitoring system for humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
In a letter sent on Monday to the president of the Security Council, seen by AFP, António Guterres mentions three options for implementing the November 15 resolution. The resolution calls for humanitarian pauses of a few days to allow aid into the Palestinian territory.
Noting that “the conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist,” the secretary-general's first option is to reinforce the presence of UN humanitarian personnel on the ground to enable a “more robust United Nations presence on the ground.”
Secondly, he suggests a mission of the UN or third-party civilian observers.
And finally, to monitor the observance of “humanitarian pauses/ceasefires, United Nations unarmed military observers could be deployed” he wrote, noting that all three options would require “clear mandates” from the Security Council.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Security Council has been under fire, having only managed to adopt a text calling for “humanitarian pauses” in mid-November. Five other draft resolutions were rejected, two of them due to US vetoes.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/israel-hamaswar/206034"]
Israel has already insisted that a ceasefire is “unacceptable.”
Miroslava Salazar, with AFP
A vote may occur as soon as Tuesday morning if negotiations succeed in breaking an impasse 10 days after a US veto.
On December 8, despite unprecedented pressure from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the United States blocked the adoption of a resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip, where Israel continues its deadly strikes.
Last week, the General Assembly adopted the same nonbinding resolution by 153 votes to 10, with 23 abstentions, out of 193 member states.
Based on this overwhelming support, Arab countries have announced a new attempt at the Security Council, with an uncertain outcome. A draft text prepared by the United Arab Emirates, obtained by AFP on Sunday, called for “an urgent and lasting cessation of hostilities to allow unimpeded access of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.” However, according to diplomatic sources, a new, modified text is now on the table in an attempt to get closer to a compromise.
The postponement of the vote until Tuesday “means that there are negotiations over the text — most probably to avoid another or several vetoes,” Amnesty International's Secretary-General Agnes Callamard posted on X.
“Every hour, every day that passes — civilians in Gaza are dying.”
A man sits with children by a fire outside one of the tents housing Palestinians displaced by the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 18, 2023. (Mahmud Hams, AFP)The Security Council is also discussing the terms of a monitoring system for humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
In a letter sent on Monday to the president of the Security Council, seen by AFP, António Guterres mentions three options for implementing the November 15 resolution. The resolution calls for humanitarian pauses of a few days to allow aid into the Palestinian territory.
Noting that “the conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist,” the secretary-general's first option is to reinforce the presence of UN humanitarian personnel on the ground to enable a “more robust United Nations presence on the ground.”
Secondly, he suggests a mission of the UN or third-party civilian observers.
And finally, to monitor the observance of “humanitarian pauses/ceasefires, United Nations unarmed military observers could be deployed” he wrote, noting that all three options would require “clear mandates” from the Security Council.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Security Council has been under fire, having only managed to adopt a text calling for “humanitarian pauses” in mid-November. Five other draft resolutions were rejected, two of them due to US vetoes.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/israel-hamaswar/206034"]
Israel has already insisted that a ceasefire is “unacceptable.”
Miroslava Salazar, with AFP
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