Yet again, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) delayed the vote on a new U.N. resolution on desperately needed aid to Gaza for another day, from yesterday (December 20) to today (December 21) as the United States struggles to change key wording in high-level negotiations seeking to avoid an American. veto.
It is the spectre of the US veto power that’s still keeping the world in suspense and impeding the ability of the UNSC to address existing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
The Biden administration is seeking to change the text’s references to a cessation of hostilities in the Israel-Hamas war and to putting the United Nations in charge of inspecting trucks to ensure they are actually carrying humanitarian goods, which Israel opposes.
Yesterday, Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh of the United Arab Emirates, which sponsored the Arab-backed resolution, said very high-level discussions are underway to try to reach agreement on a text that can be adopted.
“Everyone wants to see a resolution that has impact and that is implementable on the ground,” she told reporters after the 15 council members held closed consultations.
Reports said that the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will speak with his Egyptian and UAE counterparts to try to reach a consensus either late yesterday or early today.
Nusseibeh said the UAE is optimistic but if the negotiations yield no results by today, “then we will assess in the council to proceed … to a vote on the resolution.”
The vote — initially postponed from Monday and then pushed back to Tuesday and then yesterday — is now expected today. The draft on the table Monday morning called for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities,” but this language was watered down, on the instance of the US. A new version that was initially scheduled to be put to a vote yesterday would call “for the urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities.” That draft also calls for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to quickly establish a mechanism for exclusive U.N. monitoring of aid deliveries to Gaza — bypassing the current Israeli inspection of aid entering the strip. Washington reportedly renounced the draft.
Yesterday, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby raised two other issues that are not in the draft — condemnation of Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 incursion into southern Israel that sparked the latest war and Israel’s right to self-defense.
“It’s important for us, if the Security Council is going to speak on this, that there’s a condemnation of Hamas and what they did on the 7th of October, there’s a recognition of the need for Israel to be able to defend itself….”
The U.S. has repeatedly called for condemnation of Hamas’ October 7 surprise attack that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and recognition of Israel’s right to self-defense, which is prepositious as it’s a claim that’s highly disputable considering the fact that Israel is an occupation force and does not command the right of self-defense under international law.
The U.S. on December 8 vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by almost all other council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The 193-member General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a similar resolution on December 12 by a vote of 153-10, with 23 abstentions.
In its first unified action on November 15, with the U.S. abstaining, the Security Council adopted a resolution calling for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses” in the fighting, unhindered aid deliveries to civilians and the unconditional release of all hostages.
Security Council resolutions are important because they are legally binding, but in practice many parties choose to ignore the council’s requests for action. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they are a significant barometer of world opinion.
Since Monday when the draft resolution was put on the table, diplomats said they had been negotiating to get the US, Israel’s closest ally, to abstain or vote “yes” on the resolution, forcing voting to be postponed twice across two days.
It’s pertinent to note that the original draft resolution called for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities,” but this language was watered down. It now “calls for the urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access….” Washington in the past has opposed language on a “cessation of hostilities.”
While the UN diplomats haggled over language and texts references in the draft resolution, Israel continued its genocidal attacks in Gaza and the occupied territories. Nearly 20,000 Palestinians have so far been killed, with over 50,000 severely injured and 1.9million people displaced. Thousands more Palestinians lie buried under the rubble of Gaza.
Presently, Gazans don’t have access to sufficient food, water, sanitation, electricity, telecommunications and medical services essential for their survival. They are experiencing unprecedented levels of starvation and thirst, while doctors lack even the most basic of medical supplies to treat the wounded and the growing threat of infection looms in the enclave.
As the Security Council prepares to vote on the draft resolution later today, all members should recognize that civilians in Gaza are going through inhumane conditions and they should affirm the disproportionate effect that the conflict is having on the lives and well-being of children, women and other civilians in vulnerable situations needlessly created by Israel’s act of barbarism. .
The Security Council should equally vote in favour of a permanent cease-fire – not temporary cessation of hostilities – to enable aid deliveries by land, sea and air throughout the Gaza Strip.
In addition, the UNSC should stand in favour of establishing a mechanism for monitoring the aid deliveries and also demand the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and prisoners, and the adherence to international humanitarian law, which requires the protection of civilians and the homes, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure essential for their survival.
Finally, the Security Council must maintain its commitment to the vision of the two-state solution where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders … and in this regard push for the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.
