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US veto derails UN ceasefire resolution

Global Outcry as Security Council Faces Setback in Addressing Humanitarian Catastrophe

security council / image - x/United nations

The UN security council had an urgent meeting on December 8 2023 to discuss the catastrophic situation in Gaza. The meeting was a result of a letter by the UN Secretary general Antonio Gutteres who invoked article 99 and urged the security council to take urgent notice of the escalating crisis in Gaza.

The resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire was put forward by the United Arab Emirates and backed by over 90 member states. 13 members voted in favour, the United Kingdom abstained while the United States of America vetoed the resolution.

The resolution did not succeed in passing due to the USA vetoing it. As per the voting regulations of the United Nations Security Council, any resolution or decision faces failure if it receives a negative vote from any of the permanent members.

Deputy US ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said  “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.”

Ambassador Barbara Woodward explained that the UK opted to abstain from the draft resolution because her country couldn't support a resolution that didn't condemn the atrocities committed by Hamas against innocent Israeli civilians on October 7.

Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine, expressed deep regret and deemed it "disastrous" that the Security Council was thwarted from fulfilling its responsibilities in addressing the crisis through the adoption of a newly proposed resolution.

Global leaders, international human rights organizations, and United Nations representatives have condemned the United States for using its veto power to block a UN resolution that called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The conflict has persisted for a span of 64 days thus far.

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