U.S. Vetoes Another UN Security Council Resolution Demanding Ceasefire
UN Security Council meets on Gaza ceasefire, December 8, 2023.
On December 8, the U.S. vetoed another UN Security Council resolution demanding a Ceasefire in Gaza. The draft resolution -- presented by the United Arab Emirates -- demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all captives, as well as ensuring humanitarian access. It reiterated the demand that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, notably regarding the protection of civilians and requested the Secretary-General to report to the Council on an urgent and continuing basis on the state of implementation of the resolution.
Thirteen Council members, including three permanent members, China, France and the Russian Federation, voted in support. The U.S. vetoed while Britain, another permanent member of the Security Council, abstained.
The author of the draft resolution, Mohamed Issa Abushahab of the United Arab Emirates said it drew co-sponsorship from at least 97 Member States of the General Assembly within 24 hours. The text is "brief, simple and crucial," he said. "The imperative right now must supersede every other consideration," he added, calling for an immediate end to bombing on Gaza.
The U.S. representative, Robert A. Wood, explained the U.S. veto on the following grounds:
1) the draft's authors declined to include language condemning Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October.
2) the authors declined to add language reaffirming that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) must be permitted to access and provide medical treatment to the hostages still held by Hamas terrorists.
3) the text failed to acknowledge Israel's right to self-defence, and
4) that the resolution "is not only unrealistic but dangerous; it will simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on 7 October." "As long as Hamas clings to its ideology of destruction, any ceasefire is at best temporary," he declared.
The Executive Director of Doctors Without Borders-USA, Avril Benoît, issued a statement condemning the U.S. veto saying that by "vetoing this resolution, the U.S. stands alone in casting its vote against humanity." "The U.S. veto makes it complicit in the carnage in Gaza." "By continuing to provide diplomatic cover for the ongoing atrocities in Gaza, the U.S. is signalling that international humanitarian law can be applied selectively -- and that the lives of some people matter less than the lives of others. Israel has continued to indiscriminately attack civilians and civilian structures, impose a siege that amounts to collective punishment for the entire population of Gaza, force mass displacement, and deny access to vital medical care and humanitarian assistance. The U.S. continues to provide political and financial support to Israel as it prosecutes its military operations regardless of the terrible toll on civilians. For humanitarians to be able to respond to the overwhelming needs, we need a ceasefire now," Benoît added.
Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said, "Our American colleagues have condemned thousands -- if not tens of thousands -- more civilians in Palestine and Israel, including women and children, to death, along with the UN workers who are trying to help them. History will assess what Washington has done." Polyansky added, "One can say many beautiful but empty words about democracy, human rights, peace, security, some rules and order, but today, we learned the true value of these words as two members of the UN Security Council preferred to remain complicit in Israel's brutal massacre."
China's Xinhua news agency posted an editorial which said:
"Amid a global outcry for peace, the United States has once again pitted itself against the international community by vetoing a draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The current situation has obliged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to invoke Article 99 of the UN Charter to urge the Security Council to call for a ceasefire. This is the first time in more than 50 years that the article, which says the secretary-general may inform the council of matters he believes threatening international peace and security, has been invoked. As a global superpower, the United States should take its due responsibility and join other Security Council members in pooling all efforts toward the common goal of quelling the conflict in Gaza to provide the Palestinian people with hope to survive and the Middle East hope for peace."
This article was published in
Volume 53 Number 30 - December, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2023/Articles/MS53304.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca