The US Has Again Blocked A UN Resolution For A Ceasefire In Gaza, Saying It Will Only Benefit Hamas
Robert Wood, the deputy US ambassador to the UN, said that a ceaasefire would only “plant the seeds for the next war”.
The United States has blocked a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza from passing by voting against it.
The vote on Friday Dec. 8 came after the UN Secretary-General António Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter in a rare move on Wednesday Dec. 6.
The article – which has only ever been invoked four times, allows the Secretary-General to call a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss “any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security”.
Speaking before the meeting, Guterres said that “the conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist” in Gaza.
“The eyes of the world – and the eyes of history – are watching,” he said, demanding that the international community “do everything possible” to end the ordeal of the people of Gaza.
13 out of the 15 members of the UN Security Council voted in favor of the draft resolution, put forward by the United Arab Emirates, while the US voted against and the UK abstained.
As the US, a permanent member of the security council along with China, France, Russia and the UK, vetoed the resolution, it failed to pass.
Robert Wood, the deputy US ambassador to the UN, said that the US “regretfully” could not support the resolution because it did not condemn Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
“As long as Hamas clings to its ideology of destruction, any ceasefire is at best temporary and is certainly not peace,” he said.
He said that while the US “strongly supports” a durable peace between Israel and Palestine, it does not support a ceasefire that would leave Hamas in control of Gaza, adding that it would only “plant the seeds for the next war”.
The UK’s UN ambassador, meanwhile, said the country had abstained because the resolution did not condemn Hamas.
“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 so that such an attack can never be carried out again,” Barbara Woodward said.
The US has come under sharp criticism for vetoing the resolution from other countries and rights groups.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the US’s veto made it “complicit” in war crimes in Gaza.
Russia’s representative said US diplomacy was “leaving scorched earth in its wake”, asking how the US could look its partners in the eye after blocking an immediate ceasefire again.
The Chinese ambassador, meanwhile, called out the US’ double standards in condoning a continuing fighting while referencing the protection of women and children and human rights, saying it is hypocritical.
Amnesty International said that the US veto “displays a callous disregard for civilian suffering in the face of a staggering death toll”, while Human Rights Watch said the US is risking being complicit in war crimes “by continuing to provide Israel with weapons [and] diplomatic cover as it commits atrocities, including collectively punishing the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza.”
“By vetoing this resolution, the US stands alone in casting its vote against humanity. The US veto stands in sharp contrast to the values it professes to uphold. By continuing to provide diplomatic cover for the ongoing atrocities in Gaza, the US is signaling that international humanitarian law can be applied selectively — and that the lives of some people matter less than the lives of others …. The US veto makes it complicit in the carnage in Gaza,” Doctors Without Borders said.
Following the results of the vote, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the UN Security Council to be reformed, saying the world is bigger than just the five permanent members.
“We have lost our hope and expectation from the UN Security Council,” he said. “Since Oct. 7, the UN Security Council, whose mission is to establish global peace, has turned into a protector of Israel.”
