Following the discussions, Council members are expected to vote
later in the day on a draft resolution demanding an immediate
humanitarian ceasefire as well as an immediate and unconditional
release of all hostages.
The draft resolution also reiterates the demand of the Council
for all parties to comply with their obligations under
international law, notably with regard to protection of civilians
in both Palestine and Israel.
Draft resolutions do not represent an official position of the
Security Council until they
are adopted.
In his letter the
Secretary-General invoked Article 99 of the
UN Charter, which
grants him with the responsibility to “bring to the attention” of
the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten
the maintenance of international peace and security.
It was the first time ever that Mr. Guterres had used the rarely
invoked clause.
“Facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system in
Gaza, I urge the Council to help avert a humanitarian
catastrophe & appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be
declared,” Mr. Guterres wrote on X, formerly Twitter,
after dispatching the letter.
The Security Council last discussed the situation in
Gaza, in an open doors meeting, on 29 November. Here are the
highlights:
- “We need a true humanitarian ceasefire,” said UN
Secretary-General António Guterres, describing a catastrophe on
the ground in Gaza and underlining the need to release all
hostages
- Tor Wennesland, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East
Peace Process, had “a message that resonates today as we mark the
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People:
There must be a new and different approach, or we are doomed to
return to the path of managing a conflict that clearly cannot be
managed”
- Council members, including many ministers, roundly decried
the unfolding humanitarian crisis and commended the ongoing pause
in fighting, with some calling for the full implementation of its
resolution 2712 on the
crisis
- “We cannot afford to lose more lives,” said the ambassador of
Malta, penholder of resolution 2712, adopted in mid-November
following several failed attempts
- Non-Council members echoed those calls, with Qatar’s Prime
Minister saying “it is high time to take real measures towards
peace; the region will not enjoy peace and security without the
establishment of a Palestinian State”
- Israel’s ambassador said the Council has not addressed
Hamas’s “central role in the ruin of the region”
- “We are at a historic crossroad,” said the Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the observer State of
Palestine
