Mauro Vieira defends “urgent humanitarian access for the most affected areas” at a UN meeting.
The participants of the meeting said that discussions will continue informally from now on to produce a document that reflects a position agreed between all members.
One of the main topics of the meeting was the creation of a humanitarian corridor connecting the Gaza Strip with Egypt.
The Palestinian territory on the border with Egypt and Israel, Gaza, has been the target of bombings by the Israeli army since the weekend in response to the Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli territory. The Israeli government wants to weaken Hamas bases in Gaza.
The council meeting was brought forward to this Friday at the request of Brazil, which will chair the body in October. The meeting was chaired by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira. He said Brazil would seek an agreement in the Security Council and stressed concerns about deaths in the conflict.
“Ultimately, at the request of the Council members, Brazil will continuously work with all delegations to seek a unified Council position on the situation,” Vieira explained.
Vieira said Brazil would strive to avoid “deaths and bloodshed.”
“Brazil will continue to promote dialogue between members and Council action by opening possible avenues for negotiation. The aim is clear and immediate: to avoid further bloodshed and loss of life and to try to ensure the access of urgent and unhindered humanitarian assistance to the affected areas,” the minister explained.
He also reported that a new council meeting may be scheduled to adopt a possible consensus resolution.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has mobilized diplomatic efforts in recent days to open the humanitarian corridor between Gaza and Egypt. The idea of the corridor is to serve as an exit for civilians seeking to leave Gaza and an access point for food, medicine and water.
The proposal for a humanitarian corridor was positively received by UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres and decided to support bringing the meeting forward.
Russia’s representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Vasily Nebenzi, said that the country had submitted a proposed resolution to the Council and was awaiting approval from other members by Saturday this year (14).
Expert explains challenges in establishing a humanitarian corridor to get civilians out of Gaza
In a further development of the confrontation, the Israeli army gave civilians 24 hours to leave Gaza City, north of the Gaza Strip. The evacuation period ended this Friday at 6 p.m. Brazilian time. Israel issued the warning because it intends to attack the region.
There are 22 Brazilians living in this area who want to return to Brazil and are counting on the Lula government’s help. They were accommodated in a Catholic school and were supposed to be taken by bus to the south of the Gaza Strip at dawn. The Brazilian government considered the route dangerous at night.
Composition of the Security Council
The council has five permanent members. Each of them has veto power over every decision:
- China
- US
- France
- United Kingdom
- Russia
Nonpermanent members stay for two years. At the moment they are:
- Albania
- Brazil
- United Arab Emirates
- Ecuador
- Gabon
- Ghana
- Japan
- Malta
- Mozambique
- Switzerland
Brazil is the second largest country with the most seats as nonpermanent members: 11 times. Japan is number one.