More than 4,000 people have been killed since the escalation in the conflict between Hamas and Israel began. The humanitarian crisis is worsening in Gaza and aid has not yet arrived.
Photo: EFE – MOHAMMED SABER
On Wednesday, 12 of the 15 members of the Security Council voted in favor of Brazil’s resolution on the conflict between Hamas and Israel. Despite a majority, the veto of the United States, one of the body’s five permanent members, resulted in the text not being adopted. This meant that two proposals were rejected and the Security Council was unable to make a decision in the two-week escalation of the conflict on Palestinian-Israeli territory.
đź“ť We recommend: First delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza will take place ‘in the coming days’: UN
“A political catastrophe is brewing, and yet the United Nations Security Council is unable to say the only thing that really matters: stop the bloodshed,” said Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s envoy to the UN Security Council. U.N.
For a text to be adopted by the Security Council, it must receive at least nine yes votes and must have no objection or veto from any of the five permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom. This last requirement is the final one, because even if there is a large majority that supports the text, there is no way to approve it if only one of these countries vetoes it.
Follow El Espectador on WhatsApp
The failed resolutions
This Monday, the first text was rejected with only five yes votes from China, Gabon, Mozambique, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. France, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States voted against. The delegations of Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta and Switzerland abstained.
The resolution called for a humanitarian ceasefire, the release of all people abducted by Hamas, guarantees of access to aid brought to Gaza and a safe evacuation for all civilians. The problem for many members is “the lack of concrete condemnation of the extremist group Hamas, which was the trigger for the current escalation of violence,” according to the UN.
“By not condemning Hamas and Russia [que impulsó la resolución] provides cover for a terrorist group that brutalizes innocent civilians. It is outrageous, hypocritical and indefensible,” commented Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States Permanent Representative to the organization.
Vasili Nebenzia, Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, expressed displeasure at the rejection, saying that “the selfish intentions of the Western bloc” were responsible. The ambassador asserted that the vote “fundamentally dashed” hopes that the council would end violence in the Israeli-Palestinian territory. Nebenzia added that one of Russia’s main concerns is the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and “the high risk of the conflict expanding.”
The next day, Brazil’s resolution was discussed, which was also rejected. Unlike the Russian text, it condemned violence against all civilians and called for “humanitarian pauses” to allow aid to pass through Gaza. But it wasn’t enough either. The United States vetoed the resolution, arguing that it “makes no mention of Israel’s right to defend itself.”
📌You may be interested in: Joe Biden: “Putin and Hamas want to end democracy, that’s what they have in common”
“Yes, resolutions are important, and yes, this council needs to speak out. But the actions we take must be based on the facts on the ground and support direct diplomacy that can save lives,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield.
After the vote rejecting the text, the Brazilian delegation expressed disappointment and stressed that the Security Council’s call to action must have a “sense of urgency and responsibility” rather than remaining in a state of paralysis. The Brazilian ambassador, SĂ©rgio França Danese, explained that the current priority is to address the humanitarian crisis in the region.
“The Council’s paralysis in the face of a humanitarian disaster does not benefit the international community,” he added.
A paralyzed council
This inaction by the Security Council has been criticized, particularly the veto power given to some states, which completely determines the adoption of a resolution. In the case of the conflict on Palestinian-Israeli territory, the figure of the United States as an ally of Israel has always determined the course of decisions, as Teresa Aya, international analyst and expert on the Middle East, explains.
“The United States has often used its veto in these resolutions,” he says, especially in those that “could affect the rights of Israel, its territory or its legitimate defense.” Preserving the country’s right to self-defense is the reason for the fact that the US delegation has not adopted a resolution and is unlikely to change its position.
President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, during which he announced he would ask the US Congress for an aid package for the Israeli government, was also marked by his desire to meet with other Arab leaders. However, he was only able to meet Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, on his trip because other appointments were canceled following the Gaza hospital bombing.
“First, Biden missed the opportunity to influence Arabs and armed groups like Jihad and Hamas in the development of the war. Second, show Israel that there is another side of the coin, namely the Arab side, and that the United States considers it a valid side. “That the United States has to have a dialogue with the Arabs and we have to listen to them,” said the expert about the visit of the American president.
On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin has communicated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and with Netanyahu. As a delegation to the Security Council, Russia expressed the urgency to issue a “clear call for a ceasefire” and “address the humanitarian situation in Gaza.” Ambassador Nebenzia remained true to his position, saying that anyone who does not support Russia’s text on the conflict is “responsible for what is happening.”
“Russia is very upset today that Biden compared Putin to Hamas. One is a state, good or bad, and the other is a terrorist group. “This greatly upsets the Russians, who also have veto power, but they are on the side of the Arabs when it comes to an amicable solution that respects the rights of Palestine,” Aya emphasized.
This veto power in the hands of only five countries that are permanent members raises questions about the functioning of the Security Council. The interests of one of these states can completely determine a decision, for example, about what happened in this conflict and in other conflicts that the body has tried to mediate.
“The positions of world leaders and world geopolitics are represented in the Security Council, so whether they are adopted or not depends on interests,” says Silvia Cogollos, researcher and professor of history at Javeriana University.
No solution in sight?
Even if eyes are on the Security Council, the implementation of a resolution remains questionable. Aya clarifies that this is the only United Nations body whose resolutions can be complied with by member states, but that does not mean that this is always the case.
“The resolutions are the only ones that can or must be adhered to, to put it in quotation marks, by the countries that are members of the United Nations. I say it in quotes because, for example, when we talk about the conflict in Israel and Palestine, Resolution 181, which created the two states, was never implemented,” says Aya.
đź“° We also recommend: Israel and Palestine: an insoluble conflict?
Later, in 1967, the Security Council issued Resolution 242, which aimed to begin negotiations for an agreement establishing “definitive, secure and recognized borders” and also to call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied territories and the termination of warfare. The decision, which was repeatedly cited by the same body, was never implemented.
“You can see that international institutions are a paper tiger. That is, a way has been found to enforce international law, but when put into practice it does not happen. In fact, this often does not happen and this lack of action is encouraging,” adds Manuel Camilo González, professor of international relations at Javeriana University.
At a crossroads, the Security Council must draft a resolution that receives enough votes but, more importantly, cannot be vetoed by any of its five permanent members. The conflict in the Palestinian-Israeli territory has claimed more than 4,000 lives in two weeks and the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen. In a speech by Mansour to the Security Council, he called on delegations to take measures guided by the principles of international law “without exceptions.”
“Don’t send the signal that Palestinian lives don’t matter,” he demanded. “Nowhere in Gaza is safe. “Families hug each other every night and don’t know if it’s the last time.”
👀🌎📄 Have you heard about the latest news from the world? We invite you to see them in El Espectador.