The North American proposal received opposing votes from Russia and China, which are permanent members of the panel
This Wednesday (October 25, 2023), the UN Security Council rejected the resolutions of the USA and Russia on the war between Israel and Hamas. The North American proposal received 10 votes in favor, 3 against and two abstentions and was rejected because Russia and China voted against the text. The two countries are permanent members of the body and have veto rights.
The Russian resolution was also rejected by a permanent member of the Council: the United States. In total there were 4 votes in favour, 2 against and 9 abstentions for the text submitted by Russia. To be adopted, the proposal needs at least 9 of the 15 countries that are members of the panel and must not receive any dissenting votes from the 5 countries that are permanent members of the group.
The American proposal called for “humanitarian pauses” on the entry of supplies into the Gaza Strip. The text also spoke of Israel’s “right to selfdefense” and made no mention of a ceasefire.
After the vote, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda ThomasGreenfield said Russia had exhibited “cynical and irresponsible behavior” in the context of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun stated that the US proposal “ignored the main concerns of all parties and made only ‘sham’ changes to the project.” Zhang Jun further said that the text did not call for an immediate end to the war. “The text is obviously not yet ready for implementation,” he said.
Here’s how each country voted on the US proposal:
- for this (10): United States, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Albania, United Kingdom and Switzerland;
- against (3): Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates;
- Abstentions (2): Brazil and Mozambique.
The Russian project called for “the immediate establishment of a permanent and fully respected humanitarian ceasefire” and condemned “all violence and hostilities against civilians.”
In last week’s text, which received only five yes votes, Russia made no mention of Hamas. In the project voted on Wednesday (October 25), the country condemned the extremist group’s “vile attacks.”
Here’s how each country voted on Russia’s proposal:
- for this (4): Russia, China, United Arab Emirates and Gabon,
- against (2): United States and United Kingdom;
- Abstentions (9): Brazil, France, Ecuador, Albania, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland.
After rejecting the proposal, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia lamented “the fact that the Security Council is unable to seize the opportunity presented to it to respond to the unprecedented crisis in the Middle East.”
U.S. Deputy Representative to the United Nations Robert A. Wood said that “it’s not worth wasting any more time discussing Russia’s poor draft resolution.” He further stated that “the US could not support another Russian resolution that was presented without consultation and did not reflect reality.”
In addition to Russia, China and the USA, France and the United Kingdom are also permanent members of the UN body and have veto rights. The other countries, including Brazil, are part of the rotating council.
This was the sixth time the UN Security Council met to discuss the conflict between Israel and Hamas. On October 18, the organization vetoed Brazil’s resolution. The only dissenting vote came from the USA.
CORRECTION
Oct 25, 2023 (22:06) Contrary to what was published in this post, Mozambique did not vote for the US resolution. Albania voted for the American proposal. The above text has been corrected and updated.
Oct 26, 2023 (00:16) Contrary to what was published in this post, Gabon did not abstain from voting on the Russian resolution. Albania abstained from voting. The above text has been corrected and updated.