All the advertising before the vote in the UN Security Council was of no use: the USA was unable to get its draft resolution on a Gaza ceasefire implemented. Russia and China stood at odds.
The demand for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that is binding under international law has failed again in the UN Security Council. Russia and China blocked the resolution introduced by the USA in New York in the most powerful body of the United Nations with a veto.
Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said the US government’s proposed resolution was half-hearted and did not call for a ceasefire clearly enough. There were eleven votes in favor of the US proposal in the UN Security Council, three against (Russia, China and Algeria) and one abstention (Guyana).
The USA has recently increased pressure on Israel
The USA had previously also exercised its right of veto in the UN Security Council on several resolutions calling for immediate ceasefires in the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas. With the now rejected resolution, the United States, as Israel’s closest ally, also changed course on the UN stage.
In view of the increasing number of civilian casualties and the threat of famine in parts of the sealed-off coastal strip, the USA had recently increased its pressure on Israel. The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, once again strongly supported the resolution immediately before the vote. “Every day without a decision means more unnecessary suffering,” she emphasized.
Everything depends on the veto powers
The draft rejected resolution emphasized the “need for an immediate and lasting ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides and to enable the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance and alleviate human suffering.”
A resolution in the UN Security Council requires the votes of at least 9 of the 15 member states. In addition, there may be no veto from the permanent members USA, Russia, China, France or Great Britain.
Charlotte Voß, ARD New York, tagesschau, March 22, 2024 3:42 p.m