United Nations: An unprecedented 153 countries at the UN General Assembly voted in favour of immediate ceasefire and end to Israeli aggression in Gaza and other occupied Palestinian territories at an extremely crowded meeting Tuesday December 12, 2023.
The vote took place during an emergency special session of the UN General assembly backed by the Arab and Muslim states titled “Protection of Civilians and Upholding Legal and Humanitarian Obligations.”
It was called last week by the representatives of Egypt and Mauritania, in their capacities as chair of the Arab Group and chair of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) respectively, after the US on Friday vetoed a Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling for a ceasefire.
An overwhelming majority of 153 member nations voted in favor of the resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Only 10 countries, including Israel and the United States, voted against it whereas 23 abstained.
The United States and Israel were joined in opposing the resolution by eight countries — Austria, Czechia, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay.
United Kingdom, Germany, Ukraine, Argentina, Cameroon, Georgia, Italy, Netherlands, South Sudan and Slovakia are among the 23 abstentions.
The UN resolution expressed “grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population, and (emphasizes) that the Palestinian and Israeli civilian populations must be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law.”
"It's a historic day in terms of the powerful message that was sent from the UN General Assembly," Palestinian envoy to the United Nations Riyad Mansour said after the UN vote on the Gaza resolution sponsored by several countries, including Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Palestine, among others.
On a similar Gaza ceasefire resolution at UN General Assembly on October 27, 2023, as many as 120 countries had voted in favour, 45 abstained and 14 had voted against.
Dennis Francis, the president of the General Assembly, opened the session by again calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire.” He said it was incumbent upon the UN to bring an end to “the suffering of innocent civilians,” and vowed to support all efforts to “put an end to the bloodshed and the psychological torture of the people of Gaza.”
The plight of Gazans is the result of an “unprecedented collapse of an already crumbling humanitarian system (and) profound disrespect for both international law and international humanitarian law,” he said.
“Since Dec. 1, we are witnessing the resumption of violence with a kind of ferocity that one asks, ‘What more, next?’
“No more time left. The carnage must stop. In the name of humanity, I ask you once more: Stop the violence now.”
Osama Abdel Khalek, Egypt’s permanent representative to the UN and the chair of the Arab Group for the month of December, asked the General Assembly: “What are we all waiting for, to stop this fire? To end this zero-sum war?”
Among those who voted in favour of the UN resolution also included India, France, Canada and others.
"India has voted in favour of the resolution just adopted by the General Assembly. The situation that this august body has been deliberating upon has many dimensions", India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, said.
"There is an enormous humanitarian crisis and a large-scale loss of civilian lives, especially of women and children. There is the issue of observing international humanitarian law in all circumstances. And there is the endeavour to find a peaceful and lasting two-state solution to the longstanding Palestine question," she added.
The US however continued to justify its opposition to a ceasefire resolution by restating its belief that such a move would benefit only Hamas.
The UNGA vote is not binding. But it shows where Israel, the United States and their supporters stand in the world. The UN vote also carries a political weight. Given the overwhelming outcome of the vote on this resolution, it could be considered to reflect the prevailing global view of the war in Gaza.
The UN vote calling end to Israeli massacre of Palestinians came following close to 18,500 deaths in Gaza – 70 per cent of them women and children, since Oct 7, 2023.
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