[British Ambassador to the United Nations Barbara Woodward and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield vote against the resolution. (Image: Reuters)]
New York: The United States, United Kingdom, France and Japan Monday October 16, 2023 voted against a resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) calling for “Immediate Humanitarian Ceasefire in Israel-Palestine Crisis”.
The resolution was moved by Russia – one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
While the Russian drafted resolution got supports from China – another UNSC permanent member, and three non-permanent members, including Gabon, Mozambique and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the delegations of France, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom voted against it.
The remaining six non-permanent Council members – Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Switzerland, Malta and Ghana, abstained from voting.
The United States, United Kingdom and their western allies have a history of stopping the UN Security Council (UNSC), and also the United Nations (UN), from adopting resolutions relating to rights of the Palestinians and aggression of the Zionist regime in Israel against them.
Condemning violence and terrorism against civilians, the Russian resolution had called for "immediate ceasefire in Gaza".
Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, had urged support for the resolution to respond to the “unprecedented exacerbation” of the situation, citing the council’s inaction since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.
The US, UK, France and Japan while voting against the resolution said it "made no mention of Hamas".
A resolution at UNSC needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the five permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain - to pass.
Meanwhile, a vote on a rival Brazilian text was delayed until Tuesday.
In a related development, Progressive legislators in the United States S have introduced a congressional resolution urging “an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine”.
Monday’s measure – backed by more than a dozen Democratic members of the House of Representatives, including Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib, Summer Lee, Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar – highlighted growing calls in Washington, DC for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“All human life is precious, and the targeting of civilians, no matter their faith or ethnicity, is a violation of international humanitarian law,” the proposed resolution reads.
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