Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, is attempting to contain the war on Gaza by using every tactic possible, including the seldom-used Article 99. But there is very little chance that this endeavor will have any impact on the death toll in the region, given that the US has continuously supported the occupying forces in the UN Security Council.

Article 99 has been utilized by the UN four times before but failed to get ratified by the UN Security Council due to US influence and power. Unfortunately, though, the United States and its allies in the Security Council could not change their calculus and continued to exert pressure to override subsequent UN resolutions that called for peace and an end to violence in the aforementioned regions. The UN's inability to execute Article 99 to put an end to the egregious violations of human rights and war crimes in these areas is due to the United States' substantial influence inside the Security Council.

UN’s latest resolution

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which consists of 193 member states, overwhelmingly supported the resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday.

The resolution passed on December 12, with 153 countries voting in favor, 23 abstaining, and 10 countries voting against, including "Israel" and the United States. While the resolution lacks binding force, it effectively signifies a global perspective on the Israeli actions in Gaza.

The vote is taking place amid increasing international pressure on "Israel" to cease its prolonged offensive in Gaza, where, according to the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor based in Geneva, a total of 20,031 Palestinians, including 8,176 women and children, have been killed in Gaza since October 7. These casualties are attributed to Israeli aggression directed toward the Gaza Strip. Over 80 percent of the population in Gaza, consisting of approximately 2.3 million residents, has experienced displacement.

As a result of ongoing airstrikes and an Israeli siege, the Palestinian territory is experiencing terrible humanitarian conditions that UN officials have compared to "hell on earth." Access to essential resources such as food, fuel, water, and electricity in the Gaza Strip has been significantly limited due to the Israeli aggression.

Both, the US and Austria proposed amendments to the resolution to condemn the operation carried out by Hamas on October 7.

The current US administration, under President Joe Biden, has expressed strong support for "Israel's" aggression, asserting that it is crucial to grant "Israel" the necessary means to "dismantle Hamas". The United States, known for its vocal criticism of Russia's actions in Ukraine, has faced accusations of employing a double standard when it comes to human rights violations in Gaza.

The UN has enforced Article 99

The vote, which was scheduled for Tuesday and was postponed a few times, follows a recent unsuccessful resolution in the UN Security Council (UNSC) on December 8. This resolution also aimed to establish a humanitarian ceasefire.

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The proposal was vetoed by the United States with the sole dissenting vote, resulting in its failure to pass. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, chose to abstain. In contrast to the voting process in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) possess the authority to be legally enforceable.

Following the failed United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the notable decision to invoke Article 99 of the UN Charter. This particular article grants him the authority to issue warnings on significant threats to international peace. The most recent utilization of the Article occurred in 1989.

In response to Guterres' communication to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) regarding the implementation of Article 99, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) mission to the UN has presented a preliminary resolution. The UAE mission claims that this resolution has garnered the backing of the Arab and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) groups. A statement was posted on social media expressing concern about the dire and potentially irreversible state of affairs in the Gaza Strip. The delay is not acceptable. The Council is required to take prompt and resolute action to formally request a humanitarian ceasefire. The statement further emphasized the moral and humanitarian obligation, urging all nations to endorse the Secretary-General's appeal.

The United States has vetoed previous United Nations resolutions, proposed by Brazil and Russia, that aimed to establish a ceasefire in Gaza. The United States is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that possess the authority to exercise veto power.

On December 6, Secretary-General Guterres delivered a statement to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) expressing concern that the Gaza war has the potential to exacerbate current challenges to the preservation of global peace and security. According to the letter from the Secretary-General, civilians residing in Gaza are confronted with a significant level of peril. According to reports, the number of casualties has exceeded 20,000 since the commencement of "Israel's" aggression. Shockingly, children make up over 40 percent of this tragic figure. Additionally, the presence of explosive remnants of war is causing significant damage to various regions, rendering them unsuitable for human habitation. The current measures in place do not provide adequate protection for civilians.

What is Article 99?

The United Nations Charter confers upon the Secretary-General a distinct and privileged political instrument referred to as the special power. He is authorized to convene a meeting of the Security Council at their discretion to issue warnings on emerging threats to global peace and security. Additionally, they are empowered to discuss matters that have not yet been included in the council's agenda.

As per Article 99 of the charter, the Secretary-General possesses the power to inform the Security Council regarding any matter that, in their assessment, poses a risk to the maintenance of worldwide peace and security.

The power in question is a distinctive capability that serves as the only independent political tool bestowed upon the Secretary-General under the provisions of the UN Charter. The individual is authorized to convene a meeting of the Security Council at their discretion. This functionality allows him to issue warnings regarding emerging threats to global peace and security, in addition to addressing topics that have not yet been incorporated into the council's agenda.

As per Article 99 of the charter, the Secretary-General is vested with the power to inform the Security Council of any matter that, in their assessment, poses a risk to the maintenance of international peace and security without necessitating an invitation from a member state, as is the customary procedure. The Secretary-General has the power to initiate a discussion, convene the parties involved, and facilitate their efforts to achieve a mutually agreeable resolution. The adoption of a substantive resolution on this matter is contingent upon the absence of any veto exercised by the five permanent members of the Security Council.

When in the past has Article 99 been invoked?

The invocation of this measure has occurred on only four occasions in the past. These instances took place in the Congo in 1960, East Pakistan in 1971, Iran in 1979, and Lebanon in 1989.

In July 1960, significant events unfolded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Carl Hammarskjöld, a Swedish economist and diplomat, actively employed the principle of "preventive diplomacy" through the invocation of Article 99 during his tenure as the second secretary-general of the United Nations. The aforementioned action was undertaken as a response to a formal request for military assistance from the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the UN. The purpose of this request was to safeguard the nation against Belgian forces and uphold stability within the Republic of Congo.

In December 1971, U Thant, a former UN Secretary-General, invoked Article 99 to request the intervention of the Security Council during the conflict in East Pakistan, which is presently recognized as Bangladesh. The clarity of U Thant's reference to Article 99 as a complete invocation of the rule is uncertain.

In December 1979, an event of significant geopolitical importance occurred in Iran. Resolution 457 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council on December 4, 1979, in response to a request made by Kurt Josef Waldheim, the fourth Secretary-General of the United Nations. The objective of this resolution was to address the ongoing Iranian-American embassy crisis.

On August 15, 1989, Javier Felipe Ricard, a Peruvian diplomat and the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations, made explicit mention of Article 99 of the UN charter about the protracted civil war and ongoing conflict in Lebanon.