UN Security Council to vote today on Gaza ceasefire
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UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric affirms that Guterres has been speaking with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and their counterparts from several other countries for the past two days.
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"Israel’s" UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan listens as Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador addresses members of the U.N. Security Council at United Nations headquarters, on October 30, 2023. (AP)
A vote to push for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza is due to be concluded today during a scheduled UN Security Council meeting after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked the UN charter’s Article 99 for it this week.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric affirmed that Guterres has spoken with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and their counterparts from several other countries since Wednesday.
Article 99 gives Guterres the power to "bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security".
The latest update of the resolution, as confirmed by AFP, calls the humanitarian conditions in Gaza "catastrophic" and "demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire." It also urges the protection of civilians, the immediate and unconditional release of all the captives, and humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip.
Read next: 'Israel' violating ceasefire deal's aid clause, UN figures show
Guterres, known for attempting to persuade the US to engage in discussions on the humanitarian crisis and endorse a comprehensive ceasefire since "Israel" resumed its aggression on Gaza in December, faced a roadblock with Washington's refusal to act decisively. In response, Guterres resorted to invoking Article 99.
'The best we can do'
This comes as four previous drafts have been rejected by the Security Council.
The United States has claimed that proposing a new resolution at this point would not be "useful."
Deputy US Ambassador, Robert Wood, stated, "We again think that the best thing that we can do, all of us, for the situation on the ground, is to let the quiet, behind-the-scene diplomacy that is happening, continue".
UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk described the situation two days ago as an "apocalyptic" humanitarian circumstance, emphasizing the high risk of atrocities being committed by "Israel".
"Civilians in Gaza continue to be relentlessly bombarded by Israel and collectively punished -- suffering death, siege, destruction and deprivation of the most essential human needs such as food, water, lifesaving medical supplies and other essentials on a massive scale," he said in a press conference.
"Palestinians in Gaza are living in utter, deepening horror," Turk said, after quoting his colleagues who saw Gaza's state as "apocalyptic".
He said 1.9 million of the 2.2 million people living in the Palestinian enclave had been forcibly displaced and were being pushed into ever-diminishing and overpopulated places in southern Gaza, in unsustainable and unhealthy conditions.
