NEW YORK: All eyes will be on the United States during a session of the UNSC on Friday, when the 15-member body is due to vote on a draft resolution demanding an urgent truce in the Gaza Strip.
The resolution was drafted by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab Group of nations at the United Nations, and presented by the UAE.
The draft resolution demands “an urgent humanitarian truce” in Gaza and “the immediate and unconditional release of all captives, as well as guaranteeing humanitarian access.”
The resolution expresses “grave concern over the disastrous humanitarian situation in Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinians, and (emphasizes) that civilian populations must be protected as per global humanitarian law.”
Fears of US Veto Loom Large on Eve of UNSC Vote on Gaza Truce Call
The vote on the draft resolution follows a constitutional move by UN chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, when he also invoked one of the few powers provided to him by the UN Charter by calling on the UNSC to demand a truce, to help avoid a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip that could have “possibly irreversible implications for Palestinian people as a whole, and for security and peace in the region.”
Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the OIC Hissein Brahim Taha welcomed the Antonio Guterres’s request to the UNSC for a declaration of a humanitarian truce in Gaza to avert a humanitarian crisis in accordance with Article 99 of the UN Charter.
The Secretary General considered this step as a significant and necessary measure to activate the role and responsibility of the UN bodies, particularly the UNSC, towards stopping the continuous Israeli aggression against the people of Palestine in the Gaza Strip.
