Speaking at the Doha Forum in Qatar, Guterres said the Security Council is “paralyzed by geostrategic differences” that are holding back solutions to the Israel-Hamas war. He said the UN Security Council’s “authority and credibility were seriously undermined” by its late response to the conflict.
“I have repeatedly called for a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds. Unfortunately, the Security Council did not do that,” Guterres said, vowing not to give up.
Guterres had called an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Friday, two months after the start of hostilities in the Gaza Strip. The Secretary-General used the rarely used Article 99 of the UN Charter to bring to the council’s attention “any matter which he considers likely to threaten the maintenance of international peace and security”. This rule had not been used by a UN leader for decades.
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Washington defended its veto and criticized the resolution’s supporters for trying to rush its passage without changing the call for an unconditional ceasefire.
“We are facing a serious risk of collapse of the humanitarian system,” Guterres said at the Doha Forum.
“The situation is rapidly turning into a disaster with potentially irreversible consequences for the Palestinians as a whole, as well as for peace and security in the region,” Guterres warned.
2023-12-10 16:44:02
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