Photo: UNRWA/Ashraf Amra
Vetoes by Russia and US of United Nations draft calls for a ceasefire in Sudan and Gaza have triggered outrage and debate among member states.
A US decision to veto a draft call for a ceasefire in Gaza was only the fourth time it had used that.
The BBC reports that 14 of 15 UN Security Council members had voted in favour of the Gaza draft which demanded that the war “end immediately, unconditionally and permanently” with all hostages to be freed.
More than 43,920 people have been killed in Gaza since Hamas gunmen attacked Israeli towns last October, killing about 1200 people and taking 253 hostages into Gaza.
Russia similarly vetoed a UN Security Council draft call for a ceasefire in Sudan; that African country’s 19-month civil war is believed to have killed tens of thousands and forced 11 million people from their homes amid reports of mass atrocities.
Famine is a very real threat for both conflict zones, the UN warns.
The Sudan draft was 14-0 in favour in the council before Russia vetoed it.
UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang (of Cameroon) called the entire UN veto issue “bittersweet”.
“Inaction has often become the norm, not the exception,” and damaged the United Nation’s credibility, he said.
“The council is unfortunately not living up to (its) responsibility,” said Finland’s representative, speaking on behalf of Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Indonesia’s delegate says the council has “once again” failed to uphold its mandate due to the veto of a draft resolution crucial to saving the lives of millions.
“This shows that the right of veto is not only an antiquated privilege; it is a practice with capital consequences,” the delegate says.
Japan’s delegate described the veto as “another example of the existing inequity within the Security Council, on top of the lack of fair representation in its permanent and non-permanent members”.
Egypt’s delegate claimed that without granting the African continent at least two permanent seats on the council, including the right of veto, the continent will continue to suffer.
