MADRID.- Numerous countries with powers such as China, FranceRussia and Arab countries They have reproached the United States for its veto of the latest resolution proposal in the UN Security Council, asking a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The United States has vetoed the proposal, which had obtained 13 votes in favor and one abstention, that of the United Kingdom, which further highlights Washington’s distancing. China, France, Russia – permanent members -, Albania, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Switzerland, Japan, Malta and Mozambique have voted in favor.
He highlights that not even the United States’ closest ally, United Kingdom, has finally voted against the text. The British ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, has explained that his abstention is due to the fact that the text did not contain an explicit condemnation against Hamas.
“Israel must be able to deal with the threat posed by Hamas and it needs to do so in a way that complies with International Humanitarian Law so that this attack cannot be carried out again,” he told the Security Council.
France Instead, he regretted the “lack of unity” of the Council. “Unfortunately, once again this Council suffers from a lack of unity. By refusing to commit to negotiations, the Gaza crisis worsens and the Council does not fulfill its mandate, contained in the Charter of the United Nations, said the French ambassador, Nicolas de Rivière.
For China“allowing the fighting to continue while claiming to care about the lives and safety of the people of Gaza is contradictory,” in the words of its ambassador, Zhang Jun. “Consenting the fight to continue while asking that the conflict not expand is self-deception. Allowing the fight to continue while asking for the protection of women and children and Human Rights is hypocrisy. All this demonstrates once again what the double standard is,” she argued.
For the Russian ambassador, Dimitri Polianski, “our colleagues from the United States They have literally signed before our eyes a death sentence for thousands, if not tens of thousands more civilians in Palestine and Israel.”
Türkiye For his part, he highlighted that Washington “is now alone on this issue” after Friday’s vote. “The American political system is now useless in Israel issues”stated the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, in statements to the Turkish public television TRT.
The Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hoseín Amirabdolahian, has highlighted for his part that the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, has proposed activating the Article 99 of the Charter of the United Nations “to stop crimes in Gaza and maintain the structure of world peace,” Amirabdolahian posted on Twitter.
Other countries like United Arab Emirates, Oman or Malaysia They have also made explicit their rejection of the US veto.
International organizations criticize the US
Organizations such as Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders or Human Rights Watch.
Amnesty has declared its rejection of the US veto, considering it an insult to the Palestinian population besieged by Israel’s attacks in its war against Hamas.
“By vetoing this resolution, The United States has shown callous disregard for the suffering of civilians in the face of the staggering death toll, the extensive destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe that is occurring in the occupied Gaza Strip,” said the organization’s secretary general, Agnès Callamard, in a statement.
Amnesty International accuses the United States of using “blatantly as a weapon” its right to veto as a permanent member of the Council to “beat in a fight” the highest executive body of the UN, which has seen “its credibility and ability to fulfill its mandate to maintain international peace and security.”
The use of the veto, adds the organization “is morally indefensible and constitutes a dereliction of duty by the United States to prevent heinous crimes and respect international law.”
Meanwhile, the head of the UN at HRW, Louis Charbonneau, has criticized that The United States “continues to provide Israel with arms and diplomatic cover” while “perpetrating atrocities, such as collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza,” which means that “the United States risks being complicit in war crimes.”
From MSF, its executive director, Avril Benoit, has highlighted that “the United States is left alone in vetoing this resolution” and “vote against humanity.” “You risk being complicit in war crimes,” he also warned.
“The United States veto seriously contrasts with the values it claims to defend. By continuing to provide diplomatic cover to the atrocities in Gaza, he points out that International Humanitarian Law can be applied selectively and that the lives of some people matter less than those of others,” he highlighted.
