Officials and diplomats revealed that the UN General Assembly is set to convene on Tuesday to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, following the United States’ veto of a Security Council resolution for a ceasefire last week.
Egypt and Mauritania, in their roles as Chair of the Arab Group and Chair of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, have collaboratively initiated a special meeting of the General Assembly scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, as announced by a spokesperson for the Assembly president.
Diplomatic sources indicate that at the upcoming meeting, the General Assembly, with its nonbinding resolutions, could potentially vote on a text for a ceasefire resolution.
Read also: Kenya-Led Mission To Fight Gangs In Haiti OK’d By UN
A preliminary version of the text reviewed by AFP closely mirrors the language of the Security Council resolution vetoed on Friday, highlighting “grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.”
It calls for “an immediate humanitarian cease-fire” as well as the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”
On Friday the United States blocked the ceasefire resolution which came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called an emergency meeting of the Security Council, deploying the rarely-used Article 99 of the UN Charter to bring to the council’s attention ‘any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.’
Guterres observed that the body’s response lag to the war has “severely undermined” its “authority and credibility.”
The General Assembly, in yet another resolution at the end of October, called for an “immediate, lasting, and steadfast humanitarian truce that would bring about a cessation of hostilities” between Israel and Hamas.
After a fortnight of silence, the Security Council finally addressed the war, advocating for “extended pauses and humanitarian corridors” with language less overt than a ceasefire or truce.