UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) — The United States on Tuesday vetoed a draft Security Council resolution that would have called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
The draft resolution received 13 yes votes from the 15 members of the Security Council. The United States voted against and the United Kingdom abstained.
The adoption of a draft Security Council resolution requires at least nine yes votes and no veto from any of the five permanent members of the Security Council: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.
The resolution drafted by Algeria would have called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and condemned any attacks on civilians. The project would have rejected the forced displacement of Palestinian civilians and called for unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
Before voting on the draft resolution, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the Algerian draft would jeopardize current efforts to reach a hostage agreement. The ambassador said her delegation was working on another draft resolution that would call for a “temporary ceasefire” on the condition that all hostages be released.
Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Wassily Nebenzia, said before the vote that Washington continued to give Israel “a license to kill” and called on Security Council members to “counter Washington's illegality.”
After the vote, Nebenzia pointed out that all responsibility for the consequences of today's result rests with Washington, no matter how much the United States tries to evade it by talking about its “important mediation efforts.”
In a statement on the vote after the vote, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, expressed his country's great disappointment and dissatisfaction with the outcome of the vote.
“The U.S. veto sends the wrong message and makes the situation in Gaza even more dangerous,” he said.
The U.S. claim that the Algerian-drafted resolution would harm current diplomatic efforts is completely untenable, Zhang said.
The Security Council must take measures to promote a ceasefire, which is its legal responsibility. The US veto cannot dampen strong calls for a ceasefire and an end to the war in Gaza. The Security Council cannot stop its work to uphold justice and fulfill its responsibilities just because it exercises a veto, he said.
French UN Ambassador Nicholas de Riviere regretted that the draft resolution was not adopted given the catastrophic situation there.
“It is extremely urgent to conclude, without further delay, a ceasefire agreement that will finally guarantee the protection of all civilians and the provision of massive emergency aid,” he said. “The human cost and humanitarian situation in Gaza is intolerable and Israeli operations must cease.”
The Algerian text was the eighth draft resolution put to a vote in the Security Council since October 7, 2023. Only two were accepted and none of them called for a ceasefire. End