<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Council then adopted the resolution 2728 (2024) (to be issued as document\u00a0S\/RES\/2728(2024)<\/a>) by a vote of 14 in favour to none against, with one abstention (United States)<\/strong>.\u00a0 By its terms, it demanded an immediate ceasefire<\/strong> for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties, leading to a lasting sustainable ceasefire.\u00a0 It also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages<\/strong>, as well as ensuring humanitarian access<\/strong> to address their medical and other humanitarian needs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n By other terms, the Council emphasized the urgent need to expand the flow of humanitarian assistance and reinforce the protection of civilians in Gaza. \u00a0It also demanded the lifting of all barriers to humanitarian assistance at scale, in line with international humanitarian law as well as Council resolutions 2712 (2023) and 2720 (2023).<\/p>\n \u201cFinally, the Security Council is shouldering its responsibility,\u201d said Algeria\u2019s<\/strong> delegate, welcoming the adoption of this long-awaited resolution.\u00a0 \u201cThis bloodbath has continued for far too long,\u201d he observed, adding that the adoption of today\u2019s resolution is only the beginning of meeting the aspirations of the Palestinian people. \u00a0\u201cThe international community [\u2026] did not abandon you, it feels your suffering,\u201d he said, stressing that it is the Council\u2019s responsibility to ensure the implementation of the text\u2019s provisions.<\/p>\n The United States\u2019s<\/strong> representative said that while her delegation did not agree with everything in the resolution \u2014 and therefore was unable to vote in favour \u2014 it supports \u201csome of the critical objectives in this non-binding resolution\u201d and that the Council must make clear that the release of all hostages accompany any ceasefire.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, this Council spoke out in support of the ongoing diplomatic efforts led by [my country], Qatar<\/strong> and Egypt<\/strong>\u201d to bring about an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, secure the immediate release of all hostages and help alleviate the tremendous suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza,\u201d she said.\u00a0 Washington, D.C., fully supports these critical objectives, which was the foundation of the resolution it recently put forward that the Russian Federation and China vetoed.\u00a0 Underscoring that a ceasefire \u201ccould have come about months ago\u201d if Hamas had been willing to release the hostages, she called on Member States to demand unequivocally that \u201cHamas accepts the deal on the table\u201d.<\/p>\n France\u2019s<\/strong> delegate said it was \u201chigh time\u201d for the Council to establish a ceasefire, demand the release of hostages and call for comprehensive humanitarian assistance. \u00a0\u201cThe Security Council\u2019s silence on Gaza was becoming deafening,\u201d he said.\u00a0 Noting that today\u2019s adoption demonstrates that the Council can still act when its members make the necessary effort to discharge the organ\u2019s mandate, he observed:\u00a0 Now, the Council must contribute to solving this crisis \u2014 which is not over \u2014 and, following Ramadan, the organ will have to establish a permanent ceasefire, work towards recovery and stabilization in Gaza and get a political process back on track to effect a two-State solution.<\/p>\n In the same vein, Guyana\u2019s<\/strong> delegate welcomed that the Council has \u201cfinally\u201d been able to adopt a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire \u2014 albeit for the month of Ramadan.\u00a0 The reality faced by the population of Gaza has worsened daily since 7\u00a0October as the occupying Power continues its atrocities and, today, the Council has chosen to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.\u00a0\u201cIt is long overdue, but it is still the right thing to have done,\u201d she observed.\u00a0 However, this is just the beginning and \u201cthe task before us now\u201d is to secure full compliance with the texts and preceding resolutions 2712 (2023) and 2720 (2023).\u00a0 Adding that Ramadan will end in 15 days, she called on the Council \u2014 and those with influence over the parties \u2014 to immediately redouble efforts to effect a lasting, sustainable ceasefire, secure the release of hostages and massively scale up humanitarian assistance.<\/p>\n Underlining the need to ensure the immediate and unconditional implementation of the resolution, the representatives of Malta<\/strong> and Ecuador<\/strong> noted the diplomatic efforts of Egypt, Qatar and the United States to reach an agreement between the parties to the conflict.<\/p>\n The speaker for the Republic of Korea<\/strong> pointed out that today\u2019s resolution was the first-ever adopted text introduced by elected Council members on a regional agenda item. \u00a0To have significance beyond Council politics, it must have a tangible impact in Gaza by saving the lives of civilians and easing the humanitarian crisis.\u00a0 \u201cThe situation on the ground in Gaza must be different before and after this resolution,\u201d he stressed.\u00a0 This will only be possible when both Israel and Hamas respect and implement today\u2019s resolution, which \u2014 while not explicitly coercive under Chapter\u00a0VII of the Charter of the United Nations \u2014 reflects the international community’s consensus.<\/p>\n Slovenia\u2019s<\/strong> delegate said that the resolution\u2019s adoption \u201csignals a day that will help silence the guns, stop the killing, free the hostages, (\u2026) and clear the sky over Gaza\u201d. \u00a0The Council showed that it can find \u201cunity for peace\u201d.\u00a0 However, today\u2019s resolution is just the beginning and \u201cwe will need more of this unity for Gaza as well as for many other conflicts,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cThis vote should mark a return to greater humanity in the Middle East conflict,\u201d said his counterpart from Switzerland<\/strong>, noting that it demonstrates the weight that elected members can have when the Council\u2019s blockages disrupt the fulfilment of its mandate.\u00a0 \u201cAn immediate ceasefire is a priority step, but it is only the first step, given the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza,\u201d she said. \u00a0For the resolution to be effectively implemented, the immediate ceasefire must lead without delay to a durable, sustainable ceasefire. \u00a0Similarly, given the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that a large-scale operation in Rafah would have on the civilian population and humanitarian operations, such an operation must be avoided, she asserted.<\/p>\n The fighting, the killing and the collective punishment must stop, stated the speaker for Sierra Leone<\/strong>, recognizing the collective struggle of Palestinians.\u00a0 He underscored that the parties to the conflict are obliged to respect the Council\u2019s demand and urged States with influence to apply necessary pressure on the parties to implement this resolution.\u00a0 Given that half of the population in Gaza is facing acute food shortages, with an immediate risk of famine, the emphasis on the urgent need to expand the flow of humanitarian assistance to reinforce the protection of civilians in Gaza is \u201cmost significant\u201d, he stressed.<\/p>\n The representative of Japan<\/strong>, Council President for March and one of the co-penholders of today\u2019s resolution, welcomed that the Council adopted a text proposed by its elected members.\u00a0 He also expressed support for ongoing diplomatic efforts \u2014 particularly the \u201cfour-party talks\u201d \u2014 towards a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.\u00a0 Such a ceasefire can pave the path towards sustainable peace and stability in the region, he added.<\/p>\n The speaker for the United Kingdom<\/strong> said that her country has long called for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire as the fastest way to get hostages out and aid in.\u00a0 \u201cThis is what this resolution calls for, and why [London] voted yes on this text,\u201d she stated, nevertheless expressing regret that the text did not condemn the terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas on 7\u00a0October.\u00a0Calling for the resolution\u2019s immediate implementation, she urged the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; the removal of Hamas\u2019 capacity to launch attacks against Israel and its overseeing of Gaza; and the establishment of a political horizon providing a credible, irreversible path towards a two-State solution.<\/p>\n China\u2019s<\/strong> delegate, recalling the resolution proposed by the United States on 22\u00a0March that his country, the Russian Federation and Algeria voted against, said the current text is \u201cunequivocal and correct\u201d in its demand for an immediate ceasefire while the previous one was \u201cevasive and ambiguous\u201d.\u00a0The current draft also reflects the international community\u2019s general expectations and enjoys the collective support of Arab States, while those countries jointly rejected the previous one.\u00a0After repeatedly vetoing Council action, the United States finally decided to stop obstructing the organ\u2019s demand for an immediate ceasefire.\u00a0 And, while that country still tries to find excuses and make accusations against China, the \u201ceyes of the international community are open and discerning\u201d.\u00a0 While \u201ctoday\u2019s resolution comes too late\u201d, he said that it could still \u201cbring long-awaited hope\u201d if it is fully implemented.<\/p>\n For the first time, the Council is demanding the observance of an immediate ceasefire, even if limited for the month of Ramadan, noted the speaker for the Russian Federation.\u00a0 \u201cUnfortunately, what happens after that ends remains unclear,\u201d he cautioned, noting that the word \u201clasting\u201d could be interpreted in \u201cvarious different ways\u201d. \u00a0\u201cWe want to believe that this wording will be used in the interest of peace rather than advancing the inhumane Israeli operation against the Palestinians,\u201d he stressed, noting the wording \u201cpermanent\u201d would be more precise. \u00a0While it is fundamental to vote in favour of peace, the Council must continue to work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire.<\/p>\n He further pointed out that the vote on the amendment tabled by his delegation uncovered who truly wants to end \u2014 rather than suspend \u2014 the inhumane Israeli operation.\u00a0 Also, what took place today is a response to those who criticize the veto power of the permanent members \u2014 if the Russian Federation and China had not used it on 22\u00a0March, \u201cwe could have ended up with a very harmful text that would have given Israel a license to continue its actions against the Palestinians, including in Rafah.\u201d\u00a0 He also condemned international terrorism, including the 7\u00a0October Hamas attack and the recent terrorist attack in Moscow, which took 143 \u201centirely innocent lives\u201d.<\/p>\n The representative of Yemen<\/strong>, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group<\/strong>, stated:\u00a0 \u201cWe should consider this resolution as a first step, leading to a binding resolution that stipulates the immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to compel Israel to immediately and without any preconditions cease the war.\u201d\u00a0 He underlined the need to ensure that the Council \u2014 which has been the hostage of political calculations and narrow interests \u2014 is shouldering its legal and moral responsibilities.\u00a0 While the adoption of today\u2019s text comes as a response to Palestinian victims, it is vital to focus not just on a temporary ceasefire but on reaching a comprehensive, final ceasefire to allow the delivery of all humanitarian assistance to Gaza and to put an end to the forceful displacement of Palestinians.<\/p>\n \u201cThis resolution reaffirms that Israeli occupation forces do not have free reign in perpetrating massacres against women and children,\u201d he continued, warning that Israel\u2019s plans to launch a ground offensive against Rafah \u201cwill cause an unacceptable humanitarian catastrophe\u201d. \u00a0Stressing that Israel must be held accountable for its crimes, he urged the imposition of strict sanctions on settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and on those who are inciting violence or perpetrating acts of violence against Palestinians.<\/p>\n The speaker for Israel<\/strong>, while noting that the Council was quick to condemn the recent terror attack in Moscow, pointed out that the organ still refuses to condemn \u201cthe most widespread and barbaric massacre suffered by the Jewish people since the Holocaust\u201d.\u00a0 Asking why the Council discriminates between Russians murdered at a concert and Israelis murdered at a music festival, he said:\u00a0 \u201cHamas has converted every inch of Gaza into a terror war machine right under the UN\u2019s nose \u2014 maybe with the help of some of the UN\u2019s agencies, like UNRWA.\u201d\u00a0 Turning to today\u2019s resolution, he said that \u2014 while the text denounces the taking of hostages \u2014 the Council has not taken a single step towards this end apart from symbolic words.\u00a0 He also pointed out that, so long as Hamas refuses to release the hostages as a result of diplomatic efforts, there is no way to secure their return other than through a military operation.<\/p>\n Thus, the Council\u2019s demand for a ceasefire \u2014 without conditioning such a measure on the release of hostages \u2014 undermines efforts to secure their release, he stressed.\u00a0 Stating that all Council members \u201cshould have voted against this shameful resolution\u201d, he suggested an alternative text that the Council should have adopted \u201cif it wasn\u2019t so biased against Israel\u201d.\u00a0 Such a resolution would have had the Council condemn all human rights abuses and violations of international law by the terrorist group; demand that the group disarm, demobilize and immediately cease all hostilities; and demand the immediate release of all those who remain in captivity.\u00a0Pointing out that Israel did not draft such a text \u2014 rather, the Council adopted it 10 years ago when Boko Haram kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria \u2014 he asked why the Council can call on Boko Haram to lay down their arms but cannot demand the same of murderous Hamas terrorists.\u00a0Answering, he said:\u00a0 \u201cTo this Council, Israeli blood is cheap.\u201d<\/p>\n The observer for the State of Palestine<\/strong> said: \u201cIt has taken 6 months, over 100,000 Palestinians killed and maimed, 2 million displaced, and famine for this Council to finally demand an immediate ceasefire.\u201d\u00a0 Today\u2019s adoption is \u201ca vote for humanity and life to prevail\u201d.\u00a0 The Palestinians in Gaza pleaded and appealed, shouted, cried, cursed, prayed, and yet, continue to face death, destruction, deprivation, disease and famine.\u00a0 They are being killed in their homes, in the streets, hospitals, UN shelters and tents. \u201cTheir ordeal must come to an immediate end now,\u201d he declared, adding that, \u201cthere is no home sheltering them, no table to gather around and no food to eat\u201d.\u00a0 While such atrocities are being committed in broad daylight against defenceless civilians, Palestinian families cannot mourn or heal.<\/p>\n There can be no justification for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, he continued.\u00a0 Accepting any justification for such crimes is \u201crenouncing our humanity and destroying the rule of international law beyond repair\u201d.\u00a0 The International Court of Justice ordered Israel to undertake immediate measures in relation to its mass and indiscriminate killings of Palestinians.\u00a0 Instead of implementing this order, Israel has doubled down in the commission of its crimes.\u00a0 By using starvation as a weapon of war, it is responsible for the famine under way in Gaza.\u00a0Further, Israel attacked civilians in the very places it asked them to hide.\u00a0 \u201cIt killed them if they stayed and killed them if they left.\u201d\u00a0 Now it continues to threaten a ground operation in Rafah where it has pushed and confined Palestinians at the very edge of the Gaza Strip in yet another attempt to forcibly displace them.\u00a0 Despite its atrocities, Israel has been afforded impunity as countries continue to treat it as an ally, he pointed out.<\/p>\n Now that this Council has finally called for a ceasefire, all forces should ensure it is enforced, he asserted, adding:\u00a0 \u201cThis must be a turning point, this must lead to saving lives on the ground, this must signal an end of these atrocities against the Palestinians \u2014 a nation is being murdered, [\u2026] disposed [and] displaced for decades now \u2014 but never at this scale since the Nakba, never this openly\u201d. \u00a0However, he said that even if the ceasefire happened now and the siege was lifted, \u201cit would take generations to deal with the trauma and devastation\u201d.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 25 March 2024 9586TH Meeting (AM) SC\/15641 After 171 days of war in Gaza, the Security Council today adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties, leading to a lasting sustainable ceasefire, while many speakers underscored that this is only the first step towards a […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[660,759,807,810,834,867,897,906,969,5248,1593,1062,1065,1074,5836,1119,1152,2321,2553],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1362],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2517,1769,1829,2265,2005],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-294659","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-algeria","country-china","country-ecuador","country-egypt","country-france","country-guyana","country-israel","country-japan","country-malta","country-mozambique","country-palestine-state-of","country-qatar","country-republic-of-korea","country-russian-federation","country-sierra-leone","country-slovenia","country-switzerland","country-united-kingdom","country-united-states-of-america","document-category-press-release","document-source-security-council","document-subject-access-and-movement","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-casualties","document-subject-ceasefire","document-subject-gaza-strip","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/294659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/294659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":294734,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/294659\/revisions\/294734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=294659"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=294659"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=294659"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=294659"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=294659"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=294659"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=294659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}