Above photo: UNWTO.
Following US Veto of Security Council Resolution.
On 8 December, the US used its veto power to block a UN Security Council draft resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) president said on social media on 11 December that the 10th Emergency Special Session of the UN will be resumed on Tuesday, 12 December.
UNGA President Dennis Francis wrote in a letter addressed to all permanent UN representatives and observer members that he received a letter from representatives of Egypt and Mauritania “requesting the resumption of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly as rapidly as possible.”
Egypt and Mauritania’s representatives made their request for an emergency meeting on a draft resolution concerning Gaza after the US vetoed a draft resolution by the UAE on 8 December, the nation’s third use of its veto power during the current war on Gaza.
“In the absence of a ceasefire and in light of the ongoing grave breaches of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, and violations of the relevant United Nations resolutions,” the letter from Egypt and Mauritania read. “The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the Gaza Strip, has continued to deteriorate dramatically.”
The representatives mentioned Israel as “the occupying power” and emphasized its current military campaign in Gaza that has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians, causing “wanton destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure,” reiterating the desperate need for aid.
They finished their request to the UNGA president by saying that Israel is “endangering more civilian lives, risking further deterioration of this already-catastrophic situation, and threatening regional and international peace and security, making it urgent that the General Assembly convene to address this crisis, in accordance with Resolution 377 (V) (1950), “Uniting for Peace” as rapidly as possible.”
The UNGA on 27 October adopted a Jordanian resolution that called for an immediate truce between Palestinian resistance factions and Israel as well as the unconditional release of all captives.