United Nations Security Council Resolution 2720

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UN Security Council
Resolution 2720
Road to Gaza 060 - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg
Rafah Border Crossing
Date22 December 2023
Meeting no.9,520
Subject 2023 Gaza humanitarian crisis
Voting summary
  • 13 voted for
  • None voted against
  • 2 abstained
ResultAdopted
Security Council composition
Permanent members
Non-permanent members
  2719 Lists of resolutions 2721  

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2720, adopted on 22 December 2023, called for increased aid for the 2023 Gaza humanitarian crisis, including the provisioning of fuel, food, and medical supplies. It also explicitly demanded the opening of all Gaza border crossings to humanitarian aid, including the Kerem Shalom border crossing, [1] and proposed the immediate appointment of a Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza. [2] The resolution received approval from 13 members, while Russia and the United States abstained from voting.

Contents

Background

The Gaza Strip has been experiencing a humanitarian crisis since the blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2005, a crisis which has been exasperated as a result of the Israel–Hamas war. [3] [4] At the start of the war, Israel implemented a complete blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in significant shortages of fuel, food, medication, water, and essential medical supplies. [3] [5] This siege resulted in a 90% drop in electricity availability, impacting hospital power supplies, sewage plants, and shutting down the desalination plants that provide drinking water. [6] Widespread disease outbreaks have spread across Gaza. [4]

Heavy bombardment by Israeli airstrikes caused catastrophic damage to Gaza's infrastructure, further deepening the crisis. [7] The Gaza Health Ministry reported over 4,000 children killed in the war's first month. [8] UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated Gaza had "become a graveyard for children". [lower-alpha 1] [11] [12]

Procedures

Security Council Resolution 2712 was adopted on 15 November 2023, calling for humanitarian pauses in the fighting, [13] [14] and a ceasefire took effect from 24 to 30 November.

The United Nations General Assembly passed (on 12 December 2023) a non-binding resolution with a repeated calling for an "immediate ceasefire" with 153 votes for, 23 abstentions and 10 against. [15]

Resolution 2720, proposed by the U.A.E, was originally scheduled for a vote on Monday 18 December; however, was delayed multiple times to allow for negotiations with the United States which would allow for the U.S. to not veto the resolution. It was reported that the reason for the delay was differences between the State Department and the White House. [16] The United States expressed reservation with the proposition for a U.N. monitored mechanisms for aid delivery, [17] whereas the United Kingdom explicitly endorsed the resolution. [18]

An amendment introduced by Russia, which would have reinstated the previous draft of the resolution that called for an "urgent suspension of hostilities", received 10 votes in favour and 4 abstentions but was vetoed by the United States. [19]

Voting record

Approved (13)Abstained (2)Opposed (0)

Reactions

National representatives

Other reactions

Many organisations, including the International Rescue Committee, criticized the resolution due to the lack of a call for an immediate ceasefire, whilst Médecins Sans Frontières executive director Avril Benoît declared that the resolution "has been watered down to the point that its impact on the lives of civilians in Gaza will be nearly meaningless". [24] [21] [25] South Africa, in a statement referring Israel to the International Court of Justice for committing genocide and violating the Genocide Convention, called the resolution "ineffectual" and failing to "properly to address the situation on the ground" in Gaza. [26]

Impact

On 29 December, Al Jazeera reported a "sense of frustration" in Gaza following the passage of the resolution, stating that "People are now seeing more bombs, less food, and less humanitarian aid." [27] In March 2024, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry stated, "The failure of the Security Council to implement Resolution 2720 and its inability to guarantee the entry of humanitarian and medical aid on a constant basis to civilians in the Gaza Strip has no justification". [28]

See also

Notes

  1. Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan responded directly to Guterres, stating, "Shame on [Guterres]... More than 30 minors – among them a 9 month-old baby as well as toddlers and children who witnessed their parents being murdered in cold blood – are being held against their will in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is the problem in Gaza, not Israel's actions to eliminate this terrorist organization." [9] [10]

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References

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