…resolution sponsored by Guyana, 9 other non-permanent members
The United States (US) has vetoed a resolution put forward by Guyana and nine other non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which called for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has been
The resolution, put forward by UNSC elected members Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Algeria, Ecuador, Slovenia and Switzerland, had called for the “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” of the Gaza conflict. The release of the hostages was also demanded separately.
US representative Robert Wood raises his hand to veto a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza at UN headquarters in New York City on 20 November 2024 (Angela Weiss/AFP)
However, the resolution met a swift end when it was put to the 15 member UNSC for vote, with deputy US Ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, voting against it. According to Wood, the US will only support a resolution that explicitly demands the immediate release of hostages as part of the ceasefire.
“A durable end to the war must come with the release of the hostages. These two urgent goals are inextricably linked. This resolution abandoned that necessity, and for that reason, the United States could not support it,” Wood said.
He further explained that the proposed resolution, based on its language, would have sent a “dangerous message” to Hamas, that they did not need to return to the negotiation table. In the meantime, the administration of US President Joe Biden, who demits office early next year, continues to provide Israel with diplomatic and military support, even as efforts from the US to broker a ceasefire deal between the two sides have fallen through.
Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett speaking on behalf of the elected non-permanent members of the Security Council) on Gaza, following the Security Council meeting on the Middle East, including the Palestinian question on Wednesday
The US’ rejection of the resolution was criticized by members, with China, France and Malta expressing regret that an agreement on an immediate ceasefire could not be reached. It is not the first time that the US has failed to support a resolution calling for a ceasefire that was put forward by elected members. In March 2024, the US was the lone country to abstain from voting on a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
At a UNSC meeting earlier this year, Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, had joined in denouncing the actions of the Israeli Government. Noting that the war crisis is in the occupied Palestinian territory, she also sounded calls for an international probe into the incident.
“It had seemed that the Gaza crisis could not get any worse, until we learned of last Sunday’s events in Tal al-Sultan in Rafah, where displaced Palestinians sheltering in tents were set on fire after Israeli airstrikes. People were injured and burned alive. And all of this (occurred) in a designated safe zone – a chilling reminder that there is no safe place in Gaza,” she had asserted.
“Guyana calls for a swift, independent and international investigation to establish the facts surrounding this incident, including to identify the perpetrators. This Council must not continue to accept the all-too-familiar explanations of these incidents being mistakes or miscalculations,” the Guyanese UN Representative posited.
According to Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett, there is no justification for the killing of innocent civilians, and she pointed to Israel’s continued disregard for the international rule of law. The Guyanese UN Representative had further renewed calls for a two-state solution to end the decades-old war between Palestine and Israel. She noted that the Palestinian people must exercise their inalienable right to self-determination, and it is the UN that must guarantee the exercise of that right.
In addition to its calls for a ceasefire, the Guyana Government had, back in February, pledged US$150,000 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in support of Palestinians displaced and affected by the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Another US$80 million in donations was raised by local stakeholders during the month of Ramadan in April.
Since the October 7, 2023 attacks, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, and over 100,000 injured – many of these victims being women and children.
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