The death toll in the Gaza Strip reached 19,500 people. 2 million people are displaced, hungry and afraid. Meanwhile, Israel warns that the war against Hamas may last for several months.
The two Arab countries, Egypt and Mauritania, used an old United Nations resolution, Resolution 377, to put pressure on Israel. Reports Al Jazeera.
United Nations General Assembly He will therefore have to vote again on the ceasefire on Tuesday.
One of the tense moments now will be whether more Western countries will vote in favor of a ceasefire, says UN expert Tove Gravdal.
Vote again: The UN General Assembly will vote again on Tuesday, December 12, to support a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Photograph: Kina Bettencourt/AFP
Resolution 377 is the safety valve in place to avoid paralysis of the work of the Security Council.
On Friday they voted Security Council To request a truce. The proposal was not approved after the United States used its veto. This is despite the fact that 13 out of 15 countries voted in favor of the proposal.
Tragic, was the conclusion reached by Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide (AFP).
Disagreement: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Ede at the end of November. The two disagree strongly about the need for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Photograph: Paul/Reuters
Belief in greater support for a ceasefire
The last time the UN General Assembly voted for a ceasefire, 120 countries supported it and only 14 opposed it. Norway voted in favor of the resolution, while other Nordic countries abstained from voting.
The UN General Assembly’s second vote on supporting the ceasefire is scheduled to take place during a special session in New York on Tuesday.
– I have seen speculation that Iceland and Finland, among other countries, may vote in favor this time, says Tove Gravdal.
UN expert: Tove Gravdal was previously press director for the Norwegian delegation to the UN in New York, and has written a book on Norway’s role in the Security Council.
Photo: Spartacus Publishing House
Resolution 377 may require member states to use military force to stop the war in the Middle East.
Gravdal thinks that’s unlikely in this case.
She says that General Assembly resolutions may demand this, but the problem is that the resolutions are not binding under international law.
In other words, the vote will not force concrete action, no matter what – even if all 193 member states vote in favor.
“Uniting for Peace” resolution.
UN General Assembly Resolution 377 is called “Uniting for Peace,” and states:
“If, due to the lack of consensus among the five permanent members, the Security Council is unable to ensure global peace and security, the General Assembly can immediately discuss the matter, with a view to making appropriate recommendations to Member States to take collective measures, including the use of military force when necessity”.
25 years of the special session: Regarding the conflict in the Middle East, Resolution 377 was first used in 1997 to open the so-called special session. This special session has now been open for more than 25 years.
Photography: Desmond Boylan/Reuters
The United States originally proposed this resolution in 1951 in connection with the Korean War, when Russia vetoed international intervention in the North-South conflict.
– The goal was for the General Assembly to take over in the event that the Security Council failed to fulfill its obligation to protect peace and security in the world, Gravdal explains.
As a result, China was designated as an aggressor in the Korean War. This was the first time the United Nations had done something similar.
The resolution has also been used several times in connection with the Ukrainian war.
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