Russia and China vetoed a US-authored UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution Friday that called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The exact text of the UNSC Resolution is not currently available to the public; however, UN News provided a summary of its content. According to UN News, the resolution called the need for an immediate and sustained ceasefire “imperative,” called for continued aid to Gaza, and called upon Israel and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to comply with international law. The resolution also condemned the October 7 attacks by Hamas, rejected the forced displacement of Palestinians, called for the release of all remaining hostages and condemned any attempt to Israel annex parts of Gaza. Additionally, the resolution allegedly called for a two-state solution to the ongoing conflict and condemned the ongoing attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
China’s Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun defended China’s decision to veto the resolution, telling Russian state news outlet TASS:
An immediate ceasefire is a fundamental precondition for saving people’s lives, expanding humanitarian access and preventing a larger conflict. The US draft contains [only] preliminary conditions for a ceasefire, essentially greenlighting further killings. This is inadmissible. The draft is also extremely unbalanced on a number of other aspects.
Russia has yet to release a statement on its veto; however, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky previously told TASS Russia would only vote in favor of a UNSC ceasefire resolution if it contained a demand or clear call for a ceasefire, as opposed to simply reiterating the need for one. Russian Permanent Representative Vasily Nebenzya also called on the other members of the UNSC to veto the resolution before the vote for similar reasons, calling upon the UNSC to support a more forceful draft. Nebenzya also heavily criticized the US’s previous vetoes of ceasefire resolutions from Algeria, Brazil and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Before to the vote, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated that the UNSC’s failure to adopt the resolution would be “a historic mistake.” After the vote failed, Thomas-Greenfield condemned China and Russia’s vetoes, saying:
Russia and China still could not bring itself to condemn Hamas’ terrorist attack on October 7. Can we just pause on that for a moment? Russia and China refuse to condemn Hamas for burning people alive, for gunning down innocent civilians at a concert, for raping women and girls, for taking hundreds of people hostage….The second reason behind this veto is not just cynical, it’s also petty. Russia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States, because it would rather see us fail than to see this Council succeed.
Prior to the vote, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan rebuffed calls for a ceasefire saying, “Tell Hamas to put down their arms, turn themselves in and return our hostages. This will bring a complete ceasefire that will last forever.” After the vote, which would have been the first resolution to condemn the October 7 attacks explicitly, Erdan expressed disappointment in the outcome, saying that the resolution’s failure is “a stain that will never be forgotten.” Erdan went on to claim that Hamas is solely responsible for the ongoing civilian deaths in Gaza and that claims of a famine in Gaza are “libelous.”
This resolution is the third ceasefire resolution to be vetoed by a permanent member of the UNSC. In October 2023, Brazil created a resolution for a temporary ceasefire, which was vetoed by the US and failed as a result. Then, in December 2023, Guterres used Article 99 to bring a resolution before the UNSC calling for a humanitarian ceasefire. However, this was also vetoed by the US. In February, Algeria brought forth a resolution for an immediate ceasefire, which was also vetoed by the US.
The wider UN General Assembly did vote in favor of a humanitarian ceasefire in December 2023. The UNSC also approved increased humanitarian aid to Gaza in December 2023. Palestine’s Permanent Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour has criticized the US for its repeated vetoes.
