Full Text of Security Council Resolution Offered By Brazil
October 20, 2023—The same day President Biden negotiated a plan to allow 20 trucks to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza, the United States vetoed a resolution in the UN Security Council that would have called for protections for civilians, humanitarians, and UN personnel inside Gaza.
The resolution would have created humanitarian corridors for distributing aid and helping civilians escape to safe zones. It also would have called for an immediate release of Israeli and American hostages held by Hamas.
Fourth Resolution To Fail
It was the fourth resolution related to the Israel-Hamas war to fail this week. It had the strongest chance of passing the Security Council. The veto by the United States, one of the five Permanent Members, effectively killed it.
Brazil introduced the draft resolution, S/2023/773, on October 18. The resolution would have created humanitarian corridors for distributing aid and helping civilians escape to safe zones. It also would have called for an immediate release of Israeli and American hostages held by Hamas. The language condemned Hamas’s acts on October 7 as “heinous terrorist attacks.” Finally, it called on all parties to uphold international law.
The twelve countries voted for the resolution. Britain and Russia abstained. The U.S. veto puts the UN Security Council at a standstill in dealing with the crisis. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the United States opposed the measure because it “did not mention Israel’s right of self-defense.”
Silence and Inaction
Brazil’s delegate lamented that once again “silence and inaction prevailed” and thwarted a Security Council action on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“We heeded the call with a sense of urgency and responsibility. In our view, the Council had to take action and do so very quickly. Council paralysis in the face of a humanitarian catastrophe is not in the interest of the international community,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the council had heard warnings from UN envoys about the risk of the conflict spilling over into a wider regional conflict and a humanitarian catastrophe.
Bombs And Refugees
Israel declared war against Hamas, a militant terrorist group that also administers government and social services in Gaza. The war started after Hamas invaded Israel, kidnapped 200-250 people, and killed 1,400 people. It is unclear what strategies Israel and Hamas are employing.
In the first six days of the war, Israel dropped 6,000 bombs on Gaza, several news outlets reported the Israeli Air Force as saying. The government also ordered a million Gazans in the North to evacuate. At least 3,785 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed. Israel is also under bombing threat from Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Humanitarian aid workers are in peril, and some aid workers have lost their lives or family members in Gaza.
