US Vetoes UN Resolution Calling for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza

Author: Dian Kencana
December 11, 2023

U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood, Vetoes UN Resolution Calling for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza. Photo: AP

SEAToday.com, New York-The United States has vetoed a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The veto was cast in a UNSC vote in New York City, New York, on Friday (12/8) over the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Of the 15 member states of the UN Security Council, 13 supported the resolution, while the UK abstained. US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said it was "a ceasefire divorced from reality" and "will not have a positive effect on the ground".

The vote came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took the unusual step on Wednesday of invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter to call an emergency meeting of the Security Council to demand an immediate ceasefire. Since the UN was founded after World War II, Article 99 has only been invoked three times, including this time.

Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 17,400 people in Gaza — 70% of them women and children — and wounded more than 46,000, according to the Palestinian territory’s Health Ministry, which says many others are trapped under rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.