Pakistan on Tuesday appealed to the UN to intervene and stop Israel’s relentless assault on Gaza, warning that the situation could spiral out of control and engulf the whole region, as the General Assembly discussed the US veto in the Security Council last month.
“The Council has been rendered ineffective by the opposition and negative vote of a permanent member,” Ambassador Usman Jadoon, acting permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said to the 193-member Assembly — without naming the US.
“Those who have facilitated the continuation of this war and the ongoing massacre of innocent civilians in Gaza bear a heavy responsibility,” the Pakistani envoy stressed.
The veto is a special voting power that the permanent members of the Council have, which means that if any one of the five — China, France, Russia, the UK and the US — votes against, the resolution or decision automatically fails.
The Assembly met under its standing mandate to convene within 10 working days of a veto being used in the Council.
On Dec. 22, the US vetoed an amendment put forward by Russia that would have demanded “an urgent halt to hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access”.
Later, the 15-member Council passed a diluted resolution that urged speeding up aid deliveries to desperate civilians in Gaza but without the original request for an “urgent halt to hostilities” between Israel and the Palestinian fighters. The vote was 13 in favour to none against, with 2 abstentions (US, Russia).
In his speech, the Pakistani envoy said that the Council has sadly failed to fulfil its duty to impose a ceasefire.
“Pakistan, therefore, repeats its call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” Ambassador Jadoon said, emphasizing that Israel’s war in Gaza is brutal — a clear case of genocide.
“This recent use of the veto strengthens our belief that the reform of the Security Council should not increase the number of permanent members,” he said, referring to the bid by India, Brazil, Germany and Japan for permanent seats in a larger Council — a move that Pakistan and its allies firmly resist.
“Israel’s ruthless killing of innocent Palestinian civilians, including children and women, is a blatant breach of international law, including the principles of the UN Charter, international humanitarian and human rights law,” Jadoon said, adding that this genocidal war must be stopped immediately in line with the General Assembly’s overwhelming call for an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire.
“Pakistan strongly and clearly denounces Israel’s refusal of a humanitarian ceasefire,” he said.
“Besides the need for an immediate and lasting ceasefire, we must ensure the provision of sufficient humanitarian assistance to the trapped population of Gaza,” the Pakistani envoy said, defending the peoples’ right to life and dignity.
There must be repercussions and accountability for Israel’s criminal actions in Palestine, the Pakistani envoy said.
In this regard, he said Pakistan welcomed South Africa’s initiative to bring Israel’s violations under the Genocide Convention to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based in The Hague.
Pakistan, he added, also anticipates the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.