Page 5 - United Nations Security Council

UNSC vote on Gaza humanitarian resolution delayed again to avoid US veto

UN Security Council members were in intense negotiations on Tuesday on an Arab-sponsored resolution to spur desperately needed humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza during some kind of a halt in the fighting, trying to avoid another veto by the United States. A vote on the resolution, first postponed from Monday, was pushed back again until Wednesday. We're still working through the modalities of the resolution, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday afternoon when the vote was still set for 5 p.m. "It's important for us that the rest of the world understand what's at stake here and what Hamas did on the 7th of October and how Israel has a right to defend itself against those threats. The vote was later cancelled as the United States asked for more time. Talks were continuing in an effort to get the Biden administration to abstain or vote in favour of the resolution. The draft resolution on the table Monday morning called for an urgent and sustainable .

AU's inclusion in G20 under India's initiative should inspire UN: Amb

India's initiative to include the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 under its presidency is a significant step in reform that should inspire the much older United Nations to make the Security Council contemporary, New Delhi's envoy to the UN has said. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj told the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) meeting on Security Council Reforms on Wednesday that upon India's initiative, the African Union became a permanent member of the G20 at the New Delhi Summit in September this year. The inclusion of the African Union in the G20 ensured that an important and valuable voice from the Global South is added to an influential institution of global governance and decision-making. This significant step in reform should inspire the United Nations, a much older organisation, to also make the Security Council contemporary. Broad representation is, after all, a prerequisite for both effectiveness and credibility, Kamboj .

Heavy fighting in south Gaza as Israel presses on with renewed US support

Heavy fighting raged overnight and into Sunday in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, as Israel pressed ahead with its offensive after the US blocked the latest international efforts to halt the fighting and rushed more munitions to its close ally. Israel has faced rising international outrage and calls for a cease-fire after the killing of thousands of Palestinian civilians and the displacement of nearly 85 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people within the besieged territory, where UN agencies say there is no safe place to flee. But the United States has lent vital support to the offensive once again in recent days, by vetoing United Nations Security Council efforts to end the fighting that enjoyed wide international support, and by pushing through an emergency sale of over USD 100 million worth of tank ammunition to Israel. The US has pledged unwavering support for Israel's goal of crushing Hamas' military and governing abilities in order to prevent any repeat of the October 7 .

UN Security Council of yesterday is always late today: Ruchira Kamboj

In a scathing criticism, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj has said the UN Security Council of yesterday is always late today and questioned whether 1945's security plumbing will work in the year 2023. If the trillion dollar question is to ensure peace, do we have a peace infrastructure representative of the current times and contemporary realities? Kamboj asked. Speaking at the Security Council open debate on Threats to International Peace and Security: Transnational Organised Crime, Growing Challenges, and New Threats' on Thursday, Kamboj questioned whether 2023 is the new 1945, referring to the year when the powerful UN body came into existence. Will 1945's security plumbing work today? The UNSC of yesterday is always late today! she said. India, the world's most populous country, has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the Security Council, saying it rightly deserves a place as a permanent member at the UN high table, whi

UNSC adopts resolution calling for urgent humanitarian pauses in Gaza

The UN Security Council has approved a resolution calling for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip after four failed attempts to respond to the Israel-Hamas war. The vote was 12-0 with the United States, United Kingdom, and Russia abstaining. The final draft watered down language from a demand to a call for humanitarian pauses. It also watered down a demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups." The resolution makes no mention of a ceasefire. It also doesn't refer to Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on October 7, during which the militants killed around 1,200 people and took some 240 others hostage. Nor does it cite Israel's retaliatory airstrikes and ground offensive in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which Gaza's health ministry says has killed more than 11,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children. Russia proposed an amendment to the resolution before the vote that would have called

UNSC trying for a fifth time to adopt a resolution on the Israel-Hamas war

After four failed attempts, the U.N. Security Council is trying for a fifth time to come up with a resolution on the Israel-Hamas war, but it remains to be seen whether serious divisions can be overcome to produce a consensus on wording. The current draft under negotiation would demand immediate extended humanitarian pauses throughout the Gaza Strip to provide civilians with desperately needed aid. It also would demand that all parties comply with international humanitarian law that requires protection for civilians, calls for special protections for children, and bans hostage-taking. But the draft, proposed by council member Malta and obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, makes no mention of a ceasefire. It also doesn't refer to Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed around 1,200 people and took some 240 others hostage. Nor does it cite Israel's retaliatory airstrikes and ground offensive in Hamas-ruled Gaza that the Gaza health ministry says has killed more than

World Kindness Day 2023: History, importance, theme, wishes, quotes

World Kindness Day is committed to the act of kindness. The day helps us to remember the strong ripple effect that acts of kindness can have on an individual, a community, and the world in general

India-US 5th 2+2 dialogue: Wars in Israel, Ukraine key parts of discussion

India has abstained from all the major votes held at the UN on condemning Russia so far

UNSC fails to agree on Israel-Hamas war as Gaza death toll passes 10,000

The UN Security Council on Monday failed again to agree on a resolution on the monthlong Israel-Hamas war. Despite more than two hours of closed-door discussions Monday, differences remained. The U.S. is calling for humanitarian pauses while many other council members are demanding a humanitarian cease-fire to deliver desperately needed aid and prevent more civilian deaths in Gaza. We talked about humanitarian pauses and we're interested in pursuing language on that score, U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters after the meeting. But there are disagreements within the council about whether that's acceptable. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier Monday told reporters he wanted an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza and a halt to the spiral of escalation already taking place from the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Syria to Iraq and Yemen. Guterres said international humanitarian law, which demands protection of civilians and infrastructure essential for .

'More purposeful' UN will deliver on Global South's expectations: EAM

On October 24, United Nations Day marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter.

UN to vote on Gaza resolution that would condemn Hamas' attack, violence

The UN Security Council scheduled a Wednesday vote on a resolution that initially condemned the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel as well as all violence against civilians, while calling for humanitarian pauses to deliver desperately needed aid to millions in Gaza. Negotiations on wording of the draft resolution sponsored by Brazil continued throughout Tuesday, and the final version to be voted on had not been released by late Tuesday. The vote follows the council's rejection Monday evening of a Russian-drafted resolution that condemned violence and terrorism against civilians and called for a humanitarian cease-fire but made no mention of Hamas. Russia has proposed two amendments to the Brazil resolution that will be voted on first. One calls for a humanitarian cease-fire. The other would condemn indiscriminate attacks on civilians and assaults on civilian objects in Gaza like hospitals and schools that deprive people of the means to survive. Brazil holds the Security .

UNSC rejects Russia's resolution on Gaza that fails to mention Hamas

The UN Security Council rejected a Russian resolution Monday night that condemned violence and terrorism against civilians but made no mention of Hamas, whose surprise attack that killed 1,300 Israelis was the worst Jewish massacre since the World War II Nazi Holocaust. Only four countries joined Russia in voting for the resolution China, United Arab Emirates, Mozambique and Gabon. Four countries voted against it the United States, Britain, France and Japan. The other six countries abstained. For a resolution to be adopted it needs a minimum of nine yes votes in the 15-member council. The UN's most powerful body, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, has failed to respond to Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel that killed some 1,300 people and to Israel's retaliatory airstrikes that have killed 2,750 and its order to Gazans in the north to head south to avoid an expected ground war. Britain's UN ambassador, Barbara Woodward, said it would be ...

Israel to enable humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza: US Secy Blinken

Blinken noted that Biden will receive a comprehensive brief on Israel's war aims and strategy

US demands condemnation of Hamas at UN meeting, but no action taken yet

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors Sunday, with the United States demanding all 15 members strongly condemn these heinous terrorist attacks committed by Hamas, but it took no immediate action. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood said afterward that a good number of countries did condemn the Hamas attack but not all council members. He told reporters they could probably figure out one of them. Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told The Associated Press the Americans tried to say during the meeting that Russia isn't condemning the attacks, but that's untrue. It was in my comments, he said. We condemn all the attacks on civilians. Nebenzia said Russia's message is: It's important to stop the fighting immediately, to go to a cease-fire and to meaningful negotiations, which were stalled for decades. Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun voiced a similar position earlier, as he headed into the meeting. He said Beijing condemns all attacks on civilian

International Day of Peace 2023: History, Importance, Theme, Activities

The International Day of Peace has started by the UN General Assembly and the day is dedicated to strengthening the ideals of peace and marking an end to conflict and violence worldwide

UNGA meet 2023: 'Reform or rupture', says UN chief Antonio Guterres

He emphasised that a multipolar world needs strong and effective multilateral institutions, yet global governance is stuck in time

This is not a 'vanity fair': UN chief on absence of all but one P5 leaders

With the majority of the leaders of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council absent from the UN General Assembly session this year, UN chief Antonio Guterres has said it was not a "vanity fair" and commitment made by governments on various pressing global issues are more important than the presence or absence of a particular leader. US President Joe Biden is the only head of State or Government from among the five permanent members of the powerful UN Security Council -- China, Russia, France, the UK and the US -- who is attending the high-level week. Biden arrived here on Sunday for the 78th high-level session of the UN General Assembly and will address world leaders from the UNGA lectern on the opening day of the General Debate on Tuesday morning. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and French President Emmanuel Macron are not attending the UNGA high-level session. Russia will be represented by Foreign Ministe

Turkey will be proud if India becomes permanent member of UNSC: Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Turkey would be "proud" if a country like India becomes a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). At the same time, Erdogan said all non-P5 members should have an opportunity to become members of the Security Council by rotation. He was responding to question at a media briefing In a reference to the P5 or five permanent members of the Security Council -- China, France, Russia, the UK and the US, Erdogan said the "world is bigger and larger than five". "We would be proud if a country like India became a permanent member of the UN Security Council. As you know, the world is bigger and larger than five," he said. "What we mean is that it's not only about the US, the UK, France, China and Russia. We don't want to have just these five countries in the Security Council," he said.

Biden reiterates support for India's permanent seat at UN Security Council

Biden also welcomed India's candidature for the UNSC non-permanent seat in 2028-29

I understand India's aspirations to become permanent UNSC member: UN Chief

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday said he fully understands India's aspirations to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council but asserted that it is for the member countries to decide about the reform of the top global body. In an exclusive interview to PTI, he acknowledged the need to adjust the composition of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to the "realities of today's world". "It's not for me to define who will be or who should be in the Security Council, that's for member states (to decide) but I believe that what we need is to have a Security Council that represents today's world," Guterres said. "The present composition of the Security Council represents the world after the Second World War. Today's world is different. As you mentioned, India is today the largest country with the largest population in the world," he said. "So, I fully understand India's aspirations in this regard. It's not for me to judge, it's for member states, but I believe, and I .