UNITED NATIONS, US: The UN Security Council on Wednesday failed again to take action on the Israel-Hamas war, with Russia and China vetoing a US-led draft resolution and a text led by Moscow drawing insufficient support.
The rival powers went ahead and put forward texts doomed to defeat despite what diplomats said was a last-ditch effort led by France to delay a vote and work toward consensus.
The United States, Israel’s historic backer which exercised its own veto last week, put forward a resolution that would support “humanitarian pauses” to let aid into the blockaded Gaza Strip and back the right of “all states” to self-defense within the confines of international law.
The US-led draft did not call for a full cease-fire. Russia put forward its own proposal that sought “an immediate, durable and fully respected humanitarian cease-fire” and “condemns all violence and hostilities against civilians.”
Ten countries backed the US resolution but Russia and China exercised their veto power. The United Arab Emirates, whose relations with Israel have warmed markedly since normalization in 2020 but represents the Arab bloc, also voted in opposition, with the other two countries, Brazil and Mozambique, abstaining.
“It has became clear from that the US simply doesn’t want UN Security Council decisions to have any kind of influence on a possible ground offensive by Israel in Gaza,” said the Russian representative, Vassily Nebenzia.
“This extremely politicized document clearly has one aim — not to save civilians but to shore up the US political position in the region,” he said.
The US ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, insisted that the United States had incorporated feedback from the rest of the world since its veto.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, promoting the resolution during a high-level Security Council session on Tuesday, spoke of “humanitarian pauses” even while ruling out a formal cease-fire.
“The United States is deeply disappointed that Russia and China vetoed this resolution,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “We did listen to all of you.”
She accused Russia, often on the receiving end of criticism since its invasion of Ukraine, of “cynical and irresponsible behavior” for putting forward its own text “with zero consultations” and “a number of problematic sections.”
Only Russia, China, the United Arab Emirates and Gabon voted for the draft resolution. The United States and Britain voted no, with the other nine countries including US allies France and Japan abstaining.
The UAE ambassador, Lana Nusseibeh, said that the Security Council needed to respond “tangibly” to the dire situation in Gaza.
At the high-level session Tuesday, “we heard dozens of statements imploring this council to assign the same value to Palestinian life as it does to Israeli life,” she said.
“We cannot allow any equivocation on this point. There is no hierarchy of civilian lives.”
With the Security Council deadlocked, the broader UN General Assembly is scheduled to debate the war on Thursday and Friday.
Resolutions from this body representing all UN members, with no one holding veto power, are non-binding. Still, Arab countries are working on a resolution that could be voted on this week, diplomats said.
This draft seen by AFP urges an immediate cease-fire and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.
Israel has been bombarding since October 7 when Hamas gunmen poured across the border killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 222 others, officials say, in the worst attack in Israel’s history.
So far, more than 6,500 Palestinians have been killed, mostly civilians, and there are fears the toll could further soar if Israel pushes ahead with a widely expected ground invasion in a bid to destroy Hamas and rescue the hostages.
US, Russian bids on Israel-Hamas war fail at Security Council
https://arab.news/4nm3e
US, Russian bids on Israel-Hamas war fail at Security Council
- US has called for pauses to allow aid to enter Gaza, while Russia wants a humanitarian cease-fire
UK upper house approves social media ban for under-16s
LONDON: Britain’s upper house of parliament voted Wednesday in favor of banning under?16s from using social media, raising pressure on the government to match a similar ban passed in Australia.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday he was not ruling out any options and pledged action to protect children, but his government wants to wait for the results of a consultation due this summer before legislating.
Calls have risen across the opposition and within the governing Labour party for the UK to follow Australia, where under-16s have been barred from social media applications since December 10.
The amendment from opposition Conservative lawmaker John Nash passed with 261 votes to 150 in the House of Lords, co?sponsored by a Labour and a Liberal Democrat peer.
“Tonight, peers put our children’s future first,” Nash said. “This vote begins the process of stopping the catastrophic harm that social media is inflicting on a generation.”
Before the vote, Downing Street said the government would not accept the amendment, which now goes to the Labour-controlled lower House of Commons. More than 60 Labour MPs have urged Starmer to back a ban.
Public figures including actor Hugh Grant urged the government to back the proposal, saying parents alone cannot counter social media harms.
Some child-protection groups warn a ban would create a false sense of security.
A YouGov poll in December found 74 percent of Britons supported a ban. The Online Safety Act requires secure age?verification for harmful content.
