UAE calls for Gaza ceasefire resolution at UN Security Council

AFP

The UAE has called on the United Nations Security Council to urgently adopt a humanitarian ceasefire resolution as the situation in the Gaza Strip is "catastrophic" and "close to irreversible".

In a statement, the UAE Mission to the UN said the Council needs to act decisively to demand a humanitarian ceasefire. 

This comes after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99 of the founding UN Charter, for the first time since his tenure began, allowing him to bring any matter that threatens "international peace and security" to the attention of the Security Council.  

The UAE has given the Council a brief draft resolution and aims to put it to a vote on Friday when the Council is due to be briefed by Guterres on Gaza. 

"The UAE draft resolution has the support of the Arab and OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) group. This is a moral and humanitarian imperative and we urge all countries to support the call of the Secretary-General," the UAE mission to the UN posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In a statement on Wednesday, Guterres urged the Council to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe and appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared.

To be adopted, a resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the five permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, France, or Britain.

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