UNSC Struggles for Voting on Gaza

Sudan Events – Sumaya Sayed

The UN Security Council is struggling to speak with one voice ahead of a vote expected on Tuesday on a new resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
A vote may come as soon as Tuesday morning if negotiations succeed in breaking an impasse 10 days after a US veto.
Last week, the General Assembly adopted the same non-binding resolution by 153 votes to 10, with 23 abstentions, out of 193 member states.
On the strength of this overwhelming support, Arab countries have announced a new attempt at the Security Council, with an uncertain outcome.
A draft text prepared by the UAE, obtained by AFP on Sunday, called for “an urgent and lasting cessation of hostilities to allow unimpeded access of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.”
The postponement of the vote until Tuesday “means that there are negotiations over the text — most probably to avoid another or several vetoes,” Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard posted on X.
In a letter sent on Monday to the president of the Security Council, seen by AFP, Antonio Guterres mentions three options for implementing the November 15 resolution calling for humanitarian “pauses” of a few days to allow aid into the Palestinian territory.
Noting that “the conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist,” the secretary general’s first option is to reinforce the presence of UN humanitarian personnel on the ground to enable a “more robust United Nations presence on the ground.”
Secondly, he suggests a mission of UN or third-party civilian observers.
And finally, to monitor the observance of “humanitarian pauses/ceasefires, United Nations unarmed military observers could be deployed,” he wrote, noting that all three options would require “clear mandates” from the Security Council.