The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterreshas given a twist this week to the international criticism of the Gaza war with the invocation of UN article 99. This article plans to convene the Security Council and it is an urgent instrument to put a stop to the war that has been going on for two months between Israel and the Palestinian militias of Hamas after the cruel attack on October 7. Specifically, the article invoked by Guterres establishes that the UN Secretary General “may draw the attention of the Council to any issue that in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.” The ultimate goal is to increase international pressure to call for a ceasefire, enable humanitarian corridors or even organize a military mediation force in the area. The war in Gaza has already led to the deaths of more than 17,000 people, 70% women and children.
The first time
The most relevant element of the invocation of this resource in the multilateral organization is that it is the first time since his mandate began in 2017 that Guterres invokes Article 99 of the founding Charter of the UN. For Guterres, who has suffered harsh attacks from Israel for his criticism of Israel’s lack of respect for the lives of civilians in Gaza, the invocation of this article is essential in the face of “atrocious human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma in all of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.
Important international support
This proposal is supported by a large part of the international community and in practice means more pressure on the US to support a ceasefire declaration. The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, is one of the international leaders who has shown the most clear support for Guterres, despite having received both criticism from Israel (with a call for consultations from the ambassador) and from the PP.
Israel’s response
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, accused Guterres of “moral distortion” and “bias against Israel” by invoking an article that instead of seeking a ceasefire “is actually an attempt to maintain the kingdom of Hamas terror in Gaza”. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen accused Guterres of constituting “a danger to world peace.” for activating an Article 99 and calling for a ceasefire in what he considers a symbol of “support for the terrorist organization Hamas and an endorsement of the murder of the elderly, the kidnapping of babies and the rape of women.”
What does the activation of Article 99 of the UN Charter imply?
The invocation of the Security Council gives the UN greater responsibility in seeking a solution to the conflict, issuing a ceasefire resolution. But the US veto can stop any decision by the rest of the countries integrated into the UN at any time. For some time now, calls have been made at the UN to review those veto rights that make multilateralism relatively ineffective. In case of support from the US, the entry of UN soldiers into the conflict zone could be considered, but that is something that Israel has already issued specific warnings against.
US vetoes at the UN
Related news
On October 18, the US vetoed a resolution presented by Brazil to the Security Council that requested the revocation of the order imposed by Israel to evacuate civilians from the northern area of the Gaza Strip for the start of ground attacks. in the territory.
Article 99 in the past
The first time it was invoked “implicitly” to Article 99 of the Charter of the United Nations was on July 13, 1960, when the then Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjöld, requested an urgent meeting of the Security Council to act in the face of the crisis situation in the Congo. This action culminated in the deployment of a UN military operation to help the Government of the African territory. This article was also invoked by former UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim to address the American hostage crisis in Iran in 1979 and by his successor in office, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, to act against the escalation of the conflict in Lebanon in 1989.