Voting against the UNGA Resolution on
“Immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to the cessation of hostilities”
Is there any justification for the world public?
After almost two weeks of genocide in Gaza and inaction by a paralyzed UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly took the lead and adopted a major resolution at a such crucial time juncture.
Though the resolution falls far short of legitimate expectations and was late, it is assessed as a breakthrough and a good step in the right direction.
As the result of the votes show, 120 countries supported and 14 including Israel opposed it.
The UNGA event has, to some extent, repaired the tremendous damage already done to the United Nations. It was also a practical test of the political will and the degree of responsibility of UN Member States for peace and prevention of a regional wars and even World War III.
The real concern is the implementation of the resolution, otherwise it would be considered as another diplomatic show that yields no results in the war zone. The majority of United Nations Member States that adopted this resolution also bear responsibility for the full implementation of their resolution.
The augmentation of brutal Israeli air and land strikes in Gaza as well as the West Bank has proven Israel’s failure to comply with international law, including United Nations resolutions.
The bitter memory of the immense, unprecedented suffering of collective punishment, genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population with over 7,700 killed, over 3,200 children slaughtered, over 20,000 injured and over a million displaced within the Gaza Strip, the largest open-air concentration camp, will never be wiped out. Those who voted against the UN General Assembly resolution and those who indifferently abstained shall be accountable for continuation of bloodshed and long-term consequences.
The Vienna International Institute for Middle East Studies (VIIMES) calls on all peace-loving people, including scholars and human rights activists, to mobilize their outmost efforts to stop the bloodshed and work for freedom and prosperity for the oppressed Great Nation of Palestine and thus the sustainable peace in the Middle East.
VIIMES President
28 October 2023