UN Secretary-General Invokes Article 99 In Call for Gaza Ceasefire
Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres. (Source: Faces of the World)
In an urgent missive to the Security Council, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres invoked the rarely utilised Article 99 of the UN Charter to call for a resolution and vote over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
His letter reiterated past pleas for a humanitarian ceasefire, highlighting the imminent risk of a total collapse in public order within Gaza owing to the increasingly desperate circumstances.
“More than eight weeks of hostilities in Gaza and Israel have created appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” Guterres wrote.
“More than 1,200 people were brutally killed, including 33 children, and thousands were injured in the abhorrent acts of terror by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on 7 October 2023, which I have repeatedly condemned. Some 250 people were abducted, including 34 children, more than 130 of whom are still captive. They must be immediately and unconditionally released. Accounts of sexual violence during the attacks are appalling.”
The letter highlights the death toll in Gaza since the start of Israel’s military operation, with 15,000 people reportedly killed, 40 per cent of whom were children, and the fact 80% of the 2.2 million people living in the Gaza Strip have now been internally displaced, living in crowded and precarious conditions in the south of the Strip – where Israel is now focusing the bulk of attacks. With the health care system collapsing and continued bombings, Guterres says, “nowhere is safe in Gaza”.
“The situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region. Such an outcome must be avoided at all cost,” he added.
Humanitarian Ceasefire
“The international community has a responsibility to use all its influence to prevent further escalation and end this crisis. I urge the members of the Security Council to press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. I reiterate my appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared. This is urgent. The civilian population must be spared from greater harm. With a humanitarian ceasefire, the means of survival can be restored, and humanitarian assistance can be delivered in a safe and timely manner across the Gaza Strip.”
This marks the first time in his tenure as Secretary-General that Guterres triggers Article 99. This rarely used article allows the Secretary-General to bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten international peace and security. It cannot, however, force the Security Council to adopt resolutions. Experts expect the impact of Guterres’ gesture to remain largely symbolic.
Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, reacted saying that Guterres reached “a new moral low”.
“The Secretary-General decided to activate this rare clause only when it allows him to put pressure on Israel, which is fighting the Nazi Hamas terrorists. This is more proof of the Secretary-General’s moral distortion and his bias against Israel. The Secretary-General’s call for a ceasefire is actually a call to keep Hamas’ reign of terror in Gaza. Instead of the Secretary-General explicitly pointing to Hamas’ responsibility for the situation and calling on the terrorist leaders to turn themselves in and return the hostages, thus ending the war, the Secretary-General chooses to continue playing into Hamas’ hands.”
