A resolution presented by the United States to the UN Security Council, which failed to clearly mandate a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict – while disingenuously and dishonestly claiming the contrary – was vetoed by China and Russia on March 22. Algeria also voted against and Guyana abstained.
The Financial Times reported: “Moscow’s and Beijing’s decision to veto the resolution on Friday exposed how the US’s diplomatic travails extend to the UN, where it traditionally uses its Security Council veto rights to protect Israel…The US language contrasted with calls by countries such as Russia and China for an immediate ceasefire.”
US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who has vetoed three resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire, most recently on February 20, pathetically claimed that China and Russia were “being petty” and “simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States, because it (sic) would rather see us fail than to see this Council succeed.”
Following the vote, China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun presented an explanation, stating:
“More than 160 days have passed since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict. In the face of a human tragedy in which more than 32,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives and millions are suffering from famine, the most urgent action to be taken by the Council is to promote an immediate, unconditional, and sustained ceasefire.”
However:
“The United States has always evaded and dodged the most essential issue, that is, a ceasefire. The final text remains ambiguous and does not call for an immediate ceasefire. Nor does it even provide an answer to the question of realising a ceasefire in the short term. This is a clear deviation from the consensus of the Council members and falls far short of the expectations of the international community. An immediate ceasefire is a fundamental prerequisite for saving lives, expanding humanitarian access, and preventing greater conflicts. The US draft, on the contrary, sets up preconditions for a ceasefire, which is no different from giving a green light to continued killings, and thus unacceptable.
“The draft is also very unbalanced in many other aspects, in particular, with regard to Israel’s recent and repeated declarations of plans for a military offensive on Rafah. The draft does not clearly and unequivocally state its opposition, which would send an utterly wrong signal and lead to severe consequences.
“Any action taken by the Security Council should stand the test of history and the scrutiny of morality and conscience. With a view to safeguarding fairness and justice, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and the dignity of the Council, and also based on the concerns and strong opposition from the Arab states regarding this draft resolution, China together with Algeria and Russia have voted against the draft resolution…
“China rejects the accusations by the US and the UK against China’s voting position. Those are groundless accusations. If the US was serious about a ceasefire, it wouldn’t have vetoed time and again multiple Council resolutions and wouldn’t have taken such a detour and played a game of words while being ambiguous and evasive on critical issues. If the US is serious about a ceasefire, then please vote in favour of the other draft resolution clearly calling for a ceasefire, so that a ceasefire can be finally and immediately achieved, the Palestinians’ sufferings ended, and hostages released at an early date. For the US at the current stage, what is most important is not words, but actions.”
A circular email from Britain’s Stop the War Coalition in the immediate aftermath of the vote highlighted the positions of China and Russia and continued:
“The resolution merely ‘urged’ against the invasion of Rafah, and the document set preconditions for a ceasefire which, according to its detractors, would lead to the ‘destruction, devastation or expulsion’ of Palestinians in Gaza.
“The US resolution was clearly a calculated political move from Joe Biden in view of November’s presidential election. The lives of Palestinians mean nothing to him or those in charge of western governments. If they did, this call for a ceasefire would have happened in October.
“It is sickening that as the UN debates, Israel continues its genocide unabated and a human-made famine takes hold of Gaza. We must continue to demand a comprehensive, immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to all arms sales to Israel.”
The following is the full text of the statement by Ambassador Zhang Jun. It was originally published on the website of China’s mission to the United Nations.
Mr. President,
China voted against the draft resolution that has just been put to the vote. And I would like to explain China’s voting position and relevant considerations as follows.
More than 160 days have passed since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict. In the face of a human tragedy in which more than 32,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives and millions are suffering from famine, the most urgent action to be taken by the Council is to promote an immediate, unconditional, and sustained ceasefire. This is the universal call of the international community, the decision taken by the emergency special session of the General Assembly a few months ago, and the solemn appeal by the Secretary-General of the UN to the Council while invoking Article 99 of the Charter. The Council has dragged its feet and wasted too much time in this regard.
We all recall that the US introduced its own draft resolution after vetoing on February 20 the overwhelming consensus among Council members on an immediate ceasefire. Over the past month, the draft has undergone several iterations and contains elements that respond to the concerns of the international community. But it has always evaded and dodged the most essential issue, that is, a ceasefire. The final text remains ambiguous and does not call for an immediate ceasefire. Nor does it even provide an answer to the question of realizing a ceasefire in the short term. This is a clear deviation from the consensus of the Council members and falls far short of the expectations of the international community. An immediate ceasefire is a fundamental prerequisite for saving lives, expanding humanitarian access, and preventing greater conflicts. The US draft, on the contrary, sets up preconditions for a ceasefire, which is no different from giving a green light to continued killings, and thus unacceptable.
The draft is also very unbalanced in many other aspects, in particular, with regard to Israel’s recent and repeated declarations of plan for a military offensive on Rafah, the draft does not clearly and unequivocally state its opposition, which would send an utterly wrong signal and lead to severe consequences.
Any action taken by the Security Council should stand the test of history and the scrutiny of morality and conscience. With a view to safeguarding fairness and justice, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and the dignity of the Council, and also based on the concerns and strong opposition from the Arab states regarding this draft resolution, China together with Algeria and Russia have voted against the draft resolution.
Mr. President,
Members of the Council have now before them another draft resolution that was the result of collective consultations among elected members of the Council. This draft is clear on the issue of a ceasefire, in line with the correct direction of the Council’s action, and of great relevance. China supports this draft. We hope that the members of the Council will reach agreement on this basis as soon as possible and send a clear signal calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the fighting.
Like other members, China has from the outset called for the immediate release of all hostages, a repeated demand in Security Council Resolutions 2712 and 2720. We welcome the mediation efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and others to this end. And we hope that all detainees will be released at an early date.
China rejects the accusations by the US and the UK against China’s voting position. Those are groundless accusations. If the US was serious about a ceasefire, it wouldn’t have vetoed time and again multiple Council resolutions, and wouldn’t have taken such a detour and played a game of words while being ambiguous and evasive on critical issues. If the US is serious about a ceasefire, then please vote in favor of the other draft resolution clearly calling for a ceasefire, so that a ceasefire can be finally and immediately achieved, the Palestinians’ sufferings ended, and hostages released at an early date. For the US at the current stage, what is most important is not words, but actions.
China will continue to work with Council members and the international community to play a responsible and constructive role in order to achieve a ceasefire and put an end to the fighting, alleviate the suffering, implement the two-State solution, and promote a comprehensive, just, and lasting solution to the question of Palestine.
Thank you, Mr. President.
I am from Vancouver, Canada and i wanted to say that i agrees with Zhang Jun condemning the US Ceasefire. It is an insult to the People of Gaza and should be condemned. I agrees with what Hamas has said about a Ceasefire. It sounds reasonable.
The USA is an enemy of Palestine and it has proved that many times.The US Gov’t has not supported the Ceasefires that were good at the Security Council so they came up with an Insulting Ceasefire that was rightly vetoed.The US Gov’t has never said or did anything good for Palestine. The US Gov’t is part of the problem that is happening in Gaza at the present time.