CSS Current Affairs | The Influence of Veto Power in the Current Palestine Crisis
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Outline
1- Introduction
2- Understanding the concept of veto power
3- A critical overview of the current situation in Palestine
4- How the use of veto power has influenced the case of Palestine Issue
- ✓Palestine has failed to get membership in the UN
- Case in point: USA has vetoed UNSC’s draft resolution for granting membership to Palestine in the United Nations.
- ✓ Palestinians have not seen Humanitarian Pause due to veto power
- Case in point: Russia and China vetoed the resolution, saying it was not a permanent solution to end the war.
- ✓Veto power has thwarted Humanitarian Ceasefire
- Case in point: The US Deputy Ambassador said, “Cease fire only plant seed for a new war.
- ✓Veto power facilitating the genocide of Palestinian
- Case in point: USA has vetoed four times UNSC’s resolution aiming to stop the brutality of Israel.
- ✓Veto power allowing Israel to commit war crimes
- Case in point: According to Aljazeera, “The USA has used its veto power at least 34 times to block UNSC resolutions that were critical of Israel.”
5- Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
The United Nations, a custodian of peace, has awarded a discriminatory veto power to its five members, the USA, China, Russia, the UK, and France, for deciding the fate of decisions of the world. These members can refuse any resolution to secure their interests without hesitating. The majority of countries have supported the resolution. Unfortunately, Palestinians have become victims of this obstructive veto power and have been experiencing the brutality of Israel Defense Forces since 7 Oct 2023. The veto power has been used various times to increase the suffrages of innocent Palestinian civilians since the start of the Hamas-Israel war. The power has been exercised to reject Palestine’s UN membership request and thwart humanitarian cease-fire and pause. Moreover, it has facilitated Israel’s genocide of Palestinians and committed international war crimes on the holy land, Palestine. Therefore, an abusive veto power has played a heinous role in killing thousands of innocent children, women, and elders.
Understanding the concept of veto power in the UN
The United Nations was formed in 1945 to maintain peace and prevent future wars. It has many organs, but the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the most crucial because the UNSC passes all the resolutions. It has 15 members, divided into permanent and non-permanent members—the permanent members of the USA, China, Russia, France, and the UK. Non-permanent members are selected alphabetically from different countries for two years. However, the permanent members of the UNSC have the veto power. They have a right to refuse any resolution despite all other members supporting it. This distinguishing power was awarded to them because they were the winner of WW II and the founders of the UN, except for China.
A critical overview of the current situation in Palestine
Palestine has been in a state of war since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. In this attack, they have killed almost 1200 Israelis and made 200 hostages. After that, Israel launched a fully-fledged attack on Palestine and killed thousands of people. All the human rights organizations have condemned the attack and demanded an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. According to IRC’s report, Gaza is the world’s deadliest area for civilians and aid workers. Due to the blockade by Israel for any humanitarian assistance, people have been dying because of the scarcity of food and water. Israel has been continuously attacking the civilian population and committing war crimes without caring about any international law.
How the use of veto power has influenced the current Palestine crisis?
After seeing the international war crimes that have been increasing day by day, a majority of countries have knocked on the door of the UN to stop Israel’s brutality in Palestine. In this regard, several draft resolutions were submitted to the UN Security Council after being approved by the UN General Assembly. But the countries that have veto power, especially the USA, have used the power badly by supporting Israelis mass killing in Gaza. The draft resolutions have been presented and vetoed; thereby, the consequences are illustrated below:
- ✓Palestine has failed to get membership in the UN
Currently, Palestine is a non-member observer state in the United Nations. In 2011, the Palestinian President submitted an application to the UN for membership. However, Palestine failed to get membership because it did not get at least nine votes from the UN Security Council, which is required to approve any resolution. In 2012, it submitted its application again and got two-thirds majority votes in the UN General Assembly. In the Security Council, it failed to get full membership but succeeded in raising its status from the UN observer to a non-member observer state. In April 2024, Palestine again applied for membership in the UN, and the application received majority votes in the UN General Assembly. After getting majority votes in the UNGA, the draft resolution was submitted to the UN Security Council. In the UNSC session, the application received 12 votes, but the US vetoed it. US deputy envoy to the UN, Robert Wood, said that there is no other path to Palestinian statehood than through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Therefore, the veto power has become an obstacle for Palestine to get membership in the UN.
- ✓Palestinians have not seen a Humanitarian Pause due to veto power
The innocent civilians of Palestine have been continuously facing the brutality of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) without any pause since 7 Oct 2023. It has been hoped that the humanitarian pause may give some time to resume the aid process, shift people to safe places, and establish camps with basic sanitation facilities for Palestinians. Consequently, the draft resolution for the humanitarian pause was presented to the United Nations Security Council two times but vetoed. For the first time, it was vetoed by the USA by saying that it would be against Israel’s right to self-defence. The second time, it was presented by the USA but rejected by Russia and China, saying the resolution was not a permanent solution to end the war. Thus, the abusive use of veto power has not provided a short time for Palestinians to come out from fear of death.
- ✓Veto power thwarting Humanitarian Ceasefire
The world has attempted various times to stop the ongoing Israel-Palestine War, but the discriminatory veto power has made all the efforts useless. The draft resolutions for humanitarian cease-fire have been presented in front of the UNSC two times after getting majority votes from the UN General Assembly but were rejected due to the USA veto. After vetoing the draft resolution, the US Deputy Ambassador said, “Cease fire only plant seed for a new war. However, the organisation made to keep the peace cannot uphold the cease-fire due to its discriminatory veto power.
- ✓Veto power facilitating the genocide of Palestinian
The veto power has become a proponent for facilitating the genocide of Palestinians due to its abusive exercise. The use of veto power for rejecting the UNSC’s draft resolutions for humanitarian cease-fire and pause is deemed to be favouring Israelis to carry on the genocide of Palestinians. In the current crisis, the USA has used its veto power four times and has facilitated the Israel Defense Forces to continue the massacre of Palestinians. Along with the massive killing, Israel is producing the environment with food and water scarcity, lack of medical facilities, poor living conditions, etc., thereby promoting the genocide of Palestinians. Thus, the veto power that aims to solve conflicts is now aggravating the conflict by facilitating genocide.
- ✓USA’s Veto power allowing Israel to commit war crimes
Israel is committing international crimes in Palestine due to the strong support of the USA. Israeli defence forces are attacking the civilian population, refugee camps, hospitals, schools, and aid workers without caring about any internationally binding laws. The USA’s support gives Israel confidence to remain free from any resolution of the United Nations that can make it accountable for its crimes. According to Aljazeera, “The USA has used its veto power at least 34 times to block the UNSC resolutions that were critical of Israel.” The USA vetoes any resolution that does not fulfil the interests of Israel. Therefore, the USA’s veto power is helping Israel to violate international law and order.
Conclusion
In summary, the veto power has badly impacted the fate of Palestinians, who are continuously becoming a victim of Israeli assaults. The world is unable to bring the Palestinians out of suffrages because of an abusive use of veto power. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the veto power has been used almost six times in the case of Palestine, and we most frequently use this for securing the interests of its key ally, Israel. The use of veto power for rejecting Palestine’s UN membership request and thwarting humanitarian cease-fire and pause has helped Israel in committing international war crimes and genocide in Palestine. Hence, the hope of Palestinians for help from the world is despairing, yet serious efforts by the world can save the lives of thousands.
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