{"id":311401,"date":"2025-09-18T17:02:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T21:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=311401"},"modified":"2025-10-08T16:28:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T20:28:49","slug":"security-council-press-release-18sep25","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/security-council-press-release-18sep25\/","title":{"rendered":"Security Council Fails to Adopt Resolution on Gaza Ceasefire"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Meetings Coverage, Security Council<\/p>\n

18 September 2025<\/p>\n

10,000th Meeting (PM)<\/strong><\/p>\n

In its 10,000th<\/sup>\u00a0meeting, the Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution<\/a> calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and for\u00a0Israel to immediately and unconditionally lift all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave, as the United States vetoed the measure despite affirmative votes by the other 14 members of the 15-nation organ.<\/p>\n

Introducing the draft, the representative of Denmark also spoke for the other nine elected members of the Council, who \u201crepresent every region of the world\u201d \u2014 as well as \u201cthe will and the expectations of the members of the General Assembly by whom we were elected\u201d.\u00a0She noted that famine in Gaza has been \u201cconfirmed\u201d, with desperate mothers \u201cforced to boil leaves to feed their children\u201d, people killed as they try to get food to survive and a generation at risk of being lost.\u00a0 She cited a \u201chumanitarian and human failure that has compelled us to act today\u201d on a text resulting from weeks of consultations \u2014 its sole intent being to ease suffering and \u201ccontribute to the end of this abhorrent war\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, the United States\u2019 representative warned that the resolution was deeply flawed, as it demanded a ceasefire that would leave Hamas in power and allow it to regroup.\u00a0 \u201c[United States] President [Donald] Trump will never accept this,\u201d she said, rejecting what she called a \u201cfalse equivalence\u201d between Israel\u2019s right to defend itself and Hamas\u2019s campaign of terror.\u00a0 Gaza\u2019s humanitarian suffering, she emphasized, is the result of Hamas\u2019s actions, not Israel\u2019s. \u00a0That State works daily to deliver aid, which must reach civilians who need it rather than sustain Hamas.\u00a0 She concluded by demanding that Hamas release all hostages and surrender immediately.<\/p>\n

United States Vetoes Text, Other Council Members Express Frustration and Concern<\/strong><\/p>\n

Then, by a\u00a0vote of 14 in favour to 1 against (United States), with no abstentions, the draft resolution was not adopted owing to the negative vote of a permanent Council member.\u00a0 Had it been, the text would have seen the Council demand\u00a0an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza; the\u00a0immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups; and Israel\u2019s immediate, unconditional lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip.<\/p>\n

\u201cForgive us,\u201d said Algeria\u2019s delegate after the vote. \u00a0\u201cForgive us,\u201d he continued, addressing the people of Palestine, \u201cbecause this Council could not save your children \u2014 more than 18,000 of them have been killed by Israel\u201d. \u00a0\u201cForgive us,\u201d he repeated, noting that more than 12,000 women, more than 4,000 elderly, more than 1,400 doctors and nurses, more than 250 journalists and more than 500 aid workers \u201chave been killed by Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n

Famine now spreads in Gaza, he added, and the Council \u201ccould not even act to denounce it\u201d as \u201cIsrael is shielded\u201d \u2014 not by international law, but by the bias of the international system.\u00a0Stressing that \u201chistory will not weigh our speeches, it will weigh our deeds\u201d, he stated that \u201cwe will not give up\u201d.\u00a0\u201cShame on helplessness,\u201d he said, adding:\u00a0 \u201cShame in the face of genocide unfolding before open eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTen thousand times, the world has looked into this Chamber for leadership, conscience and hope,\u201d said Somalia\u2019s delegate; today, however, \u201cwe have failed to adopt a resolution safeguarding the basic rights of the Gaza people\u201d.\u00a0 He underscored that \u201cthis is not just a procedural lapse but a profound moral failure\u201d, reflecting an unspoken and dangerous logic that \u201cthe suffering of some is more tolerable than the suffering of others and that the lives of certain people matter less\u201d.\u00a0 He warned:\u00a0\u201cThe moment we measure the worth of human life by nationality, ethnicity or circumstances, we lose the very foundation upon which this institution was built.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calling it a \u201cdark moment in this Chamber\u201d, Pakistan\u2019s representative echoed regret over the organ\u2019s \u201cfailure\u201d and pointed out that the Council was prevented from acting by the exercise of the veto \u2014 and \u201cthat is where the apology must lie\u201d.\u00a0 In moments of such grave human suffering, preventing the Council from fulfilling its mandate \u201crisks being seen as enabling the continuation of that suffering\u201d.\u00a0 He stressed that, against this grim setting, today\u2019s failure sends the dangerous message that 2\u00a0million people \u201care expendable\u201d.\u00a0 Further, he noted that \u201cthe safety of hostages is being compromised\u201d alongside hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.<\/p>\n

Other delegations \u2014 including those of Guyana and China \u2014 also rejected today\u2019s veto, with the latter stating that the United States was \u201cabusing\u201d that power.\u00a0 Noting that today marks the seventh time the United States has exercised it on this issue, the Russian Federation\u2019s delegate stressed that \u201cthere will be no breakthrough\u201d so long as Washington, D.C., \u201cdoes not change the lens through which it regards the crisis in Gaza\u201d.\u00a0 He urged that country to acknowledge that its \u201cdeclared quiet diplomacy on the ground\u201d is being \u201cundermined not by the sensible voices of the international community\u201d, but by the concrete actions of its Israeli ally.<\/p>\n

Speakers Highlight International Obligations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sierra Leone\u2019s delegate, for his part, affirmed that the duty to prevent genocide is binding on all, and that failure to act would make the Council complicit in one of the gravest crimes known to humanity. \u00a0He recalled that the International Court of Justice \u2014 in\u00a0Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 found that failure to act breached this obligation. \u00a0A State cannot lawfully provide aid or assistance to perpetrators if it knows that genocide is being, or about to be, committed. \u00a0\u201cLet us be clear \u2014 unlike Pontius Pilate, we cannot wash our hands of this responsibility,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n

Many speakers \u2014 including the representatives of Greece, Slovenia and Denmark \u2014 echoed warnings of a calamitous situation on the brink. \u00a0The representative of the Republic of Korea, Council President for September, spoke in his national capacity to underscore that \u201ccivilians in Gaza, as well as hostages and their families, have suffered too much and far too long\u201d. \u00a0He therefore urged the finalization of a deal to secure an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages, leading to a permanent end to the war.\u00a0 \u201cWe do not believe that today\u2019s unsuccessful effort is meaningless,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Panama\u2019s delegate pointed out that resolution 2735 (2024) had already outlined \u201ca three-step plan of cessation of hostilities, release of hostages, withdrawal of forces and reconstruction of Gaza\u201d \u2014 a plan both Israel and Hamas later accepted in a January\u00a02025 ceasefire. \u00a0While reiterating a condemnation of the terrorist attacks of 7\u00a0October\u00a02023, and that Hamas must be disarmed and excluded from governance, France\u2019s representative called on Israel to abide by its international obligations and lift all hindrances for aid to enter Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a ceasefire more than ever,\u201d underscored the United Kingdom\u2019s representative. \u00a0\u201cAnd yet,\u201d she continued, \u201cIsrael\u2019s reckless expansion of its military operation takes us further away from a deal which could bring the hostages home and end the suffering in Gaza.\u201d\u00a0 Urging Israel to \u201cend the bloodshed\u201d \u2014 \u201cnewborn babies in incubators and children on dialysis should not be under bombardment\u201d \u2014 she expressed regret over the Council\u2019s inability to reach consensus on today\u2019s resolution.\u00a0 Nevertheless, she said that her country remains \u201ccommitted to the vision of this text\u201d.<\/p>\n

Palestine Stresses Result Undermines Council\u2019s Credibility, Israel Says Draft Rewards Hamas<\/strong><\/p>\n

For his part, the observer for the State of Palestine stressed that today\u2019s draft was a \u201cgenuine effort for the Council to speak with one voice\u201d; yet, its failure comes \u201cat a great cost for its credibility and authority\u201d. \u00a0Further, he said that it proves, \u201cwhen it comes to atrocity crimes, the use of the veto should simply not be allowed\u201d.\u00a0 While the veto \u201cprevented this Council from taking action at a time when it is most needed\u201d, he added that \u201cthis is not the end\u201d.<\/p>\n

Noting that world leaders will soon gather to mark the UN\u2019s eightieth anniversary, he stressed that \u2014 regardless of modality for participation \u2014 \u201cPalestine will be there; it will be the biggest elephant in New York City.\u201d Adding that \u201cGaza is the ultimate test\u201d, he noted that millions of Palestinians have \u201cpaid the price of our failure to stop the killing machine launched against them\u201d. \u00a0He concluded:\u00a0 \u201cWe cannot fail them any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding, Israel\u2019s delegate commended the United States for \u201cshowing leadership and moral conviction by vetoing this biased resolution\u201d, adding:\u00a0 \u201cWhat we see here is not diplomacy, it is theatre.\u201d\u00a0 By endorsing a draft resolution that \u201cdares to imply Israel is starving the people of Gaza, you echo the propaganda of Hamas\u201d, he said. \u00a0Noting that crossings to Gaza are open and aid is moving into the Strip, he said that 226 trucks entered Gaza on 17\u00a0September alone and underscored that \u201cstarvation is not \u2014 and has never been \u2014 Israel\u2019s policy\u201d.<\/p>\n

For its part, Israel is fighting terror and Hamas \u2014 \u201cthe ones actually starving hostages\u201d, he said.\u00a0 \u201cMake no mistake \u2014 Hamas waits in the wings, the only beneficiary of this stage drama,\u201d he added, citing today\u2019s draft resolution \u2014 which failed to label them a terrorist organization, condemn the 7\u00a0October\u00a02023 massacre or demand their disarmament and an end to their rule in Gaza \u2014 as \u201ca reward for their barbarism and murder\u201d.<\/p>\n

And, pushing back on several\u00a0references to the findings of \u201cthe so-called [Independent International] Commission of Inquiry [on the Occupied Palestinian Territory]\u201d \u2014 which recently determined that genocide is being committed in Gaza \u2014 the United States\u2019 representative\u00a0called them \u201ca slanderous report that lacks any credibility\u201d and presents \u201clies and distortions to the benefit of Hamas\u201d.\u00a0 Condemning the Human Rights Council\u2019s \u201cmoral bankruptcy\u201d \u2014 the reason her Government ended its participation therein \u2014 she said: \u00a0\u201cIt is long overdue that the [Commission] be eliminated and that its anti-Semitic witch-hunt be put to an end.\u201d<\/p>\n

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