<\/p>\n
01 October 2025<\/p>\n
Eightieth Session,<\/strong> The\u00a0General Assembly convened today following the recent veto in the Security Council to address the escalating crisis in Gaza and consider next steps for peace and accountability.<\/p>\n In April 2022, the Assembly adopted a resolution on \u201cStanding mandate for a General Assembly debate when a veto is cast in the Security Council\u201d (document\u00a0A\/RES\/76\/262<\/a><\/em>), which has come to be described as the \u201cveto initiative\u201d.\u00a0 Under this initiative, the Assembly has a standing mandate to convene within 10 working days of a veto being cast in the Council.<\/p>\n Assembly President Annalena Baerbock (Germany) told the 193-member organ that \u201ca raised hand\u201d, \u201ca simple \u2018no\u2019\u201d may appear routine when a permanent member of the Council casts a veto, but the impact is anything but ordinary. \u00a0\u201cA veto can extinguish hope for those trapped in conflict,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n The Charter of the United Nations gives the Council the primary responsibility for international peace and security. \u00a0The veto is not a privilege \u2014 it is a solemn responsibility meant to be exercised rarely, with humanity in mind.<\/p>\n In Gaza today, civilians are dying while waiting for food and water, she said. \u00a0\u201cIn the past days and weeks, men, women and children have been killed while sheltering or waiting for food\u201d, she stressed.<\/p>\n The General Assembly has stepped in with the veto initiative, ensuring accountability when the Council is paralysed. \u00a0\u201cEach time, this Assembly has been convened, ensuring that the veto is not exercised in silence but subjected to the scrutiny of the international community,\u201d she emphasized.<\/p>\n The representative of the United States said his delegation vetoed the resolution because it \u201cfailed to condemn Hamas and it failed to recognize Israel\u2019s right to defend itself, amongst other serious defects\u201d.\u00a0His country cannot support a text that does not call on Hamas to disarm, does not call for an immediate release of hostages and \u201cdoes not acknowledge the problems with aid diversion in the Gaza Strip\u201d.<\/p>\n Hamas continues to hold 48 hostages, he said, adding that \u201cthose who remain alive are captive in a living hell\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cWe have seen the chilling videos\u201d, he emphasized, adding that \u201cHamas is starving these hostages\u201d and \u201cforcing them to dig their own graves on camera\u201d.<\/p>\n Israel has repeatedly accepted terms that would end the war \u201cincluding 48 hours ago\u201d at the White House, he continued. \u00a0He highlighted United States President Donald J. Trump\u2019s plan to end the Gaza conflict and secure the immediate release of all hostages, the complete disarmament of Hamas, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip and its economic redevelopment.\u00a0 This plan has been accepted by Israel and has broad support from several partners. \u00a0Urging Hamas to accept the deal, he called on all Member States to support this plan.<\/p>\n The Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine commended the Council members that voted in favour of the draft resolution on a ceasefire in Gaza \u2014 a text blocked by a veto.\u00a0 \u201cIn the last 10 days, a lot has happened at the political and diplomatic levels but also many more Palestinians were killed and maimed\u201d, he said, urging efforts to \u201censure such ceasefire is achieved without any delay\u201d.<\/p>\n While Palestine is committed to fully implementing the New York Declaration, he said, it also welcomes the important efforts of President Trump to end the bloodshed and to save lives, including his clear rejection of annexation of Palestinian land and of forcible displacement of the Palestinian people \u2014 reflected in the plan announced by Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope that Qatar, Egypt and T\u00fcrkiye, which are currently discussing with Hamas, will succeed in their mediation efforts to bring an end to the bloodshed in Gaza,\u201d he said.\u00a0 It is for Palestinians to govern themselves, and the West Bank and the Gaza Strip must be reunified under the Palestinian Authority, he said, appealing:\u00a0 \u201cWe must all seize this opportunity to end the suffering and work for freedom and peace.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time in many months, there is a clear path forward,\u201d said Israel\u2019s delegate, describing the plan tabled by President Trump as an opportunity for nations to finally choose action over theatrics.\u00a0 However, Hamas has not yet accepted the proposal, he noted, stressing: \u00a0\u201c[Returning the hostages] can be done the easy way, or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done.\u201d\u00a0 The proposed road map is based on reality, unlike the many empty declarations, long speeches and staged walkouts in the General Assembly Hall.<\/p>\n Weeks ago in the Council, he said, a draft resolution on the situation in Gaza once again failed to condemn Hamas or recognize Israel\u2019s right to defend itself.\u00a0Praising the United States for casting its veto, he said that text was detached from reality.\u00a0 Meanwhile, the new road map reflects the situation on the ground and has been endorsed by many allies both in the Middle East and Europe.<\/p>\n Emphasizing that the 7\u00a0October attacks deeply scarred his country, he said Israel has nonetheless \u201cchosen compromise for the sake of peace\u201d.\u00a0 He urged Member States to pressure Hamas to agree to the proposal.\u00a0 \u201cEnough with the UN theatre, enough with the meaningless bureaucracy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Denmark\u2019s delegate, speaking on behalf of the 10 elected members of the Council, said the Council resolution they put forward had three urgent demands: \u00a0an immediate ceasefire, release of all hostages and safe and unhindered distribution of aid.\u00a0 Fourteen members of the Council voted in favour of that text, with only one member voting against.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re now all painfully aware that famine is present in Gaza,\u201d she said, also adding:\u00a0\u201cAs elected members we believe that the Council should not remain silent in the face of such devastation.\u201d<\/p>\n Other speakers also expressed regret over the United States\u2019 use of the veto including the representative of the\u00a0United Kingdom\u00a0who joined other speakers in demanding the return of hostages and condemning Hamas and its terrorist ideology.\u00a0 Israel\u2019s reckless military expansion must end, and Hamas should accept the terms of the peace plan newly proposed by the United States, he stressed.\u00a0 The\u00a0representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, welcomed President Trump\u2019s proposal to end the war in Gaza while France\u2019s delegate urged all sides to \u201cseize\u201d the plan \u201cwithout delay to restore a horizon for peace\u201d.<\/p>\n Regional players expressed support to the United States\u2019 proposed peace initiative with Egypt\u2019s\u00a0representative also stressing the need for urgent aid delivery, the release of hostages, preventing the displacement of Palestinian civilians and a just peace based on a two-State solution.\u00a0\u00a0Israel\u2019s \u201cexcess of power and arrogance\u201d has led its Government to repeatedly brag about the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, he added.\u00a0\u00a0Jordan\u2019s delegate, pledging to work with the United States and regional partners to adopt the proposed plan, condemned Israel\u2019s use of starvation as a weapon of war, which has led to the death of thousands of people, including children. \u00a0\u201cThe scale of human suffering in Gaza is unconscionable\u201d, added T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s delegate, reminding the international community of its \u201ccollective responsibility to act\u201d.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia\u2019s delegate said that Riyadh recently joined France, the Netherlands and others to launch the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution and now joins many nations in supporting the United States\u2019 plan to end the conflict. \u00a0He highlighted the importance of ensuring the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the non-annexation of the West Bank. \u00a0Qatar\u2019s representative spotlighted her country\u2019s mediation efforts, which have led to the release of numerous Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees. \u00a0She also welcomed President Trump\u2019s \u201cgenuine efforts to end the war in Gaza\u201d, voicing confidence in his ability to help chart a path towards peace.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s delegate said the repeated abuse of the veto by the United States is \u201cin stark contrast to the overwhelming will of the international community\u201d.\u00a0 The Israeli occupying regime\u2019s acts amount to ethnic cleansing, he said, condemning the unlawful blockade and the use of starvation as a method of warfare.\u00a0 They represent genocide and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute, he added, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State.<\/p>\n Several speakers called for urgent reform of the Council\u2019s working methods, with Cuba\u2019s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodr\u00edguez Parrilla, denouncing the United States for \u201cabusing the privilege of veto\u201d.\u00a0 He accused Washington, D.C., of blocking international efforts to stop \u201cthe massacre perpetrated by Israel in Gaza\u201d.\u00a0 South Africa\u2019s delegate also noted the Council\u2019s \u201cfailure\u201d, stressing that \u201cone Member State\u2019s use of their veto power\u201d has prevented the halt of the bombardment of innocent people.\u00a0 \u201cIsrael is waging war on the Palestinian people themselves,\u201d he added.\u00a0 The consequences of Council inaction have never been so grave, added Ireland\u2019s speaker.\u00a0 Since 7\u00a0October\u00a02023, over 65,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 167,000 injured, he said.<\/p>\n Permanent members of the Council also weighed in. \u00a0China\u2019s speaker stressed that were it not for the United States\u2019 repeated abuse of the veto, the Council\u2019s response to the Gaza crisis would not have been so inadequate.\u00a0 Were it not for its unreserved shielding of Israel, Council resolutions and international law would not have been so flagrantly violated, he asserted.\u00a0\u00a0The Russian Federation\u2019s delegate, noting that the United States used its veto for the seventh time, said: \u00a0\u201cIt is difficult to understand how the international community is indulging Hamas by calling for the unconditional release of hostages\u201d and when the New York Declaration clearly states that future control over Gaza should be transferred to the Palestinian Authority.\u00a0 The recent veto \u201cwas more of a gift to Israel\u201d, he added, emphasizing that any initiatives aimed at the immediate cessation of hostilities and bloodshed in Gaza deserve support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 01 October 2025 Eightieth Session, 15th & 16th Meetings (AM & PM) The\u00a0General Assembly convened today following the recent veto in the Security Council to address the escalating crisis in Gaza and consider next steps for peace and accountability. In April 2022, the Assembly adopted a resolution on \u201cStanding mandate for a General Assembly […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[6999],"document-source":[1365],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2265,2005,6848,1741],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-312025","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-meeting-coverage","document-source-general-assembly","document-subject-ceasefire","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-hostages","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/312025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/312025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":312026,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/312025\/revisions\/312026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=312025"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=312025"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=312025"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=312025"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=312025"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=312025"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=312025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n15th & 16th Meetings (AM & PM)<\/strong><\/p>\nText neglected to condemn Hamas<\/strong><\/h3>\n
We must seize this opportunity to end suffering, work for freedom, peace<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Returning the hostages \u2018can be done the easy way, or done the hard way\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Support for United States\u2019 proposed peace plan for Gaza<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Calls for urgent reform of Council\u2019s working methods<\/strong><\/h3>\n