Pakistan backs ICJ probe into ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Council has been paralysed due to resistance and negative vote of permanent member, says Pakistani envoy

UNITED NATIONS:

Pakistan on Tuesday warned that failure of international efforts to halt the "brutal" Israeli war on Gaza risked escalation that could engulf the entire region, as the UN General Assembly debated the use of the veto by the United States in the Security Council last month.

“The council has been paralysed due to the resistance and negative vote of a permanent member,” Ambassador Usman Jadoon, acting permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the 193-member Assembly -- without naming the US.

“A heavy responsibility rests on those who have enabled the prolongation of this war and the continuing slaughter of innocent civilians in Gaza,” the Pakistani envoy pointed out.

The veto is a special voting power held by the permanent members on the Council, whereby if any one of the five - China, France, Russia, the UK and the US - casts a negative vote, the resolution or decision automatically fails.

Tuesday's meeting was held under the Assembly's standing mandate to convene within 10 working days of a veto being cast in the Council. “Beyond the imperative of an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, we must ensure the provision of adequate humanitarian assistance to the besieged population of Gaza,” the Pakistani envoy said, upholding the peoples' right to life and dignity.

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There must be consequences and accountability for Israel’s criminal actions in Palestine, the Pakistani envoy said. In this regard, he said Pakistan welcomed South Africa’s initiative to bring Israel's transgressions under the Genocide Convention to the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Pakistan, he added, also looks forward to the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. “The root cause of this crisis lies in Israel's prolonged occupation and denial of Palestinians' inalienable right to self-determination. Israel's brutal campaign against the occupied people of Palestine struggling for their freedom cannot be justified under the guise of self-defence,” Jadoon said.

“The international community cannot accept the fait accompli Israel is seeking to impose to destroy Palestinian nationhood,” he said.
“The choice before us regarding Palestine is stark: engage in a determined and sustained diplomatic endeavour to implement the two-state solution, or bear witness to the ongoing genocide perpetrated by extremist Israeli leaders, with the tacit or explicit support of some foreign political leaders.”

in the end, the Pakistani envoy called for working collectively to prevent the genocide in Palestine, achieve a two state solution and establish a secure, viable, contiguous, and sovereign state of Palestine on the basis of the pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

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On Dec 22, the United States vetoed an amendment proposed by Russia that would have called for "an urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access”. Subsequently, the 15-member Council adopted a watered-down resolution calling for speeding aid deliveries to desperate civilians in Gaza but without the original plea for an “urgent suspension of hostilities” between Israel and the Palestinian fighters.

The vote was 13 in favour to none against, with 2 abstentions (United States, Russian Federation).  In his remarks, the Pakistani envoy said that the Council has regrettably failed in fulfilling its obligation to impose a ceasefire. “Pakistan, therefore, reiterates its call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” Ambassador Jadoon said, highlighting that Israel's war in Gaza is brutal -- a veritable genocide.

“This latest exercise of the veto reinforces our conviction that the reform of the Security Council should not add more permanent members to its composition,” he said, referring to the push by India, Brazil, Germany and Japan for permanent seats in an expanded Security Council --  a move Pakistan and its allies stoutly oppose.

“Israel's indiscriminate slaughter of innocent Palestinian civilians, including children and women, is a flagrant violation of international law, including the principles of the UN Charter, international humanitarian and human rights law," Jadoon said, adding that this genocidal war must be stopped forthwith in accordance with the General Assembly's resounding call for an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire.

“Pakistan strongly and unequivocally condemns Israel's rejection of a humanitarian ceasefire,” he said.