[ad_1]
It’s called “Chapter 99.” And it hasn’t been used for years. Until this week.
With Israeli attacks escalating and civilian casualties mounting, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for a rarely used authority this week to warn the Security Council about an impending “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza. He urged the members of the church to demand an immediate release of humanitarian aid.
Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter – last used half a century ago – which says the secretary-general can notify the council of issues he believes threaten international peace and security. .
Here, Edith M. Lederer, longtime UN chief correspondent for The Associated Press, explains what this means.
WHAT IS SECTION 99 AND WHAT IS GUTERRES DOING?
It is a provision of the Charter of the United Nations, the foundation of the UN. It states that the Secretary General – the highest official of the UN – can refer to the Security Council “any issue that, in his opinion, may endanger the maintenance of international peace and security.”
This gives a significant additional power to the secretary general, since the real power in the UN is held by its 193 members, especially the 15 countries that work in the Security Council.
Article 99 is rarely used. The last time it was used was during the war in 1971 which led to the creation of Bangladesh and its separation from Pakistan.
Guterres invoked Article 99 because he saw the situation in Gaza as a danger of a “complete collapse” of humanitarian and humanitarian territory. It was something he felt had to be done.
HOW DOES THIS WORK, GIVEN US VETO POWER?
Arab and Islamic countries immediately followed Guterres’ letter.
The United Arab Emirates, the Arab representative on the Security Council, issued a brief resolution to Security Council members late Wednesday calling for an immediate freeze on humanitarian aid. They plan to put that resolution to a vote at a Security Council meeting on Friday morning.
The United States, which is closest to Israel and has veto power over resolutions, did not support the ceasefire. On Tuesday, the Deputy Ambassador of the United States Robert Wood said that the role of the Security Council in the Israeli-Gaza war is not to interfere with the ongoing diplomacy. And he said the current Security Council resolution is “invalid.”
A veto is possible, but the US has not said one way.
BECAUSE OF THEM, WHY BUY?
Because Guterres believes that humanitarian and humanitarian efforts in Gaza are falling apart.
He also warned in his letter that, in the current situation, “in the midst of constant attacks by the Israeli Defense Forces and without shelter or basic necessities of life, I hope the general peace will quickly break down because of the difficult conditions, even limited humanitarian aid is not possible.
Guterres said that the situation could be worse, referring to the epidemic and the large number of Palestinians leaving for neighboring countries. He sees an imminent disaster.
The former secretaries-general brought threats they saw to international peace and security to the Security Council without mentioning Article 99. These included Congo in the 1960s, the US invasion of Iran it started in November 1979, the Iran-Iraq war in 1980 and recently Myanmar in 2017.
We don’t know why they didn’t use Article 99, and some of the former secretaries are now dead. Guterres was heavily exposed to both Hamas attacks on Israel and the high death toll of Palestinians in Gaza.