GENEVA (8 December 2023) – Member States of the United Nations must use all measures at their disposal and their influence to promote an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, UN human rights experts* said, issuing a clarion call for peace ahead of a crucial Security Council vote in New York today.
“UN Member States must mobilise now and act collectively to save Gaza from total destruction and mass mortality, in order to preserve the raison d’être of the United Nations,” the experts said. “Member states must act at the Security Council or the General Assembly as applicable, to push for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” they said.
The UN experts welcomed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ letter to the UN Security Council, based on Article 99 of the United Nations Charter, calling on the Council to take urgent action to avert a total collapse of public order and the humanitarian system in Gaza.
“We extend our fullest support to Secretary-General Guterres, as he assumes greater leadership in the effort to end the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza,” the experts said.
UN humanitarian agencies sounded the alarm this week that the situation in Gaza was ‘apocalyptic.’