Craig Mokhiber thinks that there is a way for the UN General Assembly to get around the US veto and intervene to protect Palestinians in Gaza. Mokhiber is an American international human rights lawyer and former senior official with United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). He thinks Canada could play a role. Read more and watch my interview with him.
As the genocide grinds on, the UN appears unable to stop it.
While courageous employees in UN agencies like UNRWA do what they can, and the UN’s International Court of Justice, has issued historic decisions affirming the rights of the Palestinian people and the UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, defies two years of harassment, death threats, and U.S. sanctions, for telling the truth and applying the law… the UN remains unable to stop the ongoing genocide.
The enduring symbol of UN failure is the Security Council, where five permanent members have a veto, allowing the USA to cancel any attempt at calling Israel (or the USA) to account. It leaves the UN a talking shop without any teeth.
An opportunity to unite for peace
But former senior UN official Craig Mokhiber sees a possible way forward at the UN General Assembly meetings this September.
An opportunity and a mechanism exist, he argues in a recent article in Mondoweiss magazine to rescue the legacy of the organization.
That mechanism is a little known 1950 UN resolution called the “Uniting for Peace”. Established by a Cold War-era resolution adopted in 1950, the Uniting for Peace mechanism authorizes the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to act when the Security Council is blocked by the veto of one of its permanent members. Under this mechanism, the UNGA could mandate a UN protection force to deploy to Palestine, protect civilians, ensure humanitarian aid, preserve evidence of Israeli crimes, and assist in recovery and reconstruction.
CTIP caught Mokhiber in his New York office and asked him to explain how this would work.
According to Mokhiber, a UNGA resolution adopted under Uniting for Peace could mandate an armed, multinational, UN protection force to deploy to Gaza (and, ultimately, to the West Bank), to protect civilians, open entry points via land and sea, facilitate humanitarian aid, preserve evidence of Israeli crimes, and assist in recovery and reconstruction.
A role for Canada
This action could be adopted by the a special emergency session of the General Assembly which is meeting in September. If the resolution gets a two-thirds majority, it cannot be stopped by a U.S. veto in the Security Council.
Several countries, including Ireland, have already announced support for an urgent military intervention in Gaza under UN auspices to provide protection to the two million starving Palestinians. As a member of the United Nations, Canada could announce its support for this initiative and vote in favour at the General Asssembly.
Canada Talks Israel Palestine is the weekly newsletter of the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine (OFIP). It aims to promote a serious discussion about Canada’s response to the Israel/Palestine issue with a focus on the truth, clear analysis and human rights for all. Readers with different points of view are invited to make comment.
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U4P is a good way to build momentum but technically it allows the UNGA only to make recommendations to the UNSC. Absent a Security Council authorizing resolution, the Charter allows for what is known as collective self-defence under Article 51. This creates a collective of the willing to come to the aid of a state. It has less prestige than a UNSC resolution but is legal. It is not, however, UN authorization.
I think a potential weakness is the role of the PA and President Abbas. He will be stuck. If he does call for UN intervention to get around the US veto, the US will cut him off and he will be destroyed. If he does not make the call, he will lose all credibility (what he has left) and be destroyed. my guess is that he will try to avoid the issue. But don’t know how he can do so.
Been viewing such a proposal by Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff for S. of S. Colin Powell. Not sure on whose site. Possibly Danny Hai pong or Glen Diessen. He is even suggesting moving UN to Shanghai. Notable event in last few days at meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Us and EU becoming diminished entities.
Bob Pflug