Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
European Union Foreign Policy Coordinator Josep Borrell asked the Union's members in the United Nations Security Council and the European Union's partners to support the call of Secretary-General António Guterres. Borrell said in a post he wrote at dawn today, Thursday, on the X website, saying, “The Security Council must act immediately to prevent the complete collapse of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.” The post, which was republished by the European Union spokesman in the Middle East and North Africa, Louis Bueno, also stated, “I call on Israel.” To enable all UN agencies, including Resident Coordinator Lynne Hastings, to provide urgent support to civilians in Gaza.
It is noteworthy that, given the magnitude of the loss of human lives in Gaza and Israel - within a short period, the Secretary-General of the United Nations sent a letter to the President of the Security Council yesterday, Wednesday, activating - for the first time - Article 99 of the United Nations Charter.
The aforementioned article states that “the Secretary-General may alert the Security Council to any matter that he deems may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.”
“In the face of the serious risk of collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza, I urge the Security Council to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe and appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on X.
United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric pointed out that this is the first time that António Guterres has activated Article 99 of the Charter, since he became Secretary-General of the United Nations in 2017.
In response to journalists' questions about the meaning and significance of the speech, Dujarric said that the Secretary-General is thus activating the authority granted to him by the Charter in what can be described as a major constitutional step. He said that this article is the most powerful tool that the Secretary-General has within the framework of the United Nations Charter.
The spokesman stated that the activation of the article had not occurred for decades, and said that a number of previous speeches referred to the threats to international peace and security, but without relying on this article.
Stephane Dujarric said that the United Nations is approaching the point of complete paralysis of its humanitarian operations in Gaza, in a place where about 15,000 people and 130 United Nations workers were killed.
He added that the Secretary-General does not use the word "disaster" lightly, and he expressed the hope that the Security Council would listen to the Secretary-General's call.
The United Nations spokesman also expressed deep regret and concern over the decision of the Israeli authorities not to renew the visa of Lynn Hastings, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.