UN SECRETORY GENERAL INVOKES ARTICLE 99 OF UN CHARTER TO STOP ISRAEL HAMAR WAR IN MIDDLE EAST

 

At least 17,177 Palestinians have been killed since then, according to Gaza Health Ministry figures, while 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas incursion into Israel, according to Israeli tallies.

On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General @antonio-guterres invoked Article 99 of the United Nations Charter in response to the horrific events unfolding in the Middle East which have resulted in a devastating loss of life in Israel and Gaza.

The Article enables the Secretary-General to bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security. This is the first time Mr. Guterres has exercised Article 99 since he became Secretary-General in 2017.

In the letter to the Security Council, the Secretary-General outlined how the crisis is exacting a tremendous toll on civilians, stating: “More than eight weeks of hostilities in Gaza and Israel have created appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.

“The international community has a responsibility to use all its influence to prevent further escalation and end this crisis,” the letter continued.

“We are facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system. The situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region. Such an outcome must be avoided at all cost.”

Concluding the letter, the Secretary-General urged Council members to take immediate steps to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, stating: “I reiterate my appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared. This is urgent. The civilian population must be spared from greater harm”.