The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, calling on the Security Council to act on the war in Gaza. This rare move comes as the Security Council is yet to adopt a resolution for a ceasefire between Israel, Hamas, and their allies.
Article 99 allows the secretary-general to bring attention to any matter that may threaten international peace and security. In his letter to the council’s president, Guterres invoked this responsibility, stating that he believed the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories may aggravate existing threats to international peace and security.
The Security Council member, the United Arab Emirates, has submitted a new draft resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire resolution to be adopted urgently. The UAE warned that the situation in Gaza is catastrophic and close to irreversible, stating, “We cannot wait.”
If the council does choose to act on Guterres’s advice and adopt a ceasefire resolution, it does have additional powers at its disposal to ensure the resolution is implemented. However, the council’s five permanent members hold veto power.
Guterres has warned of a deepening “catastrophe” in Gaza, citing the appalling human suffering, physical destruction, and collective trauma across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. He urged the council to act decisively to demand a humanitarian ceasefire to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.
However, Guterres’s invocation of Article 99 was not welcomed by Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, who described the letter as “more proof” of Guterres’s “moral distortion and his bias against Israel.”
The rare move by Guterres will not fundamentally change the political calculation of the Security Council’s most powerful members, according to analysts. Nevertheless, it represents a significant diplomatic and symbolic act amidst the escalating crisis in Gaza.