Indonesia Helps Mobilize Countries in the Region to Support the Ceasefire Resolution in Gaza Through the UN General Assembly

INDUSTRY.co.id - New York, USA - A total of 153 countries supported the UN General Assembly Resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution entitled "Protection of Civilians and Upholding Legal and Humanitarian Obligations" was approved at the 10th Emergency Special Session (10th ESS) meeting of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), in New York (12/12).

Indonesia galvanized support from 11 countries from various regions, namely, South Africa, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Namibia, Timor Leste, Turkiye and Thailand, by submitting a Joint Letter to the President of the UNGA supporting the request of the Arab Group and The OIC asked the UN MU to immediately hold the Emergency Special Session.

Since the end of the humanitarian pause in Gaza on December 1, the humanitarian situation has worsened. The death toll reached more than 18,000 people, of which 70% were children. Data shows that in Gaza, every 10 minutes 1 child is killed. This situation and concerns over the increasing number of victims, as well as the almost collapsing condition of the health and humanitarian system in Gaza, have been expressed by many parties in the last few weeks, including the UN Secretary General and UNRWA Commissioner General.

At the opening of the 10th Emergency Special Session, UNGA President Denis Francis emphasized that, "We have one goal here - only one. Namely saving human lives."

The "Protection of Civilians and Upholding Legal and Humanitarian Obligations" resolution submitted by Egypt on behalf of the Arab Group and the OIC at the 10th ESS Session is very concise, seeking an immediate ceasefire, protecting civilians, releasing all hostages, and ensuring the fulfillment of legal obligations. international humanitarian affairs. Indonesia and 104 other countries are also co-sponsors of this resolution.

Previously, on 8 December 2023, a similar resolution was submitted to the UN Security Council. Even though the resolution received the support of 13 countries out of the 15 member countries of the UN Security Council, it could not be adopted because it was vetoed by the United States.

The success of the UNGA in adopting this Resolution with high support cannot be separated from Indonesia's efforts to continue to mobilize votes with various approaches to member countries, including those in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. Most European Union countries this time around also supported the Resolution.

As has been known, the Indonesian Foreign Minister together with seven other OIC Foreign Ministers also engaged in shuttle diplomacy to the permanent member countries of the UN Security Council, such as China, Russia, the UK and France to gather support for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

A UN General Assembly resolution is a political statement by UN member states regarding an issue or problem that is of international concern. The large number of co-sponsor countries (104 countries) and support from member countries (153 countries) for the resolution requesting a ceasefire in Gaza, shows increasing political pressure from various countries to stop Israel's attacks on Gaza. This is expected to put political pressure on Israel to immediately stop its military attacks on Gaza which continue to cause civilian casualties and encourage the United States to stop its support for Israel.