A UN resolution, or simply a resolution, is the main tool the Security Council uses to act upon situations of international concern. A resolution can call for action to end a conflict, approve a peacekeeping mission or impose sanctions. In escalatory cases, the Security Council can also authorise the use of force. Its role is to “maintain international peace and security,” as set out in the UN Charter. But it is a difficult and complex task, and the veto, which is used to block a resolution, has been wielded over 300 times since the UN’s founding in 1945, mostly by the U.S. and Russia (or the Soviet Union) to protect their own national interests.
This resolution called for urgent, extended and sustainable humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout Gaza, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and it urged Israel to lift its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian consignments into Gaza. It was adopted by 14 votes in favour and one abstention (US). International law professor Ian Hurd, who focuses on the use of force in international relations, tells RS that the US claiming the resolution is not binding means it is “trying to twist international law to its advantage.”
The process of adopting a resolution begins with counsellors from a member’s permanent mission to the UN in New York that specialise in the issue at hand booking meetings in the Consultations Room, steps across the hall from the Security Council chamber. Back-and-forth discussions ensue to iron out differences. In the case of the Gaza resolution, 97 Member States co-sponsored it.