{"id":84672,"date":"2023-12-13T15:31:57","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T13:31:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=84672"},"modified":"2023-12-13T15:31:57","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T13:31:57","slug":"un-resolution-377a-and-its-role-in-calling-for-a-ceasefire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/un-resolution-377a-and-its-role-in-calling-for-a-ceasefire\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Resolution 377A and its role in calling for a ceasefire"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n13 December 2023 | 15:31 CAT
\n2-min read<\/p>\n

\"\"

Picture: United Nations<\/p><\/div>\n

In the wake of the recent US veto on a proposed UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, discussions have emerged on navigating around such vetoes by permanent security council members. Yasmin Sooka, a member of the Board of the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa, discussed UN Resolution 377A, also known as Uniting for Peace, which was invoked by Egypt and Mauritania.<\/p>\n

Resolution 377A<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sooka explained that Resolution 377A is a UN General Assembly resolution invoked in emergency situations where the UN struggles to fulfil its primary responsibility for international peace and security.<\/p>\n

Recently invoked by Egypt and Mauritania after a security council resolution was vetoed by the US and the UK, this resolution allows the secretary general to convene an emergency session of the general assembly within 24 hours.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the UN General Assembly met in an Emergency Special Session. The resolution, which demands an \u201cimmediate humanitarian ceasefire\u201d in Gaza, was adopted by member states, according to the UN. The resolution was passed with a majority of 153 in favour and 10 against. Sooka noted that the 23 abstentions are likely to come under scrutiny.<\/p>\n

The role of the resolution in ending the genocide<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sooka explained that while the resolution is influential and can establish a UN emergency force to monitor and neutralise conflicts, it is not legally binding on nations.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 One of the challenges, of course, is that the United States is quite openly opposed to a ceasefire, and, in fact, agree with \u2018Israel\u2019 that there won’t be any ceasefire until Hamas is destroyed completely. And the reason \u2018Israel\u2019 can act with such impunity and commit the kind of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which many people are calling a genocide, is because it enjoys impunity. And this is because the US gives it weapons and openly supports it,\u201d Sooka explained.<\/p>\n

Historical context <\/strong><\/p>\n

The interview touched upon the historical use of Resolution 377A during events like the Korean War and the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. However, the contemporary geopolitical landscape, with the power of veto-wielding permanent members, presents significant hurdles in the security council.<\/p>\n

Implications for ceasefire in Gaza<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sooka explained that the UN General Assembly is a UN emergency court and does not work like a peacekeeping force. For the resolution to work, \u2018Israel\u2019 would have to agree to a ceasefire, agree to remove its occupying forces from Gaza and the West Bank, and Hamas would probably have to release the detainees. The general assembly cannot enforce the resolution.<\/p>\n

Listen to the full interview<\/a> on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za 13 December 2023 | 15:31 CAT 2-min read In the wake of the recent US veto on a proposed UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, discussions have emerged on navigating around such vetoes by permanent security council members. Yasmin Sooka, a member of the Board of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4997],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/un.jpg?fit=1441%2C560&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-m1G","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-27 20:07:07","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}