International
Gaza: the General Assembly calls for a truce
The UN General Assembly voted 120 to 14 for a humanitarian truce in Gaza. For small states, the rules at stake are the same rules that protect them.
Last night the UN General Assembly adopted resolution ES-10/21, calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” in Gaza and for aid to be allowed in without obstruction. It passed by 120 votes to 14, with 45 abstentions.
The resolution also demanded the release of all civilians held captive. The Hamas attack of 7 October killed about 1,200 people in Israel, according to Israeli authorities. Gaza's health authorities report more than 7,000 killed in the Israeli bombardment since.
Caribbean states have little military or economic power. What protects them is international law: sovereignty, protection of civilians, and the rule that no state is above the Charter. Applying those principles in some places and not others weakens them everywhere.
The truce now depends on the Security Council, where the veto has so far stopped any binding decision.
Sources
Independent reporting by Pearce Robinson. Corrections and responses may be submitted here.
