UN Chief Invokes Rare Clause to Push for Cease-fire; Israeli Foreign Minister Enraged
On Wednesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres utilized a rarely used administrative mechanism to formally call upon the United Nations Security Council to support a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas in a move that has seen him receive explosive condemnation from Israel’s foreign affairs officials.
Writing a letter to the 15-member body, Guterres implores the Security Council to intervene and support a cease-fire resolution, warning that a continuation of the conflict “may aggravate existing threats to international peace and security.”
Under Article 99 of the founding UN Charter, the organization’s Secretary General can “bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.” Guterres, whose tenure as the chief UN diplomat began in 2017, is the first secretary-general to make use of Article 99 since 1989.
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A United Arab Emirates-led coalition of Arab and Muslim nations delivered a draft resolution demanding an “immediate humanitarian cease-fire” to the Security Council in the hope that the resolution will see a vote on Friday when Guterres is expected to brief the group on the Gaza war.
Guterres’ move drew sweeping outrage from Israeli top diplomats with Eli Cohen, Israel’s foreign minister, designating the secretary-general’s administration “a danger to world peace,” and likened his action as proportional to support for Hamas.
“[Guterres’] request to activate Article 99 and the call for a cease-fire in Gaza constitutes support of the Hamas terrorist organization and an endorsement of the murder of the elderly, the abduction of babies and the rape of women,” Cohen said in a statement posted on X on Wednesday.
Guterres’ previous public appeals for a cease-fire have had him at odds with Israel’s foreign policy establishment for weeks.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan had already called for the UN head to resign after his comments during a UN Security Council Meeting on October 24 in which he suggested that Hamas’ October 7 rampage across southern Israel was induced by Israel’s control of the Palestinian territories, stating it “important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.”
As of Wednesday, both Cohen and Erdan have publicly demanded Guterres resign.
