Passage of UNGA Resolution Demanding End to Israel's Occupation of Palestinian Territory, Evacuation of Settlers, and Halt to Israel Arms Transfers Requires Enforcement Mechanism and Individual Member State Action
(Washington, D.C., September 20, 2024): The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) should prepare a "Uniting for Peace" resolution to compel collective, multilateral efforts amid expected Security Council inaction to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine, said DAWN today. Governments around the world also should act unilaterally to suspend weapons transfers and consider other sanctions against Israel until it complies with the July International Court of Justice opinion calling on Israel to end its occupation and apartheid rule.
On September 18, the UN General Assembly passed historic Resolution ES-10/24 (124 in favor,14 against, 43 abstentions), demanding Israel end its occupation within 12 months, evacuate its settlers and military forces from the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), and provide reparations to Palestinians affected by the occupation, and third states to suspend arms transfers to Israel, in accord with the ICJ advisory opinion finding Israel's occupation illegal. If the United States continues to abuse its veto power on the Security Council to shield Israel from accountability and block actions to enforce a parallel UNSC resolution, UNGA member states should take measures to enforce the resolution themselves with a Uniting for Peace resolution.
"Every member state, including the United States, has a duty to uphold international justice by enforcing the ICJ opinion finding Israel's occupation illegal, and to end its own complicity in aiding and abetting Israel's crimes," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of DAWN. "Either we all comply with the decisions of international courts, or none of us do."
A Uniting for Peace resolution, under General Assembly Resolution 377(V), empowers the UNGA to take action when the Security Council fails to maintain international peace and security because of a lack of unanimity of its permanent members. The UNGA took similar action in March 2022 with Resolution ES-11/1, after Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, vetoed a Security Council resolution condemning its invasion of Ukraine. The UNGA's Uniting for Peace resolution condemned Russia's invasion and established a mechanism to calculate the damages caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In 1956, Uniting for Peace General Assembly Resolution 1000 (ES-I) went even further by establishing a peacekeeping force to secure an end to the Suez Crisis of 1956.
Mohsen Farshneshani, DAWN's sanctions advisor, emphasized the power of coordinated international action: "While the U.S. and its allies may remain outliers in refusing to support an end to Israel's illegal occupation, the international community can still band together to exert tremendous pressure through coordinated, multilateral measures, including economic sanctions."
The ICJ's July 19, 2024 advisory opinion concluded that Israel's occupation is unlawful because, inter alia, its regime over Palestinians amounts to apartheid and its policies and actions violate the prohibition on acquisition of territory by force. Accordingly, the court stated that Israel should evacuate its settlers and military forces from the OPT, and to reverse its annexation of Palestinian territory. Additionally, the court asserted that states are obligated not to recognize Israel's illegal acts, such as annexation, and must refrain from providing aid or assistance that maintains Israel's illegal presence in the OPT. The court recommended that both the UN General Assembly and the Security Council take measures to end Israel's unlawful occupation "as rapidly as possible."
UNGA Resolution ES-10/24, introduced by the State of Palestine and co-sponsored by dozens of nations, calls on all UN member states to take concrete steps to comply with the ICJ advisory opinion. The resolution urges member states to cease arms transfers that could be used to sustain Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory, refrain from recognizing any illegal Israeli actions, and work towards ensuring accountability for violations of international law. It further calls on Israel to make reparations to Palestinians affected by the occupation, and encourages all states to take measures that align with international legal obligations.
"As a first step, governments around the world should suspend weapons transfers and consider other isolating measures against Israel until it complies with the ICJ ruling by ending its illegal occupation and apartheid regimes," said Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, DAWN's director of research for Israel-Palestine. "The international community should simultaneously provide a positive vision for how to end apartheid and occupation, even amid continued U.S. intransigence and the ongoing genocide in Gaza."
Despite this clear ruling from the ICJ, the U.S. voted against the resolution, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged member states to vote against it. The U.S. has been the principal aider and abetter of Israel's military occupation and apartheid regimes, providing Israel with at least $12.5 billion in military aid in just the last year. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield's declarations suggest that the U.S. will likely veto any Security Council resolution to employ UN enforcement mechanisms to uphold UNGA Resolution ES-10/24 and the ICJ opinion.
