UN General Assembly approves Spanish-Palestinian resolution on the catastrophe in Gaza

Spain's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Héctor Gómez, during the presentation of the resolution

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has approved the resolution presented by Spain and Palestine on the protection of the civilian population and compliance with legal and humanitarian obligations in relation to the conflict in Gaza. The initiative, which was announced by the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, on 7 May in the Lower House of Parliament, was approved at an emergency special session of the General Assembly - which is convened to address urgent recommendations on a particular matter related to acts of aggression or threats to international peace - with 149 votes in favour and 12 against.

During the presentation of the resolution, the permanent representative of Spain to the United Nations, Héctor Gómez, stressed that "it is urgent to send a strong message about Gaza". The 21-point text begins by calling for an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" to be respected by all parties and reiterates the demand for the "immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups". It further underlines the obligation of parties to armed conflict to respect and protect the civilian population, and calls upon all states to respect and protect humanitarian personnel, UN and associated personnel, and medical personnel, among others.

The resolution includes a strong condemnation of "any practice of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare" and emphasises the obligation "not to deprive the civilian population in the Gaza Strip of goods indispensable for their survival". It therefore demands that Israel immediately end the blockade, open all border crossings and "ensure that aid reaches the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip immediately and on a large scale, in line with its obligations under international law and humanitarian principles".

The text stresses that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) "remains the backbone of the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip", rejects any action that undermines the implementation of the Agency's mandate, and calls on all parties to allow the Agency to carry out its mandate with full respect for the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. Furthermore, it reiterates its "unwavering commitment to the two-state solution" whereby "two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace and security within their secure and internationally recognised borders".

It therefore "firmly rejects attempts at demographic and territorial change in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem" and "reiterates its unequivocal rejection of actions aimed at forcibly displacing the Palestinian people and illegally seizing Palestinian land, including any such actions in the Gaza Strip, and demands the immediate and complete cessation of such actions".

It also condemns "all plans for individual or mass forced relocations and deportations of protected persons from the occupied territory" and "demands an immediate halt to all settlement construction, expansion, land confiscation, home demolitions, forced evictions and settler violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem".

Non official translation