United Nations Security Council draft resolution S/2018/516
Date: 2018-06-01 (meeting 8274)
Agenda: The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question
Vetoed by: USA

United Nations
Security Council
Distr.: General
1 June 2018
Original: English
S/2018/516

Kuwait: draft resolution
The Security Council,
Recalling all of its relevant resolutions, including, inter alia, resolutions
242 (1967), 338 (1973), 605 (1987), 904 (1994), 1397 (2002), 1544 (2004),
1515 (2003), 1850 (2008), 1860 (2009), and 2334 (2016),
Recalling also its Presidential Statement 2014/13 of 28 July 2014,
Bearing in mind the letter (S/2015/809) of 21 October 2015 by the Secretary-
General,
Recalling also its resolutions on the protection of civilians in armed conflict,
including its resolutions on children and armed conflict, including, inter alia,
resolutions 1894 (2009) and 2225 (2015), as well as its relevant presidential
statements, and its resolutions on the protection of medical and humanitarian
personnel and on the protection of journalists, media professionals and associated
personnel in armed conflicts, including, inter alia, resolutions 2286 (2016) and
2222 (2015), as well as its other relevant resolutions and presidential statements,
Reaffirming the obligation to respect and ensure respect for international
humanitarian law in all circumstances in accordance with Article 1 of the Geneva
Conventions,
Expressing its grave concern at the escalation of violence and tensions and the
deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East
Jerusalem, in particular since 30 March 2018, and its deep alarm at the loss of civilian
lives and the high number of casualties among Palestinian civilians, particularly in
the Gaza Strip, including casualties among children, caused by the Israeli forces,
Condemning all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, as
well as all acts of provocation, incitement and destruction,
Reaffirming the right to peaceful assembly and protest, freedom of expression
and of association,
Emphasizing the need to pursue measures of accountability, stressing in this
regard the importance of ensuring independent and transparent investigations in
accordance with international standards,
Alarmed at the exacerbation of the dire humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip,
and stressing the need to achieve a sustainable solution to this crisis in line with
international law,
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S/2018/516
Stressing the particular impact that armed conflict has on women and children,
including as refugees and displaced persons, as well as on other civilians who may
have specific vulnerabilities, including persons with disabilities and older persons,
and stressing the need for the Security Council and Member States to strengthen
further the protection of civilians,

Recalling that a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be
achieved by peaceful means in accordance with international law and the relevant
United Nations resolutions and through credible and direct negotiations,

Stressing that the Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the Palestinian
territory occupied in 1967,

Reaffirming the right of all States in the region to live in peace within secure
and internationally recognized borders,

1. Calls for full respect by all parties for international human rights law and
international humanitarian law, including in regards to the protection of the civilian
population, and reiterates the need to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety and
well-being of civilians and ensure their protection, as well as to ensure accountability
for all violations;

2. Deplores the use of any excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate
force by the Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, including East Jerusalem, and particularly in the Gaza Strip, including the
use of live ammunition against civilian protesters, including children, as well as
medical personnel and journalists, and expresses its grave concern at the loss of
innocent lives;

3. Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, refrain from such actions and
fully abide by its legal obligations and responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva
Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August
1949;

4. Deplores any actions that could provoke violence and endanger civilian
lives and calls on all actors to ensure that protests remain peaceful;

5. Deplores the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip against Israeli civilian
areas;

6. Calls for urgent steps to ensure an immediate, durable and fully respected
ceasefire;

7. Calls for the exercise of maximum restraint and calm by all parties and the
need for immediate and significant steps to stabilize the situation and to reverse
negative trends on the ground;

8. Reaffirms its willingness to respond to situations of armed conflict where
civilians are being targeted or humanitarian assistance to civilians is being
deliberately obstructed, including through the consideration of appropriate measures
that the Security Council may take in accordance with the Charter of the United
Nations;

9. Calls for the consideration of measures to guarantee the safety and
protection of the Palestinian civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
including in the Gaza Strip;

10. Calls also for immediate steps towards ending the closure and the
restrictions imposed by Israel on movement and access into and out of the Gaza Strip,
including through the sustained opening of the crossing points of the Gaza Strip for
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S/2018/516

the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons in accordance with
international law, including as it pertains to legitimate security requirements;

11. Demands that all parties cooperate with medical and humanitarian
personnel to allow and facilitate unimpeded access to the civilian population, and
calls for the cessation of all forms of violence and intimidation directed against
medical and humanitarian personnel;

12. Urges the provision of immediate and unimpeded humanitarian assistance
to the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip, bearing in mind critical
medical, food, water and fuel needs, and urges increased support to the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East,
recognizing the vital role of the Agency, alongside other UN agencies and
humanitarian organizations, in providing humanitarian and emergency assistance,
notably in the Gaza Strip;

13. Encourages tangible steps towards intra-Palestinian reconciliation,
including in support of the mediation efforts of Egypt, and concrete steps to reunite
the Gaza Strip and the West Bank under the legitimate Palestinian government and
ensure its effective functioning in the Gaza Strip;

14. Welcomes and urges further engagement by the Secretary-General and the
United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process to assist, in
cooperation with concerned partners, in the efforts to immediately de-escalate the
situation and address urgent infrastructure, humanitarian, and economic development
needs, including through the implementation of projects endorsed by the Ad Hoc
Liaison Committee;

15. Requests the Secretary-General to examine the present situation and to
submit a written report, as soon as possible, but not later than 60 days from the
adoption of the present resolution, containing, inter alia, his proposals on ways and
means for ensuring the safety, protection and well-being of the Palestinian civilian
population under Israeli occupation, including, inter alia, recommendations regarding
an international protection mechanism;

16. Calls for renewed and urgent efforts to create the conditions necessary to
launch credible negotiations on all final status issues to achieve, without delay, an
end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and a comprehensive, just and lasting
comprehensive peace based on the vision of a region where two democratic States,
Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognized borders, on
the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions, the Madrid terms of reference,
including the principle of land for peace, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quartet
Roadmap, as called for in resolution 2334 (2016) and its other relevant resolutions;

17. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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Voting result: 10 yes, 1 no, 4 abstentions
Votes by member:
country: Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
vote: Y
country: China
vote: Y
country: Côte d’Ivoire
vote: Y
country: Equatorial Guinea
vote: Y
country: France
vote: Y
country: Kazakhstan
vote: Y
country: Kuwait
vote: Y
country: Peru
vote: Y
country: Russian Federation
vote: Y
country: Sweden
vote: Y
country: United States of America
vote: N
country: Ethiopia
vote: A
country: Netherlands
vote: A
country: Poland
vote: A
country: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
vote: A