State Dept. Rebuffs Uniting for Peace at United Nations

Given Israel's continued bombing regardless of International Court of Justice orders and UN Security Council resolutions, what would the US do if the General Assembly invoked Uniting for Peace?

I was called on today for the first time in months at the State Department briefing, see X/Twitter thread. Thanks to

Decensored News

for above video.

In February, Prof. Francis Boyle noted the UN General Assembly could do the following under Uniting for Peace: “Suspend Israel from participation in its activities as the General Assembly did to the former criminal apartheid regime in South Africa and to the genocidal Yugoslavia;

“Set up an International Criminal Tribunal for Israel in order to prosecute its highest level civilian and military officials for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide;

“Recommend economic sanctions against Israel to UN Member States;

“Recommend UN Member States sever diplomatic relations with Israel;

“Admit Palestine as a full fledged UN Member State.”

Similarly, former UN official Craig Mokhiber similarly stated on “Democracy Now” this week about “General Assembly under the Uniting for Peace resolution, where you could have seen some real meaningful action. You could have seen a resolution with teeth, with substance, resolution that included diplomatic, military, political, economic sanctions — not the enforcement of those sanctions, but the call for those sanctions — the deployment of a protection force, the establishment of a tribunal, the establishment of permanent mechanisms, as was the case within the United Nations during apartheid in South Africa.”

(Boyle states that Uniting for Peace is available right now; Mokhiber says that the non-veto might have (strategically?) slowed the Uniting for Peace process. Regardless, the Security Council “ceasefire” resolution has not actually created a ceasefire. So, the UNSC is clearly failing in its ostensible responsibility.)

This may be updated.

Initial transcript:

HUSSEINI: Francis Boyle, who successfully represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at the International Criminal Court [sic: International Court of Justice], as well as Craig Mokhiber, a former UN official who resigned in protest -- given the ICJ orders against Israel and given the UN [Security Council] resolution this last week that demanded an immediate ceasefire, are arguing that what is needed now is the Uniting for Peace procedure at the General Assembly.  They are saying that with that procedure, the General Assembly can effectively take control of the situation to some extent, given the deadlock at the Security Council, suspend Israel from UN – from participation at the General Assembly, admit Palestine as a member, urge economic sanctions against Israel, and set up a tribunal, as the UN did for Rwanda and Yugoslavia.  What would the US do if the General Assembly did that?

MILLER:  So I would say, first of all, I would reject the premise that there is deadlock at the UN Security Council.  We just saw the UN Security Council pass a resolution this week on this very question. 

HUSSEINI:  But it didn’t get a ceasefire.

MILLER:  And with respect – just with – just – with respect to any effort at the General Assembly to expel Israel, no.  Obviously that’s --

HUSSEINI:  Not to expel, it’s to suspend.

MILLER:  To suspend Israel – it’s not something that we would support.  Ultimately, we believe that the resolution to this conflict is something that can be done through direct negotiations, which is what we have – pursuing, to see – to achieve an immediate ceasefire that secures the release of hostages and allows humanitarian assistance to flow in to the Palestinian people.  And we would like to see that expanded, this initial ceasefire, into something more durable and lasting that ensures Hamas’s defeat and establishes long-lasting, durable peace for Israel and the Palestinian people. [Points to another reporter]

HUSSEINI:  Thank you for the response. But just if I might, it’s just --

MILLER:  Go ahead. [Points to another reporter.] Go ahead. I’m going to take one here and then we’ll --

HUSSEINI:  No -- 

QUESTION:  Thank you, Matt.

MILLER:  Go ahead.

QUESTION:  Thank you, Matt....