UN spox calls for accountability on UNSC veto powers post-Gaza vote failure

The five nations that hold veto power at the UN Security Council "have a great amount of responsibility," a UN official has said after it failed to adopt a resolution on a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

"We know every time a permanent member of the Security Council vetoes, they now have to go and explain themselves in a sense in front of the (UN) General Assembly. This will happen again," Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said during his press briefing on Tuesday.

“The five countries that hold the veto have a great amount of responsibility, and I think there needs to be explanation on how the veto is used,” he added.

UNRWA remains 'backbone' for Palestinians

The draft resolution put forward by Algeria received widespread support in the Council, with 13 of its 15 member states voting in favour.

The US was the sole nation to vote against it, and as a permanent Council member, its opposition killed the resolution. The UK, another permanent member, abstained.

Dujarric said Guterres "continues to hope that the Security Council will find a way to speak with one voice on this issue".

On remarks by Israel's envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan, in which he called the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) a “terrorist organisation,” he said the agency continues to form the backbone of humanitarian aid work in Gaza.

"UNRWA remains and is the backbone of the humanitarian work that is being done in Gaza at great cost to UNRWA staff themselves," he said.

"It remains the backbone of not only humanitarian, but development, socio-economic and educational work for Palestine refugees, in Lebanon, in Syria, in Jordan and the occupied West Bank.”

Dujarric reiterated his call for donors to support the critical work that UNRWA does.