09:00 (New York)

As of reporting, there are 110 speakers scheduled to participate in the tenth Emergency Special Session of the Assembly, which is set to begin at 10 AM in New York.

Palestine will be the first to address Member States, followed by Israel as the second speaker.

Emergency Special Session

According to the significant “Uniting for peace” resolution passed by the General Assembly in 1950, the organization has the power to call for an “emergency special session” within 24 hours if the Security Council does not fulfill its main duty of maintaining global peace and security.

The tenth Emergency Special Session was initially called in April 1997 at the behest of Qatar. This came after numerous meetings held by the Security Council and General Assembly regarding Israel’s plan to construct a significant housing development in East Jerusalem.

The meeting took place on June 13, 2018 to discuss a proposed resolution called “Safeguarding the Safety of Palestinian Civilian Citizens.”

After the session ended, the Assembly determined to temporarily adjourn it and granted authorization to the President of the General Assembly from the most recent session to resume the meeting upon request from Member States.

Ongoing crisis

Multiple United Nations organizations on site have reported shortages of essential supplies necessary for sustaining life, as well as necessary fuel to power hospitals and access to clean drinking water is rapidly diminishing.

On Wednesday, the Security Council was unable to pass two resolutions aimed at addressing the humanitarian crisis. A draft resolution led by the United States was vetoed by China and Russia, while a second resolution supported by Russia did not receive enough votes in favor.

Last week, there were unsuccessful attempts for unity at the Council. A resolution, led by Russia, that called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” was not approved on Monday. Then, on Wednesday, a text led by Brazil that proposed “humanitarian pauses” to provide aid to millions in the Gaza Strip was vetoed by the US.

More to follow…

Source: news.un.org