Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1511791
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 NOVEMBER 2023 8 INTERVIEW Getting things done in the United Nations TWO days after the UN Security Council approved a resolution calling for humanitarian pauses and respect of international law, Foreign Minister Ian Borg frankly admits the wording is not "perfect". But he insists it reflects intense ne- gotiations to find an agreeable text to avoid the fate of four previous failed resolutions which were shot down because of a lack of consensus. Noting that the previous four at- tempts by other nations, some of which enjoyed majority support, were either aborted or vetoed, Borg explains that the main difficulty was that of getting consensus on the wording. "You can have countries which agree with some parts of a resolu- tion but not with others. Getting all the countries including those with a veto to agree on the wording is not easy," he says in an interview at his temporary office at Palazzo Spinola in St Julian's. But Borg also attributes the passing of the resolution to its timing, since it also reflects greater public aware- ness of what is happening in Gaza. "Things started changing when peo- ple all over the world started seeing what is actually happening on the ground in Gaza." While admitting that so far, the passing of the resolution, which falls short of calling for a ceasefire as de- manded earlier by the UN General Assembly, has offered no respite for the people of Gaza, he is hopeful that it is a first step in ensuring re- spect for international law. Yet he remains non-committal on the imposition of sanctions on Israel if it persists in ignoring the legally binding resolution and shoots down a call endorsed by President Emer- itus Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca for Malta to recall its ambassador in Is- rael. After the Security Council's approval of a resolution proposed by Malta calling for 'humanitarian pauses' in the war in Gaza, Foreign Minister Ian Borg sits down with JAMES DEBONO to talk about the diplomatic efforts to protect civilians trapped in the war.