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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 APRIL 2024 NEWS Ceasefire demands go ignored, but Malta's says there's power in the Security Council MALTA'S second term as pres- ident of the United Nations Se- curity Council (UNSC) had a turbulent start. On the same day it decided on its programme of work for the month, an Israeli strike de- stroyed Iran's consulate in Syr- ia and killed 12. This would go on to prompt an Iran attack on Israel a couple of weeks later. It also coincided with a push for Palestine's full membership in the United Nations, and a historic vote taken at the Secu- rity Council. Despite the busy start to the term, Malta's UN ambassa- dor Vanessa Frazier sat down with a delegation of Maltese journalists between meetings and negotiations to talk about Malta's Israel-Gaza ceasefire resolution, whether the UNSC has teeth, and how the Maltese language helped in drafting a second ceasefire resolution at the Security Council. Ceasefire resolution ignored, but UNSC still has teeth Last November, Malta drafted a Security Council resolution calling for humanitarian paus- es in Gaza and the safe passage of humanitarian aid. Fast for- ward to March this year, and a second resolution was passed demanding a Ramadan cease- fire that would lead to a "last- ing sustainable ceasefire". Yet, the demands for a cease- fire have been largely ignored on the ground in Gaza. Frazier admitted that having countries ignoring security council resolutions does un- dermine the power of the UN's highest decision-making body. "You're clearly not as strong," she remarked. "Having a UN- SC resolution adopted against a country, or imposing certain obligations on countries, is supposed to be something seri- ous. But if you can just say 'I'm going to ignore it, and what are you going to do about it?', then it's not serious any longer." She said this is a big prob- lem that a lot of elected mem- bers have when it comes to the credibility of the council and the way people look at the UN. Part of this perception comes from the veto mechanism that can be employed by any of the five permanent council mem- bers. "From the outside looking in, there's this perception that you cannot get anything done because there's a veto and it's the first thing you face. In re- ality, the veto is the last thing you face. The veto allows for honest negotiations. The veto isn't the first tool used by the permanent five." She said implementation is always an issue when it comes to UN action, but it doesn't mean that the Security Coun- cil is toothless. "There was action taken against South Africa when it wasn't adher- ing to council resolutions, and its voting rights in the general assembly were removed," she pointed out. "There are tools. The next step now is if there are parties that have not implemented resolutions, then one can in- troduce new products to force them. Sanctions, removing voting rights, suspending them from the General Assembly. It's not going to happen in the Security Council though, be- cause there is a veto." She also reminded that Securi- ty Council resolutions are legal- ly binding, even if they are not implemented on the ground. "Right now, there are two ICJ actions ongoing with Israel and Palestine, one started before the war and is about whether the occupation of Palestine is legal or not, and since the October war started there is the genocide case against Israel. Non-imple- mentation of Security Council decisions, and continued viola- tions of, does not help their case in the court. So, it's important to pass a resolution even if it might not be implemented." Malta's ceasefire resolution, and the emotional toll of diplo- macy Frazier recalled how she man- aged to negotiate the first reso- lution on the Israel-Gaza con- flict that called for extended humanitarian pauses. "It was very difficult because everyone wanted a ceasefire, and everyone wanted a con- demnation of Hamas. And I didn't have that in my resolu- tion. I said we're going to go for the lowest possible common denominator we can get, which is a pause and hostage release." "I told them: if you want those other things, I'm not going to table it. Because this is not that resolution. This resolution is about the fact that there are people captured in tunnels, at least the women and children should be released." She said there was a clear goal to this resolution, namely that women and children are re- leased, and humanitarian aid goes into Gaza. "There were children under the rubble!" She recalled being in 'sofa talks' with other permanent representatives to the UN, and everyone admitting that they did not feel human anymore. "How much longer were we go- ing to see babies being rescued from the rubble?" No one was happy with the resolution, she said. "It passed because everyone was unhappy with it. But at the same time, we needed to be human. Dur- ing negotiations I would wake up at night every day, suffocat- ing and claustrophobic think- ing of the children in tunnels and under the rubble." How the Maltese language helped draft the ceasefire res- olution At the UN Security Council, Malta's Permanent Representative at the UN Vanessa Frazier sits down with NICOLE MEILAK to discuss the 'language' of peace Vanessa Frazier