UN waits for Cairo cease-fire details before going forward with resolution

Jordan will continue to push for consultations on the draft resolution its diplomats presented to the Security Council on behalf of the Arab group at the UN.

By ANNA HIATT
A vote in the United Nations Security Council headquarters in New York (photo credit: REUTERS)
A vote in the United Nations Security Council headquarters in New York
(photo credit: REUTERS)
NEW YORK – With eyes turned east toward Cairo on Tuesday afternoon, the UN Security Council is awaiting terms of the truce before moving forward on an impending draft resolution.
After the Security Council’s closed-session consultations Tuesday morning, as news was coming in about the cease-fire agreement in Cairo, UK Deputy Permanent Representative Peter Wilson spoke in vague terms about what the council would like to see going forward.
“There is a Jordanian draft that has already been put into blue,” Wilson said. Jordan’s draft resolution was last revised August 4, and has been on the table since then. For weeks, it appeared little movement was being made on the draft resolution.
And then, late last week, news leaked from the Security Council that a European coalition had drafted a document in which the UK, France and Germany put forth “elements” they want to see in a draft resolution on Gaza.
According to a copy of “Elements” obtained by the blog UN Report, the European coalition is planning to propose a monitoring mission to help ensure that both parties adhere to the terms of any draft resolution that passes.
The United States has begun consulting with Security Council members on its own version of elements, according to a State Department official.
Wilson said that the Security Council’s key responsibility now is to support efforts in Cairo, and that’s where the council should be devoting its resources.
“We’re receiving reports that a cease-fire for a further month has been agreed. We are also getting details on that right now,” said Wilson, who stood in for Mark Lyall Grant as Security Council president. “It is important that whatever point is agreed is sustainable and looks toward the long term. What we don’t want to do is return to the status quo.”
Jordan will continue to push for consultations on the draft resolution its diplomats presented to the Security Council on behalf of the Arab group at the UN, according to a statement from Jordan’s Mission. Integral to that resolution is the resumption of peace talks in an effort to find a two-state solution.
European member states and the US have been waiting for a truce to come out of the Cairo talks before pushing a resolution through the Security Council, according to the PLO’s deputy permanent representative.
Despite the month-long truce agreed upon Tuesday, Jordan’s ambassador said that the members are still discussing elements to include in a draft resolution, and a vote hasn’t been set.
“It could be this week. It could be next week,” said Jordan’s ambassador Dina Kawar. “We’re getting close to it.”
The secretary-general’s spokesman Stéphane Dujarric stressed that a durable, longterm cease-fire is the only way forward, and that for Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, a return to status quo would be unacceptable.