The non-binding UN resolution on a humanitarian truce in Gaza was passed with 121 votes in favour, 14 against, and 44 abstentions. The Australian government chose to abstain from voting on this resolution. The resolution, led by Jordan, called for an immediate, durable, and sustained humanitarian truce to end hostilities in Gaza. It framed the situation as the result of illegal actions by Israel in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory. However, the resolution failed to mention Hamas.
The Australian representative to the UN, Ambassador James Larsen, explained that Australia abstained due to the resolution’s failure to name Hamas as the perpetrator of the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Larsen also called for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas. While Australia agreed with the proposition that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire and unacceptable, they believed that the resolution as drafted was incomplete. Larsen emphasized the need for the UN General Assembly to affirm both Israel’s national sovereignty and the aspirations of the Palestinian people, including statehood.
The United States was among the 14 nations that voted against the resolution. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield criticized the omission of the word “hostage” in the resolution, stating that it gave cover to and empowered Hamas’ brutality. She called for no Member State to allow these omissions to stand.
The voting result was welcomed by the Palestinian representative Riyad Mansour, who saw it as a clear message that the war must stop. However, the Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan called it “a day that will go down in infamy.”
Back home, the decision of the Australian government to abstain from voting was criticized by the Australian Greens. Greens leader Adam Bandt called on the Labor government to push for a ceasefire and expressed disappointment in their failure to vote with the majority of the world for a ceasefire. On the other hand, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin supported the vote, emphasizing the need for the UN to call for the unconditional surrender of Hamas and the immediate release of hostages.
Prior to the Jordan-led resolution, the U.N. Assembly failed to pass an amendment condemning the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas. The amendment did not reach the required two-thirds majority, receiving 88 votes in favor, 55 against, and 23 abstentions. Both Australia and the United States supported this Canadian amendment, which also called for the immediate and unconditional release of over 200 hostages.