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Resolution 2720 (2023) on Gaza (22 December 2023)

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aliasesResolution 2720, Resolution 2720 (2023), S/RES/2720

7 min read

Summary

The Security Council’s resolution adopted at its 9520th meeting on 22 December 2023, which stresses that the Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the territory occupied in 1967 and reiterates the two-State solution with Gaza as part of the Palestinian State, demands that the parties allow, facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip and calls for urgent steps to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities, demands use of all available routes including the Karem Abu Salem/Kerem Shalom crossing, requests the Secretary-General to appoint a Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator and to establish a UN mechanism for accelerating relief consignments, demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of fuel at requisite levels, rejects forced displacement, and reiterates the two-State solution and unifying Gaza with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority (Resolution 2720 (2023) on Gaza (22 December 2023), PDF p.1-4).

What the file is

United Nations document S/RES/2720 (2023), Distr.: General, 22 December 2023, 4 PDF pages, about 1,726 words in the text copy. The text copy is clean and matches the original. No vote count is given in the file.

Section by section

  • Preamble, recalling 2712 (PDF p.1). Reaffirms the Charter; recalls all relevant resolutions, particularly resolution 2712 (2023), summarised as demanding compliance with international law notably on protection of civilians, calling for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors, and calling for immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and immediate humanitarian access. All parties must adhere to international law as applicable.
  • Preamble, Gaza’s status and the humanitarian situation (PDF p.1). The Gaza Strip is an integral part of the territory occupied in 1967, with the two-State vision and Gaza as part of the Palestinian State; deep concern at the dire and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation and its grave impact on civilians, the disproportionate effect on children, women and other civilians in vulnerable situations, and the obligation to respect and protect humanitarian relief and medical personnel.
  • Preamble, crossings, pause and needs (PDF p.1-2). Commends UN and humanitarian and medical personnel and gives condolences for civilians, including humanitarian and medical personnel, killed; welcomes Egypt’s facilitation of the Rafah Border crossing; takes note of Israel’s 15 December 2023 decision to open Karem Abu Salem/Kerem Shalom for direct delivery of assistance; welcomes a recent humanitarian pause and the diplomatic efforts of Egypt, the State of Qatar and other states, with grave concern at the resumption of hostilities; civilians must have sufficient food, water, sanitation, electricity, telecommunications and medical services, and commercial imports of essential goods and services should resume; welcomes member-state contributions and notes the Paris International Humanitarian Conference of 9 November 2023 and its 6 December 2023 follow-up.
  • Paragraph 1 (PDF p.2). Reiterates the demand that all parties comply with international law, including on conduct of hostilities, protection of civilians and civilian objects, humanitarian access and protection of humanitarian personnel, and recalls that hospitals, medical facilities, schools, places of worship and UN facilities and humanitarian and medical personnel and their transport must be respected and protected; nothing in the resolution absolves the parties of these obligations.
  • Paragraph 2 (PDF p.2). Reaffirms the parties’ assistance obligations, demands immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout Gaza, and calls for urgent steps to immediately allow safe, unhindered and expanded access and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.
  • Paragraph 3 (PDF p.3). Demands use of all available routes to and throughout the entire Gaza Strip, including full and prompt implementation of the announced opening of Karem Abu Salem/Kerem Shalom, for personnel, fuel, food, medical supplies and emergency shelter without diversion and through the most direct routes, and for material and equipment to repair critical infrastructure and provide essential services.
  • Paragraphs 4-6 (PDF p.3). Requests the Secretary-General to appoint a Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator to facilitate, coordinate, monitor and verify the humanitarian nature of relief consignments provided through states not party to the conflict, to expeditiously establish a UN acceleration mechanism, with personnel and equipment in Gaza under UN authority, reporting initially within 20 days and thereafter every 90 days through 30 September 2024; the parties must cooperate without delay or obstruction.
  • Paragraph 7 (PDF p.3). Demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access to address the medical needs of all hostages.
  • Paragraph 8 (PDF p.3). Demands the provision of fuel to Gaza at levels that will meet requisite humanitarian needs.
  • Paragraphs 9-11 (PDF p.3). Deplores all attacks against civilians and civilian objects, all violence and hostilities against civilians and all acts of terrorism; reaffirms obligations to respect and protect civilians, spare civilian objects including objects critical to essential services, and refrain from attacking, destroying, removing or rendering useless objects indispensable to survival; reaffirms places of refuge, including within UN facilities, are protected and rejects forced displacement of the civilian population, including children, in violation of international law.
  • Paragraph 12 (PDF p.4). Reiterates unwavering commitment to the two-State solution where two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders, and stresses unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.
  • Paragraphs 13-16 (PDF p.4). Demands steps to ensure the safety and security of UN, specialized agency and humanitarian relief personnel; demands implementation of resolution 2712 (2023) in full and a written Secretary-General report within five working days on its implementation; requests regular reporting on this resolution; decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

Key passages

  • “Stressing that the Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the territory occupied in 1967, and reiterating the vision of the two-State solution, with the Gaza Strip as part of the Palestinian State” (PDF p.1)
  • “calls for urgent steps to immediately allow safe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities” (PDF p.2)
  • “Demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access to address medical needs of all hostages” (PDF p.3)

Evidence the work relies on

  • The resolution cites the Charter, international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and its own resolution 2712 (2023), and takes note of reports from the leadership of the United Nations and humanitarian organizations on the humanitarian situation. It gives no figures.

Analysis

An access-and-machinery resolution: it goes beyond resolution 2712’s pauses by demanding delivery at scale through all routes and by creating a Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator and a UN acceleration mechanism with dated reporting, but on the fighting it still only calls for steps to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities — it does not demand a cessation or a ceasefire. It also states Gaza’s status as territory occupied in 1967 and part of the Palestinian State, and names the Palestinian Authority as the body under which Gaza and the West Bank are to be unified.

People, organizations, places and events

UN Security Council, UN Security Council Resolution 2720, UN Security Council Resolution 2712, Gaza, Egypt, Palestinian Authority, Rafah, Israel, Qatar

Concepts

Two-state solution

How it relates to other sources

Open questions

  • No vote count is given in the file.
  • The file names the Coordinator post but not the person appointed to it, and gives no aid, fuel or casualty figures.
  • The Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator’s reporting runs “through 30 September 2024” as printed; no extension appears in this file.

Coverage

PDF p.1-4 of 4, read in full

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