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Monday, August 4, 2014

(Revised) Jordanian draft resolution on Gaza: Unrwa schools

3 August 2014
Draft Resolution
The Security Council,
Recalling all of its relevant resolutions, including resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002), 1515 (2003), 1850 (2008) and 1860 (2009),
Recalling its Presidential Statement of 28 July 2014 (S/PRST/2014/13),
Further recalling its resolutions 1612 (2005), 1882 (2009), 1998 (2011), 2068 (2012) and 2143 (2014) on children and armed conflict,
Stressing the obligation to respect international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law,
Emphasizing the obligation to ensure the safety and well-being of all civilians and ensure their protection in situations of armed conflict, including foreign occupation,
Expressing grave concern at the escalation of violence and the deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, due to the Israeli military operations, particularly in the Gaza Strip,
Expressing grave concern in particular at the resulting heavy civilian casualties among the Palestinian civilian population, in particular among children, women, and the elderly, as well as the widespread destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, water, sanitation and electricity networks,
Expressing grave concern also about the massive displacement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, where more than a quarter of the population has been displaced from their homes, with more than 250,000 people sheltering in UNRWA schools,
Expressing grave concern at the resultant deepening of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip,
Recognizing the efforts of UNRWA, along with other United Nations agencies and humanitarian organizations, in providing emergency humanitarian assistance to affected civilians in the Gaza Strip,
Reiterating its call for the achievement of an immediate, comprehensive and durable ceasefire,
Recognizing the regional and international efforts exerted for the achievement of a ceasefire on the basis of the Egyptian initiative of 14 July 2014,
Expressing strong support for the efforts by regional and international partners, including by the United Nations Secretary-General and the United States Secretary of State, to secure unconditional humanitarian ceasefires between the parties to allow for the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance and the promotion of calm towards the conclusion of a permanent ceasefire, 
Emphasizing that the status quo in the Gaza Strip is unsustainable and stressing the need for meaningful and comprehensive solutions to all of the underlying issues,
Emphasizing in this regard the need to ensure the sustained and regular flow of people and goods through the Gaza crossings, including, inter alia, for urgent humanitarian needs, reconstruction, economic recovery and sustainable economic growth, including via regular commercial flows into and out of the Gaza Strip,
Recalling that a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be achieved by peaceful means,
Reaffirming the right of all peoples in the region to live in peace and security,
Stressing the important role of the Quartet as well as of the League of the Arab States towards achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions, the Madrid principles, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quartet Roadmap,

1. Condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism;
2. Calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire and the full and immediate withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces from the Gaza Strip;
3. Welcomes in this regard the initiative presented by Egypt on 14 July 2014 for a ceasefire and the efforts undertaken by the United Nations Secretary-General and international partners to this end, including at the Paris meeting of 26 July 2014, and urges all concerned regional and international parties to support these efforts towards establishing calm;
4. Calls upon all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949;
5. Calls for all necessary measures to ensure the protection of civilians, including the immediate cessation of military reprisals, collective punishment and excessive use of force against the Palestinian civilian population;
6. Calls upon all parties to respect the inviolability, the sanctity and neutrality of United Nations installations, and strongly condemns all actions in contravention of these principles, which endanger the safety and lives of Palestinian civilians;
7. Requests the United Nations to carry out a full and transparent investigation regarding the attacks on UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip in the recent period, and requests the United Nations Secretary-General to report on its findings to the Security Council;
8. Calls also for the full implementation of its resolution 1860 (2009), including the lifting of the Israeli restrictions imposed on the movement of persons and goods into and out of the Gaza Strip and for the sustained reopening of the crossing points of the Gaza Strip on the basis of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access;
9. Stresses the need for the immediate provision of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip, including through urgent additional contributions to UNRWA, recognizing the vital role played by the Agency, along with other United Nations agencies and humanitarian organizations, in providing emergency aid to affected civilians, including the displaced, and addressing the critical humanitarian needs in Gaza;
10. Calls on Members States to contribute to the urgent reconstruction and economic recovery needs of the Palestinian people in the Gaza in coordination with the United Nations and the Palestinian national consensus government under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas;
11. Calls on the relevant parties, including the United Nations, to establish a mechanism to monitor the implementation of a ceasefire agreement and the understandings and measures agreed upon, with the aim of ensuring respect for a permanent ceasefire by the parties and reporting on any violations;
12. Urges all parties to refrain from actions and steps that could further destabilize the situation;
13. Calls for renewed and urgent efforts by the parties and the international community to achieve a comprehensive peace based on the vision of two States, Palestine and Israel, living side by side on the basis of the pre-1967 borders in peace and security, as envisaged in Security Council resolution 1850 (2008), and recalls in this regard the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative;
14.  Decides to remain seized of the matter. 
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