WHILE Israel is using mass starvation as a tool of war, and people in Gaza are dying as much of hunger and diseases as by Israeli strikes, the global conscience is being held hostage by the veto power that has been shamelessly exploited by the United States more than once since the beginning of the latest round of conflict in the region. US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield (seen in the accompanying image) and other US representatives held their hands tied as the world raised its hands in favour of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Even a resolution seeking aid resumption in the affected territory was vetoed.

Every morning, people in Gaza wake up to bombings, deaths and starvation. Justice remains a mere word that means nothing. People across the world have spoken in favour of the Palestinians, but governments in the West have stood firmly by the Zionist Israel. This is a new world order emerging where govern- ments are elected by the people, but are not answerable to them.

That being so, a new order must also emerge in the composition and func- tioning of the UN Security Council (UNSC). The number of permanent UNSC members needs to be revisited, and there shall be an open debate about the unbridled powers the current five members have and through which they can put on hold the execution of the will of the majority.

The West keeps lecturing the world over the virtues of democracy, but the veto power is the ultimate dictatorial tool through which it continues to overrule the massive global majority. This discriminatory power is actually a trigger of extremism. The world is surely much bigger than the five states with the veto power. The voice of the global majority must be allowed to get translated into concrete reality with an inclusive and democratic approach.

Chaudhary Aamir Sohail
Sargodha

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2024