France, Spain Intensify Push for UN Veto Limits, Citing Gaza Genocide
(MENAFN) France and Spain intensified demands Thursday for curtailing veto authority within the UN Security Council, arguing the privilege has systematically obstructed international responses to humanitarian emergencies including the war in Gaza.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot declared the council requires structural overhaul to mirror contemporary geopolitical dynamics and restore credibility to its resolutions.
"We want to make sure that two seats of the permanent Security Council are given to Africa, that Japan, Germany, and Brazil can have a seat … to make decisions more legitimate," he stated at the Paris Peace Forum.
Barrot revealed France has collaborated "for years" with Mexico to advance a proposal constraining veto rights during mass atrocities—an initiative now backed by over 20 nations.
"We were unable to reach a joint commitment on Gaza," he acknowledged, asserting the Security Council must accept "moral and political responsibility" for enforcing international legal standards.
"That's why we're pleading so hard in favor of Security Council reform, to unlock decisions that are blocked by veto when basic human rights are affected," he emphasized.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares reinforced Barrot's position, affirming Spain's stance remains uniform "whether it's in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan or the Sahel."
"We defend international law, international humanitarian law, and the protection of civilians," he declared.
Albares characterized UNRWA as an "indispensable UN body," observing that "the lives of six million Palestinians in the Middle East depend on it."
He insisted humanitarian supplies "must reach the Gaza Strip without obstacles" and that perpetrators of attacks on aid personnel "must be held accountable."
"We must recall that the rulings of the International Court of Justice are binding for everyone in the United Nations, including the state of Israel," Albares stated.
"Israel cannot have a right of veto," he continued.
Separately, Mirjana Spoljaric-Egger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), cautioned that the continuing humanitarian mission in Gaza remains "highly complex, sensitive, and dangerous."
"The ceasefire must hold, millions of lives hang in the balance," she warned.
"If hostilities resume, there is no resilience left for the people," she added.
Spoljaric-Egger stressed that disregarding international law in Gaza and Sudan transmits "a signal to 450 armed groups and non-state actors that everything is allowed," cautioning that emerging technologies are amplifying their influence.
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