UN urges peaceful settlement of disputes as UN chief points to ‘the horror show in Gaza'
The vote was unanimous on a Pakistan-drafted resolution in the 15-member council.
In urging greater efforts to pursue global peace, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council: 'Around the world, we see an utter disregard for — if not outright violations of — international law' as well as the U.N. Charter.
It is happening at a time of widening geopolitical divides and numerous conflicts, starting with Gaza, where 'starvation is knocking on every door' as Israel denies the United Nations the space and safety to deliver aid and save Palestinian lives, Guterres said.
Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff as part of its war with Hamas and blames U.N. agencies for failing to deliver food it has allowed in.
In conflicts worldwide, 'hunger and displacement are at record levels' and security is pushed further out of reach by terrorism, violent extremism and transnational crime, the secretary-general said.
'Diplomacy may not have always succeeded in preventing conflicts, violence and instability,' Guterres said. 'But it still holds the power to stop them.'
The resolution urges all countries to use the methods in the U.N. Charter to peacefully settle disputes, including negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, referral to regional arrangements or other peaceful means.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who chaired the meeting, cited 'the ongoing tragedies' in Gaza and between Pakistan and India over Kashmir, one of the oldest disputes on the U.N. agenda, that need to be resolved peacefully.
'At the heart of almost all the conflicts across the globe is a crisis of multilateralism; a failure, not of principles but of will; a paralysis, not of institutions but of political courage,' he said.
The Pakistani diplomat called for revitalizing trust in the U.N. system and ensuring 'equal treatment of all conflicts based on international law, not geopolitical expediency.'
Acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the Trump administration supports the United Nations' founding principles of saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war and working with parties to resolve disputes peacefully.
Under President Donald Trump's leadership, she said, the U.S. has delivered 'deescalation' between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, and Congo and Rwanda.
The U.S. calls on countries involved in conflicts to follow these examples, Shea said, singling out the war in Ukraine and China's 'unlawful claims' in the South China Sea.
The war in Ukraine must end, she said, and Russia must stop attacking civilians and fulfill its obligations under the U.N. Charter, which requires all member nations to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every other country.
'We call on other U.N. member states to stop providing Russia with the means to continue its aggression,' Shea said.
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The union's original statement concluded: 'The CMG also join (other media organizations, humanitarian groups, and governments) in calling on the Israeli government to end the hostilities, cease the inhumane treatment of civilians in Gaza, and allow the flow of necessary food and supplies provided by international humanitarian organizations into the territory.' It was that last sentence that particularly bothered some members. 'The problem with the press release was if you knew nothing about the conflict and just read that press release, you would have the impression that Israel mounted an unprovoked attack on Palestinian civilians in an attempt to annihilate them,' said a CMG union member who works at CBC and who asked not to be named for fear of jeopardizing union support in a precarious job market. 'There is no mention of Hamas' role in any of this; not in the massacre that triggered the war, not for holding hostages, and most significantly in terms of this press release, no mention of Hamas looting aid delivery,' the member said. The union's executive soon received 'feedback from members,' prompting a re-evaluation and an edit the following day, said Andreea Mihai, spokeswoman for the CMG. 'In response to feedback from members, we clarified the language in the statement to underscore our call for 'all parties' to cease hostilities and to reaffirm our focus on the safety of media professionals,' Mihai told National Post. The updated version of the release , changed late Friday afternoon, leaves that last sentence intact but adds a postscript below it, reading: 'Finally, the CMG calls on all parties to end the hostilities and cease the inhumane treatment of civilians in the region.' The new version of the release includes a notation: 'This communication has been adjusted for clarification.' Mihai said that as a media union, the CMG 'believes it is essential to recognize and respond to the impact global conflicts have on both our members and media workers worldwide,' Mihai said. 'The statement issued by CMG is part of that ongoing commitment to advocate for the protection of all media workers, regardless of location or employer. It called for humanitarian access, journalistic freedom, and an end to hostilities; values that are at the core of our work as a union. 'Our intention was not to take a political stance, but to draw attention to the unacceptable conditions faced by journalists and reaffirm the essential role they play in keeping the world informed,' she said. The union member, who said several other members expressed similar concerns, said the union's original statement could make reporting on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza more difficult for its members. 'The fact that there is no acknowledgement that there is culpability beyond just Israel makes it clear that the union is picking a side, and that's disgraceful when you consider it is a union representing thousands of journalists whose job it is to be impartial observers.' The CMG controversy is another example of internal conflict that can arise when unions that represent diverse memberships take public stances on divisive issues, particularly outside of their core mandates. Broader social activism has long been a sensitive feature of trade unions, from its century-old roots when unionization was often seen as an ideological battle between socialism and capitalism. As unionism embraced more industries and increasingly diverse workers, internal quarrels arose from union support for political parties or stands on divisive social issues, especially emotional matters, such as international wars, abortion rights, apartheid, and more recently, transgender rights. 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In May, the union released a statement urging governments to prioritize the safety of journalists and media workers 'as deaths rise in the Israel–Gaza conflict.' Earlier in July, the union called for immediate protection of journalists in Iran. • Email: ahumphreys@ | X: AD_Humphreys Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
