The United Nations General Assembly for the first time ever adopted an amendment to the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy on Tuesday, denouncing the use of civilians as human shields.
The initiative came after ongoing diplomatic efforts by the Permanent Israeli and U.S. Missions to the United Nations as they work to convince the world body to condemn Gaza’s ruling Hamas terrorist organization for its use of the enclave’s civilians as pawns in its attempts to annihilate its neighbors in Israel.
“Today’s resolution is another important step in our efforts as we change the rules of the game at the UN,” said Israel’s Ambassador Danny Danon in welcoming the resolution.
“Less than two weeks ago, a plurality of members in the General Assembly voted to denounce Hamas, and now today’s resolution explicitly condemned terrorists for the despicable double war crime of hiding behind women and children while attacking civilians. There is much work to be done, but this milestone accomplishment brings us closer to the day when the UN will focus on truly bringing security and stability to the world,” he added.
The Global Counter Terrorism Strategy was originally adopted in 2006 and is reviewed every two years. It is described by the UN as “a unique global instrument used to enhance national, regional and international efforts to counter terrorism.”
The new paragraph included in this year’s Strategy denounced the misuse of “schools and hospitals, for military purposes such as launching attacks and storing weapons” and strongly condemned the use of “civilians to shield military objectives from attacks.”