Gaza shame

Jamaica’s absence from the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) vote on a resolution calling for a “humanitarian truce” between Israel and Hamas, has been described by scholars as backward and an embarrassment to the island’s history of taking principled positions on matters of international concern.

“It (Government) has taken an immoral position which places Jamaica on the wrong side of history,” Christopher Charles, professor of political and social psychology at The University of the West Indies, told The Gleaner yesterday.

“Although the UN General Assembly vote is symbolic, it signals to the world the current Jamaican Government’s retrogressive foreign policy on the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” Charles further argued.

The non-binding resolution is the UNGA’s first response to the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hamas, which exploded with a surprise attack that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,400 Israelis on October 7. More than 7,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel has since embarked on a ground operation in the territory, with its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowing to wipe out Hamas “for humanity”.

A total of 120 countries on Friday voted in favour of the resolution introduced by Jordan.

The United States was among the 14 nations that voted against, while 45 others abstained.

Twelve CARICOM states voted in favour of the resolution.

Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, in seeking to explain Jamaica’s absence, said deliberations were still taking place when the vote was finalised. She noted,however, that Jamaica “welcomes the action taken by the UNGA and hopes that it contributes to progress”.

Johnson Smith also pointed to a statement from the CARICOM caucus at the UN, which Jamaica chairs, that called for an immediate cessation of hostilities by all parties, the opening of humanitarian corridors to facilitate unhindered access to food, medical supplies, fuel, water, and other humanitarian products, and services so desperately needed by the affected civilian population.

However, Charles dismissed the minister’s explanation as “nonsense”.

“Consultations are not long, back-breaking work. Such activities usually occur behind the scenes before the UN vote,” he said, arguing that he believed the minister was following instructions to “deliberately miss the vote”.

He suggested that Jamaica’s non-participation was because it did not wish to offend its major ally, the United States.

“It is certainly foolish and misplaced loyalty on Jamaica’s par because the United States does not have permanent friends but permanent national interests,” he stated.

Four members of the European Union – Austria, Croatia, Czechia, and Hungary – also voted against the resolution.

“We should remember that it was the same US, Israel, with the UK and other Western allies who refuse to uphold sanctions against apartheid South Africa. They declared Nelson Mandela a terrorist and the African National Congress a terrorist organisation. These were the same countries that did not support the liberation movements in Africa for independence from the European colonisers. It is unfortunate that our current Government sides with powerful Western states that constantly abrogate the rights of the Palestinian people,” he added.

It is a view shared by Palestinian-Jamaica and attorney at law Jalil Dabdoub, who accused the Government of trying to “walk between the raindrops” with the issue.

“My reading of it is (that) the conscience of the Government knows well, but they don’t want to offend the big powers that be. So they are not going to vote against the Europeans, they’re not going to vote against the Americans, but they know in their conscience what is the right thing,” he told The Gleaner.

“And that is the difference between this administration, and I think former administrations like under Mr Patterson (PJ Patterson), Mr Manley (Michael Manley) and Mr Seaga (Edward Seaga). On these issues Jamaica always took a stance regardless of what big brother wanted to say.”

In the meantime, the People’s National Party, in a statement over the weekend, said Jamaica has reached a “new low” in its foreign affairs history with its non-participation in the UNGA vote.

“This unfortunate episode gives the impression that the Government of Jamaica is not interested in standing in solidarity with the suffering Palestinian civilians. We hope that this impression will be promptly and definitively dispelled by the Government. There should be no recurrence of this major failure in our foreign policy conduct,” said Christopher Henry Jr, junior shadow spokesperson on foreign affairs and foreign trade.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com