Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God – Holy Bible

UNUSUALLY, Jamaica has found itself in a bit of an embarrassing position at the United Nations over its absence from a crucial October 27, 2023 vote on a resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Palestine.

Within the halls of the UN, where Jamaica has long punched above its weight as a small island, the country has enjoyed great respect for its defence of human rights, fairness, and sensible diplomacy, helping to bring stability to the world community.

As the fighting is prolonged in Gaza, and against the background of 4,600 Palestinian and Israeli lives lost, 14,000 injured and 1.4 million civilians displaced — up to the time of the vote — it should be noted that women and children are disproportionately impacted, the UN says.

This humanitarian crisis prompted support for a Jordanian resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce that was temporarily halted by a Canadian version but eventually passed after the Jordanian text was endorsed by Antigua and Barbuda.

A total of 120 countries voted for, 14 against — including Israel and the United States — while 45 abstained. Jamaica’s permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Brian Wallace, was apparently out of the room while the voting was taking place.

First the foreign ministry attributed this absence to ongoing consultations that did not conclude in time, later rewording that to say “a technical cross in communication led to Jamaica’s representative not voting”.

The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) labelled Jamaica’s absence from the UN General Assembly (UNGA) vote as “a new low in Jamaican foreign policy history”. And there has been blistering criticism of the Government online.

“This explanation lacks merit, as consultations should have been timed to enable Jamaica to vote in favour of the resolution,” the PNP said, adding that the vote marked the UNGA’s first significant response to the humanitarian tragedy “resulting from Israel’s collective punishment of the civilian Palestinian population in Gaza”.

It was not a good look for Jamaica, but neither is it as bad as some are now portraying. We believe that while Jamaica’s absence was embarrassing and could be construed as a faux pas, it is not true to say that had Jamaica been in the room we would not have voted in favour of the resolution.

Indeed, Jamaica delivered the statement on behalf of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) which left no doubt that the regional bloc was in favour of the immediate cessation of hostilities and a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

We are relieved that Foreign Minister Senator Kamina Johnson Smith attempted to dispel any concerns in a statement yesterday that said Jamaica, as the chair of the Caricom Caucus of Ambassadors at the UN, was “actively engaged in discussions concerning the Jordanian resolution and not only collaborated on the Caricom statement, but led its drafting”.

Our own support for this resolution goes without saying. Israel has a right to its rage against the terrorism of Hamas. However the question is: How much blood will satisfy the combatants before they stop?

In the meantime, if Jamaica’s UN ambassador slipped up, he should be called home.