UN chief will remain in post 'until end of his mandate' says spokesman

UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, will stay in the post until his mandate expires, said his spokesman on Thursday, responding to Israel’s demand for Guterres’ resignation after his invocation of a rarely used article of the UN Charter regarding the conflict go to Gaza, Anadolu Agency reports.

You can expect the Secretary-General to be at work tomorrow, and until the end of his mandate

Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

He said that the UN’s communication with Israeli authorities is ongoing on a daily basis, “if not round the clock,” both at political and operational levels concerning humanitarian systems. Dujarric added, “We don’t always come to an agreement, but I would say that the contacts remain highly professional in that end.”

On Wednesday, Guterres, for the first time in his tenure, invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, urging the UN Security Council to act on the war in Gaza.

According to Article 99, the Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which, in his opinion, may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.

In the letter, Guterres urged the Council to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe and appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared.

The Secretary-General’s expectations of the Security Council, in living up to its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations is very clear in the letter, which he mentions article 99 for the first time

Dujarric said.

Upon a question regarding the arrested journalists in the Gaza Strip, Dujarric said the UN will continue to underscore the risk that journalists are taking in covering the current conflict.

“Many of your colleagues have paid with their lives in Gaza, and it is encumbered that information as to the whereabouts and the reason behind the detention of journalists be made public as quickly as possible,” he added.

Israel resumed its military offensive on the Gaza Strip 1 December after the end of a week-long humanitarian pause with the Palestinian group, Hamas.

At least 17,177 Palestinians have been killed and more than 46,000 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave since 7 October following a cross-border attack by Hamas.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.

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