In terms of humanitarian progress in Syria this year, the United Nations’ ongoing paralysis has been excruciating for those trapped in the crossfire and onlookers alike. The Security Council’s 11th-hour resolution condemning Israel’s continued settlements then has been something of a seismic upheaval whose aftershocks will be felt well into the new year.
Last Friday (local time), the 15-member Security Council at its final meeting of the year passed a resolution by 14-0 which said Israel’s settlements (on the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem) violate international law and undermine a two-state solution in Israel’s conflict with Palestine. The member states of the UN have long maintained the settlements are illegal but the United States traditionally vetoes any resolutions in support of its ally, Israel. (Indeed, the last time the council adopted a resolution on settlements was in 1979, when the US abstained.)
Given the surge in settlement construction, resolution 2334 concerning Israel and Palestine was drafted by Egypt (which was ultimately pressured to drop it by US president-elect Donald Trump). However, co-sponsors Malaysia, Senegal, Venezuela and New Zealand (determined to make a decisive statement in its last meeting of its two-year term on the Security Council) pushed on with it. The resolution passed because the US (under the outgoing Obama Administration) abstained.
Foreign Minister Murray McCully admitted the resolution was largely "symbolic" but, unsurprisingly, given the history, reaction still came hard and fast.
Mr Trump has vowed to change things when he takes office in mid-January. Without irony, the Israeli Government labelled the situation "shameful", summoned Security Council members and enacted various diplomatic reprisals, including recalling its ambassador from New Zealand, and banning New Zealand’s ambassador to Israel.
The outrage remains palpable — on all sides. Outgoing US Secretary of State John Kerry has since spoken in passionate defence of his Administration’s stand and slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s settlement policy.
Even if the action is largely "symbolic", the message is a powerful one. And that message is that the United Nations is now truly united in its condemnation of the settlement policy. It has conveyed a powerful message of right and wrong. It can show what is possible when leaders put aside ego and self-preservation, resist political pressure and other powerful interests, and vote for right not might. It has shown that "friends" can speak the brutal truth about brutal actions.
That is a powerful message also undoubtedly aimed at Russia, whose consistent use of the veto in support of Syria has left the UN powerless to intervene in the ongoing slaughter there.
Unlike Syria however, Israel is now isolated — if only temporarily. The incoming Trump administration will, if not overturn, certainly undermine the resolution. And of course there is no quick or easy way to achieve lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Both sides need encouragement and support to build the necessary bridges.
But while there is uncertainty over the future of both Syria and the two-state solution, the end of the year has shown that time can heal wounds, that progress can be made, and that where there is a will, there is a way. This was done with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the US naval base at Pearl Harbour, which complemented Barack Obama’s visit to Hiroshima earlier in the year. While neither leader apologised for the horrors inflicted by their countries during World War 2, the visits were firsts for sitting leaders and the expressions of regret both made were genuine. They were very powerful symbols of the steps taken on the road to reconciliation. They show this is possible — but it must start by acknowledging the truth.
It is frustrating, then, that the Obama Administration, which has finally stood up for such values, has relegated its own actions to an impotent symbol by making its stand only on its way out. To truly change the world for the better, leaders must have the courage of their convictions while holding positions of power and influence.
