1st LD: Bolivia's UN envoy hopes for Security Council resolution on protection of Palestinians

UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Bolivian ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday expressed the hope that the Security Council would be able to adopt a resolution on the international protection of Palestinian civilians.

After the latest round of violence in Gaza between Palestinians and Israeli security forces that left at least 60 people dead, Kuwait circulated a Security Council draft resolution, which would provide for the deployment of "an international protection mission" for Palestinian civilians.

"We fully back the Kuwaiti proposal. We believe it's timely for the international community to uphold its responsibility in terms of protecting Palestinians," Sacha Llortenti, the Bolivian ambassador, told reporters. "We hope that sooner than later we will have the draft on the floor to be voted on."

However, it is widely believed that the United States, an ally of Israel, will veto the draft should it proceed to a vote. The United States, as a permanent member of the Security Council, has veto power.

On May 14, the United States blocked a Kuwaiti-drafted Security Council statement that would have expressed outrage at the killing of Palestinians and called for an independent investigation.

At an emergency Security Council meeting on the following day, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, blamed Hamas, which controls Gaza, for the violence.

Haley on Friday called the UN Human Rights Council's decision to launch an investigation of Israel's use of force in Gaza "shameful."

"At a time when Venezuela lurches toward dictatorship, Iran imprisons thousands of political opponents, and ethnic cleansing has taken place in Burma, the UN's so-called Human Rights Council has decided to launch an investigation into a democratic country's legitimate defense of its own border against terrorist attacks. It is another shameful day for human rights," Haley said in a statement.

Asked what he expected from the U.S. delegation on the Kuwaiti draft, Llorenti said: "We expect from any member state to uphold international law, to comply with resolutions of the Security Council. But it seems that they (Americans) believe they are above international law." Enditem