Guyana has welcomed the United Nations Security Council’s adoption of a resolution endorsing former U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, describing the measure as a meaningful step toward consolidating the current ceasefire and advancing a durable peace for the Palestinian people.
“As a matter of principle, Guyana voted in favor of the resolution, which will build on the existing ceasefire and advance sustainable peace for the Palestinian people,” President Irfaan Ali said in a statement released on his Facebook page. “We applaud the USA for its leadership in this initiative.”
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As a non-permanent member of the Security Council, Guyana joined 12 other nations in approving the U.S.-backed proposal, which now carries the full force of a UN mandate. The resolution lays out Washington’s framework for Gaza’s post-conflict recovery following two years of destruction that numerous international observers have characterized as genocide against Palestinians. Its passage marks a significant diplomatic win for the Trump administration, which has regularly found itself isolated in Council deliberations due to its steadfast support for Israel during the Israel-Hamas conflict.
At the core of the resolution is the establishment of an International Stabilization Force tasked with entering, demilitarizing, and administering Gaza. It also calls for the creation of a “Board of Peace” to oversee the wider peace process, though the resolution offers no details on the composition or governance of the proposed body.
The measure passed with 13 votes in favor, none against, and abstentions from Russia and China—both permanent members with veto power. Their decision not to block the resolution appeared to reflect the strong backing it received from influential Arab and Muslim countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkey, and Pakistan, the latter currently holding a seat on the Council.
Guyana has maintained a consistent position advocating for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Gaza. In his address to the UN General Assembly in September, President Ali cautioned that “power must not triumph over principle,” urging world leaders to adopt balanced, principled approaches to global conflicts such as those in Ukraine and Gaza.
He warned that the UN risks undermining its legitimacy if it allows geopolitical influence to overshadow its core mandate: “The United Nations’ noble mission to maintain international peace and security will ring hollow if it allows power to triumph over principle and might to override right.”
Reaffirming Guyana’s long-standing position, Ali said a two-state solution remains the only viable path toward lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. He described the devastation in Gaza not as conventional warfare but as “mass extermination, a systematic slaughter and displacement of Palestinian men, women, and children.”
“We must take urgent action to halt the genocide, return the hostages, and accelerate our efforts toward a two-state solution,” he said, calling on Qatar, Egypt, and the United States to continue leading diplomatic engagements.
