The UN General Assembly passed a resolution by a large majority today, calling on countries not to recognise the four regions of Ukraine which Russia has claimed, following so-called referendums held late last month, and demanding that Moscow reverse course on its “attempted illegal annexation”.
This resolution follows that adopted at the General Assembly on 2 March, calling on Russian troops to withdraw from Ukrainian territory.
143 Member States in favour, with five voting against, and 35 abstentions. The countries who voted against were Belarus, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria.
China opts for not supporting but also not condemnig
The Peoples Republic of China keeps on the strategy of not supporting clearly the war and political actions of Russia in Ukraine.
Along with China, thay opted for the abstention the following countries: India, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Pakistan,Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Vietnam, Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, Algeria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, Eritrea,Eswatini, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zimbawe.
The resolution “defending the principles” of the UN Charter, notes that the regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia are temporarily occupied by Russia as a result of aggression, violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence.
The General Assembly automatically took up the resolution for debate, triggered by Russia’s use of the veto in the Security Council over it’s attempted annexation.
Under debate at UN GeneralAssembly since 10th October
The resolution on the reversal of illegal anexations by Russia in Ukraine follows the declarations by the President of the UN General Assembly , Csaba Kőrösi, on the illegal annexation and the possibility on using of nuclear weapons by Russia in Ukraine.
The door for a diplomatic solution to end the fighting between Russia and Ukraine must be kept open, and any threat to use nuclear weapons, “universally condemned”, said the President of the UN General Assembly lates Monday and he added that recent annexation by Russia of four regions of Ukraine had been plainly illegal.
The debate over the Ukrainian resolution began on Monday, with the General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi telling the world’s most representative deliberative body that the UN Charter, the Secretary-General, and the Assembly itself had been clear – Russia’s invasion, and attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory by force, “is illegal”.
Recent shellings against civilian objectives, another unacceptable escalation in Russia’s invasion
Since Monday morning, Russia has launched dozens of missiles targeting civilian areas of multiple Ukrainian cities, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries, in retaliation for the bombing of Russia’s bridge to Crimea on Saturday. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the assault was “another unacceptable escalation” in Russia’s February 24 invasion of its neighbour.
Secret ballot rejected
The debate began with a procedural vote on a measure which Russia had flagged, proposing that the Ukrainian draft resolution being debated, be voted on by secret ballot, not through an open recorded vote.
The Albanian proposal received 107 votes in favour, with 13 against, and 39 abstentions, with the country’s representative arguing that it would establish a “dangerous precedent” if such a substantive issue of peace and security was voted on in secret.
