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On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called on Russia to end its aggression. The vote, taken by a large majority, cannot be blocked by a veto from one of the Security Council countries. 141 UN member states voted in favor of a resolution to this effect in New York. Thirty-five countries abstained, 5 opposed the resolution. Austria had also announced that it would vote in favor.
Before the largest body of the United Nations with 193 members, the Western allies wanted to make the international isolation of Russian President Vladimir Putin visible. The minimum goal was 100 votes – as in a 2014 resolution that invalidated a Russian referendum in Crimea. Other diplomats set the bar for success at 120 votes. Hardly all members vote in the Assembly, and some of them also currently do not have the right to vote because of outstanding payments. Unlike Security Council resolutions, a resolution adopted in the General Assembly is not binding under international law and has more symbolic significance. But observers see it as a snapshot of the global mood in the Ukraine conflict.
The text adopted Wednesday says the Assembly “condemns” Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and Putin’s order to put the nuclear power’s deterrent weapons on special alert. The body “demands that the Russian Federation immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine and refrain from any further unlawful threat or use of force against any Member State.” It went on to say that it was seriously concerned about reports of attacks on civilian facilities such as homes, schools, and hospitals.
Russia made it clear that it would not change its course despite the vote: “This document will not allow us to stop military activities,” said UN Ambassador Vasily Nebensya. Instead, he asserted it could encourage “radical forces” and “nationalists” in Kyiv. Moscow portrays the democratically elected government in Ukraine as illegitimate and extremist.
Austria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Alexander Marschik, attended the emergency meeting, which lasted three days. “Austria condemns Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the ambassador had stressed in his speech on Monday (local time). Austria is not part of any military alliance, he added. “We rely for our security on the observance and implementation of international law, treaties, and customs, including humanitarian law.” He said that reports of Russian attacks on civilians and civilian objects in urban areas are alarming. The impact of missiles and rockets on residential buildings in Kyiv is unacceptable, he said. “These attacks constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law. We urge Russia to comply with international humanitarian law strictly.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had also traveled to the United States for the emergency meeting. On Tuesday, she had called on the world community to rally behind the statement titled “Aggression against Ukraine.” It was only the eleventh such meeting at the United Nations in more than 70 years and the first in decades.
- source: APA/picture: pixabay.com
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