The measure to convene the General Assembly session was approved with 11 votes in favor, of which Russia voted against and China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstained.
Today’s request to the Emergency Council to convene a meeting is brought after Russia veto on friday a draft led by the United States Security Council resolution that should have ‘most clearly demonstrated the aggression of the Russian Federation towards Ukraine’.
As the text made today is procedural in nature, none of the five permanent members of the Council – China France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America – can exercise their veto power. surname. The measure only needed nine votes to pass.
United for peace
There are only 10 like that urgent special session Later Plenum has been convened since 1950, after the adoption of a resolution 377A (V)widely known as ‘United for Peace.’
That text allows the Council to deal with issues of international peace and security when the Security Council is unable to act because of a lack of consensus among its five permanent members with veto power.
© UNICEF / Viktor Moskaliuk
On February 27, 2022, as military operations continue in Ukraine, people fleeing violence wait to board an evacuation train at the railway station in Lviv, in the westernmost corner of Ukraine, near the border with Ba Lan.
Next step
Following the declaration of the countries during the emergency special session, the General Assembly is expected to vote on a resolution similar to the one introduced by the Security Council on Friday. Although Council resolutions are not binding, they are considered political because they express the will of the broader United Nations members.
The Security Council’s latest steps to end the Ukraine crisis limit a one-week operation to the United Nations to seek a diplomatic remedy to Russia’s military action in the country, including protests Daily press exposure of the Secretary-General, four emergency sessions of the Council and one meeting of the General Assembly, saw speaker after speaker call for de-escalation.
On Saturday, amid reports of casualties and people fleeing their homes The Secretary-General announced that the United Nations will call for funding for their humanitarian operations in Ukraine.
The UN chief, António Guterres, spoke by phone with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and conveyed “…the United Nations’ determination to strengthen humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine,” a UN spokesman said. .”
The Secretary-General’s phone call and announcement of a humanitarian appeal follows his decision last Thursday to release $20 million from the United Nations emergency relief fund, called CERFto meet urgent needs in Ukraine.
In addition, the Secretary-General has appointment notification of Amin Awad as the UN Coordinator on the Ukraine Crisis to lead the coordination of all UN efforts, including the humanitarian response, on both sides of the lines of communication.
© UNICEF / Viktor Moskaliuk
On February 27, 2022, with temperatures nearing zero, a child was wrapped in a blanket to keep herself warm as she and her family waited to board the evacuation train.
Accountability for the ‘choice war’
Speaking after the vote, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US, one of the countries requesting the meeting, said the Security Council had today taken an important step towards holding Russia accountable for the aggression against Ukraine.
“By calling for an urgent special session of the General Assembly… [we] recognized that these are not normal times and that we need to take extraordinary steps to confront this threat to our international system,” she said, emphasizing that the meeting of such broader UN members is crucial to making their voices heard on Russia’s “war of choice”. ”
While noting that all UN Member States will have the ability to participate in the special emergency session, Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said she understands that this will take a bit of courage for some. .
But for inspiration and strength, she urges members of the broader United Nations to look no further than the Ukrainian people, “who are bravely standing up … to defend democracy, while continuing to continued to express its willingness to participate in negotiations. So let’s do everything we can to help the people of Ukraine as they stand up for themselves, their sovereign country and their children.”
Albania’s Ambassador Ferit Hoxha, who also called the meeting today, said that although the vote was procedural, the text itself was one of “historic proportions. One that will open the great door of the General Assembly, where all the world meets” and can speak out against a gratuitous war and in favor of uncharted“Including Russian citizens, who need to listen to the world and hear what’s being said.”
“All member states, including small ones like me, must remember that the UN Charter is our best friend, best army, and best defense,” he said. At any moment Russia can come to its senses and stop the war, withdraw its troops and “return to negotiations – real negotiations for peace, not for surrender and surrender. But this takes insight, courage and wisdom, not doomsday threats.”
“As we said last Friday, this is not the time to sit idle or look away. It’s time to stand up. Ukraine and Ukrainians are resisting,” he concluded.
French Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière, said that Russia stood alone on Friday in blocking a resolution that could call for an end to aggression against Ukraine. “This special session is a necessary new step to uphold the UN Charter and international law and to end the aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
He noted that President Macron has called for another meeting of the Security Council on Monday, at which France, along with Mexico, will submit a resolution demanding an end to hostilities, protection of civilians, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to meet the pressing needs of the population. . The international community has a duty to stand up for the unity and primacy of international law, he said.
Council not facing the truth
Vadim Nebenzya, Ambassador of the Russian Federation, said that he voted against the submitted draft because its authors noted that the Security Council was unable to carry out its main task of maintaining peace. and international security.
“At the same time, however, we see no sign of any attempt to find a constructive solution within the Council. After all, two days ago we blocked a text because it was one-way and unbalanced. We have not seen any new initiatives,” he stressed.
He also denounced the draft’s sponsors’ attempts to use their positions on the Security Council to pass decisions against each other. “That is why the Council gives the power to block decisions to the permanent members. This is not a privilege, but a tool to ensure a much-needed balance of interests for the entire world, and through it, global stability.”
“Now it is necessary to focus on addressing the root of the crisis we are facing,” he continued, insisting that it was not the start of a ‘special military operation, but is the truth that the Council has been facing for 8 years. turn a blind eye to the actions of Ukrainian nationalists in the Donbas.
He said that in the “information war” being waged against Russia and social networks are rife with lies about what is happening in Ukraine. “I urge our colleagues not to contribute to the spread of such misinformation, although I fear that these calls will no longer be heard.”
Air strikes, aggression and ‘absurd claims’
Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya expressed gratitude to those who supported the request to call an urgent special session of the National Assembly. For those who see no reason to support the claim, including Russia, he said the most frequently heard warning in Ukraine today is ‘Attention. Air strike. Let’s go to the shelter. ‘
He also asked those who do not support the text to please see videos and photos of the damage that are circulating in the media. The truth about what is happening on the ground as a result of Russian aggression can be found there.
He went on to say that Ukraine has issued an order for International Court of Justice (ICJ) to take interim measures against Russia and is requesting an urgent hearing. The court has jurisdiction to hear the case, due to its international obligations under the Convention for the Prevention of Genocide.
“The Genocide Convention is one of the most important international treaties, drawn up in response to the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust. However, Russia has falsified the concept of genocide and seriously falsified its treaty obligations to prevent and punish genocide,” the Ambassador explained.
He went on to note that Russia has made “unreasonable and baseless claims” about the genocide as a justification and pretext for its own aggression towards Ukraine and a violation of its sovereignty and humanity. rights of the people of Ukraine. “Ukraine’s case before the ICJ will demonstrate that Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine is based on lies and in grave violation of international law and must be stopped.” He declared.
