The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution condemning Russia’s offensive in Ukraine and calling on Moscow to immediately withdraw all its forces in a move aimed at isolating Russia politically.
The resolution, which was supported by 141 countries, 5 voted against and 35 abstained, including China out of 193 members, came at the conclusion of a rare emergency session of the General Assembly called by the Security Council, at a time when Russian forces targeted Ukrainian cities with air strikes and artillery shelling, which Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee.
The resolution, whose adoption was met with applause after more than two days of interventions, demands Moscow “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces” from Ukraine, and “condemns Russia’s decision to increase the state of readiness of its nuclear forces.”
The five countries that voted against the resolution are Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria.
The resolution “condemns” in the strongest terms the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and affirms “adherence to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity” of Ukraine, including its “territorial waters.”
withdraw its military forces
On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly called Russia to immediately stop the fighting in Ukraine withdrew its military forces.
Russia’s delegate to the United Nations said: “The Ukrainian authorities are preventing civilians from leaving safe corridors.. They are using the population as human shields.. The Ukrainian army is bombing civilians in Donbass.. We are not bombing civilians or civilian facilities,” explaining that “neo-Nazism is spreading in Ukraine.” We are facing Ukrainian nationalism.”
In turn, Ukraine’s delegate to the United Nations said that “the vote against Russia is evidence of adherence to the charter of the organization,” noting that “the investigation with Russia is within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.”
Ukraine’s delegate to the United Nations accused Russia of committing crimes against humanity, and said, “Citizens and residents of Ukraine have been turned into hostages… Our people are being bombarded with ballistic missiles and thermal weapons.”
During the session, the US ambassador to the United Nations said Russia was preparing to increase the brutality of its crackdown on Ukraine, and urged member states of the General Assembly to vote in favor of a resolution reprimanding Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
“This is an exceptional moment,” Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said before the vote. “For the first time in 40 years, the Security Council is holding a special emergency session of the General Assembly.”
And she continued, “Russia used prohibited cluster munitions and vacuum bombs,” noting that “Russia destroyed vital infrastructure, including water and gas services for millions.”
She noted that “Putin’s forces encountered unexpected resistance.” The goal, she said, “is to stop Russia’s war in Ukraine.”
By Tuesday evening, diplomats said, nearly half of the General Assembly’s 193 members had joined as sponsors of a draft resolution ahead of today’s vote. The text “condemns Russia’s aggression against Ukraine” and is analogous to a draft resolution that Russia rejected by vetoing the 15-member Security Council on Friday.
No country has a veto in the UN General Assembly, and Western diplomats expect the resolution to be adopted, which needs the support of two-thirds of the membership.
“The Russian war represents a new reality. It requires each of us to take a firm and responsible decision and state our position,” German Foreign Minister Annalina Bierbock told the General Assembly yesterday.
Although UN resolutions are not binding, they carry political weight.
The draft resolution demands “that the Russian Federation immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces from the territory of Ukraine located within its internationally recognized borders.”
Dozens of countries are expected to formally abstain from voting or participate entirely. During two Security Council votes on the Ukraine crisis last week, China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstained.
The General Assembly’s vote will come at the end of a rare emergency and extraordinary session of the Security Council held on Sunday. Russia will not be able to object to this step because it is a procedural matter.