Ukraine calls 15-member UNSC ‘Broken Pillar’ of United Nations
New York: Russia last night (IST) vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution that condemned the referenda that preceded Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin’s proclamation of Moscow’s annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The Security Council meeting lasted just over an hour.
The draft, submitted by Albania and the United States, garnered support from 10 members but was vetoed by the Russian Federation. Brazil, China, Gabon and India abstained.
Urging both sides to work towards the immediate cessation of hostilities, the representative of India said that, as an escalation of rhetoric and tension is in no one’s interest, her country abstained from the draft resolution. China’s delegation also abstained, with that country’s representative stating that sanctions and political isolation will not bring peace and will only worsen the situation.
Brazil’s delegate stated that the text’s scope and language do not contribute to resolving the conflict, and Gabon’s representative called for good‑faith negotiations and dialogue to end the fighting and promote peaceful coexistence.
After the vote, Ukraine’s representative then described the UNSC as a broken pillar of the United Nations, noting that other parts of the Organization were resolved to step in and exercise their potential. “Ukraine has every right to liberate its territories and will continue to do so”, he underscored, and he characterized the Russian Federation’s presence on the Council as a “cancerous tumour” that should be removed before it metastasizes. “If the Council cannot act with Russia, it is its duty to act without it,” he stressed.
Through the draft resolution, the 15-member UNSC would have also declared that the referenda taken on September 23 to 27, 2022, in parts of those regions were neither valid nor formed the basis for any alteration of the status of these regions of Ukraine, including any purported annexation by the Russian Federation.
The draft would also have the Council call on all States, international organizations and specialized agencies not to recognize any alteration of the status of these Ukrainian regions, nor any purported acquisition thereof by the Russian Federation.
By other terms, the Council would have decided that the Russian Federation shall desist and refrain from actions aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine in all areas within that country’s internationally recognized borders. Further, the organ would have decided that the Russian Federation shall immediately cease its full-scale, unlawful invasion of Ukraine and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders to enable a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Speaking before the vote, the representative of the United States recalled that some people have said that the process leading to this draft resolution was rushed, but stressed that “what was rushed was Russia’s illegal act to annex Ukraine’s territory”. Underscoring that this issue is about collective security, she urged other Council members to vote in favour of the resolution in defence of international peace and security.
The representative of the Russian Federation, however, said that the Council has never adopted resolutions that directly condemn one of its members, adding that other Council members are pushing his delegation to use its veto so they can wax lyrical that the Russian Federation is abusing that right. “The results of the [referenda] speak for themselves — the residents of these regions do not want to return to Ukraine,” he said, emphasizing that the referenda were carried out in full conformity with international law.
Following the vote, Albania’s representative said that the Council was taken hostage by the Russian Federation’s misuse of its veto. Isolated in its actions and its positions, that country never wanted peace or dialogue, she stressed, underscoring that it only wanted the territory of Ukraine.
Representatives of the United Kingdom, Norway, Ireland, Ghana, Mexico, Kenya, United Arab Emirates and France too spoke today.
The Council then rejected the text by a vote of 10 in favour to 1 against (Russian Federation), with 4 abstentions (Brazil, China, Gabon, India), owing to the negative vote of a permanent member of the Council.
File photo: A UNSC meeting in progress. Photo courtesy Linda Lakhdhir@LLakhdhir |Twitter
