UNGA adopts resolution to stop war in Ukraine, India, China, Pakistan abstained

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau

UNITED NATIONS, 24th Feb. World body on Thursday adopted a new resolution which called to end the war in Ukraine and demanded Russia’s immediate withdrawal from Ukraine in line with the UN Charter.

UNGA convened its eleventh emergency special session on Ukraine.

The resolution was passed with 141 votes in favor, 7 voted against were Belarus, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria.

Some 32 abstentions including were China, India and Pakistan abstained.

GA resolution reiterated its demand that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine and called for a cessation of hostilities”.

It urged Member States to cooperate in the spirit of solidarity to address the global impacts of the war on food security, energy, finance, the environment and nuclear security and safety. Underscoring that arrangements for a lasting peace should consider these factors, the Assembly also called upon all nations to support the Secretary-General in his efforts to address these impacts.

President of the General Assembly Csaba Kőrösi, said that the 193-member Assembly, the Secretary-General, and the international community “have been consistent and vocal in our calls to end this war, and to adhere to the UN Charter and international law”.

It also reaffirmed its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters.

The resolution emphasized the need to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law committed in Ukraine through independent national or international investigations and prosecutions to ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes.

UNGA rejected two amendments proposed by Belarus.

The first proposal would have altered several of the resolution’s provisions, and the second would have had the Assembly call on Member States to, among other things, refrain from sending weapons to the zone of conflict.

President Korosi said that in this “new chapter of history”, the world is facing “stark choices about who we are as an international community. These choices will either set us on a path of solidarity and collective resolve to uphold the tenets of the UN Charter,” he said, “or a path of aggression, war, normalized violations of international law and collapsed global action.”

UN Security Council members had voted to allow the General Assembly to convene the eleventh emergency special session after Russia had vetoed a resolution that would have condemned the invasion of Ukraine.

In line with resolution 377A (V), adopted in 1950, the world body can take up international peace and security matters when the Security Council fails to do.