Voting on annexations
UN General Assembly denies Moscow secret vote
10/11/2022 1:12 am
Russia has to justify itself to the UN General Assembly for annexing four Ukrainian territories. To make it less embarrassing for sympathizers, Moscow is pushing for a secret ballot. But the aggressor can’t get away with that.
At the beginning of an emergency session of the UN General Assembly, Ukraine called on the international community to condemn Russia’s illegal annexations. “The so-called referendums had nothing to do with what we call expressions of the people’s will – neither from a legal nor from a technical point of view,” said Ukraine’s UN ambassador Serhiy Kislizia in New York. He urged the largest UN body to adopt a resolution requiring Russia to reverse its actions.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Wassili Nebensya, on the other hand, complained about “dangerous polarization” at the United Nations and the formation of blocs that undermine international cooperation. With a series of votes, Moscow tried to force a secret decision on the resolution. However, it failed due to a clear majority of more than 100 states that voted for an open vote.
The UN General Assembly on Monday began deliberations on the recent illegal annexation of parts of Ukraine by Russia. At the end of the session, which could drag on until Wednesday due to the large number of speakers, the UN body, the largest with 193 member states, is to vote on the resolution condemning Moscow.
Global sentiment test on the Ukraine war
Unlike the Security Council, resolutions of the UN General Assembly are not binding under international law. However, the forthcoming vote in New York is also seen as a global mood test regarding the Ukraine war. Western diplomats stressed that every UN member country must have a self-interest in condemning Russia in order not to become a victim of illegal annexation by a neighboring state. On the other hand, observers have been seeing war fatigue in a number of countries, especially in Africa and Latin America, for some time now.
A clear majority is expected when the UN General Assembly votes, but the text will have to measure itself against two previous results: In March, the assembly rejected Russia’s invasion with a historic majority of 141 votes. In 2014, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, 100 member states committed to a resolution emphasizing Ukraine’s territorial integrity.