New York, 26 February 2022 (TDI): Russia voted against a UN Security Council resolution that would have forced Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine and immediately remove all of its troops from the country.
This was a decision that several members of the Council called terrible but necessary. However, Russia vetoed the resolution, but 11 of the 15 members of the UN Security Council voted in favor of it.
India, China, and the United Arab Emirates voted against it. Nevertheless, the three did not express their opposition on the ballot.
“The United Nations was born out of war to end war.
Today, that objective was not achieved.
But we must never give up.
We must give peace another chance.”— @antonioguterres following Security Council meeting on Ukraine. https://t.co/TOCcBZIhl8 pic.twitter.com/1TOfisb6FK
— United Nations (@UN) February 26, 2022
Following the meeting, Secretary-General António Guterres told journalists that “never giving up” is essential.
We must reintroduce peace.
Soldiers must report back to their barracks. Leaders must reorient themselves along the road of dialogue and peace, he stated. And, despite rising operational difficulties, he told us that the UN is ramping up life-saving assistance on both sides of the line of contact.
People are having a hard time getting food and water, and at least 100,000 Ukrainians have left their homes, many of them crossing into other countries, which shows how this crisis is becoming more and more global.
UN Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine
Amin Awad will serve as the UN Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine. Awad was a close friend of Guterres’s when he was the head of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
He will now be in charge of all UN efforts, including humanitarian relief on both sides of the border. Everyone who is in this war must follow international humanitarian law and make sure that the UN and other humanitarian workers can move freely.
It’s critical to remember that the United Nations is comprised of tens of thousands of women and men from all around the world, he remarked.
Overcoming obstacles
According to a top UN official, the organization’s mission is to “stand, deliver, and offer a lifeline of hope.” This includes giving food and medicine to the poor, protecting civilians in peacekeeping operations, resolving conflicts, and helping refugees and migrants.
The Charter has remained firm on the side of peace and security,” as well as “justice, international law, and human rights.” When the world community has come together in solidarity, these ideals have repeatedly prevailed.
“They will succeed, regardless of what happened today,” said the UN Secretary-General. “We must do everything we can to help them succeed not only in Ukraine but across the world,” the Secretary-General said.
Taking a “principled stance”
In her presentation of the draft resolution, which her country helped design, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US representative to the UN presented a picture of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “so bold, so flagrant” that it challenged the entire system “as we know it.”
“We have a very crucial duty not to look away,” she remarked. She said that Russia must be held accountable and that its forces must be gone as soon as possible, completely, and unconditionally. She also said that Russia must be punished.
“Today, in this council, we are taking a fundamental stand, “Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated. “There is no room for compromise,” states accountable for not invading their neighbors. You cannot exercise veto power over responsibility.
Thomas-Greenfield returned to the floor following the failed vote.
“You can veto this resolution,” the speaker stated. But, she added, “you can’t veto our voices; you can’t veto our principles; you can’t veto the Ukrainian people, and you can’t veto the United Nations Charter.”
The US Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield stated that, despite Ukraine being an irresponsible and hazardous member state, the US will continue to stand with Ukraine against Russia’s aggression.
She said that women and children in Kyiv, the elderly in Odesa, and people all over Ukraine are “sheltering” from Russia. She maintained that the draft resolution sends a message to the world that “the rules we co-created must be safeguarded, or else who will be next?”
“Blatant aggression” must be stopped. Putin’s “vast invasion” of Ukraine in order to destabilize the government is “blatant.” Russia was the only member of the Council that opposed the initiative.
“Make no mistake, Russia is isolated; it does not have backing for the invasion of Ukraine,” she said, adding that history will remember today’s events and that the United Kingdom stands “firmly in support” of the Ukrainian people and will hold Russia accountable.
France’s Ambassador Statement
It was after France’s Ambassador voted in favour of the failed measure. Nicolas de Rivière says that Russia is killing people and destroying infrastructure in order to bring back the glory of the Russian empire.
While the other members affirmed their support for international law, Russia rejected the resolution. He stated that “Russia is on its own” and that “France will continue to work with its partners at the UN and elsewhere to help Ukraine and its people.”
Abstentions
India’s Ambassador, who did not vote, stated that “conversation is the only way ahead,” regardless of how difficult it may appear. He asked the council to bring back the hard way forward, even if it looked impossible.
Ambassador Zhang Jun was the only member of the Permanent Council who didn’t support the resolution. As a result, he warned against moves that would “close the door” to a negotiated settlement.
He insisted that the Ukraine crisis did not occur “overnight.” One state’s security cannot be jeopardized in order to defend the security of another. He stated that in order to have balanced European institutions, cold war mentalities must be abandoned. All parties must return to diplomacy.
Russian Ambassador
Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said he would not respond to opponents who claim he has used his veto power excessively.
He claimed that proponents of the draft were “making up stories” about what was actually happening in Ukraine, including how Western partners attempted to conceal the fact that they had been flooding the Donbas with weaponry.
“This resolution is nothing more than another cruel, ruthless maneuver on the Ukrainian chessboard,” he said. “There is no reliable evidence of civilian deaths in Ukraine,” he said to delegates from France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Images of supposed Russian artillery were “fake,” he said, and claims of hits on civilian infrastructure were bogus. Because the United States has been hostile toward other countries in the past, it was not in a position to speak morally.
Ukraine Ambassador
Asked not to respond to the Russian Ambassador’s “diabolical script,” which was “a full application for hell,” he said that he would not.
Ambassador Kyslytsya claimed that this week, while the Council was discussing Ukraine, Russia bombed his country and sent troops across the border, including across Belarus.
“The Kremlin dictatorship did a great job,” he said. This made him not surprised that Russia didn’t like the text because they did a great job.
Kyslytsya asked the diplomats to recall how many times the Russian Ambassador stated that his country would neither invade nor bomb Ukraine.
However, in light of recent events, “How can we believe you? You have no idea what your President is thinking, “he stated.”
Ukraine’s Ambassador further stated that, due to procedural regulations, Russia should not have been in control of a meeting with his country.
The Ukraine Ambassador suggested a moment of quiet and prayer “in commemoration of peace.” The Russian Ambassador was advised to “pray for salvation,” and the Ukrainian Ambassador was asked to do the same. This was met with serious applause from the entire chamber.
Nothing could justify the bombardment of hospitals and kindergartens, which the Rome Statute condemns as war crimes. He stated that Ukraine was gathering evidence for the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Finally, Kyslytsya urged nations to sever diplomatic ties with Russia and international organizations to do the same. “You should stop wiping your feet” on the Secretary-General’s and the UN’s efforts and “show respect for the Charter’s principles,” he urged.
Finally, the Ambassador stated that, while Ukraine was still open to speaking, Russia had launched an attack that had brought “thousands of troops” into its territory.
