Eleventh emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly

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Eleventh emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly
← 10th 28 February 2022 – 2 March 2022 (temporary adjournment) 12th →
UN General Assembly hall.jpg
General Assembly Hall (2006)
Venue(s)Headquarters of the United Nations
CitiesNew York City, New York, U.S.
ParticipantsUnited Nations Member States
PresidentAbdulla Shahid
Websitewww.un.org/en/ga/sessions/emergency

The eleventh emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly addresses the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The session, held at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City,[1] convened on 28 February 2022[2] and was temporarily adjourned on 2 March following the adoption of United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1.[3]

Background[edit]

An emergency special session[4] is an unscheduled meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to make urgent, but non-binding decisions or recommendations regarding a particular issue. Emergency special sessions are rare, having been convened only eleven times in the history of the United Nations.[5]

The mechanism of the emergency special session[4] was created in 1950 by the General Assembly's adoption of its "Uniting for Peace" resolution, which made the necessary changes to the Assembly's Rules of Procedure.[6] The resolution likewise declared that:

... if the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity of the permanent members, fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security in any case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression, the General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately with a view to making appropriate recommendations to Members for collective measures, including in the case of a breach of the peace or act of aggression the use of armed force when necessary, to maintain or restore international peace and security. If not in session at the time, the General Assembly may meet in emergency special session within twenty-four hours of the request therefor. Such emergency special session shall be called if requested by the Security Council on the vote of any seven members, or by a majority of the Members of the United Nations...

These conditions were deemed to have been met following the Russian Federation's use of its veto power within the United Nations Security Council on 25 February to defeat draft resolution S/2022/155 deploring the invasion and calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops.[7][8][9]

Convocation[edit]

Main article: United Nations Security Council Resolution 2623

At the UN Security Council, Albania cosponsored a resolution with the US for an emergency General Assembly session to be held regarding the invasion of Ukraine.[10][11] On 27 February 2022, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2623 (2022), calling for an emergency special session to examine the matter of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[12] Eleven members of the Security Council voted in favour, with Russia voting against and China, India, and the United Arab Emirates abstaining. The resolution was passed despite Russia's negative vote because permanent members of the Security Council do not have veto power over procedural matters, such as a vote to convene an emergency special session.[2][9]

Prior to Resolution 2623, the Uniting for Peace resolution had been invoked to call emergency sessions of the General Assembly on 12 occasions: seven times by the Security Council and five times by the General Assembly.

Voting on Resolution 2623[edit]

In favour (11) Against (1) Abstentions (3)
Albania, Brazil, France, Gabon, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Norway, United Kingdom, United States Russian Federation China, India, United Arab Emirates
Result: Passed
Permanent members of the Security Council are shown in bold.
Source: United Nations Security Council

Proceedings[edit]

Resolution vote
  In favour
  Against
  Abstained
  Absent
  Non-member
Main article: United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1

At the start of the special session, General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid of the Republic of Maldives called for the delegations to observe a minute's silence.[13]

Russia defended its military operation in Ukraine, and blamed the violence on the Ukrainian government.[14] Ukraine’s representative to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, condemned Russia's acts as “war crimes” and called Putin’s decision to increase the nuclear readiness "madness". He warned, "If Ukraine does not survive, international peace will not survive. If Ukraine does not survive, the United Nations will not survive. ... If Ukraine does not survive, we cannot be surprised if democracy fails."[15]

Around a hundred delegations lodged requests to address the assembly.[13] On 2 March, the meeting adopted — by a vote of 141 to 5, with 35 abstentions[16] — a non-binding resolution reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, deploring Russia's aggression and Belarus's involvement in it, and demanding the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces from the territory of Ukraine.[3] It also resolved to temporarily adjourn the emergency special session, authorizing the General Assembly President to resume its meetings upon request from member states.[17]

Voting on Resolution ES-11/1[edit]

Vote Tally States Percent of votes Percent of members
In favour 141 Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia 77.90% 73.06%
Against 5 Belarus, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Eritrea, Russian Federation, Syria 2.76% 2.59%
Abstain 35 Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burundi, Central African Republic, China, Cuba, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Zimbabwe 19.34% 18.13%
Absent 12 Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela[a] – 6.18%
Total 193 – 100% 100%
Source: A/ES-11/L.1 voting record,[16] from A/ES-11/PV.5
  1. ^ Venezuela was suspended from voting in the 76th session and the 11th emergency special session owing to its failure to pay dues in the previous two years, for which it did not receive a special waiver from the Assembly.[18]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "UNGA President to preside over 11th emergency special session of General Assembly in New York". www.devdiscourse.com. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b Nichols, Michelle (27 February 2022). "U.N. Security Council calls rare General Assembly session on Ukraine". Reuters. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b "UN votes to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and calls for withdrawal". The Guardian. 2 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b "UNGA Emergency Special Sessions". UN.org. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Russia, Ukraine clash at emergency special session of UN General Assembly: Only 11th such meet since 1956". MSN. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly". UN.org.
  7. ^ "U.N. Security Council calls rare General Assembly session on Ukraine". Reuters. 28 February 2022. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  8. ^ "S/2022/155". United Nations Security Council. 25 February 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Security Council Calls Emergency Special Session of General Assembly on Ukraine Crisis, Adopting Resolution 2623 (2022) by 11 Votes in Favour, 1 Against, 3 Abstentions" (Press release). New York City: United Nations Security Council. 27 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  10. ^ Lederer, Edith M. (28 February 2022). "UN to hold 2 meetings Monday on Russia's invasion of Ukraine". ABC News. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  11. ^ Falk, Pamela (28 February 2022). "U.N. General Assembly emergency session hears overwhelming global support for Ukraine". CBS News. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  12. ^ "S/RES/2623 (2022)". United Nations Security Council. 27 February 2022.
  13. ^ a b "General Assembly holds emergency special session on Ukraine crisis". UN News. 28 February 2022.
  14. ^ "U.N. General Assembly set to isolate Russia over Ukraine invasion". Reuters. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Russia defends invasion during emergency UN General Assembly". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Aggression against Ukraine : Voting Summary". United Nations. 2 March 2022.
  17. ^ A/ES-11/L.1, United Nations, 2 March 2022.
  18. ^ Guterres, António (27 February 2022). "Letter dated 27 February 2022 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the General Assembly".

External links[edit]

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