UN General Assembly unanimously condemns Russia
The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The countries that voted against the resolution, in addition to Russia itself, were Belarus, Syria, Eritrea and North Korea. Iran, China and India abstained.
On the seventh day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UN General Assembly unanimously condemned the attack and called on Moscow to end its aggression. 141 member states voted in favor of the resolution in New York on Wednesday, March 2, with 35 abstentions, including China, Iran, India, and the United Arab Emirates, and only five countries voting against: Russia itself, Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, and Syria.
Although this vote is symbolic, what passed today in the largest UN body with 193 members showed how isolated Russian President Vladimir Putin is internationally.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock, who is in the United States for the three-day emergency meeting, had called on the international community yesterday to unite around a statement titled “aggression against Ukraine” and condemn Russia. It is the 11th such meeting at the UN in more than 70 years and the first in recent decades.
Unlike the UN Security Council, whose resolutions are binding and can only be adopted by a vote of all members, General Assembly resolutions are not binding under international law but can be adopted by a majority vote of members. However, observers see today's vote in the General Assembly as a reflection of the global atmosphere and the world's response to the war in Ukraine.
The text adopted by the UN General Assembly on Wednesday strongly condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Putin's order to put nuclear deterrent weapons on standby. The resolution calls on Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine, cease the use of force against Ukraine and refrain from any threats against it.
The United Nations has also said it is deeply concerned by reports of attacks on civilian targets such as homes, schools and hospitals.
Source: DW
