UN General Assembly majority greenlight Russia’s rape of Ukraine
The UN General Assembly completely lost its moral compass when it voted on 7 April for Russia’s suspension from the Human Rights Council – with only 93 of its 193 member Nations voting to do so.
The voting records (see below) show that within the space of just 14 days:
- 47 Nations – voting on 24 March (the first resolution) to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – failed to vote to boot Russia from the Human Rights Council on 7 April (the second resolution)
Those 47 Nations had embraced the first resolution’s principled position:
“Recognizing that the military offensive of the Russian Federation inside the sovereign territory of Ukraine and its humanitarian consequences are on a scale that the international community has not seen in Europe in decades,
Reiterating the call of the Secretary-General to the Russian Federation to stop its military offensive, as well as his call to establish a ceasefire and to return to the path of dialogue and negotiations,
Recalling its demand that the Russian Federation immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders”
14 days later these 47 Nations were unable to follow through and administer even the mildest of rebukes on Russia for blatantly ignoring this clarion call.
- 5 Nations supporting Russia in opposing the first resolution had increased to 24 after voting on the second resolution.
- 38 fence-sitting Nations abstaining on the first resolution had seen their numbers jump to 58 after voting on the second resolution.
- 10 Nations who refused to vote at all on the first resolution saw their numbers increase to 18 after voting on the second resolution.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his bloated massive bureaucracy attempted to cover up this shameful day of infamy in the UN’s history.
The UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases deceptively reported:
“The Assembly adopted the draft resolution by a recorded vote of 93 in favour to 24 against, with 58 abstentions, signaling [sic] the international community’s strong censure of Moscow’s aggressive actions towards a neighbouring State.”
“Strong censure of Moscow’s aggressive actions?” When only 93 of the 193 member states voted to do so?
UN News published an even more misleading report:
“The resolution received a two-thirds majority of those voting, minus abstentions, in the 193-member Assembly, with 93 nations voting in favour and 24 against.
Fifty-eight abstained from the process.
Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Vietnam, were among those who voted against.
Those abstaining, included India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia.”
Who in the UN Secretariat decided to:
- Name and shame just 7 nations that voted against Russia’s removal – but failed to name the other 17?
- Out 17 nations that abstained – but not the other 41 nations that joined them?
- Not name any of the 18 nations that failed to vote or abstain: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Rwanda, San-Tomé-Principe, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Zambia?
- Not point out that 6 of the 15-member UN Human Rights Council – Bolivia, China, Cuba, Malawi, Russia, and Uzbekistan – voted against Russia’s suspension – whilst another 4 – Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan and Senegal – abstained?
No amount of window dressing by Guterres and his Secretariat can alter the fact that 100 of the 193 members of the UN General Assembly have depressingly voted to greenlight Russia’s continuing invasion and rape of Ukraine.
The General Assembly is disunited, fractured and irrelevant – having totally capitulated on trying to end the murder, suffering and dispersion of Ukraine’s civilian population.
Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.
David Singer is a Sydney lawyer and a foundation member of the International Analysts Network
