China and Russian-Friendly States Support UN Resolution Addressing Russian Aggression

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution titled “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe” on April 26. The resolution’s paragraph 9 addresses Russian aggression in Ukraine, as well as in Georgia during the 2008 war. Notably, 122 countries voted in favor of the resolution, including China and states friendly to Russia, such as Armenia, Kazakhstan, India, and Brazil.

The mentioned paragraph in the preambular part of the resolution reads: “Recognizing also that the unprecedented challenges now facing Europe include the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, and against Georgia prior to that, and the cessation of the membership of the Russian Federation in the Council of Europe, call for strengthened cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe…”. The resolution aims to promptly restore and maintain peace and security while respecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of any state. Furthermore, it emphasizes the crucial importance of ensuring the observance of human rights and international humanitarian law during hostilities, providing redress to victims, and bringing to justice all those responsible for violations of international law.

The Helsinki Commission has highlighted the significance of both Armenia and Kazakhstan voting in favor of the resolution, noting on Tweeter that “Both countries have sought to gain distance from Moscow and closer ties with the West since the launch of the full scale invasion in 2022 and deserve recognition for taking a stand despite Russian threats”.

During the discussion of the document, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzya, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, stated that his country would not support the resolution due to the preambular paragraph mentioning Russia, which he said “has nothing to do with the subject matter of the resolution and is of highly politicized nature.” He noted that while the resolution acknowledges current challenges facing Europe “the authors of the text are deliberately silent about Ukraine’s eight-year war against the inhabitants of Donbas” and “NATO’s aggression against the former Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999.” Nebenzya underlined that the politicization of the resolution is yet another indication of Western countries’ willingness to sacrifice the credibility of regional organizations and provoke a split in the General Assembly.

Notably, five countries voted against the document. In addition to Russia, these are Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua and Syria. 18 countries abstained from voting, including Kyrgyzstan.

Also Read:

• 05/04/2023 – UN Human Rights Council Adopts Resolution on Occupied Regions of Georgia
• 09/06/2022 – UN General Assembly Passes Georgia IDP Resolution

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