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United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/4

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UN General Assembly
Resolution ES-11/4
  
In favour
  
Against
  
Abstained
  
Absent
  
Non-UN member
Date12 October 2022
Meeting no.11th Emergency Special Session (continued)
CodeA/RES/ES-11/4 (Document)
SubjectTerritorial integrity of Ukraine: defending the principles of the Charter of the United Nations
Voting summary
  • 143 voted for
  • 5 voted against
  • 35 abstained
  • 10 absent
ResultResolution adopted

United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES‑11/4 is the fourth resolution of the eleventh emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly, adopted on 12 October 2022, following Resolution ES-11/3 which was adopted on 7 April 2022.

In resolution ES‑11/4, the General Assembly declares that the sham referendums held in the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, which were conducted under disputed circumstances and unrecognised by the international community, as well as their subsequent annexation by Russia, are invalid and illegal under international law. It calls upon all states to not recognise these territories as part of Russia. Furthermore, it demands that Russia "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw" from Ukraine as it is violating its territorial integrity and sovereignty.[1]

The resolution was passed with an overwhelming vote of 143 in favour, 5 against and 35 abstaining.[2]

This resolution achieved more votes in favour of condemning Russia's actions than Resolution ES-11/1, the initial resolution on the Russian invasion of Ukraine which demanded that Russia withdraw its forces from Ukraine.[3]

Background

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Main articles: 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and 2022 annexation referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine

From 23 to 27 September 2022 Russia staged annexation referendums in the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine. The referendums are widely considered to be sham referendums.[4]

Following these referendums, on 30 September 2022, Russian President Putin declared and decreed that these four regions would be annexed into Russia. At the time of the announcement, Russia only partly controlled some of the regions that were to be annexed.[5][6]

On 30 September 2022, Russia used its veto power in the United Nations Security Council to block the resolution to declare the disputed referendums and subsequent annexation as illegal under international law. Under newly adopted procedures, the use of a veto in the Security Council triggers a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.[7] During the meeting of the General Assembly, the underlying draft resolution for ES-11/4, which is ES-11/L.5, was presented and adopted.[8][9]

Secret ballot proposal

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Prior to the vote on the resolution, Russia called for the measure to be voted on by secret ballot, arguing that countries would have difficulties representing certain positions in public. Russia's proposal was rejected by the General Assembly with 107 votes in favour of a public vote, 13 against and 39 abstaining.[10] A secret ballot vote on a resolution would have been highly unusual as United Nations votes are generally held in public.[11]

Voting

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On 12 October 2022, the United Nations General Assembly, which required a two-thirds majority, adopted the resolution with 143 countries voting in favour, 5 voting against and 35 abstaining.[12]

The resolution achieved the most votes in favour out of all resolutions adopted during the 11th Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly, which is focused on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The resolution also achieved far more votes in favour than 2014 Resolution 68/262 rejecting the annexation of Crimea. As such, the overwhelming voting result on Resolution ES 11/4 went beyond the most optimistic expectations by Western sponsors.[13]

Vote Tally States Percent of votes Percent of members
In favour 143 Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia and 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, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, South Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia 78.14% 74.09%
Against 5 Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria 2.73% 2.59%
Abstain 35 Algeria, Armenia, Bolivia, Burundi, Central African Republic, China, Congo, Cuba, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Guinea, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Pakistan, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zimbabwe 19.13% 18.13%
Absent 10 Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Djibouti, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, São Tomé and Príncipe, Turkmenistan, Venezuela[a] – 5.18%
Total 193 – 100% 100%
Source: A/ES-11/4 voting record[9]
  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.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Full resolution text, as adopted". www.undocs.org. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Ukraine: UN General Assembly demands Russia reverse course on 'attempted illegal annexation'". UN News. 12 October 2022. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Strong majority of countries rebukes Russia at UN". POLITICO. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Ukraine war: Russia claims win in occupied Ukraine 'sham' referendums". BBC News. 27 September 2022. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Putin annexes four regions of Ukraine in major escalation of Russia's war". the Guardian. 30 September 2022. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  6. ^ Maynes, Charles (30 September 2022). "Putin illegally annexes territories in Ukraine, in spite of global opposition". NPR. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Russia vetoes Security Council resolution condemning attempted annexation of Ukraine regions". UN News. 30 September 2022. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  8. ^ Nichols, Michelle (12 October 2022). "United Nations condemns Russia's move to annex parts of Ukraine". Reuters. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Territorial integrity of Ukraine : defending the principles of the Charter of the United Nations (Voting Data)". 12 October 2022.
  10. ^ Nichols, Michelle (11 October 2022). "U.N. publicly rejects Russia's call for secret vote on Ukraine". Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  11. ^ Jankowicz, Mia. "The UN rejected Russia's push to hold a secret vote on its attempts to annex parts of Ukraine". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  12. ^ "UN General Assembly Rejects Russia's 'Referendums,' 'Annexation' in Ukraine". VOA. 12 October 2022. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  13. ^ "UN demands Russia reverse 'illegal' annexations in Ukraine". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  14. ^ Guterres, António (27 February 2022). "Letter dated 27 February 2022 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the General Assembly". Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
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