In the UN Security Council, India and 12 other countries abstained on a vote on a Russian-led draught resolution on Ukraine
India, along with 12 other UN Security Council members, voted no on a Russian-sponsored resolution on Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis.
Syria, North Korea, and Belarus all signed on to Russia’s draught resolution. It failed to pass the Council on Wednesday because it lacked the necessary nine yes votes to pass. The resolution was supported by Russia and China, with no countries voting against it. The rest of the Security Council members, including India, abstained.
Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council with veto power, had requested a vote on a draught resolution that “demands that civilians, including humanitarian personnel and persons in vulnerable situations, including women and children, be fully protected, calls for a negotiated ceasefire to enable safe, rapid, voluntary, and unhindered evacuation of civilians, and underscores the need for the parties concerned to agree on humanitarian pauses to thwart the spread of terrorism.”
The Russian resolution, which makes no mention of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, urges all parties involved to allow safe and unrestricted travel to destinations outside of Ukraine, including to foreign nationals without discrimination, and to facilitate safe and unrestricted humanitarian aid to those in need in and around Ukraine, with special attention to the needs of women, girls, men, and boys, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
Other members of the Council made statements after the vote on the resolution, but India did not. On resolutions on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, India had previously abstained twice in the Security Council and once in the General Assembly. 13 members of the Security Council abstained from Russia’s farcical resolution deflecting blame for the humanitarian crisis it has created in Ukraine, according to US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Ukraine and its western allies have proposed a UNGA resolution on the ‘Humanitarian Consequences of the Aggression Against Ukraine,’ which calls for an immediate end to Russia’s hostilities against Ukraine, including any attacks on civilians and civilian objects. Civilians, including humanitarian workers, journalists, and people in vulnerable situations, such as women and children, must also be fully protected.
It demands that the parties uphold their obligations to ensure that humanitarian personnel, as well as their means of transportation, supplies, and equipment, have safe and unhindered access to those in need in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries. South Africa’s other competing resolution, titled “Humanitarian Situation Emerging from the Conflict in Ukraine,” makes no mention of Russia. It urges “all parties” in the conflict to end hostilities immediately and to engage in political dialogue, negotiations, mediation, and other peaceful means to achieve long-term peace.
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