4227
The resolution condemns the construction of the Crimean Bridge
Meeting of the UN General Assembly unitednations.entermediadb.netThe day before, on December 17, at a meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York, a resolution introduced by Ukraine and supported by more than 60 countries was adopted condemning the strengthening of Russia’s military presence in Crimea and the Sea of Azov, which after the opening of the Kerch Bridge became, in fact, an internal body of water in Russia.
The document emphasizes that the presence of the Russian army in Crimea “ contradicts national sovereignty(the vast majority of countries in the world and generally recognized international organizations recognize the peninsula as Ukrainian - ed.) , political independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine and undermines the security and stability of neighboring countries and the European region", and also expressed concern about the militarization of Crimea.
– The General Assembly... condemns the construction and opening by the Russian Federation of a bridge across the Kerch Strait between the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied Crimea, which contributes to the further militarization of Crimea, and also condemns the growing military presence of the Russian Federation in the areas of the Black and Azov Seas, including in the Kerch Strait, and the Russian Federation's harassment of commercial vessels and restrictions on international shipping. Urges the Russian Federation, as the occupying power, to withdraw its armed forces from Crimea and immediately end its temporary occupation of the territory of Ukraine,- the document says.
The UN also demands the immediate release of the armored boats of the Ukrainian Navy and their crew arrested by the FSB border service.
Before voting on the resolution began, the delegations of Syria and Iran proposed amendments to the draft. However, representatives of Poland, the USA, Great Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands called the amendments an attempt to distort the original document, and most countries opposed the amendments.
As a result, 66 states supported the resolution condemning Russia's actions in the Black and Azov Seas, while 19, including Armenia, Uzbekistan and Belarus, voted against. Representatives of 71 countries abstained from voting, including Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said that the resolution is “ harmful Ukrainian idea", and the countries of the European Union and the USA " encourage their Ukrainian wards to commit new crimes and provocations in the region in the name of Western political ambitions».
– A certain annexed, occupied and militarized territory exists only in the projects of our Ukrainian colleagues, who still seem to be experiencing “phantom pains”, – Polyansky summed up, emphasizing that the residents of Crimea made their choice four years ago.
After a referendum in March 2014, in which 96% of voters on the peninsula voted in favor, Crimea became part of Russia. In accordance with the country’s position, Crimea and Sevastopol have been subjects of the Russian Federation since March 18, 2014, and the “Crimean issue” as such does not exist. The peninsula is currently recognized as part of Russia by Afghanistan, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea and Syria. The vast majority of UN countries, as well as authoritative international organizations, do not recognize the annexation of Crimea to Russia, which is reflected in the UN General Assembly resolution on non-recognition of the Crimean referendum.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the UN a “house of lies,” saying ahead of the vote that “Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, regardless of whether the UN recognizes it.” He noted that many countries are already changing their attitude towards Israel, but “outside the walls of the UN,” assuring that eventually the situation will change there too. “Jerusalem is our capital, we will continue construction there, and the embassies of other countries in Israel will be moved to Jerusalem,” Netanyahu concluded.
Everyone stayed the same
The representative of the Palestinian President, Nabil Abu Rudeina, said that the adoption of the resolution on Jerusalem proves that the international community supports the Palestinians in their legitimate rights, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reports. “The international community stands on the side of Palestinian rights, and no amount of threats or blackmail will force it to violate international resolutions,” he said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu commented on the voting results on Twitter: “Today the international community has once again demonstrated that dignity and independence are not for sale.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Washington to “without delay” reverse its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
According to Zvi Magen, a former Israeli ambassador to Russia, the voting result was not a surprise. At the same time, “the process has begun,” he believes. “Everything else is just details. The capital of Israel was and is Jerusalem - that’s a fact. If someone wants to change this, then let them come here and try,” says Magen.
No sudden steps
The United States is unlikely to take any “extreme and drastic steps,” says Yuri Barmin, an expert at the Russian International Affairs Council. He believes that the United States will not reduce economic and military assistance to its allies who supported the resolution, including from the regions of North Africa and the Middle East.
Egypt and Jordan are at greatest risk, Barmin believes. Saudi Arabia, one of the main US partners in the region, will most likely oppose the reduction of Washington's assistance to these countries, since then the burden will fall on it. At the same time, on Wednesday, December 20, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, met with the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that day that the king assured the Palestinian leader of the kingdom's "firm position on the Palestinian issue and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to establish their own independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital."
Yuri Barmin also believes that it is important for the United States not to let its allies in North Africa and the Middle East out of their orbit, especially given the growing activity of Russia and Iran in the region.
Three days before the vote in the General Assembly, on December 18, all members of the UN Security Council, except the United States, supported the Egyptian draft resolution condemning the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. - for the first time in six years. After this, Nikki Haley said that “no country will say where we can place our embassy,” and she described the result of the vote in the UN Security Council as an “insult.” “This is yet another example of the UN doing more harm than good regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Haley said.
The General Assembly yesterday adopted a newresolution on human rights in Crimea .
However, it’s a stretch to say it’s new. The resolution, with some differences, repeatedtext of last year's document .
In Kyiv, at the level of the Foreign Ministry and the President, the UN decision is welcomed - after all, Ukraine also prepared the resolution.
“Strana” looked at how this document differs from previous ones and how Ukrainian support in the UN has changed since the beginning of the conflict in Crimea and Donbass.
The essence of the document and differences
In the current version of the resolution, Russia was again called an “occupying power” and called for a number of actions that are contained in the interim decision of the International Court of Justice in the case “Ukraine v. Russia.” For example, make education available in the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages and stop persecuting activists who do not recognize Crimea as the territory of the Russian Federation.
In addition, the General Assembly voted to restore the legal status of the Mejlis and stop military conscription among newly minted Russian citizens, which almost all Crimeans automatically became, as well as repeal acts that allow the confiscation of property on the peninsula.
Once again there was a call not only for Russia, but also for Ukraine to simplify access to Crimea for international observers.
The document also mentions for the first time the Geneva Convention regulating the humane treatment of prisoners of war. Which seems to hint at an armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia - but nothing is said directly about it.
On the one hand, this theoretically gives victims the right to expand the list of international authorities where they can file a complaint against the Russian government.
On the other hand, the requirements of the General Assembly are not mandatory. Therefore, Russia, as a rule,doesn't pay attention to them , and the texts of the resolutions have remained almost unchanged for the second year in a row (in 2015, the UN adopted nothing on Crimea).
The most important thing in such resolutions is who supported or rejected them. The voting results usually show a divide between countries that play on the side of Kyiv or Moscow (at least, this is how the Ukrainian authorities present this topic).
How and who voted
26 countries opposed yesterday's "Ukrainian" UN resolution.
These are Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Philippines, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Sudan, Tajikistan, Syria, Uganda, Uzbekistan , Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
76 countries abstained. Among them are Brazil, Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand and others.
And 70 states supported the resolution.
These include Albania, Andorra, Antigua-Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Botswana, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany , Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway , Palau, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Moldova, Romania, Samoa, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Macedonia, Turkey, Tuvalu, Ukraine, Great Britain, USA, Vanuatu, Yemen.
Differences from previous votes
The same proportions voted for2016 resolution , whose version is yesterday's document.
An interesting dynamic begins if we compare the new decision of the General Assembly with the “mother” oneresolution on Crimea of 2014 - 68/262 . It is referenced in all subsequent UN documents on human rights on the peninsula.
The first and main resolution refused to recognize the “referendum” in Crimea and the annexation of Crimea by Russia. At that time, 100 countries voted for it, only 11 were against it, and 82 states abstained and did not vote.
But then the regiment of those who disagreed with the pro-Ukrainian decisions of the General Assembly began to arrive. Thus, the number of countries that are “for” fell by a third last year and this year - to 70. And those who are against it more than doubled - to 26.
Moreover, such major powers as India and China, together occupying 25% of global GDP, appeared among the opponents (in 2014 they simply abstained from voting).
The evolution of views of the main US ally in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, is also interesting. In 2014, she voted “for”, and in 2017 she already chose to abstain, apparently not wanting to spoil relations with Russia, which this yearstarted to improve.
South Korea and Singapore also dropped out of the developed countries that voted “for” the Ukrainian position, and Azerbaijan dropped out of the former Soviet republics. Right next door to the United States, Mexico joined the abstention list (three years ago it was in favor).
There were more abstentions overall: 58 versus 70 in 2017. The number of non-voters fell slightly from 24 to 20.
Full list of countries that dropped out of the list of those who voted for the pro-Ukrainian resolution in 2014:
Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Benin, Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Jordan, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritius, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Philippines, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, South Korea.
The UN General Assembly yesterday, which is called “The human rights situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine.” The document was approved by 70 states, 26 voted against. 76 countries abstained.
— UN News Service (@UN_News_RU) December 20, 2017
The resolution confirms that there is an international armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The document recognizes “Russia’s temporary occupation of part of Ukraine.” The General Assembly also condemned (quoted from the UN website): “...violations, violations of human rights, discriminatory measures and practices against residents of temporarily occupied Crimea, including Crimean Tatars, as well as Ukrainians and persons belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, by the Russian occupation authorities."
The preamble of the document also condemns the “temporary occupation” by the “Russian Federation of part of the territory of Ukraine - the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.” It confirms “non-recognition of its annexation.” The text of the UN General Assembly resolution can be found.
Let us recall that Crimea became part of the Russian Federation in March 2014 based on the results of a referendum. Kyiv and most countries in the world refuse to recognize this vote as legal.
The Kremlin's position on the adoption of this resolution is expressed by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov. “We consider these formulations incorrect, we do not agree with them,” Peskov said.
Naturally, the adoption of such a document by the UN caused comments and reactions not only from Dmitry Peskov, but also from politicized and not so politicized citizens. "" collected the most striking, meaningful or typical ones.
Burundi is still with us. All is good.
— york (@Pepechunchi) December 20, 2017
When the United States, through its limitrophe, forces the UN to recognize Russia as an “occupying power” for compliance with the Charter of the same organization, especially regarding the right of nations to self-determination, it becomes obvious that American Exceptionalism is a new hypostasis of the dictatorship of Nazism.
— Philip Maslovsky (@soulstray) December 19, 2017
The UN General Assembly recognized Russia as an “occupying power.” Now attention! Among the countries that voted, there were also “friendly” ones: Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Israel,...
Loading...
