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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly approved a solution Monday calling for Russia to beryllium held accountable for violating planetary instrumentality by invading Ukraine, including by paying reparations for wide harm to the state and for Ukrainians killed and injured during the war.
The ballot successful the 193-member satellite assemblage was 94-14 with 73 abstentions. It was adjacent to the lowest level of enactment received by immoderate of the 5 Ukraine-related resolutions adopted by the General Assembly since Russia’s Feb. 24 penetration of its smaller neighbor.
The solution recognizes the request to found “an planetary mechanics for reparation for damage, nonaccomplishment oregon injury’” arising from Russia’s “wrongful acts” against Ukraine.
It recommends that the assembly’s subordinate nations, successful practice with Ukraine, make “an planetary register” to papers claims and accusation connected damage, nonaccomplishment oregon wounded to Ukrainians and the authorities caused by Russia.
Before the vote, Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the assembly that “Russia has tried its champion to destruct Ukraine -- successful a precise literal sense.”
He cited Russia’s bombing and shelling of cities and villages, “targeting everything from plants and factories to residential buildings, schools, hospitals and kindergartens” arsenic good arsenic roads, bridges, railways and astir fractional of Ukraine’s powerfulness grid and utilities successful the past period alone. He besides cited accounts of atrocities committed by Russians successful territory it occupied, including murder, rape, torture, forced deportations and looting.
“Ukraine volition person the daunting task of rebuilding the state and recovering from this war,” Kyslytsya said. “But that betterment volition ne'er beryllium implicit without a consciousness of justness for the victims of the Russian war.”
In establishing a mechanics to papers claims, helium said, “Ukraine is committed to a transparent, impartial and nonsubjective process that volition beryllium managed and overseen by the planetary assemblage successful bid to debar adjacent the slightest cognition of bias.”
“It is clip to clasp Russia accountable,” Kyslytsya said, calling the solution “a awesome of anticipation for justice.”
Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia urged assembly members to ballot against the resolution, calling it “an effort to legalize thing that from the presumption of existing planetary instrumentality cannot beryllium legalized.” It is “legally null and void,” helium said.
Nebenzia accused the West of “doing everything it tin to supply a veneer of legitimacy” to commencement spending frozen -- oregon really “stolen Russian assets amounting to billions of dollars.” And helium accused the West of seeking a General Assembly determination “as a surface to fell this unfastened robbery” whose “beneficiaries volition extremity up being the Western subject corporations.”
He warned that support of the solution “can lone summation hostility and instability successful the full world,” and said supporters of the solution “will go implicated successful amerciable expropriation of sovereign assets of a 3rd country.”
Sixteen countries and the Palestinians echoed Russia, saying successful a associated connection that the solution didn’t person “sufficient ineligible basis.”
Its signatories, including China, Iran, Angola and Venezuela, said countries suffering from overseas interference, colonialism, slavery, oppression, unilateral sanctions “and different internationally wrongful acts, besides merit the close for remedy, reparation and justice, which should beryllium addressed done dependable ineligible processes.”
Canada’s U.N. Ambassador Robert Rae changeable backmost that the solution makes nary notation of forcibly seizing assets oregon destroying the powers of sovereign states, and said Russia is lone making the allegations due to the fact that it doesn’t privation to admit the resolution’s telephone for an planetary registry to papers grounds of damage, nonaccomplishment and injury.
“The assembly is not being asked to execute a relation arsenic a justice oregon jury,” helium said. And Russian claims that “this is immoderate systematic, Western crippled to bargain the assets of sovereign states -- It’s conscionable implicit balderdash. It’s nonsense, and we person to person the courageousness to accidental it.”
Russia’s veto powerfulness successful the 15-member Security Council has blocked the U.N.’s astir almighty assemblage from taking immoderate enactment since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion. But determination are nary vetoes successful the General Assembly, which antecedently adopted 4 resolutions criticizing Russia’s invasion.
Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they bash bespeak satellite sentiment and person demonstrated wide absorption to Russia’s subject action.
The solution adopted Monday was sponsored by Canada, Guatemala, Netherlands and Ukraine and co-sponsored by dozens of others.
It reaffirms the General Assembly’s committedness to Ukraine’s “sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity” and reiterates its request for Russia to instantly “cease its usage of unit against Ukraine” and retreat each its forces from Ukrainian territory.
It besides expresses “grave interest astatine the nonaccomplishment of life, civilian displacement, demolition of infrastructure and earthy resources, nonaccomplishment of nationalist and backstage property, and economical calamity caused by the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine.”
The solution recalls that Article 14 of the U.N. Charter authorizes the General Assembly to “recommend measures for the peaceful accommodation of immoderate concern … which it deems apt to impair the wide payment of affable relations among nations” including violations of the Charter.
Soon aft Russia’s invasion, the General Assembly adopted its archetypal solution connected March 2 demanding an contiguous Russian cease-fire, withdrawal of each its troops and extortion for each civilians by a ballot of 141-5 with 35 abstentions.
On March 24, the assembly voted 140-5 with 38 abstentions connected a solution blaming Russia for Ukraine’s humanitarian situation and urging an contiguous cease-fire and extortion for millions of civilians and the homes, schools and hospitals captious to their survival.
Monday’s ballot was adjacent to the lowest ballot for a Ukraine resolution: The assembly voted 93-24 with 58 abstentions connected April 7 to suspend Russia from the U.N.’s Geneva-based Human Rights Council implicit allegations Russian soldiers successful Ukraine engaged successful rights violations that the United States and Ukraine person called warfare crimes.
The assembly voted overwhelmingly by its highest borderline -- 143-5 with 35 abstentions -- connected Oct. 12 to condemn Russia’s “attempted amerciable annexation” of 4 Ukrainian regions and request its contiguous reversal.
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