UNSC’s rare Emergency General Assembly session today, India abstains from voting

Amid escalation of tension between Ukraine and Russia, the United Nations Security Council has called for a rare emergency special session of the 193-member General Assembly to be held today. The western allies step up a diplomatic campaign to isolate Moscow as the conflict enters Day 5.

A nuclear threat by Russian President Vladimir Putin is clearly foreseen as he ordered nuclear forces to be on high alert. The vote will be come at the end of the emergency special session.

India meanwhile has abstained from a procedural vote taken in the UNSC to call for the rare special emergency session of the UNGA on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. But India has welcomed Moscow and Kyiv’s decision to hold talks at the Belarus border.

The resolution was adopted with 11 votes in favour. India, China and the UAE abstained, while Russia voted against the resolution. This will be only the 11th such emergency session of the General Assembly since 1950.

Earlier, the 15-nation Security Council met on Sunday afternoon to hold the vote on the emergency special session of the 193-member General Assembly. This comes two days after the Russian veto blocked a UNSC resolution on its ‘aggression’ against Ukraine.

The vote calling for the UNGA session was procedural so none of the five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US could exercise their vetoes. The General Assembly is expected to vote on a similar resolution as soon as Wednesday, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. No country has a veto in the General Assembly.

The Security Council is also set to meet again on Monday for a briefing on humanitarian needs of civilians in Ukraine. It will be the 5th council meeting on Ukraine in the past week.