Tag: UN General Assembly

  • UN General Assembly Rebuke Russia’s Invasion on Ukraine, Demands Immediate Withdrawal

    UN General Assembly Rebuke Russia’s Invasion on Ukraine, Demands Immediate Withdrawal

    The UN General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution that “demands” Russia “immediately” withdraw from Ukraine, in a powerful rebuke of Moscow’s invasion by a vast majority of the world’s nations.

    After more than two days of extraordinary debate which saw the Ukrainian ambassador accuse Russia of genocide, 141 out of 193 member states voted for the non-binding resolution.

    China was among the 35 countries which abstained, while just five — Eritrea, North Korea, Syria, Belarus and of course Russia — voted against it.

    The resolution “deplores” the invasion of Ukraine “in the strongest terms” and condemns President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put his nuclear forces on alert.

    The vote had been touted by diplomats as a bellwether of democracy in a world where autocracy is on the rise in countries from Myanmar to Venezuela, and came as Putin’s forces bear down on Kyiv while terrified Ukrainians flee.

    “They have come to deprive Ukraine of the very right to exist,” Ukraine’s ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the Assembly ahead of the vote.

    “It’s already clear that the goal of Russia is not an occupation only. It is genocide.”

    Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Moscow has pleaded “self-defense” under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

    But that has been roundly rejected by Western countries who accuse Moscow of violating Article 2 of the Charter, requiring UN members to refrain from the threat or use of force to resolve a crisis.

    The text of the resolution — led by European countries in coordination with Ukraine — has undergone numerous changes in recent days.

    It no longer “condemns” the invasion as initially expected, but instead “deplores in the strongest terms the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine.”

    – ‘Who will be next?’ –
    It also makes clear the United Nations is “condemning” Putin’s decision to put his nuclear forces on alert, a move that ignited an immediate outcry from the West.

    Nearly every General Assembly speaker unreservedly condemned the war and the risks of military escalation.

    “If the United Nations has any purpose, it is to prevent war,” the US ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said during her speech on Wednesday.

    She accused Russia of “preparing to increase the brutality of its campaign.”

    “We’ve seen videos of Russian forces moving exceptionally lethal weaponry into Ukraine, which has no place on the battlefield that includes cluster munitions and vacuum bombs, which are banned under the Geneva Convention,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

    Russia’s ally Belarus offered a staunch defense of the invasion, however.

    Ambassador Valentin Rybakov blasted sanctions imposed by the West on Russia as “the worst example of economic and financial terrorism.”

    And he followed other Russian allies such as Syria in condemning the “double standards” of Western nations who have invaded countries including Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan in recent decades.

    Other speakers cited fears of a domino effect should Ukraine fall to Russia. Colombia railed against any return to “empire,” while Albania wondered: “Who will be next?”

    From the Arab world it was Kuwait, itself the victim of an invasion by Iraq in 1990, whose denunciation of Moscow was the most explicit, with the rest of the Middle East remaining in the background.

    – China, India abstain –
    Japan and New Zealand led condemnation from Asia, but the continent’s giants — China, India and Pakistan — all abstained. During the debate Beijing had stressed the world had “nothing to gain” from a new Cold War.

    On the meeting’s sidelines, Washington has taken aim at Russians working at the United Nations, leveling accusations of espionage and demanding expulsions.

    US President Joe Biden asserted Tuesday in his State of the Union address that Putin had underestimated the response to the invasion.

    “He rejected efforts at diplomacy… And, he thought he could divide us here at home,” Biden said.

    “Putin was wrong. We were ready.”

    AFP

  • Buhari Departs New York After Attending UN General Assembly

    Buhari Departs New York After Attending UN General Assembly

    President Muhammadu Buhari has departed New York, the United States after attending the United Nations General Assembly.

    As at the time when this report was filed on Saturday, the President and his delegation are on their way to Nigeria.

    He is expected back in the country on Sunday, the President’s media adviser Femi Adesina had said in a statement.

    President Buhari arrived in New York last Sunday, after which he attended a series of meetings with leaders of other countries’ delegations and heads of international development organisations.

    He also met with Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who is the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as well as President Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi and Queen of The Netherlands, Maxima Zorreguieta, and a host of others.

    During his one-week stay, the President attended the UN Food Systems Summit and participated in a hybrid High-Level event tagged “Transformative Actions for Nature and People.”

    The high point of the trip was when he addressed world leaders at the high-level General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA76).

    While giving his speech at the UN Headquarters, the Nigerian leader spoke on a long list of critical issues, including the efforts of the Nigerian government in tackling the issues of insecurity, fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and improving the economy, among others.

    He was accompanied to New York by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; and Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor.

    Also in his delegation were the National Security Adviser, Retired Major General Babagana Monguno; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Abubakar, among others.

  • Arewa Group Lauds Nigerians for Identifying With Country at 76th UN General Assembly

    Arewa Group Lauds Nigerians for Identifying With Country at 76th UN General Assembly

    A pressure group, Arewa Youth Federation has lauded Nigerians living in the United States of America (USA) for showing solidarity with the country and it’s President, Muhammadu Buhari in New York as world leaders converge for the 76th United Nations General Assembly.

    The group in a statement signed by its President, Muhammad Matazu described the act as patriotic and appealed to the few who have refused to see the good things happening in the country to have a rethink.

    Recall that the media was washed yesterday of some Nigerians living abroad under the aegis, “One Nigeria Group” who stormed the streets of New York to show their support for their fatherland as world leaders are assembled for the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

    The participants waved the Nigerian national flags, sported t-shirts and displayed banners announcing progress made, their commitment to one Nigeria and a yearning for peace and progress.

    Reacting to the development, the Arewa group maintained it was impressed that some patriotic Nigerians abroad chose to register their support of President Muhammadu Buhari and the continued existence of Nigeria as one, indivisible country.

    “We find this patriotic act by Nigerians in America highly commendable. This so because throwing tantrums on the nation and President Muhammadu Buhari has been made very lucrative business by enemies of the country particularly those living abroad.

    “What is common today is that the enemies of Nigeria recruit agents to twists facts about the country and the present administration. The rapid infrastructural development accomplished within the period of the Buhari administration is talked about. Progress made in security is also suppressed. Sadly, the media is been used to push narratives that seeks to disintegrate the country.

    “We use this medium to appeal to Nigerians not to allow themselves to be used as tools for division as the strength of the country is in our diversity”.

    The statement further urged the President’s media handles not to relent in highlighting the successes of the various flagship programmes undertaken by the Buhari administration since 2015.

  • Buhari Arrives In New York For UN General Assembly

    Buhari Arrives In New York For UN General Assembly

    President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in the United States of America.

    The President touched down at the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York, at exactly 5:10 pm local time ahead of the high-level General debate of the United Nations Assembly on September 21, 2021.

    He was received by Nigeria’s Permanent representative to the United States, Professor Tijani Bande and the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama.

    President Buhari will address the assembly during the general debates on Friday, September 24.

    The President is expected to speak on this year’s theme which is “Building resilience through hope – to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people and revitalize the United Nations” and other global issues.

    Buhari and members of his delegation will partake in other significant meetings such as the high-level meeting to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, themed ‘Reparations, Racial Justice, and Equality for People of African Descent’.