Nepal abstained from voting a draft resolution calling for Russia to be held accountable for violations of international law by its invasion of Ukraine and requiring Moscow to pay reparations to Kyiv for damages, loss and injury resulting from the war.
According to the United Nations News Center, the draft resolution called 'Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine' introduced by Ukraine was adopted on Monday in the 193-member UN General Assembly.
The draft resolution saw a recorded vote of 94 in favor, 14 against and 73 abstentions. Nearly 50 nations co-sponsored the resolution on establishing an international mechanism for compensation for damage, loss and injury, as well as a register to document evidence and claims.
The General Assembly is the UN’s most representative body, comprising all 193 Member States.
Those countries who abstained from voting included Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Israel, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka, the UN news said. Likewise, China, Cuba, Belarus, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Iran were against the resolution.
Providing its explanation after the adoption of draft resolution, Nepal questioned whether a reparation process would contribute towards efforts at resolving the Russia-Ukraine war and cautioned against precedents being set through such resolutions.
On the occasion, India also presented the similar view over the draft resolution.
"We need to objectively consider whether a reparation process through a vote in the General Assembly would contribute to efforts at a resolution of the conflict. Moreover, the legal validity of such a process by a General Assembly resolution remains unclear," Permanent Representative at the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said.
She said "we must, therefore, not create mechanisms or set precedents, without adequate international legal vetting, that have implications for the future functioning of the UN and the international economic system. We need to avoid steps which preclude or endanger the possibility of dialogue and negotiations and from bringing this protracted conflict to an early end."
Reiterating Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion to Russian President Vladimir Putin that "this is not an era of war", Kamboj said "with this firm resolve to strive for a peaceful solution through dialogue and diplomacy, India has decided to abstain on the resolution."
In last October, Nepal voted in favor of a resolution condemning Russia’s attempted annexation of four Ukrainian areas by conducting a referendum within Ukraine, at the UN General Assembly.
Nepal has mostly abstained on resolutions related to the Russia-Ukraine war in the UN, including in the Security Council, General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.
Ukraine's Ambassador to United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya said "Today, Russia, who claims to be the successor of the 20th century's tyranny, is doing everything it can to avoid paying the price for its own war and occupation, trying to escape accountability for the crimes it is committing.
"Russia will fail, just like it is failing on the battlefield. We have indeed seen all this before. There's nothing new under the sun," he said.
The Ukrainian Ambassador said Russia has demolished almost half of Ukraine's power grid and utilities in the past month alone, leaving millions of Ukrainians without power, running water and heating on the eve of winter.
"Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes and seek shelter elsewhere. Ukraine will have the daunting task of rebuilding the country and recovering from this war. But that recovery will never be complete without a sense of justice for the victims of the Russian war. It is time to hold Russia accountable."
Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said if the resolution comes to be adopted, "it will entail systemic consequences for the UN activities."
"It is obvious that the initiative is flawed. From the legal perspective, the provisions of the draft cannot stand up to any criticism. They are legally void - nothing more than an attempt to legalize what cannot be legalized in terms of effective international law. The co-sponsors must realize that adoption of such a resolution would trigger consequences that may boomerang against themselves," the Russian envoy said.
The UN General Assembly emergency special session began on 28 February, or just days after the start of the war in Ukraine.
This marks only the 11th time such a meeting has been held since 1950, in line with a resolution widely known as ‘Uniting for Peace’, according to the UN News Center.
Resolution 377A(V) gives the General Assembly power to take up matters of international peace and security when the Security Council is unable to act due to unanimity among its five permanent members – China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia – who have the power of veto.
The current special session was convened after the Council voted in favour of the General Assembly meeting following Russia’s veto of a resolution that would have deplored the assault on Ukraine.
