Ukraine war to take center stage at UN General Assembly 2022 session
This week’s UN General Assembly summit will be dominated by a struggle between the United States and its allies on one side and Russia on the other for global support for Ukraine’s plight, while the Global South struggles to ensure that conflict is not overshadowed by the existential threats of famine and climate crisis. With the return to a fully face-to-face general debate, presidents and prime ministers will meet in New York, many directly from London, where diplomacy began on the sidelines of the Queen’s funeral.
Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the UN last year. West plans to seek a UN investigation into Uyghur abuses against China. Russia is currently retreating to the battlefield, vying for the hearts and minds of the world for the fate of Ukraine. The general assembly voted 101-7 with 19 abstentions to allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to deliver a pre-recorded video speech, exempting him from requiring speakers to appear in person. India, Moscow’s longtime ally that tends to abstain on Ukraine, voted in favor of Zelenskiy. The vote took place on the same day Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly scolded Vladimir Putin, telling him that “today is not a time of war” as they gathered at an Asian regional summit in Uzbekistan. Putin said he was aware of India’s “concerns”, echoing what he had said about China the day before.
The week-long session of the UN General Assembly and Leaders’ Speeches begins when mass graves are discovered after Russia’s withdrawal from the Ukrainian city of Izium. War crimes are likely to be the focus of Zelenskiy and Joe Biden’s speeches on Wednesday, and the UN Security Council will convene a ministerial meeting on Thursday morning chaired by French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna focusing on accountability for war crimes in Ukraine. The Russians “should expect that they will not go as usual when they arrive in New York tomorrow,” said United Nations envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
“They will be isolated. They will be condemned by the Security Council, but also more generally by the General Assembly, “she told CNN. Despite widespread sympathy in the UN General Assembly for Ukraine’s plight in the face of the Russian invasion, there has been irritation among developing countries that the focus on the conflict is discussion and action on parallel food and climate crises. in the southern hemisphere. Ukraine has pushed for more resolutions condemning Russia in the Security Council and General Assembly, but Western Kyiv supporters have warned that the dwindling number of supporters of these resolutions could become the story.
“There has been an ebb and flow of interest and engagement from countries not directly affected by Ukraine, so we have had to work hard to make it clear that we are talking about the issues that affect them themselves,” a European diplomat told the UN. On Tuesday, Biden will chair a summit on food security, and US officials have also signaled that Washington is ready to discuss reform of UN institutions, including the Security Council.
Ukraine war to take center stage at UN General Assembly 2022 session
Western member states will try to use the food security summit to highlight the links between the Russian invasion and global food shortages. “Linking the two where appropriate makes sense because it prevents Ukraine from being seen as a European issue that doesn’t really matter,” the EU diplomat said. Russia and the West are engaged in a propaganda battle across Africa to take responsibility for grain shortages caused by the disruption of exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has toured Africa and portrayed Russia as a victim of Western imperialist war, while stressing Russia’s role in supporting decolonization movements. In a parallel move to bolster its support for the General Assembly, the United States dropped its non-binding position on reforming UN institutions like the Security Council to make them more representative.On council reform, US Undersecretary for International Organizations Affairs Michele Sison said on Friday. “We don’t believe the United States should defend an outdated status quo.” “While we clearly see the obstacles to Security Council reform, we will sincerely call on countries to reach consensus on credible and realistic proposals on how to proceed,” Sison said. “To remain credible in the 21st century, the Council must better reflect global realities and incorporate regional perspectives.”
