The United Nations on Friday, 6 May, released its first unanimous action on the Ukraine war, with the Security Council adopting a statement expressing “deep concern” for the situation in Ukraine.
The statement also expressed “strong support” for diplomatic efforts by António Guterres, the secretary general of the UN, to find a peaceful solution.
Guterres welcomed the statement, saying that this was the first time the Security Council had spoken “with one voice for peace in Ukraine.”
“As I have often said, the world must come together to silence the guns and uphold the values of the UN Charter. I welcome this support and will continue to spare no effort to save lives, reduce suffering and find the path of peace,” the secretary general added.
A Security Council statement must be approved by all 15 members of the council and Friday's statement bypassed Russia’s veto by referring to the situation in Ukraine as “disputes” and not a “war”.
After all, Russia maintains that its troops are on a "special military operation" in Ukraine.
“I think it’s encouraging to see diplomacy is getting its place at the council, even though this is a very first initial step,” Mexico’s ambassador to the UN, Juan Ramón de la Fuente was quoted as saying by the New York Times.
Since the Russian invasion began on 24 February, the Security Council has tried to pass two resolutions that would condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine, demanding the withdrawal of its forced, allowing the passage of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of civilians.
But Russia, given its veto power in the UNSC as a P5 member, prevented both resolutions from passing.
(With inputs from Reuters and NYT)
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