Russia, Ukraine clash at emergency special session of UN General Assembly: Only 11th such meet since 1956

Russia and Ukraine clashed at the United Nations General Assembly, which had convened a rare emergency special session on the escalating crisis. This is only the 11th such session ever held since 1956. Take a look at what an emergency special session means, when they have been called in the past and what happened at Monday’s special session on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. What’s an emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly? An Emergency Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly is an unscheduled meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to make urgent recommendations on a particular issue. It is important to note here that the Security Council is normally entrusted with maintaining international peace and security. However, according to resolution 377A(V), ‘Uniting for peace’, adopted by the General Assembly on 3 November 1950, an “emergency special session” can be convened within 24 hours. The text of the resolution reads: “…if the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity of the permanent members, fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security in any case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression, the General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately with a view to making appropriate recommendations to Members for collective measures, including in the case of a breach of the peace or act of aggression the use of armed force when necessary, to maintain or restore international peace and security. If not in session at the time, the General Assembly may meet in emergency special session within twenty-four hours of the request therefor. Such emergency special session shall be called if requested by the Security Council on the vote of any seven members, or by a majority of the Members of the United Nations.” Past instances of emergency special sessions Monday is only the 11th time in history that such a session has been called. The first ever Emergency Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly was held in from 1-10 November 1956 over the crisis in the Middle East. At the time, the President of the UNGA had said, “People all over the world are turning anxiously towards the United Nations, which bears the heavy responsibility of finding a solution for the problems which have brought about this serious situation of belligerency, and of reconciling the divergent views of the parties.” Following this there were other Emergency Special Sessions and in 1980, a similar session was called for the crisis in Afghanistan — sixth in the history of the United Nations. The session was called after Afghanistan had invited the Soviets into their civil war. The session ended with a resolution from the General Assembly calling for the immediate, unconditional and total withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. While the seventh emergency special session of the UNGA dealt with the issue of Palestine, the eighth session convened in 1981 was on the issue of Namibia. The most recent emergency special session was the 10th one and was convened in April 1997. It centred on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The session was first convened in 1997 under the president of the General Assembly, Razali Ismail of Malaysia. What happened on Monday? President of the 76th session of the General Assembly Abdulla Shahid presided over the meeting. Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya said in his speech, “We have been prompted to call for an emergency special session as the level of threat to the global security has been equated to that of the Second World War or even higher following Putin’s order to put an alert Russian nuclear forces. What madness.” He said the General Assembly should be vocal in demanding that Russia stop its offensive against Ukraine, in recognising Russian actions as an act of aggression against a sovereign and independent state and in demanding from Russia to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. Kyslytsya said the General Assembly should demand that Russia also reverse the decision relating to the status of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. The General Assembly should also be clear with regard to the treacherous role of Belarus and its involvement in aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, he said. “If Ukraine does not survive, the United Nations will not survive. Have no illusions. If Ukraine does not survive, we cannot be surprised if democracy fails next. Now we can save Ukraine, save the United Nations, save democracy and defend the values we believe in and that Ukrainians are fighting for and paying with their lives,” Kyslytsya said. He added that President Vladimir Putin has done everything to delegitimise the Russian presence in the United Nations. Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia, speaking after the Ukrainian envoy, said that the root for the current crisis lies in the actions of Ukraine itself. “For many years, it sabotaged and flouted its direct obligations under the Minsk package of measure,” Nebenzia said. “I wish to state that the Russian Federation did not begin these hostilities. The hostilities were unleashed by Ukraine against its own residents, the residents of Donbass and all of those who are dissenters. Russia is seeking to end this war,” he said. “For us, Ukraine joining NATO is a red line first and foremost from the military strategic level. The deployment of NATO infrastructure in that country would compel us to adopt measures in response and this has placed us at the verge of conflict.” With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.