On March 27, the UN’s General Assembly adopted a resolution entitled “Territorial integrity of Ukraine.” The resolution essentially underscored the invalidity of the 16 March referendum held in Crimea, used as justification for Russia’s illegal annexation of the area. It also called on all States not to recognize any change in the status of Crimea.
Yet, remarkably, 11 States voted against the resolution and 58 abstained from the vote.
Countries that voted against the resolution:
Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Zimbabwe
Countries that abstained:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua-Barbuda, Argentina, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, China, Comoros Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Guyana, India, Iraq, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Pakistan, Paraguay, Rwanda, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent-Grenadines, Sao Tome-Principe, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Uganda, Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia
Countries that were absent:
Belize, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Lao, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Serbia, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu and Yemen.
Excerpts from the discussion:
Russia on the referendum: “We call on everyone to respect that voluntary choice;” the Government could not refuse Crimeans their right to self-determination
Cuba: would not accept the current Ukrainian authorities because they had assumed power by overthrowing the constitutional Government through violence; and also is opposed to sanctions against Russia and rejects the double standards and hypocrisy shown by Western States.
DPRK: attributed the crisis in Ukraine to interference by the United States and other Western countries.
