By Lamin Cham
The Gambia is among 143 countries that voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution passed by a large majority on Wednesday, calling on countries not to recognise the four regions of Ukraine which Russia has claimed, following so-called referendums held late last month, and demanding that Moscow reverse course on its “attempted illegal annexation”.
The results were 143 Member States in favour, with five voting against, and 35 abstentions. The only countries who voted against were Belarus, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria.
However, a majority of those countries abstaining were African nations, alongside China and India.
The resolution “defending the principles” of the UN Charter, notes that the regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia are temporarily occupied by Russia as a result of aggression, violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence.
The General Assembly automatically took up the resolution for debate, triggered by Russia’s use of the veto in the Security Council over its attempted annexation.
The resolution now passed in the Assembly, calls on all States, the UN and international organisations not to recognize any of Russia’s annexation claim and demands the immediate reversal of its annexation declaration.
