What is China's position on the Russian-Ukrainian General Assembly draft resolution on compensation? Come and have a look with me.
China voted against it! The International Atomic Energy Agency promotes the resolution on Ukraine. China: Not acceptable.
Since the "special military action" against Ukraine, Russia has been subjected to collective sanctions by western countries, and some sanctions have even extended to the humanities field, such as restricting cultural and sports cooperation with Russia, blocking Russian accounts on social media, ordering Russian college students to drop out of school, and suspending Russian athletes' qualifications. These sanctions can be said to be unreasonable.
Recently, many countries and organizations have broken traditional rules and mandates and started to interfere in the situation in Ukraine. For example, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Ireland and other so-called "permanent neutrality" countries have ignored the promise of "not directly or indirectly assisting the belligerents" and successively provided a large amount of military assistance to Ukraine. Some international organizations have also begun to intervene indirectly in the situation in Ukraine. Recently, China voted against this unfair practice for the first time and pressed the "pause button".
On March 3, the International Atomic Energy Agency held a special board meeting to vote on the draft resolution "The nuclear safety, security and safeguard impact of the situation in Ukraine" proposed by Canada and Poland. This resolution clearly exceeded the authority of the IAEA, introduced many political factors and undermined the independence of the IAEA. China voted against it. Wang Qun, the representative of China, stressed: It is unacceptable for the countries concerned to forcibly vote on the resolution regardless of the amendments put forward by all parties!
The International Atomic Energy Agency was established in 1950s to accelerate and expand the contribution of atomic energy to world peace, health and prosperity, and played an important role in the explosion of Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. Among its purposes, the most important point is to ensure that the assistance provided by IAEA is not used to advance any military purpose.
We don't know the specific content of the IAEA voting draft, but according to the international nuclear news website in March 1, the CEO of the Ukrainian National Atomic Energy Corporation applied to the IAEA, asking the IAEA to intervene in the situation in Ukraine, set up a 30-kilometer safety zone around Ukraine's nuclear power plant, and demanded that Chernobyl and its surrounding nuclear facilities be returned to Ukraine.
On the 25th of last month, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced that it had completely controlled the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and reached an agreement with the Ukrainian National Guard to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plant. In this case, once the IAEA intervenes, it will inevitably have a negative impact on the situation and indirectly promote Uzbekistan's military objectives, which is also contrary to the purpose of the IAEA.
China's vote is also the first negative vote against the Ukrainian situation in recent days. China abstained from voting in the procedural vote of the UN Security Council last month and the emergency special session of the UN General Assembly on March 2, which shows that China adheres to the principles of objectivity, fairness and justice. China's negative vote this time is a defense of the purpose of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and it is also a manifestation of opposing external forces to aggravate the warming of the Ukrainian situation.
At present, the western society is trying to drag China into the water in the Ukrainian situation. First, it used "Uncle Sam's cartoon to put out the fire" to shout for China. Why not come to Ukraine to "put out the fire"? China was once again forced to "choose a side station" in Russia and Ukraine. Recently, Japanese journalists made a fuss about China's early "security guarantee" to Ukraine in an attempt to confuse the audience. This series of acts of sowing dissension and adding fuel to the fire not only did not help solve the problem, but added fuel to the fire.
Recently, a fire accident occurred at the Zaborozh nuclear power plant in Ukraine. China supports the role of IAEA in preventing nuclear pollution and proliferation, and provides assistance when necessary. However, China also opposes the actions of countries concerned to intervene in the situation in Ukraine through international institutions and directly or indirectly participate in military confrontation, which leads to the warming of the situation.
China opposes the Russian-Ukrainian General Assembly draft resolution on compensation, and Geng Shuang expounded three points.
According to the website of the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations 14, Ambassador Geng Shuang made a speech at the emergency special session of the Ukrainian General Assembly. Geng Shuang pointed out that the draft resolution on remedies and compensation submitted to this emergency special session of the General Assembly for action has obvious flaws and loopholes, which is not in line with China's position.
Screenshot from the website of the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations
The following is the full text of the speech:
Mr. Chairman:
China associates itself with the statement made by the Eritrean representative on behalf of countries with similar views.
Remedy and compensation are important means to achieve justice, comfort people and promote post-war reconstruction. China suffered foreign aggression and huge losses in modern history. We understand the grief of war victims and sympathize with their tragic situation. China believes that war relief and compensation should be achieved through correct political channels and legal procedures, reflecting international will, fairness, justice and humanity. The useful practices of the Security Council and the General Assembly in this regard can provide important reference for similar actions of the international community.
Regrettably, the draft resolution on remedies and compensation submitted to this emergency special session of the General Assembly for action has obvious flaws and loopholes, which are not in line with China's position. I would like to elaborate on the following three points:
First of all, the draft resolution intends to directly deal with the issue of international legal liability through the General Assembly, which is beyond the authority of the General Assembly. The Charter of the United Nations clearly defines the functions and powers of the principal organs of the United Nations. The General Assembly is not an international judicial body, and it has no right to make legal characterization and accountability for internationally wrongful acts. Resolutions adopted before the emergency special session of the General Assembly 1 1 do not constitute the legal basis for remedy and compensation.
Second, the draft resolution attempts to invoke the "Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts" to investigate responsibility, which lacks legal basis. The liability clause is only the research result of the International Law Commission, an expert body. It is not an intergovernmental international treaty and is not legally binding. Nor does the liability clause provide legal norms for judging what an internationally wrongful act is and whether it exists. It is not appropriate to carry out legal characterization and accountability according to the liability clause.
Thirdly, the draft resolution attempts to admit that some countries have established compensation and loss registration mechanisms outside the framework of the United Nations, which is not in line with established practice. Some countries plan to establish such a mechanism, which is not within the framework of the United Nations, is not supervised by the United Nations, and does not report to the United Nations. However, it is unreasonable for the General Assembly to adopt a resolution for this purpose, and there is no precedent in practice.
It should also be pointed out that the issue of relief and compensation is of great significance and far-reaching influence, which is related to peace and security, justice and conscience, political correctness, international rule of law, current situation and historical injustice. Countries in the world affected by international illegal acts such as colonialism, external interference, unilateral sanctions and economic blockade have the right to demand remedies and compensation. The action taken by the General Assembly today should help to provide correct guidance for solving the possible remedies and compensation claims of the countries concerned in the future, help to maintain the fair image of the United Nations in treating all Member States equally, and help to ensure that all United Nations agencies work according to their respective mandates.
Such an important draft resolution should be fully discussed and widely consulted by Member States in order to maximize understanding and bridge differences and ensure that it can stand the test of history politically, legally and procedurally. Regrettably, the sponsors did not seriously organize consultations and did not respond substantively to the concerns of Member States, but insisted on urging the General Assembly to take hasty action. This is totally unconstructive.
Based on the above, China will vote against the draft resolution in order to safeguard the authority of the Charter of the United Nations and the credibility of the General Assembly, the true spirit of multilateralism and solidarity and cooperation, and the international rule of law, fairness and justice.
Mr. Chairman,
The crisis in Ukraine has dragged on for nearly nine months, which has caused a great impact on the international community and brought more uncertainty and instability to our already chaotic world. This protracted, enlarged and complicated conflict is not in the interests of any party, and it is particularly harmful to developing countries. China once again calls on all parties concerned to return to dialogue and negotiations at an early date and push the situation back to the correct track of political settlement. The international community, including the General Assembly, should make active efforts to this end, instead of provoking confrontation, intensifying contradictions and intensifying division.
Finally, I would like to reiterate that China's position on the Ukrainian issue is consistent and clear. We have always advocated respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, observing the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, attaching importance to the legitimate security concerns of all parties and supporting all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis. China is willing to continue to work with the international community to play a constructive role in promoting an early ceasefire, easing the situation and achieving a political solution to the crisis.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.