Nearly 50 nations co-sponsored the resolution on establishing an international mechanism for compensation for damage, loss and injury, as well as a register to document evidence and claims.
The General Assembly is the UN’s most representative body, comprising all 193 Member States. Ninety-four countries voted in favour of the resolution, and 14 against, while 73 abstained.
The vote took place in the morning, and countries returned in the afternoon to explain their decisions.
In presenting the resolution, Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya used the biblical adage that “there is nothing new under the sun” as a motif throughout his remarks. He insisted that Russia must be held accountable for its violations of international law.
“Seventy-seven years ago, the Soviet Union demanded and received reparations, calling it a moral right of a country that has suffered war and occupation,” he said. […]
Speaking before the vote, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya characterized the draft resolution as “a classic example” of a narrow group of States acting not on the basis of international law, but rather trying to consecrate something that is illegal. He said countries backing the resolution were attempting to position the General Assembly as a judicial body, which it is not. Läs pressmeddelande