The United Nations opened a rare emergency special session of the General Assembly on Monday to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by observing a minute of silence for those killed in the conflict.
Russia is due to find out just how isolated it is on the world stage during the meeting, only the 11th time in the UN’s history that such a session has been held.
Assembly president Abdulla Shahid led all of the UN’s 193 members in the moment of meditation before calling for “an immediate cease-fire.”
More than 100 countries were expected to speak as the global body decides if it will support a resolution condemning Russia’s “unprovoked armed aggression” in Ukraine and demanding its immediate withdrawal.
“The fighting in Ukraine must stop,” warned UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the session began.
“Enough is enough. Soldiers need to move back to their barracks. Leaders need to move to peace. Civilians must be protected.
“Nothing can justify the use of nuclear weapons. The guns are talking now, but the path of dialogue must always remain open,” he pleaded.
A vote on the resolution may not come until Tuesday. Its authors hope they may exceed 100 votes in favor — though countries including Syria, China, Cuba and India are expected to either support Russia or abstain.
It will be seen as a barometer of democracy in a world where autocratic sentiment has been on the rise, diplomats said, pointing to such regimes in Myanmar, Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, Venezuela, Nicaragua — and, of course, Russia.
If Moscow wins in Ukraine, the international order could be “changed forever,” one senior diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity, underscoring the gravity of the moment at the body charged with global peace and security.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Since then Russia has become an international pariah as its forces do battle on the streets of Ukraine’s cities, facing a barrage of sanctions including a ban from Western airspace and key financial networks.
On Sunday Putin ordered Russia’s nuclear “deterrence forces” onto high alert, prompting an international outcry, with the United States calling the order “totally unacceptable.”
Russia has pleaded “self-defense” under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
But that has been roundly rejected by Western countries and the UN, which accuse Moscow of violating Article 2 of the Charter, requiring its members to refrain from the threat or use of force to resolve a crisis.
They were due to repeat those accusations Monday.
The move to hold the emergency session was sparked by Russia on Friday using its veto to block a Security Council resolution that condemned Moscow’s invasion and called for the immediate withdrawal of its troops.
Russia voted against the resolution, but it did not have veto power to derail the referral of the war to the General Assembly, allowed under a 1950 resolution called “Uniting for Peace.”
It allows for members of the Security Council to seize the General Assembly for a special session if the five permanent members — Russia, the United States, Britain, France and China — fail to agree to act together to maintain peace.
Only the support of nine of the council’s 15 members is required to call an emergency special session of the General Assembly.
Eleven countries voted in favor. Russia opposed, while the United Arab Emirates, China and India abstained.
“The council members who supported this resolution recognize that this is no ordinary moment,” said US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Separately Monday, the Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, where up to seven million people are expected to flee the fighting.
Minute’s silence as UN General Assembly meets on Russia-Ukraine
https://arab.news/8v7qp
Minute’s silence as UN General Assembly meets on Russia-Ukraine
- Assembly president Abdulla Shahid led all of the UN’s 193 members in the moment of meditation before calling for ‘an immediate cease-fire’
- Russia is due to find out just how isolated it is on the world stage during the meeting, only the 11th time in the UN’s history that such a session has been held
Bangladesh to fund Rohingya education for first time as foreign donors pull back
- Funding shortfalls forced UNICEF to close thousands of schools in Rohingya refugee camps
- Rohingya are excluded from public schools in Bangladesh to prevent long-term integration
DHAKA: The Bangladeshi government will fund the primary education of Rohingya children living in refugee camps following the closure of thousands of UN-supported facilities due to budget shortages, authorities said on Wednesday.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were forced to flee a military crackdown in Myanmar and take shelter in neighboring Bangladesh in 2017. Today, more than 1 million of them are cramped inside 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar district on the country’s southeast coast. About half are children.
The Bangladeshi government does not allow Rohingya children to enroll in regular public schools outside the camps under its longstanding policy to prevent long‑term integration. Since the beginning of the crisis, Bangladesh, which is not a signatory to the UN refugee convention, has made it clear that the Rohingya settlement is temporary.
Education has largely been organized by NGOs and UN agencies, providing basic literacy without recognized certificates. But many of these schools were forced to close last year, as foreign aid plunged — especially after the US, which contributed 55 percent of it, suspended most of its humanitarian operations.
To prevent the collapse of educational facilities, the Bangladeshi government on Tuesday for the first time approved state funding to keep them operational, with more than $16 million designated for primary education for Rohingya children under a World Bank grant.
“This World Bank funding will be used by UNICEF to operate learning centers in the Rohingya camps. As UNICEF is currently facing a severe funding shortage, the Bangladesh government has stepped in to provide support, with assistance from World Bank loans,” Mizanur Rahman, refugee relief and repatriation commissioner in Cox’s Bazar, told Arab News.
“Due to the funding crisis, most learning centers in the camps have suspended operations. With this new funding, many of these centers will be able to resume activities. There are around 8,000 learning centers in the camps, of which only about 4,000 are currently operating, while the other half remain closed.”
There are more than 400,000 school-age Rohingya children in the Bangladesh refugee camps. The Bangladeshi government’s support will reach 200,000 of them, with the teaching program based on the national curriculum of their home country, Myanmar.
About 1,100 teachers will be employed and trained to work with the children, Rahman said.
“The government has approved the funding primarily for one year, but the program will continue until 2027. Revised negotiations may take place later to consider a further extension.”
