NIGERIA JOINS 106 COUNTRIES BACKING UN RESOLUTION FOR LASTING PEACE IN UKRAINE
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
Nigeria on Tuesday joined 106 other member states of the United Nations General Assembly in supporting a resolution reaffirming Ukraine’s sovereignty and calling for a lasting peace, as the world marked four years since Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022.
The resolution, titled “Support for lasting peace in Ukraine,” was adopted during an emergency special session of the Assembly by 107 votes in favour, 12 against and 51 abstentions, including the United States.
The measure called for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, the exchange of prisoners of war, and the return of civilians forcibly transferred, including children. It also reaffirmed commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.
President of the General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, said the full-scale invasion by Russia shattered Europe’s peaceful aspirations. “War must never be the new normal,” she stated.
Similarly, UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the conflict as a violation of the UN Charter and international law, warning that the longer the war continues, the deadlier it becomes. He reiterated his call for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire as a first step toward a just and lasting peace.
At a parallel debate of the United Nations Security Council, Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Mariana Betsa, described the invasion as a war against the rules-based international order. She cited mass strikes on civilians, nuclear risks and deportation of children as potential war crimes, insisting that Ukraine would not accept territorial concessions.
The Russian delegate, however, dismissed the meeting as unrelated to maintaining international peace and security, accusing European states of fuelling the conflict while overlooking negotiations. Moscow maintained that diplomacy remains preferable, provided any settlement addresses what it termed the conflict’s “root causes” and reflects “new territorial realities.”
The vote underscores continued global divisions over the war, even as calls intensify for diplomatic efforts to end the conflict entering its fifth year.
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