The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved this Friday - with 28 votes in favor, none against, 5 abstentions and one absence - a resolution on the crisis in Ukraine presented by the delegations of Antigua and Barbuda with the co-sponsorship of the delegations of Bahamas, Colombia, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, United States and Uruguay.
OAS member states agreed to “call on the Russian Federation to immediately withdraw all its military forces and equipment within Ukraine's internationally recognized borders and return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy.”
The text also proposes, among several points, “to declare the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Ukraine deeply worrying and totally unacceptable and, in this regard, to demand respect for human rights and the immediate cessation of acts that may constitute war crimes”. It states “to require safe and unrestricted passage to destinations outside Ukraine, and to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance without discrimination based on origin, race, nationality or ethnicity”
The resolution was submitted “recalling the obligation of all States under Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other way incompatible with purposes of the United Nations, and to settle their international disputes by peaceful means”.
And, in addition, it was drafted “aware that the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly also expressed grave concern at the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in and around Ukraine, with an increasing number of internally displaced persons and refugees in need of humanitarian assistance, as well as possible impact of conflict on increasing food and energy insecurity worldwide”.
On February 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, the OAS General Secretariat condemned the Russian aggression and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. “Russian aggression constitutes a crime against international peace. The armed attack perpetrated against Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is reprehensible and constitutes a very serious act of violation of international law,” the OAS General Secretariat said in a statement.
With information from Reuters
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