Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nation. (Photo: the official website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry)

The draft resolution calling Russian to provide redress and compensation to Ukraine submitted to the emergency special session for action has obvious flaws and loopholes, Ambassador Geng Shuang pointed out in his speech at the UN General Assembly Emergency Special Session, according to the website of the Chinese Permanent Mission to the UN on Monday.

At the 11th emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on November 14, Ukraine, Canada, and other countries jointly submitted to the UNGA a draft resolution calling on Russia to provide redress and compensation to Ukraine for its special military operations, amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, according to media reports.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's Federal Security Council, said on social media that "Anglo-Saxons are clearly trying to scrape together a legal basis for the illegal seizure of Russian assets," according to Reuters. He also said that the UNGA should pass a similar resolution demanding compensation from the US to North Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Yugoslavia and other countries that have suffered harm from the US and NATO, media reported.

Redress and reparation are important means of achieving justice, appeasement and reconstruction after war and conflict, Geng said, noting that China believes that war remedies and reparations should be realized through correct political channels and legal procedures, and the useful practice of the Security Council and the General Assembly can provide important references for the international community to take similar actions in this regard.

In his speech, Geng pointed out three obvious flaws in the draft resolution. First, the draft resolution intends to directly address the issue of international legal responsibility through the UNGA, which exceeds the mandate of the UNGA. The previous resolutions adopted by the 11th emergency special session of the UNGA do not constitute as the legal basis for redress and compensation.

The draft resolution, intended to invoke the article on the "Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts" to hold relevant parties accountable, lacks the legal basis. The liability clause is only the result of research by the International Law Commission, an expert body, and is not an intergovernmental international treaty, which is not legally binding. Therefore, it is not appropriate to use the liability clause as the basis for legal determination and accountability, Geng added.

Geng also pointed out that the draft resolution intended to allow some countries to set up compensation and loss registration mechanism Such an important draft resolution should undergo full discussion and extensive consultations among member states to ensure that it can stand the test of history politically, legally and procedurally, said Geng, adding that the sponsors did not organize consultations seriously, did not respond substantively to the concerns of member states, and insisted on pushing the UNGA to take hasty actions, which was totally unconstructive.s outside the UN framework, which is against the usual practice. It is illogical for the UNGA to adopt a resolution on mechanisms that are not within the UN framework, are not supervised and do not report to the United Nations.

Such an important draft resolution should undergo full discussion and extensive consultations among member states to ensure that it can stand the test of history politically, legally and procedurally, said Geng, adding that the sponsors did not organize consultations seriously, did not respond substantively to the concerns of member states, and insisted on pushing the UNGA to take hasty actions, which was totally unconstructive.

For the above reasons, China will vote against the draft resolution and once again calls on all parties concerned to return to dialogue and negotiation at an early date so as to bring the situation in Ukraine back on the right track of political settlement.

Geng reiterated at the end of the speech that China's position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear, and China is willing to continue to work with the international community to play a constructive role in pushing for an early ceasefire and cessation of the conflict, easing of the situation and a political settlement of the crisis.

Global Times