11th Emergency Special Session: Letter Dated 28 February 2014 from the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Addressed to the President of the Security Council (2022–2026)

The 11th emergency special session of the GA was convened to consider the “Letter dated 28 February 2014 from the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations addressed to the Security Council President”, referencing a letter that sought a response “to the deterioration of the situation in the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea, Ukraine, which threatens the territorial integrity of Ukraine” (S/2014/136). The letter detailed and was prompted by Russian forces’ aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

After the Russian Federation vetoed a draft SC resolution on the issue (S/2022/155),¹ the SC approved (by a vote of 11-1-3) a resolution calling for an emergency special session in the GA on the matter (S/RES/2623). The resolution invoked the language of the UFP resolution, noting “the lack of unanimity of its permanent members” had “prevented it from exercising its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security” (ibid.).² On 2 March 2022, by a vote of 141 to 5 with 35 abstentions, the GA adopted a resolution reaffirming its commitment to the “territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders”, and deploring “in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine in violation of Article 2(4) of the Charter” (A/RES/ES-11/1, paras. 1, 2). The resolution also demanded that the Russian Federation immediately and unconditionally “withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders” and “reverse the decision related to the status of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine” (ibid., paras. 4, 6).

The GA’s observations and in particular its highlighting of the degree of civilian harm and damage in resolution ES-11/1 (A/RES/ES-11/1) had further legal implications. In the case Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation), the ICJ took note of resolution ES-11/1 and its “grave concern at reports of attacks on civilian facilities … and of civilian casualties”, its concern for the deteriorating humanitarian situation, as well as its recognition “that the military operations of the Russian Federation inside the sovereign territory of Ukraine are on a scale that the international community has not seen in Europe in decades and that urgent action is needed to save this generation from the scourge of war”.³ The Court ultimately ordered provisional measures to protect the rights of Ukraine from being subject to the use of force by the Russian Federation.⁴

In the years which followed, the GA issued an additional nine resolutions during the 11th emergency special session. Several of these resolutions called for a cessation of hostilities (A/RES/ES-11/2; A/RES/ES-11/7) and later a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine” (A/RES/ES-11/6; A/RES/ES-11/7; A/RES/ES-11/8; A/RES/ES-11/10). These resolutions also demanded that the Russian Federation “withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine”, and some emphasized the need for accountability under international law.⁵

Other resolutions passed during the 11th emergency special session focused more narrowly on specific developments in the conflict and/or called for certain measures to be taken, including: suspending the membership rights of the Russian Federation in the HRC (A/RES/ES-11/3); condemning “the organization by the Russian Federation of illegal so-called referendums” in Ukrainian territory (A/RES/ES-11/4); recognizing the need to establish “an international mechanism for reparation” and recommending the creation of “an international register of damage”⁶ (A/RES/ES-11/5, paras. 2, 3); and demanding that the Russian Federation “ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported” (A/RES/ES-11/9, para. 1).

The 11th emergency special session remains open and can be resumed at any time at the request of Member States.