Uganda Remains Neutral in UN General Assembly vote on Ukraine Crisis

Uganda is among the 35 countries that abstained in the United Nations General Assembly vote to condemn Russia’s operations in Ukraine.

The Pearl of Africa remained neutral as 141 out of the 193 member states voted to oppose Russia’s invasion against 5 countries that supported Russia.

During the 11th Emergency Special session of the UN General Assembly that took place on Wednesday, the UN in their resolution condemned in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and urged that the Russia Federation “immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces.”

Other countries that remained neutral in the vote include; Vietnam, China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Nicaragua, South Africa etc. The 5 countries that supported Russia’s invasion are; North Korea, Eritrea, Belarus, Russia and Syria.

Uganda’s decision to abstain has been diplomatically applauded for the sake of peace and conflict resolution management. Adonia Ayebare, Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and the chairperson of the Non- Aligned Movement (NAM) lauded the decision saying Uganda’s “neutrality is key.”

“As incoming chair of the Non- aligned Movement (NAM), neutrality is key. Uganda will continue to play a constructive role in the maintenance of peace and security both regionally and globally,” Amb Ayebare tweeted on Wednesday.