Dhaka Bureau: At the suggestion of Germany, Bangladesh refrained from voting on the resolution brought to the United Nations General Assembly to stop the Russia-Ukraine war. “Bangladesh’s foreign policy is the reason for abstaining from voting,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In a special briefing on Sunday (February 26) at noon, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sehli Sabrin, gave this information.
Bangladesh’s foreign policy is based on the principle of “friendship with all, enmity with none.”
Bangladesh pursues a peace-centered foreign policy guided by the philosophy of friendship with all and enmity with none, based on the principles of respect for sovereign equality and territorial integrity of all states, peaceful settlement of international disputes, and respect, the spokesperson said.
He further said that Bangladesh is concerned about the situation in Ukraine, especially the loss of civilian lives, the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the conflict zones, and the resulting socio-economic collapse around the world. We call for a cessation of hostilities and remain steadfast in our commitment that the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be upheld at all costs. In this regard, we see the importance of the proposed resolution calling on the UN Secretary-General and Member States to promote a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine. We firmly believe that the peaceful settlement of international disputes must be universally followed by all, everywhere, under all circumstances, without exception.
“Although the ultimate objective of the current resolution is to find a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine, we believe that any meaningful and durable solution to the current conflict must require intensive diplomatic engagement and dialogue between the parties to the conflict,” the spokesman said. In our opinion, this important practical point is missing from the resolution. Therefore, we were forced to refrain.
Sehli Sabrin said that since the UN proposal this time was not meaningful, it was not able to stop the war, so Bangladesh did not vote on this resolution.
He also said that the reason Bangladesh abstains from voting is our foreign policy. Bangladesh wants everyone to maintain a peaceful position. We do not want people’s lives and property to be damaged in the war.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Bangladesh hopes that a peaceful solution will come after the end of the disagreement by protecting the interests of all.
Incidentally, the resolution entitled “UN Charter Principles Underlying a Comprehensive, Just, and Lasting Peace in Ukraine” brought to the UN General Assembly to end the Russia-Ukraine war was voted on. Germany proposed the vote. Bangladesh abstained from voting in this poll on Thursday (February 23) night. India, Pakistan, and China also abstained from voting.
141 countries voted in favor of voting on the resolution, 7 countries voted against it, and 32 countries abstained from voting. The seven countries that voted against the resolution were Belarus, Syria, North Korea, Mali, Eritrea, and Russia.
It should be noted that Bangladesh voted in favor of two of the five UN resolutions on the Russia-Ukraine war. Three people abstained from voting.
In November last year, the United Nations passed a resolution against Russia. Bangladesh refrained from voting against Russia in that proposal. The November resolution called on Russia to be held accountable for violations of international law and to develop repatriation and reparation measures for damages caused by the invasion of Ukraine.
However, Bangladesh had voted against Russia in the previous month, in October, at the United Nations. At that time, 35 countries, including India and China, abstained from voting.
Bangladesh voted in favor of the condemnation motion in view of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of all disputes, the UN Charter, and other fundamental principles.
