Russia Formally Annexed Four Districts of Eastern Ukraine

Why in the News?

Recently,  Russia formally signed a treaty annexing four Ukrainian regions into the Russian Federation.

Key Points:

• The Russian President has signed “accession treaties” to formalize the annexation of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.
• The four annexed Ukrainian regions have historic ties with Russia, with Luhansk and Donetsk having a large proportion of the population speaking Russian and ethnically Russian.

United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution:

• India abstained on a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution, which condemned Moscow’s “illegal referenda” and declared its annexation of four Ukrainian territories as invalid. 
• The resolution was vetoed by Russia.
• It was supported by 10 of the 15 members of the Council, while China, Gabon, India, and Brazil abstained.
• Earlier as well, India had abstained on votes at the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly on resolutions pertaining to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 
• It has also not publicly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, although it has called for an independent probe into the Bucha massacre.

India at UNSC

• India was a strong voice for the developing world, peacekeeping, counter-terrorism and Africa. The first statement on Syria was during India’s Presidency at the UNSC.
• At India’s initiative, the Security Council mandated international cooperation for the release of hostages taken by pirates.
• India also worked for enhancing international cooperation in counter-terrorism, prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to non-state actors, and strengthen UN peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts.
• India has taken part in several ongoing contributions to UN activities — especially to UN peacekeeping operations.

UNSC Reform: 

• India has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the security council.
• India wants the Security Council to be expanded in both the permanent and non-permanent categories.
• India is eminently suited for permanent UNSC membership by any objective criteria, such as population, territorial size, GDP, economic potential, civilisational legacy, cultural diversity, and political system.

Issues with UNSC:

• Lack of Meeting Minutes and Records: The usual UN rules don’t apply to the UNSC deliberations and no records are kept of its meetings.
• Veto Power: The veto power held by the five permanent members of the UNSC is outdated.
  • One country’s objection, rather than the opinions of a majority of countries, may prevent any possible UN response to a crisis.
• Underrepresentation: It is a matter of concern that the UNSC is devoid of the four most significant nations in the world: South Africa, Germany, Brazil, and India.
• Lack of transparency: The permanent members act like a private club that makes decisions in secret by holding private meetings and then presenting their resolutions to the entire council.
• No Representation: Africa, South America, and Far East Asia are not represented in the permanent membership of the council.

Way Forward

• There is a need to maintain a rules-based, multilateral system to deal with the “ever-complex and evolving challenges” to the maintenance of international peace and security.
• India’s image as a kind and friendly nation has grown as a result of its consistent support for the Small Island Nations and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) of Africa. 
  • This might be utilised to increase India’s pressure on the UNSC to reform.
• India should stop maintaining a policy of silence and start participating in most international security that UNSC permanent members are frequently concerned with.
  • Such as the proliferation of nuclear weapons in Iran and North Korea and the abuse of human rights in Syria.