Rare Sapphire
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- Jul 24, 2021
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Wakati majirani zetu Kenya na Uganda wakiwa na misimamo tofauti kuhusu vita ya Ukraine na Urusi, ambapo Kenya ilipiga kura kukubaliana na azimio la Russia kusitisha vita na Uganda ikipiga kura ya kutofungamana na upande wowote, Tanzania haikupeleka mwakilishi kabisa kupiga kura juu ya Azimio hilo.
Kikao cha 11 cha dharura kilifanyika Makao Makuu ya Umoja wa Mataifa tar. 24 Februari 2023, kuidhinisha Azimio linalosisitiza Kanuni za Mkataba wa Umoja wa Mataifa linalotaka kuwepo kwa amani nchini Ukraine na Urusi kusitisha vita na kuondoka Ukraine, ambapo nchi wanachama 141 ziliunga mkono azimio hilo, 7 zilipiga kura ya kupinga na 32 zikiwa hazina upande wowote.
Kwenye Azimio hilo Elitria ilipiga kura ya hapana, na kuifanya kuwa nchi pekee Afrika kukataa Azimio hilo.
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Kenya and Uganda have maintained their opposite voting stances on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, keeping a pattern that may explain the influence of Moscow in the wider African continent.
At the 11th Emergency Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Kenya voted alongside 31 other African countries to endorse a resolution asserting the ‘Principles of the Charter of the UN’ seeking a “a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
The vote in which 141 member states supported, seven voted against and 32 abstained, means the UN General Assembly was demanding withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine, earning Kyiv the much-needed international backing against Moscow.
Coming on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion, however, it depicted a divided African continent in which countries have also maintained a neutral stance.
Uganda, just like last year, abstained and so did South Africa, which explained the UNGA vote wasn’t helping bring parties closer to a solution. Uganda abstained just after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni by phone about their bilateral ties.
Sudan, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola and Algeria and Burundi abstained too. Tanzania was absent from the room, failing to register a vote while Eritrea voted no, becoming the only African country to reject the resolution.
Overall, there were more African countries supporting the resolution than last year when the UNGA first employed the rare emergency vote. Rwanda, DR Congo, Benin, Nigeria, Ghana, South Sudan, Nigeria and Niger were among those who supported the vote.
UNGA resolutions, generally known as ‘town hall’ debates carry little powers to implement but they grant the winners political capital. In March last year, 141 countries also supported a resolution to reaffirm Ukraine’s sovereignty, demanding that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.” Kenya voted for it too.
The East African