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Key points | UNGA special session on Ukraine tonightIt will give all UN members an opportunity to speak about the war on Monday and vote on a resolution later in the week
DH Web Desk
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A view of the United Nations General Assembly in United Nations, New York. Credit: AFP File Photo
A view of the United Nations General Assembly in United Nations, New York. Credit: AFP File Photo

The United Nations Security Council on Sunday gave a green light for the first emergency session of the General Assembly since 1982 that will be held later tonight.

It will give all UN members an opportunity to speak about the war on Monday and vote on a resolution later in the week.

Here's what you need to know about the special Ukraine meeting:

**The vote, held by the 15-member Security Council, was procedural, meaning Russia—a permanent member—could not exercise its veto power. Eleven countries voted in favour of convening the special session, while Russia opposed it.

**India, China, and the UAE abstained from voting on the matter, just as they did on Friday, at a Security Council resolution demanding that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops.

**The General Assembly is expected to vote on a similar resolution on Wednesday, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

**No country has a veto in the General Assembly.

**This will only be the 11th such General Assembly session convened since 1950, with the last coming in 1982.

**The session will begin at 8:30 pm IST (10 am local in EST) and could last all day, with speeches by assembly president Abdulla Shahid and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

**While a UNSC resolution would have been legally binding, General Assembly resolutions are not. A vote in the 193-member UN body is symbolic of world opinion.

**While abstaining from Sunday's vote, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador T S Tirumurti, said: "It is regrettable that the situation in Ukraine has worsened further since the Council last convened on this matter." He underlined that "there is no other choice but to return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue."

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