Sixth emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly

The sixth emergency meeting of the UN General Assembly was a special session of the General Assembly of the United Nations from 10 to 14 January 1980 which dealt with the situation in Afghanistan. When the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan began, members of the UN Security Council deliberated the situation. The veto of the Soviet Union to a resolution caused the other members to Resolution 377 of the General Assembly adopted, so that the General Assembly could deal with the issue in an emergency session. It was about the sixth special session, convened in this way since the adoption of the resolution in 1950. The meeting was dominated by discussions about their legitimacy, as the Afghan government had requested the Soviet troops as part of its civil war itself. Carried by the movement of non-aligned states, the meeting ended with a resolution of the General Assembly, the immediate, unconditional and complete withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and the termination of any outside interference, whether by intervention, subversion, coercion or deprivation, so that the Afghan people could decide independently on its economic, social and political system.

Background

On 27 April 1978 overthrew the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, supported by the Khalq wing of the military, the Afghan government and proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. In contrast, an uprising that was led by mujahideen and fought against the new government was formed. This asked the Soviet government to support and signed in December 1978 a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union. On this basis, the Soviet Union made ​​military aid. In the meantime, the United States began with the financing and arming of the Mujahideen. On 17 December 1979, Afghan President Hafizullah Amin asked for Soviet help in an offensive. The Soviets agreed and began on 27 December with the invasion. They occupied Kabul, translated from Amin and Babrak Karmal as the new president a who paved the way for large-scale occupation freely.

The United Nations General Assembly transmitted to the President of the UN Security Council a letter in which a meeting of the Security Council was required which should deal with the matter. This document was produced jointly by Egypt, Australia, the Bahamas, Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Fiji, Greece, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Canada Colombia, Liberia, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Portugal, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Suriname, Sweden, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela, the United Kingdom and the United States signed. The Security Council met from 5 to 9 January 1980. Afghanistan and the Soviet Union condemned the meeting as interference in the internal affairs of a Member State and emphasized that they only exercised their treaty of friendship and thus their right to collective defense under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. The United States complained that the Soviet intervention the territorial integrity of Afghanistan injured and that the death of President amine by Soviet troops means a government overthrow. A draft resolution that demanded the immediate, unconditional and complete withdrawal of all foreign troops, was rejected on January 7 by the veto of the Soviet Union. Two days later, the Security Council adopted Resolution 462 (1980), with the noted the Panel that the disunity of its permanent members to the Security Council prevented them to fulfill the primary task of maintaining peace and security. With the resolution the Security Council turned to the resolution 377 of the General Assembly convened an emergency session of the General Assembly. This resolution was adopted with 12 approvals, two votes against ( by the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic) and one abstention ( by Zambia).

Emergency meeting

The sixth emergency meeting of the UN General Assembly began on January 10. She was dominated by the issue of whether the General Assembly could meet legitimate about the problem. The Afghan representatives stressed in his speech " the strongest and most categorical objection to the discussion of the so-called question of the situation in Afghanistan. The meeting an emergency meeting of the General Assembly in this issue provides an open and flagrant interference in the internal affairs of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan dar. " The Soviet Union also argued that the meeting would be held contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, which accept the internal affairs of Member States. Surprisingly, India sided with the Soviet Union, as Brijesh Mishra certified in his speech on 11 January that the Soviet Union granted the aid, the President Amin and his successors had requested and also the Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan would leave at the request of the Afghan government.

Pakistan, however, had received refugees on its border with Afghanistan, took a particularly harsh stance against the Soviet Union and demanded the withdrawal of troops.

From the Non-Aligned Movement, finally, a draft was submitted, which was 6 ES / 2 adopted as a resolution condemning the armed intervention in Afghanistan sharp and all States are invited to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and non-aligned character to accept the state. The resolution calls for the immediate, unconditional and complete withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan in order to enable the Afghan people in the situation itself and to determine without the interference of the economic, political and social system in Afghanistan and to decide in free self-determination over the form of government. The resolution also appealed to all Member States and sub-organizations of the United Nations to provide humanitarian aid through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

First emergency meeting • Second emergency meeting • Third • Fourth emergency meeting emergency meeting • Fifth emergency meeting • Sixth emergency meeting • Seventh emergency meeting • Make emergency meeting • Ninth emergency meeting • Tenth emergency meeting