UN GA sends Kosovo’s UDI to the ICJ
The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday gave its support to Serbia's proposal that the International Court of Justice should be asked for its advisory opinion on the legality of the unilateral proclamation of the independence of Kosovo
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Thursday, October 09, 2008
The draft resolution proposed by Serbia won the votes of 77 present member-states, six were against, and 74 member-states abstained from voting.
The UN GA president proclaimed the resolution accepted.
It could now take anytime from six months to two years for the ICJ to present its opinion.
British Ambassador to the UN John Sawyers expressed his surprise at the large number of countries that voted in favor of the Serbian resolution, but did not fail to reiterate that this will not affect the independence of Kosovo.
Before the vote, the Slovakian representative to the UN said that Slovakia in principle supports the right of every country to seek an advisory opinion from the ICJ, as the highest legal authority of the UN, on any issue.
The representative of Spain, as well as of Greece, also voted in favor of the Serbian proposal.
Greece believes in principle that every country has the right to seek an advisory opinion from the ICJ, the Greek diplomat said, explaining the decision of Greece.
The Spanish representative said the Spanish govenment belives respect of international law is a principle that should be the guiding force in international relations.
Spain believes it is in the interests of this organization and the international community that the UN General Assembly should secure the opinion of the ICJ in connection with Kosovo, as this issue is the subject of different interpretations by members, the Spanish representative concluded.
Egypt gave its support to the draft resolution tabled by Serbia. Egypt believes in the importance and legal values of the rulings and opinions of the ICJ, because they are taken independently and without bias, the Egyptian representative said, explaining Egypt's decision.
Cyprus, as well as Indonesia, were in favor of the resolution to address the ICJ for its stand.
The Indonesian representative said Indonesia consistently supports dialogue and diplomacy in the resolving of the question of the status of Kosovo. That principle remains, the diplomat said. Indonesia believes it is important to maintain the integrity of international law and of the United Nations. The UN Charter provides the General Assembly with the possibility to seek an advisory stand, the diplomat said.
