Global

The UN General Assembly, in a vote on Wednesday (3 December) overwhelmingly voted in favour of a resolution demanding that Russia returns Ukrainian children kidnapped since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. 91 countries voted in favour of the resolution, 12 voted against, and 57 countries abstained or were not present. Russia and Belarus were joined by ten countries in voting against the resolution, namely, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Eritrea. From the South Caucasus, Georgia voted in favour of the resolution, but Armenia and Azerbaijan abstained, as did Turkiye and the five Central Asian republics. Also abstaining were the six Gulf monarchies and most Arab countries. The resolution calls for the immediate return of Ukrainian children who were deported to Russia. The Ukrainian government says more than 19,000 children have been taken away from Russian-occupied areas and elsewhere since Moscow's invasion began in February of 2022. The draft resolution submitted on Wednesday demands that Russia "ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return" of the children. (Read more by clicking the image)

The Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) will have its annual meeting in Vienna on 4-5 December. Foreign Ministers from the 57 member states, which also include the United States and Canada, and the Central Asian republics, and 11 partner countries, will congregate to discuss the future of European Security at a time when many believe that war in Europe over the next decade is likely. Ukraine is just a rehearsal for Russia’s ultimate ambitions. British diplomacy used to describe the OSCE as “the organization to manage Russia”. It has not done a good job of that, but this task remains paramount. The Ministerial Council will be the last major business of this year’s chairmanship, Finland, and will launch the new Chairmanship for 2026, Switzerland. The OSCE has been moribund for some time, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, nearly ended it. But Europe still needs the OSCE, and there is hope that it will take a new lease of life in 2026. Switzerland has held the Chairmanship of the OSCE twice before, successfully. It has the experience, a wide network of embassies, and an able team in Bern, to successfully start what is likely to be a long and laborious journey. The new Chairman-in-office is Swiss Federal Foreign Minister Councillor, Ignazio Cassis. Cassis is also the current Vice President of the Swiss Confederation, and is fluent in Italian, English, German and French. Quite unusual also is the fact that currently the General Secretary of the OSCE is a Turk. Feridun Sinirlioğlu is an experienced Turkish diplomat, who has held the position for a year. Between them, Cassis and Sinirlioğlu will have to craft out the new OSCE, but in the end, it will largely depend on the will of the member states, including Russia. A new, reborn, OSCE, must understand that its core task remains European peace and security. It should resist the temptation of “looking busy” with a lot of secondary things. After peace and security return to Europe, it can consider other tasks. But we are far away from that yet. (Click the image to read the full commentary)