Sixth Emergency Special Session of The United Nations General Assembly - Background

Background

During the Saur Revolution on April 27, 1978 the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, aided by the Khalq faction of the military, overthrew the government of Republic of Afghanistan and formed the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. A significant insurgency formed, led by the Mujahideen, and fought the new government who requested Soviet assistance to fight back. In December, they signed a Treaty of Friendship with the USSR and the Soviets provided military assistance. Meanwhile, the United States began funding and arming the insurgency. On December 17, 1979 President Hafizullah Amin requested Soviet assistance in a major offensive. The Soviets agreed and on 27 December, dressed in Afghan military uniforms, invaded Kabul but overthrew Amin and installed Babrak Karmal as the new president, clearing the way for a large-scale occupation.

At the UN General Assembly, a letter was sent to the president of the Security Council requesting a Security Council meeting to consider the matter (letter signed jointly by Australia, Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, Chili, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Ecuador, Fiji, German Federal Republic, Greece, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New-Guinea, Philippines, Portugal, Santa Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Suriname, Sweden, The Netherlands, Turkey, UK, Uruguay, USA and Venezuela). The Security Council convened between 5 to 9 January 1980. Afghanistan and the Soviet Union denounced the meeting as interfering with domestic affairs of a Member State and that they were exercising their Treaty of Friendship and their right to collective self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter. The United States claimed the Soviet intervention violated the territorial integrity of Afghanistan and that with the death of President Amin, by Soviet forces, the Afghan government had been overthrown. A draft resolution calling for the immediate, unconditional and total withdrawal of the foreign troops was vetoed by the Soviets on 7 January. Two days later the Security Council adopted Resolution 462 acknowledging the lack of unanimity of its permanent members was preventing them from fulfilling their primary duty of maintaining peace and security, invoking the General Assembly's 'Uniting for Peace' resolution calling for an emergency special session. This was adopted with 12 supports, 2 opposes (USSR and German Democratic Republic), with 1 abstention (Zambia).

Read more about this topic:  Sixth Emergency Special Session Of The United Nations General Assembly

Famous quotes containing the word background:

    They were more than hostile. In the first place, I was a south Georgian and I was looked upon as a fiscal conservative, and the Atlanta newspapers quite erroneously, because they didn’t know anything about me or my background here in Plains, decided that I was also a racial conservative.
    Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)

    Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    ... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.
    Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)