Statement by Ambassador Vassily A. Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, at the Security Council before vote on the American draft resolution on the Joint Investigation Mechanism mandate in Syria
Mr. President, we would like to request that draft resolution S/2017/933, submitted by the Russian Federation, be put to the vote second and that draft resolution S/2017/962, submitted by the United States of America, be put to the vote first.
We know that the United States has told you and the Council that we should vote on our draft resolution first, in accordance with rule 32 of the Security Council’s provisional rules of procedure. We do not agree with that reasoning, however. It is impossible for our draft resolution to be put to the vote first without our permission, for the following reasons.
The priority provided for in rule 32, on the consideration of draft resolutions in accordance with the order of their submission, allows for the possibility and right that whoever submits a draft resolution first can request that it be put to a vote first in cases when there is a counter draft before the Council, which in this case is the draft resolution submitted by the United States.
However, that is a privilege that one can refuse to avail oneself of. Submission under rule 32 is not the same as publication in blue. The two terms are often confused, in fact, but incorrectly. If we follow the rules of procedure, submission should include publication in blue and the request for a vote. The United States delegation was the first to request a vote, and in that case our draft resolution should be put to the vote second, because we asked for the vote after them. We therefore insist on our draft resolution being put to the vote second.
After the introduction by N.Haley:
We are not playing political games here. On the other hand, perhaps we are, because if we were not playing political games, we would not be having this discussion today.
But while we have studied this issue, and the Council’s practice on it varies. we will not delve into that at the moment, as we see no purpose in getting mired in procedural discussions. We merely ask that you, Mr. President, put the question to a procedural vote. We propose that the Russian draft resolution (S/2017/933) be put to the vote second, after the draft resolution submitted by the United States (S/2017/962).
After the remark by N.Haley:
Let us put it to a procedural vote.
After the procedual vote:
In this case, Mr. President, in accordance with rule 35 of the Security Council’s provisional rules of procedure, which says that a motion or draft resolution can be withdrawn at any time as long as no vote has been taken on it, the sponsors of the draft resolution contained in document S/2017/933 wish to withdraw it.
