Serbia’s Kosovo Case Passes at the UN: “The UN General Assembly has approved Serbia’s resolution to seek the International Court of Justice’s opinion on the legality of Kosovo’s independence.”

Out of the United Nations 192 members at the General Assembly 77 states voted for the move, 6 against while 74 countries abstained.

The resolution questioning the legality of Kosovo’s February 17 declaration of independence from Serbia will now be forwarded to the International Court of Justice, where the court will rule on whether the move was a breach of international law.

The request read as follows: ‘Is the unilateral declaration of independence by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo in accordance with international law?’

John Sawyers, the British ambassador to the UN, said after the vote that his country abstained from voting because it supports Kosovo’s independence and said the “International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion cannot affect Kosovo’s independence.”

Meanwhile the UN General Assembly ruled out a suggestion by Britain to give Kosovo authorities the chance to have their say at the World Court.

Although the Serbian resolution was approved by the assembly, most of the 27 European Union member states abstained from the vote. The United States, like Albania, opposed it.

US envoy Rosemary DiCarlo told the assembly that the Serbian request was “unnecessary and unhelpful,” adding that “Kosovo’s independence is irreversible.”

Prior to the vote, Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic adressed the assembly saying that sending Serbia’s initiative to the court would reduce tensions in the region and strengthen the rule of international law.

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“We also believe that the International Court of Justice advisory opinion would provide politically neutral, yet judicially authoritative guidance, to many countries still deliberating on how to approach the unilateral declaration of independence in line with international law. Recourse to the court would strengthen the rule of law in international relations, and make the proposed course of action a symbol of the world community’s resolve to take the UN Charter as its guide.”

(Via BalkanInsight.com.)