Sixth emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly

The sixth emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly was held between 10 January – 14 January 1980 to consider the situation in Afghanistan. As the Soviet war in Afghanistan began members of the United Nations General Assembly requested the Security Council consider the situation. The USSR veto of a resolution led the other members to invoke the 'Uniting for Peace' resolution to defer the issue to the General Assembly in an emergency special session. It was the sixth emergency special session since the 'Uniting for Peace' resolution was adopted in 1950. The session was dominated by questions of its legitimacy since the Afghanistan government had invited the Soviet intervention in their civil war. Led by the non-aligned members, the session ended with a resolution from the General Assembly calling for the immediate, unconditional and total withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and the cessation of all outside intervention, subversion, coercion or constraint, of any kind whatsoever, so that its people could freely choose its own economic, political and social systems.

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.

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