The United Nations Security Council voted Sunday to hold a rare emergency special session of the General Assembly to discuss Russia's military action in Ukraine.

The meeting will be convened on Monday, and is set to give all 193 members of the global body the opportunity to express their views on the ongoing conflict.

The vote by the 15-member council was procedural, and the resolution convening the General Assembly session was adopted with 11 "yes" votes. Russia voted "no" while the United Arab Emirates, India and China abstained.

In explaining the vote, Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, said that actions taken by the UN should help cool the situation and facilitate diplomatic solutions, and restrain from aggravating tensions.

The General Assembly session is allowed under a 1950 resolution called "Uniting for Peace." It enables members of the Security Council to propose for a General Assembly special session if the council's five permanent members fail to agree among themselves to act together to maintain peace.

Monday's gathering will be the 11th such session that the assembly has held, according to diplomats.

It is scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. in New York (1500 GMT) and is expected to last at least all day.

Also on Monday, the Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting at 5:00 p.m on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

It was requested by French President Emmanuel Macron and will feature officials from the UN's humanitarian affairs and refugee agencies, according to diplomats.

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(With input from AFP)

(Cover: Ambassadors speak during a Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., February 27, 2022. /CFP)