The Secretary General of the UN affirmed this Thursday in declarations to the press that the announcement of the annexation of Ukraine’s territories by Russia has no legal value, deserves condemnation and is dangerous.
António Guterres’ statement comes after the Kremlin announced that a ceremony will take place tomorrow in Moscow that will launch a process of annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia.
“In this moment of danger, I must underline my duty as Secretary-General to uphold the United Nations Charter,” Guterres explained, adding: “The UN Charter is clear. Any annexation of the territory of a State by another State resulting from the threat or use of force is a violation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law.”
And he noted that the Russian Federation, as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, “has a special responsibility to respect the Charter.”
In addition, he commented that the General Assembly of the United Nations is equally clear and recalled the historic Declaration on Friendly Relations of October 24, 1970, repeatedly cited as a norm of general international law by the International Court of Justice, in which it declared that “the territory of a state shall not be the object of acquisition by another State resulting from the threat or use of force” and that “no territorial acquisition resulting from the threat or use of force shall be recognized as lawful“.
For the head of the UN, “any decision to proceed with the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned”.
Contempt for the purposes and principles of the UN
Assuring that he wanted to be very clear, he explained that the decision “cannot be reconciled with the international legal framework. It goes against everything that the international community should stand for. It disregards the purposes and principles of the United Nations.”
In addition, he considered that “it is a dangerous climb” and “it has no place in the modern world”, so “should not be accepted”.
The Secretary General reiterated that the position of the United Nations is unequivocal: it is fully committed to the sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions.
The so-called referendums do not reflect the will of the people
Regarding the so-called “referendums in the occupied regions”, he wanted to underline that they were held during an active armed conflict, in areas under Russian occupation, and outside the legal and constitutional framework of Ukraine.
“They cannot be described as an authentic expression of the popular will”, he pointed out, emphasizing that “any decision by Russia to go ahead will further jeopardize the prospects for peace. It will prolong the dramatic repercussions on the world economy, especially in developing countries, and hinder our ability to deliver life-saving aid throughout Ukraine and beyond.”
For all these reasons, he assured that “already it’s time to take a step back”.
“Now more than ever, we must work together to end this devastating and senseless war and uphold the UN Charter and international law,” he concluded.
