On February 22, 2022, on the eve of the special debate on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine at the 76th United Nations (UN) Plenary Session, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) and its member organizations jointly addressed Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Permanent Representatives of all UN member states calling to suspend Russia’s privileges as member of the UN Security Council on the grounds of gross violation of Article 2 of the UN Charter.
According to Article 2, paragraph 4, of the Charter of the United Nations, “all Members of the United Nations shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political activity of any State or in any other manner incompatible with the purposes of the United Nations.”
Russia has violated and disregarded these fundamental UN principles, when in 2014 it illegally occupied Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, invaded eastern Ukraine and waged military, political and economic hostilities against Ukraine for 8 years. It further violated the UN Charter when on February 21, 2022, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to further invade eastern Ukraine with regular Russian military after recognizing the independence of two so-called ‘people’s republics’ engineered by Russia in Eastern Ukraine, ending the prospects of a diplomatic solution.
“The Russian Federation has blatantly violated the UN’s Article 2 with the threat and use of force against the territorial integrity and political independence of Ukraine. Russia must be censured by the UN and have its privileges as a member of the UN Security Council suspended”. – stated UWC President Paul Grod. “Stopping Russia’s unprovoked and escalating aggression against Ukraine is key to restoring peace in Ukraine and in the region.”
