The UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding said on Tuesday that Russia’s referendums on the annexation of Ukrainian territories “cannot be called a genuine expression of the popular will.”
At a Security Council meeting to address rising tensions resulting from Moscow’s decision to partially mobilize army reserves to support the war effort and hold referendums for the annexation of occupied Ukrainian territories, Rosemary DiCarlo said that these referendums ” cannot be considered legal under international law.”
“As we meet, the authorities of the Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions have just held so-called ‘referendums’. Ukrainians were asked if they approved of joining their regions to the Russian Federation. The vote took place in the de facto officials, accompanied by the military, also went door to door with the ballot boxes,” DiCarlo described.
“These exercises, which began on September 23, were carried out during the active armed conflict, in areas under Russian control and outside the legal and constitutional framework of Ukraine. They cannot be called a genuine expression of the popular will,” he said.
According to the Assistant Secretary-General, “unilateral actions intended to give an appearance of legitimacy to the attempted acquisition by force of the territory of another State by a State, while purporting to represent the will of the people, cannot be considered lawful under the international law law”.
Rosemary DiCarlo took the opportunity to reiterate that the United Nations “remains fully committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity” within “its internationally recognized borders” in accordance with relevant UN resolutions.
Referring to the escalation of the Russian offensive in recent weeks, the diplomat warned against the growing nuclear narrative.
“We also hear alarming rhetoric about the use of nuclear weapons. This is unacceptable. Such rhetoric is inconsistent with the Joint Declaration of the Leaders of the Five Nuclear Weapon States on the Prevention of Nuclear War and the Arms Race, made on January 3, 2022.” , he stressed.
Furthermore, Rosemary DiCarlo drew the attention of the international delegations present to “extremely disturbing reports” following investigations carried out in the kyiv, Chernigiv, Kharkiv and Sumy areas.
The investigations were carried out by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry into Ukraine, mandated by the Human Rights Council, and concluded that war crimes were committed on Ukrainian soil.
“Among other findings, the Commission was struck by the high number of executions and other violations committed by Russian forces. In the four areas covered, the Commission processed two incidents of ill-treatment of Russian Federation soldiers by Ukrainian forces. “, said. said.
“Rarely, if ever, has the international community collected as much evidence of human rights violations, war crimes and other atrocities as was taking place. It is tragic that we have not been able to stop them. But it would be shameful if we could not ensure justice for “The victims and their loved ones. Those responsible for the outrages committed in Ukraine, wherever they may be, must be held accountable,” DiCarlo said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also participated in today’s meeting, via videoconference, who said that a possible annexation of Ukraine’s territories by Russia, through referendums, will mean that “there is nothing to negotiate” with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Source: TSF
