Russia lobbies for secret UN vote on condemning ‘annexation’ of Ukrainian territories

The United Nations General Assembly is considering voting on condemning Russia’s ‘annexation’ of the four Ukrainian regions after it held referendums and declared that the result indicated that the people of the regions wanted to accede to the Russian Federation.  

Meanwhile, Russia is lobbying for a secret ballot instead of a public vote when the UNGA with its 193 members is set to vote on condemning Moscow’s referendums and the subsequent result announced by Russia next week.   

Major world powers denounce Russia’s referendums  

The US, the UK, Turkey, Germany, France, Brazil, Australia, and Israel among members of NATO and the EU have already individually denounced the results of Russia’s referendums held in the occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, labelling them illegal and coercive and a ‘sham’. A UN General Assembly resolution drafted by the West aims to condemn Russia's "illegal so-called referenda" and the "attempted illegal annexation" of the areas where voting occurred.  

Previously, Russia had vetoed a similar resolution in the 15-member Security Council. The draft resolution circulated by Albania and the US called for the decision to annex the four Ukrainian regions to be immediately and unconditionally reversed and described Russia’s attempts to unlawfully annex four regions of Ukraine as “a threat to international peace and security,” states a UN report. The draft was supported by 10 of the 15 members while India, China, Gabon and Brazil abstained.  

On Thursday, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Russia’s annexation plan as a violation of international law, and warned that it marked a “dangerous escalation” in the war that began with Russia’s announcement of a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, stated the UN report.  

“The Charter is clear”, stated the UN chief. “Any annexation of a State’s territory by another State resulting from the threat or use of force is a violation of the Principles of the UN Charter”.  

The UN states baseless legality of referendums  

The UN Secretary-General further cited the Friendly Relations Declaration of October 24, 1970 (Popularly known as the rules of general international law) by the International Court of Justice, which declares 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 legal”.  

The UN Geneva further tweeted echoing Guterres’ remark, “Any decision to proceed with the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned.”  

Moreover, Director of the Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Christian Salazar Volkmann established that the UN had noted “a range of violations of the rights to life, liberty and security,” reported The Guardian. Volkmann further warned that the situation in Ukraine would only worsen as Russia pushes forward with annexing the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.