Suspending Russia is a way to support peace — UNWTO

The Secretary-General of the United Nation World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Zurab Pololikashvili has said suspending the membership of Russia is a course to peace as the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognised borders must be upheld, and the call of the United Nations (UN) for peaceful resolution of the conflict, must be followed.

According to UNWTO Boss who spoke during a meeting held in Madrid amid ongoing global concern and condemnation for the unilateral actions of the Russian Federation at the request of several UNWTO members, the aggression against Ukraine is inconsistent with the UN Charter and contravenes the fundamental aim of the UNWTO as enshrined in Article 3 of its Statutes, which states the “promotion and development of tourism with a view to contributing to economic development, international understanding, peace, prosperity and universal respect for, and observance of human rights”, as the fundamental principles of the organisation.

Pololikashvili said: “War is never a solution and this is why the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) voted overwhelmingly in favour of a resolution demanding that Russia immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. The UNGA reaffirmed the paramount importance of the UN Charter in the promotion of law among nations.”

He continued: “Also, the UN Human Rights Council condemned the actions of the Russian Federation in the strongest possible terms. Its members voted in favour of establishing a special commission to investigate alleged human rights violations including possible war crimes in Ukraine. Hence in accordance with its statutes, the UNWTO General Assembly alone has the sovereign responsibility to decide on the suspension of membership of any Member State, if it found that the member persists in a policy contrary to the fundamental aims of the organisation, as enshrined in article three of its statutes.”

The UNWTO boss, however, noted that work is still in progress to tighten up loose ends and suspending Russia might take up to a month.