Moscow’s Plan for Presidential Elections in Russian-Controlled Areas of Ukraine Unacceptable, Under-Secretary-General Tells Security Council
The Russian Federation’s intention to hold presidential elections from 15 to 17 March 2024 in areas of Ukraine under its control is unacceptable, the UN’s political affairs chief told the Security Council today as delegates warned that such conduct further undermines the prospects for peace.
Today’s meeting coincides closely with two anniversaries: 16 March will mark 10 years since the Russian Federation held illegal referenda in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and Sevastopol, its largest city; nearly 18 months have passed since it did the same in the eastern regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, underscored that any annexation of a State’s territory by another State resulting from the threat or use of force violates the principles of the UN Charter and international law. “Yet, that is what the Russian Federation has attempted in Ukraine, causing unspeakable suffering and destruction,” she stressed.
Reiterating the UN’s position on the matter, she cited the General Assembly’s 27 March 2014 resolution calling Moscow’s attempted illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol invalid and unrecognized by the international community, and its October 2022 text unequivocally condemning Moscow’s organization of illegal referendums within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and its attempted annexation of these regions.
In Crimea, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has consistently reported on the unlawful imposition of Russian citizenship and laws, intimidation and pressure to participate in illegal electoral processes and other human rights violations, she observed. Similar patterns of violations are emerging in the occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
And the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine’s new report published today points to more evidence of the Russian Federation’s systematic, widespread torture against civilians in that country. Victims’ accounts disclose relentless, brutal treatment inflicting severe pain and suffering during prolonged detention, with blatant disregard for human dignity, she said, stressing that “all perpetrators of such egregious violations must be held accountable”.
Meanwhile, Moscow’s strikes on civilians and critical infrastructure have continued unabated, she said. Since February 2022, OHCHR has recorded 10,703 civilians, including 594 children, killed. This morning, 20 people were reportedly killed, and 73 injured, in a Russian missile strike in Odesa. Two were first responders who died after a second strike hit the location where they had rushed to help the victims. “The mental scars left by such dread on countless Ukrainians may take generations to heal,” she said.
In the following discussion, numerous Council members — among them, the representatives of Guyana, Malta, Japan, Italy, Romania and the Republic of Korea — condemned the Russian Federation for conducting presidential elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine, noting that their holding is a violation of international law, and their results have no legitimacy.
The speaker for the United States said Moscow’s tactic of holding sham elections in Ukraine’s occupied territory is “one in a pattern of failed attempts to justify the unjustified”, and called on the international community to join in imposing costs on those responsible for organizing and holding them.
France’s delegate said that such illegal attempts are “yet another example” of Moscow’s contempt for the founding principles of States’ sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“These elections are a sham because of a simple truth: you cannot hold legitimate elections in someone else’s country,” observed the representative of the United Kingdom. He said alarming reports have emerged of officials, accompanied by troops, carrying ballot boxes from door to door — “all part of (Moscow)’s effort to cultivate a climate of fear and coercion”.
Echoing that, the speaker for Poland emphasized that the “meticulously staged façade of presidential elections [and] a plebiscite of support for Putin’s policy is nothing more than a manifestation of another act of aggression, this time of the political nature”.
Slovenia’s delegate added that, contrary to its commitments as an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) participating State, the Russian Federation — for the first time — decided not to invite OSCE observers to its presidential elections, depriving the country’s voters of an impartial, independent assessment of their polls.
The representative of Estonia, who also spoke for Latvia and Lithuania, underscored that the Baltic States will never recognize or support the holding of such fake elections or accept their results.
In fact, “all of us have a responsibility to unequivocally reject Russia’s illegal annexation attempts”, stated the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as an observer.
Many speakers pointed out that the level of conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine is at its “highest possible point”, stressing that there can be no military solution. Among them was Mozambique’s delegate, who called on the warring parties to “reconsider their choices and opt for the path of dialogue and diplomacy before more lives are tragically lost”.
Also urging good-faith diplomacy, the speaker for Sierra Leone underlined that efforts must be made to resolve the conflict and contribute to peace, stability and security in the region. In the same vein, Ecuador’s delegate called on the Council to prioritize the effective use of mediation mechanisms, while his counterpart from China underscored that the warring parties must demonstrate political will, build consensus, cease fighting and start peace talks. In this process, “the legitimate security concerns of all parties” should be considered, said Algeria’s delegate.
However, the organization of so-called “electoral processes” in the occupied areas of Ukraine further undermines the prospects for peace, cautioned the speaker for Switzerland.
The speaker for the Russian Federation said that Western Council members convened today’s meeting to criticize Moscow for conducting democratic elections on territories “which are administratively, politically and economically part of our country”. Meanwhile, there has not been a single comment about the cancellation of elections in Ukraine, he observed, adding that, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not “come up with a solution to cling to power”, he has shown his willingness for the sake of that objective “to drown the entire country in blood and sacrifice every last Ukrainian”.
He said that — “like it or not” — presidential elections will be carried out – including in “Russian regions which reunited with our country as a consequence of the free expression of popular will in September 2022”.
Ukraine’s representative countered that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been in power for 24 years, not through the free expression of the people’s will, but through manipulation of the Russian Constitution, propaganda and violence, including the assassination of prominent independent politicians. The so-called “election” in the Russian Federation is “Putin’s self-reappointment under the sterile conditions of the absence of any competition.” Those who might have been his opponents were killed, arrested, or, at best, forced to leave the country. Those whom the Kremlin let participate, do not even hide their technical role as a mise-en-scène for the predetermined “winner,” he added.
Conversely, Ukraine has successfully conducted four presidential elections in compliance with the standards of democratic elections, he said, stressing: “There was not a single delegation that has found a single word of support of the Russian illegitimate attempts to organize elections in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.”