As noted at the sessions of the UN General Assembly and meetings of the UN Security Council, the Russian Federation has not applied for membership in the United Nations, and none of the UN member states voted for its admission to the organisation. At the same time, this country is constantly violating the UN Charter, its basic foundations and principles.
One of the most striking examples of such a violation is the Russian aggression against Ukraine, which has been ongoing since 2014 and has become a full-scale invasion of our country since 2022. During its invasion, the aggressor state blatantly ignores not only the UN Charter, but also the basic principles and activities of the UN programmes and entities of which it is allegedly a member, such as:
● FAO (blocking the transport of grain from Ukraine to countries in Africa and Asia suffering from food shortages),
● IFAD (destruction of agricultural land in Ukraine),
● IAEA (shelling of Ukrainian nuclear power plants),
● UNEP (destruction of natural ecosystems and protected areas in Ukraine),
● UNESCO (destruction of cultural and natural heritage sites in Ukraine),
● UNICEF (abduction and transfer of Ukrainian civilians, including children, to its territory),
● WHO (destruction of hospitals and other medical facilities in Ukraine).
The list goes on and on, as does the list of international agreements violated by the aggressor country.
The aims and principles of the WCC are being violated with no less cynicism. We recall the demonstrative burning of millions of cubic metres of natural gas on the border with Finland. Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine has resulted in greenhouse gas emissions in the war zone of 120 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in the first year of the war alone. Even now, according to preliminary estimates, the reconstruction of facilities on the territory of Ukraine that were destroyed due to the aggression will lead to additional emissions of about 50
million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. All these are direct results of Russian aggression.
This war has a direct impact on the climate crisis and, consequently, on the whole world. So, can a country that so blatantly violates all its principles and guidelines be considered a Party to the UNFCCC?
UCN calls on the respective Parties to the Convention to raise the issue of depriving the Russian Federation of the status of a full Party to the UNFCCC until the aggression against Ukraine is fully stopped and all the damage caused by it is compensated.
You can download the position here.
The Ukrainian language version of the position is here.
