The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has issued a strong protest against the participation of representatives of the Russian occupation authorities of Crimea in the 12th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF12), which is taking place from 4 to 8 November in Cairo. The statement was published on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the participation of representatives of the Russian occupation administration in events organised under the auspices of international organisations, including the UN system, is a gross violation of international law and UN General Assembly resolutions, in particular resolution 68/262 on the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
It was also pointed out that Russia is trying to use international platforms and the territory of sovereign states, such as Egypt, to try to legitimise the occupation of Ukrainian territories, which only increases tensions in international relations.
The Ukrainian side stressed that, despite repeated requests, UN-Habitat failed to ensure proper control over the registration of WUF12 participants, allowing the participation of representatives of the occupation administration, which jeopardises the credibility of the event.
‘We call on the UN Secretary-General and the UN-Habitat leadership to take urgent measures to stop the use of the WUF12 universal technical platform and UN-Habitat as a whole to attempt to legitimise the temporary occupation of Ukrainian territories, as well as to spread propaganda and lies by representatives of the Russian occupation administration,’ the statement said.
Ukrainian diplomats also said that those responsible for this situation and who allowed the participation of representatives of the Russian occupation authorities in WUF12 no longer have the right to enjoy the trust of UN member states and work in UN-Habitat or other UN agencies.
