We, the Stabilization Support Services Charitable Foundation, express our strong protest against the participation of representatives of the Russian occupation administrations in the 12th World Urban Forum (WUF12), which was held under the auspices of the United Nations.
Inviting representatives of the occupation authorities to international events contradicts international law, in particular UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 “Territorial integrity of Ukraine”. It also undermines the efforts of Ukraine and the international community to combat the aggression and temporary occupation of Ukrainian territories.
We are deeply disappointed that we were not informed about the participation of representatives of the occupation administration in the forum. Our participation in the event was aimed at highlighting the problems of internally displaced persons, sharing the experience of our foundation and contributing to solving the problems of social integration of war victims. We would never have agreed to participate in the event if we had known about the presence of representatives of the occupation administrations.
«As the executive director of a foundation working in the interests of IDPs, I am deeply shocked that an international event under the auspices of the UN provided a platform for representatives of the occupation administrations. Participation in such events should serve to unite the international community to address humanitarian issues, not to become a tool for legitimizing the occupation and disinformation. We call on international organizations to remain true to their principles and ensure compliance with international law» – Valeriia Vershynina, Executive Director of the Stabilization Support Services Charitable Foundation.
We call on the organizers of the forum and the UN leadership to take immediate measures to prevent the use of international platforms to legitimize the occupation regimes and spread propaganda. We also support the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the call to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to ensure that future events adhere to UN principles.