OSCE heads condemn plan to hold illegal “referenda” in occupied territories of Ukraine

COPENHAGEN/WARSAW/VIENNA, 20 September 2022 – The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau, OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Margareta Cederfelt and Matteo Mecacci, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, condemned the plans to hold “referenda” on Ukraine’s occupied territories.

Any elections or referenda on the territory of Ukraine can only be announced and conducted by legitimate authorities in compliance with national legislation and international standards. Therefore the planned “referenda” will be illegal.

As the war following the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine continues, any so-called “referenda” planned by or with the support of the forces illegally exercising de facto control in the occupied territories of Ukraine would be in contravention of international standards and obligations under international humanitarian law, and their outcome will therefore have no legal force.