27 May
2022
EU urged to suspend the participation of Russia and Belarus in the World Customs Organization
The European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and other partner countries issued a statement in which they called for limiting or suspending the participation of Russia and Belarus in the work of the World Customs Organization.
In a joint statement, the EU and partner states condemned Russia's aggression against Ukraine, with the participation of Belarus.
"We are in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and are united in strongly condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine with the participation of Belarus. We confirm the relevance of UN resolution EU-11.1 of March 2, 2022 in the field of customs cooperation and consider the actions of the Russian leadership unprovoked and unjustified against sovereign democratic state, a gross violation of international law, the UN Charter and the fundamental principles of peace and security, including respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine, the EU and partner states said in a statement.
The statement notes that the WCO was established to promote cooperation between its members on customs matters, and its activities are aimed at uniting customs services to create a safer and more prosperous world.
It is noted that the aggression of Russia with the support of Belarus against another member of the World Customs Organization, in addition to unforgivable violence against the civilian population and infrastructure, also extended to the customs facilities and operations of the Organization. We are talking about the destruction by the Russian military of all checkpoints between Ukraine and the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, as well as the slowdown in customs activities, including through the multimillion-dollar flow of refugees.
Such actions are incompatible with the principle of customs cooperation and trust on which the World Customs Organization is founded, and are directed against the security that customs guarantees to its citizens. Therefore, it would be inappropriate for the World Customs Organization to remain neutral and ignore this aggression, unprecedented in its scale in our time. on the part of one of its members in relation to another," the document says.
The Joint Statement also calls for action in five areas, namely: to limit or otherwise effectively suspend the participation of Russia and Belarus in OTAM; replace any Russian or Belarusian chairmen and vice-chairmen of the PTAMO working bodies, including the Policy Commission, the Finance Committee and the Audit Committee; restrict/stop the participation of representatives of Russia and the Republic of Belarus in all the working bodies of the PTAMO and their access to the premises of the World Customs Organization; decide on all WCO-supported funding programs for Russia and the Republic of Belarus; seek to stop providing access to information about the law enforcement or terrorism of these countries.
The statement ends with a call to the World Customs Organization to do everything possible to help Ukrainian customs carry out its activities despite the aggression unleashed by Russia. In addition, the countries that signed the statement promise to continue calling on Russia and the Republic of Belarus to fulfill their international obligations to support international peace and security.